How to heat a big house with Hand Fired Coal Stoves

Yep-----every now & again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hoytman wrote: ↑

Thu. Dec. 15, 2022 8:25 pm

???didactic, Fred? Really????? Coming from you

Did you ever measure that ash pan for me?

ColdHouse wrote: ↑

Thu. Dec. 15, 2022 7:51 pm

Is an insert placed atop a few bricks sitting in a room an insert or a free standing stove?

See my pic avatar .. most fireplaces (FP) accommodate the 503..I would assume that the 503 if placed outside a FP then it should be placed upon some sort of structure to have it off the flooring. To get the max heat.

Now mine in a FP at bottom has temps of 90F on the left side and 125F on the right side (5" from bottom) . I do note a similar temp difference on the fan outlet covers and also noted that the right side is burning hotter than the left (likely reason)(the 503 is kinda split into a left/right side in firebox due to 2 grates). Mine's running on medium burn. Maybe I should put some aluminum fins on the bottom to improve the efficiency.

So I looked into the fans on my downstairs stove just a minute ago. I remember last year unplugging them after noting the smell of burning electric wires. I assumed it was the plastic coated wire had melted. Well I took it apart and found that it was actually a crimp on connector on the thermostat that runs the automatic feature. That appears to have melted. the bottom of the stove where the wiring is doesn't get very hot. Also noted was my wire repair was only on the cord side. I didn't have to mess with the wiring going to the fan on the other side of the stove. So I just simply disconnected the wiring eliminating the automatic feature. When I put it back together I made sure that the wiring was tucked into the bottom of the fan area housing where there is plenty of room and it is not hot. seems to work fine. Time will tell.

Sweet! Nice work

I’m running the same setup with a hybrid water heater next to my stove. Basically free hot water all winter, and free dehumidifying in the summer. Having one near a stove it the absolute ideal setup. Figured mine paid itself off in a few months.

Any special maintenance on a hybrid?

Scottaw wrote: ↑

Sun. Dec. 25, 2022 11:46 am

I’m running the same setup with a hybrid water heater next to my stove. Basically free hot water all winter, and free dehumidifying in the summer. Having one near a stove it the absolute ideal setup. Figured mine paid itself off in a few months.

Pictures or it didn’t happen.

I have the same stove and follow roughly the same procedure with two exceptions:

1. I don’t push quite as much coal down with the poker while filling. Almost, but not quite.

2. When it’s really cold, I tend the stove twice a day. When it’s 30 or above, I tend it only once.

Like you, I store my coal where it’s warm and dry, so I don’t see wild swings in temperature while tending my 503.

I sometimes think I could burn ice cubes in my 503 it burns so well.