Hitzer 503 Installation Photos

 
tfaath
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Post by tfaath » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 3:26 pm

Hi all,

Just wanted to bring you up to speed on coal consumption. I managed to keep an accurate reading on just how much I consumed... Sunday to Sunday - 125lbs, oil consumption YTD “0 gal”.

We did have some warm days here, and on Saturday, I had the unit shut down (ash pan vents closed) Temps here was in the 60’s. Overall, the inside temp was 68* - 70* on the first floor, very comfortable.

Interestingly, when the temps fell on Sunday, I wanted to avoid the issue / problem I had the previous week when I thought there was something wrong with the unit .. it wasn’t putting out the heat. I opened the ash pan vents 100%, let it run for a good hr. then I shook it down, reloaded and ran for another hr. at 100%. Heat off the unit was fine, blowers kicked on and stayed on. The temp in the house climbed to 70* for the afternoon and evening with an outside temp of 29*.

At this point, I’m happy with the overall performance; I’m still learning and thanks to the advice and help of others here, have managed to keep the mistakes to a minimum.

Tom


 
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JafaDog
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Post by JafaDog » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 5:43 pm

Sounds like you're getting a handle on things, Tom. Good job! So 125 lbs over seven days is like 18 lbs per day. Not bad! I'm averaging 30 lbs. a day or so overall--during our recent cold spell I was using 35-40 lbs. per day. But I like my house a bit warmer. We're usually 74-78* in the living room where the 503 is and 66-68* in the back bedroom. Unless it's really warm, I've been running with the ash pan damper between 1/4 and 1/2 open--sometimes 3/4 to fully open if I want to warm things up faster.

Another thing I've found is that if I'm burning hot and go a long time (more than 10-12 hrs.) between shakedowns, the coal can actually burn up into the hopper. I had to let it go unattended about 14 hrs. last night, and when I got home the glowing coal was up into the hopper chute, maybe 1-2 inches up. Of course after I shook it down, the fresh coal dropped down and there was no longer any burning coal in the chute. I think part of it was that I had the restrictor at 1/2 open and the ash pan dampers at 1/2 open and the wind picked up while I was away. That made it burn faster/hotter than usual. If I was home, I would have closed off the restrictor and set the damper at like 1/4 and shaken sooner. Just a lesson for everyone--if you're burning hard, you need to shake down more often than normal or you might get the burning coal going up into the hopper chute. It certainly wasn't disastrous, but I doubt it's something that should happen often (or at all, if possible).

 
tfaath
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Post by tfaath » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 10:07 pm

Hey Jeff … with you a little further north then I am, I would expect you to burn more then me. Also you keep your house warmer then I do. I’ll bet that if you put some moisture in that air, you’d be able to keep the house cooler.

Regarding the coal burning up into the hopper, I’ve see that situation also. At first I was concerned but I don’t think it has any effect on the overall performance of the unit. My experience is exactly like yours, once you shake it down, the burning coals enter the fire box and are replaced by new coal.

As far as shaking it down twice a day, I’m not doing that. Maybe when it colder and I’m running the unit under a greater load I’ll have to. For the moment, I find that one good shake a day will do the trick. A number of the more experienced guys have said that shaking is more of an art then a science. I believe them, I’m still not sure I’m doing it right, but at the same time, I haven’t put the fire out.

Looks like we’re going to have a relatively mild week down here. I ‘m anxious to see how the unit and the house performs when the temps are consistently in the teens … (I have never in my life looked foreword to colder temps … amazing)

Tom

 
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bear creek burnout
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Post by bear creek burnout » Mon. Nov. 10, 2008 5:35 pm

OK Guys I finally got her installed and up 'n running. My first attempt at a fire on Friday afternoon was not a good one (Chimney Backdraft on a Hitzer 503 Insert ) because of the warm weather so I started a good fire yesterday and haven't looked back since. This stove is a beauty...so well designed and efficient. Now I'm re-reading the threads from all the 503'ers to try to pick up pointers along the way. I just cranked it up a bit because it was a cool 67* when I came home at 4:30. I know I can't heat my whole home with this but I think I can satisfy 2 of 4 zones very comfortably...both of which are on the first floor. Our 2nd floor BR's are cool anyway @ 63* so they don't require much heat but I did notice the oil fired radiators were warm so the 2nd floor required some heat. Anyway...thanks to all who led the way....I'm catching up.
Below are a few pics of before & after....and with 2 of my 3 dogs vying for a place in front of the warm hearth.

Attachments

Before with propane insert.JPG

propane insert

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PB041204.JPG

it's a beauty

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PB091206.JPG

Tessa loves it

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PB091208.JPG

so does Carly

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jjfcars
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Post by jjfcars » Mon. Nov. 10, 2008 8:32 pm

looks good mine will be installed dec. 1st will be in contact I will have alot of questions the dogs look happy

 
tfaath
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Post by tfaath » Tue. Nov. 11, 2008 8:53 am

Hi Bear,

Looks like you have a great installation.. the dogs being happy tells the story.

It will take some time to get the hang of burning coal, I’m still in the learning phase. I just restarted my stove last evening ( we had a warm week and it just didn’t make sense to keep it running and the doors and windows open.). When I woke up this morning, the house was at a comfortable 70*.

I think you’ll be surprised at how much heat you do get. I also suspect that you’re going to have the same issue that I’m concerned that I will have – heat distribution. My first floor is 70* but my bedroom is in the mid 60’s. That’s not a problem now, but when we get into January and February I’m concerned that it’s going to get too cool. Only time will tell.

The Insert looks great, keep us posed as to what you learned and your experience.

Tom

 
VanBuren
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Post by VanBuren » Tue. Nov. 11, 2008 10:47 am

hey Bear'

super nice job on the install - and the four legged thermometers tell you it's working just fine ! Looks like you have similar distance to the floor as I do from the front of stove to the wood i.e. not tons. I need to get a hearth rug although when the stove is not cracnking it doesn't get too warm there anyway.

I've been running mine for a week now with great success. Agreed it was been very warm but that was good exercise to get to know the best combo of ashpan and damper etc. As JafaDog and Tom have both mentioned it takes time to "know the stove". I also used Greg's and Devil's suggestions to poke holes occasionally and that seems to have worked well. I didn't use the blower all week and house got over warm we had windows open.

My first trial a couple of weeks ago failed because I was over keen to close the restrictor plate too much and too soon. this time round I left the restrictor open fully and have closed it to a max of 50% and that works well. I marked on a small piece of wood the distance of fully open and fully closed and divided into 8 segments so I know exactly how much it is in/out from day to day. Last night I had ashpan 50% open and the restrictor 50% open and hallway was 70 this morning and upstairs similar - very comfortable - it was in the lower 30's over night outside. I love the fact that the wall behind the stove gets warm and heats a small restoom on the other side which used to always be cold. It does take time for a house to warm up from cold i.e. the walls , floors etc all need to absorb heat but once they do it's great.

I think as it gets colder I'll have to crank it higher but so far am very pleased with output and burning no oil. The sound of air rushing into the ashpan is very soothing - you know you have good draught. I have learned a great deal in a short time and filling the hopper is somewhat theraputic !

good luck with yours

Van


 
tfaath
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Post by tfaath » Tue. Nov. 11, 2008 11:49 am

Hey Van,

You made me laugh.. “filling the hopper is somewhat therapeutic” I couldn’t have said it better. I know EXACTLY what you’re saying.

With the warm weather of last week, I let my fire go out. On Monday evening I heard that oil burning contraption in the basement start up .. and it wasn’t 30 min before I started to load the coal and get the 503 going again. How sweet it is to watch the oil trucks drive by and know that I’ve kicked the habit.

I also agree with you that once the house “core” temp comes up to speed, it will be easier to throttle the stove and keep the house at a more even temp. This morning, I had to throttle it back again, temp was up over 71* and climbing.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that previously, I don’t think I was shaking the stove down enough. When I restarted it this time and obviously had removed all the ash and started it with fresh coal, I noticed that the blowers when left on auto, ran all night long they were not cycling on and off. As I run it more this week, I’m going to pay a lot more attention to shaking and making sure that I get a lot more of the ash out of the fire box.

Bear had a very handsome installation. I’m sure he’s going to enjoy the heck out of the unit.

Tom

 
VanBuren
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Post by VanBuren » Thu. Nov. 13, 2008 10:08 am

made me laugh.. “filling the hopper is somewhat therapeutic”
yes indeed Tom - it's just one of those very rare 'pleasant chores' !

here's a question for the 503 class of '08 and beyond, my ashpan door was super hot when I started the fire over a week ago but now it rarely gets hot even though the rest of the stove further up is hot and putting out decent heat. Is this normal ? I suspect that the layer of ash is insulating heat from going down even though air clearly gets through it to crank up the fire on top. If this is not normal then it would mean I'll have to shake it down a lot harder to get rid of a lot more ash unless there is something else I am missing.

look forward to any thoughts many thanks in advance !

Van

 
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bear creek burnout
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Post by bear creek burnout » Thu. Nov. 13, 2008 11:03 am

I suspect that the layer of ash is insulating heat from going down even though air clearly gets through it to crank up the fire on top.
Hi VB.....
That is very normal. The layer of ash insulates the grates and thereby cools down the lower portion of the stove. If you place your thermometer between the 2 doors you'll notice the temps may increase slightly after you shake down the grates because the layer of insulating ash has fallen through to the ash pan and a new & hotter layer takes it's place....only to cool to ash in time....and so on....
Man....ya gotta love this stove!

 
tfaath
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Post by tfaath » Thu. Nov. 13, 2008 1:41 pm

Van, Bear,

I’ve had that exact experience. Bear you are 100% correct. I corrected that situation by shaking it down more aggressively, to the point of getting some (not much) un burnt coal.

I also had my first “puff” today. Was very interesting, the unit has been idling all day long, I opened the ash pan door to change out the pans. I was open for quiet some time and now that I think about it, I violated the “not having a visible flame rule”. I actually had replaced the pan, closed the door and was looking through the window when … PUFF I had blue flames all over the top of the coal bed. The stove was completely closed up and absolutely nothing happened. The only thing that happened was that I was surprised.

Tom

 
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bear creek burnout
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Post by bear creek burnout » Thu. Nov. 13, 2008 2:01 pm

Tom....if you want a hotter fire then shake it down to remove more ash. I think a good rule of thumb is to shake it (or rock the grates) until you see burning embers but not to the point of unburned coal. If you get to the unburned coal layer each time you're exposing your grates to much higher temps and possibly warping them over time. You need that layer of ash. That's why it's a good idea to save ash for those times that you have to restart or fire up your stove after letting it burn out. The ash is a protective layer.
As far as the "puff"....you shook the grates so that there was enough air getting through to burn off the gasses. No harm and it sure is pretty.

 
VanBuren
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Post by VanBuren » Thu. Nov. 13, 2008 10:03 pm

congrats Tom on the puff back - haven't had that yet ! Bear thanks for your thoughts also.

so once again I killed my fire. Today was warm in the 50's and damp with rain. I came home and stove was struggling. I gave it air and it glowed but not all over then I shook it down and added my standard 1/3 bag of coal which usually takes and then I add another 1/3 bag - have been doing that for 10 days straight. It was all black on just the first layer I added and I never got to second base alas - it just never came back to life. Will leave it now till sunday as it is going to be warm here for a few days. Was able to salvage some of the new coal I added - a small consolation I guess

Can I assume that in colder weather that a scenario like this will have better draught and so reviving a dead fire will be easier ? Anything obvious that I may have done wrong ?

even though it is warm I already miss the radiant heat of the stove ! :(

Van

 
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Post by LsFarm » Thu. Nov. 13, 2008 10:20 pm

It is best to NOT shake a weak fire, you need to open the ash door and get the fire 'reved up' and making lots of heat,, then add some fresh coal and let it get burning, THEN shake down the ashes and add fresh coal to the fire.

Shaking down a dying fire is sure to kill the fire..

Greg L.

 
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Post by VanBuren » Thu. Nov. 13, 2008 10:38 pm

Greg

thanks for speedy reply - so that was my mistake then - I'm living proof of it being exactly as you say !

what about the temp and dampness - that likley had an affect on the fire i.e. to make it weak to begin with ? Is this less likley in colder weather ?

thanks

Van


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