New Stove Firing Hot

I bought a used Franco Belge stove last year and it runs very hot when compared to the Victory 700 it replaced. does this seem normal?

I have no instructions and woul appreciate a copy if anyone has them.

Picture of lable.

Hi, I just joined also.

I have used Franco Belge stoves for many years. Your picture looks like very similar to mine.

Use pea coal for the longest burn. If yours is running too hot, check the draft opening. It should be open about 5/16 when cold. When fired it should be fully closed with the little secondary door which is within the large door barely open about 1/8 inch. Adjust the thermostat accordingly. If it still runs too hot then there are probably leaks around the ash pit door. Check the gasket. It is important to not overfire this stove. I have seen the glass buckled from this.

An accessory you will need is a piece of sheet metal to cover the door opening when starting a fire and when cleaning the glass. Franco Belge sold a piece of aluminum for this purpose. It was sized to cover the door opening with a bent over lip on top to hang from the door opening. It also had a little piece riveted on to fit the shaker handle to enable you to handle it when hot. Should be easy to make one yourself. You need this when starting a fire to prevent the glass from being coated with soot from the wood starting fire. It also enables you to put it in place with the coal fire going so you can leave the door open long enough to cool down the glass so you can use a liquid cleaner. To clean the glass when hot use 4o steel wool for a quick clean about once a week and do a better clean once a month. Keeping the glass clean, which is made of Pyrex will help to prevent overheating of the glass. Until you acquire this you can use a piece of aluminum foil to cover the door opening .

Hope this helps

Richard

Yermanjf, welcome aboard. How hot is hot? Do you have a magnetic thermometer that you can put on top center of the side of the stove? Your stove should be able to idel at around 300 and when running hot but not over firing it should be able to hit 600 to 700.

yerminjf, Check your draft door(s) on the right side of stove, just like the man said. You have to do it cold. I would also check the stove sides and back for a CRACK. A fella I worked with had one crack all by itself over a summer. The cast iron just decided to relieve itself.
If the stove has been moved the furnace cement between the side panels and front or back or bottom may have deteriorated and is allowing combustion air in also.
The nice thing about the Belge stove is it's rebuildable. You should be able to get the parts you need, if any, and an operators manual from COAL HEAT Inc., ALBURTIS, Pa. They are in the 610 area code, I can't find the number right now.

When lighting the stove, I double up aluminum foil and fold it over the inside of the door to protect the glass from the wood fire flames. the flames will burn through the first layer of foil.
I clean my glass at the start of the season and middle of season when I shut it down for entire cleaning (removing clinkers from grates and removing back panel and cleanout doors to brush out and vacuum the plenums. You'll need to have new gaskets for the cleanout panels).

Oh, I too get best results using pea coal, I've never fired above 3 1/2 on the thermostat setting and that gives me 350-375 deg on top with a burn time of about 10 1/2 hours, depending on weather conditions, before shaking down. The Belge stove is a little finicky, but once you master it, you'll be very happy.
By the way, if you do tear down the stove for re-sealing or parts rreplacement, the screws are all metric. Replace them with new STAINLESS screws, washers and nuts. (they don't have to be metric, just so they fit proper). Good Luck.