Min Max Rate on Coal-Trol to Make House Warmer?

I have my max set at 55..and the minimum at 15 (it wont go above 15). I am trying to adjust stuff right so my girls rooms down the hall are warmer...What am I doing wrong?

FIRST, How is your stove setup? Attached to heating system? Where is it? etc....

MIN is for IDLE, when NOT calling for heat. Increasing this will keep the stove warmer when not calling for heat, but also waste coal when idling. Normally 6-10 is a good setpoint.

MAX is for MAX burn, Only adjust a couple points at a time. BUT, You need to check the FIRE so you are NOT pushing hot coals off the grate as you increase the MAX numbers. If your FR=99 and you are pushing hot coals off, you need to back it down a couple points. Feed Rate will keep increasing until the Temp. is reached, it keeps bumping it as it starts to reach the set temp. It is automatic, there is no adjustment for FR. It adjusts based on the setpoint, room temp, time, etc....

What your Thermostat set at and what the FR (Feed Rate)? if you hit the left button real quick you can see it will say FR XX (where xx is 1-99). Where is your thermostat located in relation to your heat source?

Only make a couple degree change at a time. Don't got from 65 to 75 and expect it to heat up right away.
COAL is slow to respond, when you make changes, only a couple points at a time. Wait at least an hour or so and check the settings, fire, etc.....then adjust as necessary.

ok I have a modified A-Frame house (custom so to speak). The stove is a Hitzer 608 stoker in my Dining room at the front of the house. My girls rooms are down the hall way. my max I just lowered a few to 50%...my FR right now at 4:44 pm is 41. Is a day temp of 70 then a night temp of 74 to big of a swing...if not what time should make the night time for since coal takes a while to react? I get home at 4-4:30

Well, probalby at least an hour before you want to be at the temp, A couple degrees at a time, maybe go 70-72 first, then when you get home, bump it up a couple more, then it should be warmer after an hour or more depending....you might have to play with it.

I usually just leave mine at a set temp. But, that's me.

Hi robb, just want to say that IMO the single most important step in setting up your Coal-Trol is the initial feed rate Min/Max settings and I think it worthwhile to dedicate a good part of a day (if not a whole day and night) to get them right... Lets face it, the stove can't work at its best possible if it doesn't know how much or how little it can feed your particular stove/setup... All things with the Coal-Trol revolve around feed rate which is then translated into percentage or 'Firing Rate', so again, spend some time getting those settings as right as possible from the start before you ask the stove to heat your space and expect it to do it well at that...

I spent 2 whole days and nights getting these settings to optimum for my particular setup, not because it took that much adjustment, but instead because I wanted the stove to 'settle in' to a Feed Rate for a long period of time after each adjustment... I first set Max Feed Rate, took about an entire day/night of monitoring, maybe once every 15 minutes for the first hour to get an idea of where the fire was on the grate, too much/too little maybe bump it up 2 maybe down 2 then once I felt that I had hit the mark, I left it run in Max for the rest of the day and night to be sure it was 'right on'... Then I did the same for Min Feed Rate, spending time on it the second day until I had it just right... Now I sit back and enjoy, in fact I kinda miss not having to make adjustments, and I'm not retired nor do I work frrom home, I'm on the road working 6 nights a week, so I may make it sound like a huge time consuming task but it isn't at all... You'll thank yourself for spending some time on these settings later... Again, once it knows what it can do with your stove the rest is just setting the times/temps and sit back and enjoy the warmth!!!

I think it foolish of anyone to purchase a Coal-Trol as an add-on or purchase a factory equipped stove and think that they can just plug it in and watch it go (not at all saying about you, just saying in general)... I do feel that the Coal-Trol IS the greatest thing going and when setup properly, simply put, works exactly like they say it does...

Just my 2 cents/experience with this great product...

Hope it is of some value to you and your setup...

Murdoc

Adjusting min and max is not going to help move heat around your house. If you find the temp is maintained well in the main area, but things are cold on the perimeter rooms then you either need to use a higher setpoint (and live with the hotter main room for the comfort in the far rooms) or work on getting air to move around into those far rooms better through use of fans. If those rooms have drafty windows or poor insulation on the exterior walls, those kinds of issues will be hard to overcome with circulation adjustments. While people here can help you determine what fan/duct setup can help you, you are probably best served by consulting a heating technician or a contractor with heating/cooling experience, particularly with older central stove type setups.

You may find you only need a small box fan to help move air down the hallway or toward the room. You may need to cut a hole in the top and bottom of a door to the room to let air circulate with the house during the night. Maybe a hole above the door or high on the wall with a small fan in it to help exchange air. There are lots of ways to do things without a whole lot of hassle, but it has to be thought out first so a mess isn't made in a trial-and-error process.