Condensation and Sulfur Smell Inside Hopper

for about a week I have been getting condinsation and had bad sulfur smell inside my hopper, not sure what is causing this
or what I should do. the coal that I have bee putting in is not wet. I have a leisure line back vent stove any help would be great.
thanks
shawn

You may be losing draft. The longer your unit runs the more flyash builds up in various places, most notably the smokepipe. It may be time to clean it?

Sounds like a draft problem allowing the gasses to back up into the stove. You need to check all the flues, stove pipe, and internal stove passages for fly ash blockage ASAP. Could also be ash and coal fines buildup under the grate plate not allowing proper air flow for combustion.

How long have you had the stove? When was the last time it was cleaned out? Do you have a barometric damper? Has it been knocked out of adjustment?

You've come to the right place for help!

this will be the second season never had this problem before, I have not cleaned the stove since I have got, have burned about three tons of coal throught it. I had just opened the draft to see if this helps. the smeel of sufer is bad throught out the house. have the draft set at 3

Shut the stove off.

When it cools enough, dismantle the pipes. Inspect the chimney.

Do you have a CO detector with a digital read out for levels.

You should be very scared about keeping that stove lit until the you are sure the poisonous deadly gasses are going up the chimney.

i am going to turn the stove off and let it cool down and then inspect, I had opened the draft and the water does not seem to be going away, last night I was woke by the co detector going off
this is a shame for this stove only being used one season. I will have to contact the people from leisure line tomorrow

You should be cleaning your stove and pipes out at least once at the end of each heating season. If you're burning a lot of coal, mid season cleaning is needed. If you are using a power venter I believe the recommendation is to clean it and the flue pipes out (or at least check them for build up) after every ton of coal burned (and at the end of the season). This is crucial for both maintaining proper draft and for protecting your equipment from corrosion during the off-season.

Fly ash will build up in the pipes, the venting tunnels of the stove, and the blower of a power vent unit, causing the strength of the draft (be it via motorized vent or natural chimney draft) to diminish over time. Adjusting the barometric damper will not fix the problem, at best it will only mask the problem for a short period of time.

Also, make sure you have at least one working carbon monoxide detector installed. This safety device is a must for any coal stove installation (or really any heating appliance), however with poor draft comes increased risk for CO infiltration into the house.

EDIT: You posted while I was typing. You are right to shut it down and check things out. It is good you had the CO detector installed. With your LL stove there should have been a manual and a DVD supplied which detail the cleaning and maintenance of the stove (and the power vent unit, if you're using one). If in doubt call your stove dealer for help or references to local chimney sweeps that can help you out.

the chimmy is new with the stove so i'm sure that it will need to be cleaned, I have a clean out on the chimmy, that I will clean out with a shop vac, should I take apart the stove pipe and clean all of that also?
from the condinsation from the past week there is surface rust on the hopper lid, should this be painted with the none
rusting paint?
thanks
shawn

safblw wrote:the chimmy is new with the stove so i'm sure that it will need to be cleaned, I have a clean out on the chimmy, that I will clean out with a shop vac, should I take apart the stove pipe and clean all of that also?
from the condinsation from the past week there is surface rust on the hopper lid, should this be painted with the none
rusting paint?
thanks
shawn

I doubt you'll have anything in the chimney much to clean with a stoker if you're burning anthracite. Do you have a manometer?

If the stove has good draft, you won't have condensation in the hopper and therefore, no rust. Use StoveBrite paint on the lid.

safblw wrote: this is a shame for this stove only being used one season. I will have to contact the people from leisure line tomorrow

Fly ash will accumulate on any horizontal plane such as stove pipe and/or in the bottom of your chimney or in the unit itself. The pipes leading from your stove to the chimney should be removed at the end of the season (or whatever the manufacturer recommends), not only for cleaning them out but this will also extend the life of them. Same goes for the stove itself, check the manual for specific instructions on what should be done to the unit itself. You should clean any ash out of it too, if you don't it will become damp and hasten the deterioration of any metal that it's in contact with. Any accumulation of ash in the bottom of the chimney should be removed too. The vertical part of your chimney should be inspected, use a mirror to look up it and make sure there are no obstructions. Generally the chimney itself will never need any maintenance except for cleaning out the accumulated ash on the bottom.

Coal is not a set it and forget it heating solution, you must maintain your unit otherwise you are putting your life and anyone else's life at risk that lives in the house. How much depends but overall it going to require a few hours each year, some need it once a month others can go a whole season. I believe Leisure Line recommends once a month. The fly ash is just the way it is and will occur on any coal burning appliance.

What size coal? Rice or Buckwheat?

Definately some type of draft problem, check your baro setting or request the Manometer Loaner program to check your draft accurately.

safblw wrote:i am going to turn the stove off and let it cool down and then inspect, I had opened the draft and the water does not seem to be going away, last night I was woke by the co detector going off
this is a shame for this stove only being used one season. I will have to contact the people from leisure line tomorrow

In the above post you wrote that you 'had opened the draft' Please explain this. ? Please describe what you moved, or adjusted to 'open up the draft'. This may be part of the problem.

From your earlier statement that you had the draft 'set at three' then you have a Barometric damper? with the swinging door with an adjustable weight on it?? Then if you opened the door this reduces or eliminates the draft in the stove itself, The flapper door on a barometric damper would need to stay closed to increase the draft in the stove. You need to set the barometric damper with a manometer. We have a loaner manometer program.

Have you had a chance to clean out the chimney flue pipes yet.??

I have a question as a newbie. Would it be possible for someone to burn enough anthracite coal in one season in a stoker to create enough flyash in the pipes to reduce the draft even a little? I would think you'd need a pretty significant accumulation of ash in a 6" pipe to reduce the small amount of draft required to run one of these stoves. Maybe I'm wrong.

av8r wrote:I have a question as a newbie. Would it be possible for someone to burn enough anthracite coal in one season in a stoker to create enough flyash in the pipes to reduce the draft even a little? I would think you'd need a pretty significant accumulation of ash in a 6" pipe to reduce the small amount of draft required to run one of these stoves. Maybe I'm wrong.

On my hand fired I just vacuumed 2" of ash from the horoz. pipe running to the thimble, 4" out of the ash door at the bottom of the chimney, and the tee at the stove connection was 1/3 full of fly ash. Every time you shake the fire on a hand fired you send the fly ash into the pipes. I realize this is a hand fired issue. As far as the stoker, I can't say, I don't have the stoker ready yet.

Depends on the coal and your chimney, Yes, it might take a lot to build up in a 6" pipe, but using using the numbers.
Quick calc. (Area = Pi * Diam)

6" pipe = 6.0" x 3.14 = 18.8 Sq. In. Area

With Ash build-up of say 1/2" (now the pipe ID will be 5.5")
5.5" x 3.14 = 17.27 Sq. In. Area

That's about 10% loss in Area.

I just checked and vacuumed my pipe and had probably 1/2-3/4" thick in the horizontal run out of the stove and all around the ash pan, I have probably only burn maybe 1-1.5 ton so far....you would be surprized if you don't check it often. I was!!