New DS XV14 Ready for Winter
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- Posts: 37
- Joined: Sat. Dec. 17, 2016 12:28 pm
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Efel Harmony III
- Coal Size/Type: Nut/Anthracite
- Other Heating: Propane Boiler
I just replaced my Efel Harmony III with a DS XV14. I have four tons of pea coal in stock. The gap in back of the shaker grate are a bit wide for pea so I'll have to be careful not to lose too much into the ash pan when shaking. One of their guys told me they prefer nut, though they make no mention in their website, manual or brochures. They said pea is fine too. They are great people to work with, overall. May try a few bags of Tractor Supply Nut along the way just to see the difference for my next coal buy. Not looking forward to winter, but am looking forward to seeing how this new stove performs. I just was sick and tired of all the knifing required to maintain the fire in the Efel. Too much dust all over the house. The shaker in the Efel is a total joke. Install was easy (other than the weight of horsing around a 500 lb stove with only me and my wife). All the clearances were met with my present hearth and location. Baro and manometer installed. Hearth built up with underlayment, Micore 300 Mineral Fiber Board, Durrock, stone tile. Double-walled pipe so I can have closer to wall. One inch stand-off wall heat shield. I'll post some results along the way. Sorry the picture is sideways. I have no idea why it is attaching that way.
- warminmn
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You arent going to miss knifing at all or the shallow ash pan of the Efel. Dont shake it quite as much, leaving a little ash on top of the grate and you wont lose as much pea coal. TSC nut coal is often all sizes. Try a couple different brands of nut. I agree, looks good.
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- Location: Oneida, N.Y.
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- Coal Size/Type: Nut
- Other Heating: newmac wood/coal combo furnace
Nice setup. Beautiful room. Not positive but I think nut starts easier than the pea. Maybe start with a bag or 2 of nut to get things going and top off with pea. Others have stated that fires tend to be slower to react to changes with the pea because of the air flow. If it's new to you read up on some of the threads where it's discussed. I'll be watching the thread, curious how that stove will work out for you.
Not implying anything negative, just have not seen much on it.
Not implying anything negative, just have not seen much on it.
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- Posts: 37
- Joined: Sat. Dec. 17, 2016 12:28 pm
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Efel Harmony III
- Coal Size/Type: Nut/Anthracite
- Other Heating: Propane Boiler
Thanks for the comments. I've burned lots of pea and nut. For me, nut is harder to start. Pea has more surface area per unit volume of coal. More volatile gasses available to burn off at time of starting. Nut tends to burn hotter with higher air flow due to the larger spaces between the coal chunks. I haven't had problems starting either nut or pea; I've just found pea easier. I'll definitely share my results with the DS! Agreed, there's not a lot out there on DS; much more on Hitzer.
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- Posts: 37
- Joined: Sat. Dec. 17, 2016 12:28 pm
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Efel Harmony III
- Coal Size/Type: Nut/Anthracite
- Other Heating: Propane Boiler
Amen on not missing the knifing! Thanks!warminmn wrote: ↑Wed. Sep. 22, 2021 11:45 amYou arent going to miss knifing at all or the shallow ash pan of the Efel. Dont shake it quite as much, leaving a little ash on top of the grate and you wont lose as much pea coal. TSC nut coal is often all sizes. Try a couple different brands of nut. I agree, looks good.
- oliver power
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- Location: Near Dansville, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: KEYSTOKER Kaa-2
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93 & 30-95, Vigilant (pre-2310), D.S. 1600 Circulator, Hitzer 254
I've done my share of knifing on a Vermont Castings Vigilant I once had. I know I don't miss knifing
- 11ultra103
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- Location: Wannamakers, Pa
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93, DS Comfortmax 75
- Coal Size/Type: Nut
Very nice stove! I have the DS Comfortmax. I've burned nut and pea in it. I have found that nut is more responsive to air adjustments and pea takes longer to respond to increased or decreased inlet air. I find a mix of both to work really well. But the place where I pick my bulk coal up from only has nut and rice, so nut it is!
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- Coal Size/Type: Nut
- Other Heating: newmac wood/coal combo furnace
What reason do you find the mix is better?11ultra103 wrote: ↑Sat. Oct. 02, 2021 11:18 pmVery nice stove! I have the DS Comfortmax. I've burned nut and pea in it. I have found that nut is more responsive to air adjustments and pea takes longer to respond to increased or decreased inlet air. I find a mix of both to work really well. But the place where I pick my bulk coal up from only has nut and rice, so nut it is!
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- Location: Oneida, N.Y.
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harmon Mark II
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Looking
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- Coal Size/Type: Nut
- Other Heating: newmac wood/coal combo furnace
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All I have had is the Vigilant 2 and slicing did not seem bad after years with a wood stove that had no good way to remove ashes, so I thought it was an improvement. I have seen other stoves online that use the slicer in videos--Stubbies, Glenview classic. So if it works fine without it, why do some stoves need it? Do those like mine have finer grates to lose less coal unburned (but need the slicer)? Is that the reason for it? It would indeed be nice to skip the knifing and just shake externally, but the Vigilant crank is not effective by itself. Maybe the Vigilant has finer grates to allow rice coal as well as nut, therefore tending to clog unless sliced? I do get coal dust all over the house, which no doubt is partly from top-load (which I still prefer). Even with the updraft open and a hot draft, and the visible flamepath up the flue, I am sure I am getting some dust out just because of the raging heat that rises out the top. But I read long ago that no matter what you do, even anthracite coal will put out some dust, so "clean" is a relative term. Maybe a hopper is the most smokeless as you can just pour coal onto unlit coal without opening the firebox itself.oliver power wrote: ↑Wed. Sep. 22, 2021 9:48 pmI've done my share of knifing on a Vermont Castings Vigilant I once had. I know I don't miss knifing
- oliver power
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- Posts: 2970
- Joined: Sun. Apr. 16, 2006 9:28 am
- Location: Near Dansville, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: KEYSTOKER Kaa-2
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93 & 30-95, Vigilant (pre-2310), D.S. 1600 Circulator, Hitzer 254
In my experience, The reciprocating grates of the vigilant are not very good at clearing ash. For that reason, slicing is needed from below.charlesosborne2002 wrote: ↑Sun. Oct. 03, 2021 4:27 pmAll I have had is the Vigilant 2 and slicing did not seem bad after years with a wood stove that had no good way to remove ashes, so I thought it was an improvement. I have seen other stoves online that use the slicer in videos--Stubbies, Glenview classic. So if it works fine without it, why do some stoves need it? Do those like mine have finer grates to lose less coal unburned (but need the slicer)? Is that the reason for it? It would indeed be nice to skip the knifing and just shake externally, but the Vigilant crank is not effective by itself. Maybe the Vigilant has finer grates to allow rice coal as well as nut, therefore tending to clog unless sliced? I do get coal dust all over the house, which no doubt is partly from top-load (which I still prefer). Even with the updraft open and a hot draft, and the visible flamepath up the flue, I am sure I am getting some dust out just because of the raging heat that rises out the top. But I read long ago that no matter what you do, even anthracite coal will put out some dust, so "clean" is a relative term. Maybe a hopper is the most smokeless as you can just pour coal onto unlit coal without opening the firebox itself.
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- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Anthramax XV15
I burnt about 1.5 tons in my DS Anthramax last year. Burnt great! I'd advise keeping the airwash/secondary open all the way after reloading for a few minutes to avoid puffbacks (if you didn't fully go through all the coal in the hopper and are just topping it off you probably don't have to be as careful). Once you see the blue flames you can put it back to half way. Otherwise, II found when going less than that I'd get fly ash deposit on the glass and started to get some etching unfortunately. I've been pretty happy so far! I just have a MPD- given the bimetallic damper for the air intake I'm not sure how much the baro will help, but I'm sure it won't hurt either. Kept 3500+ sq ft new home heated through the bulk of the winter with minimal propane usage.
On a separate note, anyone have any tricks to get etching out of stove glass?
On a separate note, anyone have any tricks to get etching out of stove glass?