Help: Super Magnum Coal Stoker

Titleist, and others, please help. Please see pictures. I had a sulfur odor from the hopper but now have closed the combustion fan restriction plate about halfway. It has helped. If I place a digital CO2 detector in the hopper and close the lid, still it reads zero. When the hopper is nearly empty, I believe I can detect a very, very minimal odor if I put my nose in the hopper. It could just be the coal; I don't know. My wife said she can't smell it. I'd like to know if most folks with this stove keep the restriction plate at halfway.

I have a new house (1890 farmhouse) in Maine and a brand new, Legacy Super Magnum Stoker. It's connected to chimney recently cleaned and that worked like a champ with the wood stove I removed. I burned an Alaska Channing II elsewhere for decades and I loved it. I've moved to Maine now, however, and I purchased this Legacy stove for its beauty and relative quiet operation. Having smelled sulfur and seen condensation in the hopper, I came to this forum. My Dwyer 25 ii is on its way, per Titleist's suggestion to "Thriller." I've tried my digital Klein manometer, without success. Operator error, I'm certain; however, I'll spend the dough on the Dwyer to speak in a relatable way to those here. The stove is level, and I have now closed the combustion fan plate to approx half closed, as mentioned. Blaschak coal is warmed to room temp and is now dry and warm from storing indoors. I have no condensation problem. Chimney is cleaned by a pro in the area, but coal is nearly deemed taboo here, so no pro can help with testing and info. I've not added a barometric damper, but I have one. The dealer said don't bother with it, as too much draft does not appear to be an issue. Please see the pics and let me know if most folks run with this plate partially closed. I worry that the stove might start smelling of gas again if temps change outdoors or something. I need to be confident that this new, expensive beast isn't going to kill us. Thanks!

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3430915/

A study on SOx odor detection ..

Your CO2/CO detector will not measure SOx..I assume you use it to check for leaks. Not a bad idea.

Aside from the smell, it should be basically harmless from what you described.

But still, who wants that odor.

If your nose is true and gasses are coming out, you have a leak. And a leak from the system into the room vs. visa-versa which you would not detect.

My first guess is that the hopper seal is poor. Others may chime in.

If you can only smell it 6" near the stove, stop putting your nose 6" from the stove.

Thanks man.

davidmcbeth3 wrote: ↑

Wed. Feb. 08, 2023 3:00 pm

stop putting your nose 6" from the stove.

Huck wrote: ↑

Mon. Feb. 13, 2023 1:08 pm

Thanks man.

All fixed then ?

I do medical advising too

davidmcbeth3 wrote: ↑

Mon. Feb. 13, 2023 4:21 pm

All fixed then ?

I do medical advising too

I thought you said advertising.

waytomany?s wrote: ↑

Mon. Feb. 13, 2023 6:15 pm

I thought you said advertising.

You need glasses.

Welcome. Nice looking house and stove installation. Most of time odors & hopper condensation is due to excessive combustion air, and/or poor draft - both can result in gasses getting pushed back into the hopper. I think there is a good chance you have already solved the problem (with the restrictor plate) and are smelling the coal in self when you sniff inside the hopper, but your manometer will allow you to verify this. You will need to measure the draft at the breach, and over the fire. The installation manual has detail on how to do this, see page 17: https://legacystoves.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/ ... er_Mag.pdf

Your stove manufacturer recommends the use of a baro for chimneys over 15' high. If your chimney is even close to that and you already have the baro, I would install it. Also consider make-up air. Normally it is not an issue in a 100 year old house, but if the draft checks out fine and you still think there are odors around the stove, try cracking a window in the stove area.

Hi, can I tack on a problem with my Harman Stoker? Mine was running perfectly and started making a weird burn a few days ago. I turned it off, did a little cleaning, and verified combustion air fan was working and air was coming through the grates. I plugged it back in a let the stove 'prime' pushing the coal over the grates l and re-started the fire. It's still not burning correctly and I'm not sure what else to check since the feed and fans are good and it happened suddenly.

I did reduce the feed rate after I took the picture because coals were on the edge.

Are you sure it's getting enough air? Doesn't look like it.

Thanks for the info, Rob, and for the compliment.

That's a super helpful response! I'll check on these things.

Huck

Rob R. wrote: ↑

Tue. Feb. 14, 2023 7:00 am

Welcome. Nice looking house and stove installation. Most of time odors & hopper condensation is due to excessive combustion air, and/or poor draft - both can result in gasses getting pushed back into the hopper. I think there is a good chance you have already solved the problem (with the restrictor plate) and are smelling the coal in self when you sniff inside the hopper, but your manometer will allow you to verify this. You will need to measure the draft at the breach, and over the fire. The installation manual has detail on how to do this, see page 17: https://legacystoves.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/ ... er_Mag.pdf

Your stove manufacturer recommends the use of a baro for chimneys over 15' high. If your chimney is even close to that and you already have the baro, I would install it. Also consider make-up air. Normally it is not an issue in a 100 year old house, but if the draft checks out fine and you still think there are odors around the stove, try cracking a window in the stove area.

Gave it a good cleaning and verified some other things.
-all the grate holes were open
-the clean out lever under the fire box is shut and not bent in a way that lets air out
- the combustion fan is seated properly with restrictor plate 50% closed
- I can feel air coming up through grates

I considered plugging the combustion fan into a regular outlet instead of the verti-flow controller, but the cord is only 22" and I don't want the chance of voltage drop from an extension cord as another issue. I'm wondering if my combustion fan is just starting to go? It hasn't been replaced in at least 10 years. Got this upon restart

Is the combustion fan clean? You can get a reduced flow from build up on the fan.

I would pull the fan off and blow it out with compressed air. Then bench test it with 120v.

Thanks, I pulled the fan off, cleaned, and tested it this morning. Plugged in the regular outlet it works perfectly. Plugged into the verti flow control it starts a bit slower but comes up to the same sounding speed as the bench test. Working on restarting the fire now.

Is the exhaust path clear? The first pic you posted the coal bed looked really thick. Is that normal?