WonderCoal by US Stove Company, Coal Not Staying Lit

Hey Watty good luck with the US stove product. I"ve got a Hot Blast furnace and its marginal at best. Should have done more checking before I bought.

What do you mean by banking the coal? How and when do ya do it? Whats the benefit?

Don

Normally after shaking you would rake some portion of the fireboxe's existing charge toward the loading door filling the front of the firebox to it's top and leaving a "bank" towards the rear of the firebox where there is a depression. This is where your fresh coal charge would go. This keeps the fire alive from the bottom to the top (a live fire on the surface) when you put your fresh load in. Anthracite needs to burn from the ash bed to the surface to stay alive. This does two things, one it prevents a buildup of gases from the fresh charge that may pop or even have a small explosion when it finally goes off, and two, prevents you from smothering the fire. Shaking and adding fresh coal evenly across the fire will present small problems in some units, big trouble in others and some may experiance no trouble at all (the least likley scenario). Every unit has it's own nuance, but as a general rule banking properly will make you experiance a lot more enjoyable.
Anthracite gives more than most fuels, it is not very forgiving

So lets make sure I got this. If the fire is low, I should open the ash door and let the fire build. Then shake, then bank and add fresh coal.

Don

Correct, a cold or dull fire will usually die or give you some grief minimum if shaken in that state. The coals should have a vigourus glow (hot) before shaking, by opening the ash door you can get a huge draft going to wake up what is left. Shaking then knocks down the ash and the fire can be banked. If the fire is not hot the ash will just will just lay there and snuff whatever you've got left. A fire that is already roaring would not need this process, but after a 12 hour burn your fire is beyond it's peak and on it's way out, it may need a little freshener to wake it up before loading. If you are well beyond that and losing the fire you may be able to save it by the same process. It will take a longer time to ramp up and you may have to load just a little at a time like a new fire, but you can usually recover it if there is a little life left in it. I have a stack thermometer and generally like to see 50-75 degrees rise before I shake. That should take a minute or two at the most for a healthy fire, if it takes much longer the fire is not happy. You can pretty much do anything to a roaring coal fire and not hurt it, but the units we use to heat homes really never ask Anthracite for that. Generally speaking these units are at the bottom of the scale and run the stuff fairly low temps compared to what it can really do which is the problem. Anthracite wants to burn hot, the colder it is the less it likes to be played with. Don't forget, it takes about 900F just to light it, so it is happier at 2000-2200F than it is at 900-1500F where we run them.

It’s not like turning up a thermostat to get warmer, but the low gas or oil bills should get your wife more apt to learn. I know mine is catching on just fine with our hand fired coal stove. I’m hesitant to teach my wife the damper control, and set her up with just 10 lbs of coal to load on, not to smother the fire. She knows the ash door and heat spring controls well.

Regarding banking. One way to bank the fire is push your coals off the center until you can see the existing red hot coals. Push your fresh coals towards the back, the sides, and the front (like a volcano). This will give you more height of coal, and a longer burn. You’ll get blue flames pretty fast in the center, so you don’t have to stoke it hard to catch.

coal_kid wrote:Regarding banking. One way to bank the fire is push your coals off the center until you can see the existing red hot coals. Push your fresh coals towards the back, the sides, and the front (like a volcano). This will give you more height of coal, and a longer burn. You’ll get blue flames pretty fast in the center, so you don’t have to stoke it hard to catch.

Anything that works, it's still banking properly because it provides for a live fire on the surface. The appliance will let you know what it likes. I'll guess that you have a stove with a fairly square firebox making your procedure work well. Mine is a boiler with a long narrow firebox which would not be as receptive to your procedure. What I described is basically the beginners guide.

Hi Watty,

I see it's below zero in your neck of the woods, how's the Wonder Coal performing? A buddy of mine is wanting to buy one of them and I told him I'd check with you and see how your's was running. A big difference though -- he will be burning bitum.

Randy

Hey Watty
I had one of those stoves. Shaking it down is an art the wife could never get the hang of it . They heat nice I just got tired of loading it and shaking it down. Bought a keystoker by the way I used nut coal in mine.
tom

Hi Whatty, and all you other Wonder Stove users....my question is pretty simple. I have no interest in coal....I do however wish to buy a Wonder Stove Model #2727....and use it strictly as a wood burner. Is this a good idea? I have heated with wood most of my life, but have never had experience with this type of firebox....Any replies will be greatly appreciated! Stay Warm, from 0' Michigan.

Hello Goaliebart,
All the hand fed coal stoves I've ever seen can burn wood. Look at this link.**Broken Link(s) Removed**

The model is 2827 in this manual but I think it is probably pretty close to the model you have and if it is, it will burn wood just fine.