Hitzer 503 on the Floor?

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ColdHouse
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Post by ColdHouse » Sun. Oct. 24, 2021 9:48 am

Hello,
I have a Hitzer 503 that is inside a fireplace but years ago I purchased another one that was brand new and never used. It has been sitting in my garage and I am wanting to put it in my finished basement where I currently have a Glacier Bay wood/coal stove. I think the 503 is much more user friendly than the Glacier Bay. Is there any reason I cannot just set this on a pad and not have it inside a fire place?

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Sun. Oct. 24, 2021 10:03 am

I'm personally thinkin if your piping is good, there should be no reason not to. Just an old farmers thoughts. :) If ya been burnin a bunch of wood in the glacier--clean the pipe out real good!!!

 
ColdHouse
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Post by ColdHouse » Sun. Oct. 24, 2021 11:18 am

I have never burned anything but coal in the Glacier Bay. That Hitzer 503 is not bad looking either. I wouldn't think the bottom of the Hitzer gets very warm either. Furthermore I would think more heat would be produced because except for the exhaust, the entire surface would radiate the room.

 
ColdHouse
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Post by ColdHouse » Sun. Oct. 24, 2021 11:21 am

It has been a few years since I have burned coal so my memory is a little foggy. What do you think is the least amount of consumption I can use in that 503? In other words what do you think is the least amounts in pounds of coal I can burn in that stove while maintaining a fire? The lower level doesn't require as much to heat as the main floor. Obviously I don't think it is wasted because it would find its way upstairs but I wouldn't want it too hot down there.


 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Sun. Oct. 24, 2021 2:22 pm

In weather like this--34* here on the hill this AM---52* now--I'm tending 1X daily & topping off with a lil over a HOD full--20 lbs. --- in the dead of winter I tend 2X daily & topping off with approx 40 lbs. Ya might want to think on a couple floor vents.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Oct. 24, 2021 3:12 pm

I have a 503 insert. It's in a fireplace, but I don't see why you couldn't convert it to a free standing stove easy enough. You could set it on masonry blocks or weld together a nice stand with some angle iron possibly.

 
Hoytman
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Post by Hoytman » Mon. Oct. 25, 2021 3:24 pm

My Hitzer 354 is in its own legs. The stove is sitting on on 4” of concrete hearth. I never run my stove above 350F measured on the front of the stove and above the doors.

At that running temp and an empty ash pan in the stove the hearth directly under the stove can get good and warm. Not hot, but good and warm. Don’t recall ever taking a temp reading directly under the stove but I will when I get it up and running.

My wood stove...the hearth under the stove (when it was in place) did not get warm because cool air is drawn in under the ash lip under the fire box floor. It had a hollow space for air under the firebox floor.

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Mon. Oct. 25, 2021 4:24 pm

Good Lord--just some bricks around the corners/edges would work just fine.


 
ColdHouse
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Post by ColdHouse » Sun. Oct. 31, 2021 5:53 pm

I bought this stove several years ago from a dealer for $400 brand new never used. A mouse had eaten some wires. It had a gold door finish which was not pretty and was pitted and rusted. I sandblasted the gold off and never painted the stove. Obviously the cost of oil has made coal burning advantageous once again so I dug it out of storage, cleaned it, rewired and painted it. This stove will be much better than the glacier bay that used to be in this room. Not having to open the door to fill is a big plus.
IMG_6128.jpeg
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IMG_7106.jpeg

This is the stove I had there

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ColdHouse
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Post by ColdHouse » Sun. Dec. 05, 2021 10:57 am

If anybody ever rewires a stove it would be wise to pay attention to the insulation on the wires. I had fixed some wires and there is now a short. My best guess is the replacement wires I used that had plastic insulation were not the correct wire to use. I would think the plastic coating melted and left bare wires that could easily short out. I have simply disabled the fans for now because I don't need them in this location anyway. I just wanted to pass along the info that if you rewire inside a stove make sure your insulation is rated for heat.

 
Hounds51
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Post by Hounds51 » Sun. Dec. 05, 2021 11:08 am

ColdHouse wrote:
Sun. Dec. 05, 2021 10:57 am
If anybody ever rewires a stove it would be wise to pay attention to the insulation on the wires. I had fixed some wires and there is now a short. My best guess is the replacement wires I used that had plastic insulation were not the correct wire to use. I would think the plastic coating melted and left bare wires that could easily short out. I have simply disabled the fans for now because I don't need them in this location anyway. I just wanted to pass along the info that if you rewire inside a stove make sure your insulation is rated for heat.
Great thing to keep in mind. Use heat resistant wire with fiberglass insulation wrapped around it, or if you can get it use nuclear rated wire. But keep it away from the stove body as it will melt.

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