Saying Goodbye to Our Glenwood :(

 
specialtg
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Posts: 31
Joined: Mon. Apr. 03, 2017 4:19 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Glenwood Oak #116

Post by specialtg » Fri. Jan. 05, 2018 1:32 pm

Yes, you are right I am not giving up!!!!! I love this stove! Love love love it! No we don't have a hot tub and the winds are gusting 35mph+ today so naked is NOT a good idea! I am actually pretty impressed with the heat distribution thru the house. The common areas (kitchen and living room) are nice and toasty 70 degrees right now (wind chill is -15) and not using any propane or electric heat! I am telling the rest of the housemates when they get here to NOT TOUCH THE STOVE without me supervising. They mess with the vents and stir it - because they are wood burners. NO TOUCH!
Going to hang a sign as we speak....I have had the coal going perfectly for the past 24 hours....

Thinking I need to chat to Wilson about that back pipe though.

 
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Hambden Bob
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Posts: 8535
Joined: Mon. Jan. 04, 2010 10:54 am
Location: Hambden Twp. Geauga County,Ohio
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman 1998 Magnum Stoker
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Blower Model Coal Chubby 1982-Serial#0097
Coal Size/Type: Rice-A-Roni ! / Nut
Other Heating: Pro-Pain Forced Air

Post by Hambden Bob » Fri. Jan. 05, 2018 1:38 pm

You have Experienced a True Epiphany,My Friend ! As Our Friend Sting,and Many Others here have stated :

"As You Burn,So You Shall Learn" !!

Carry On,Cash And Carry and of course,Our Old Pal,Harry Carey !!

 
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Sunny Boy
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Posts: 25559
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Fri. Jan. 05, 2018 1:56 pm

specialtg wrote:
Fri. Jan. 05, 2018 1:32 pm
Yes, you are right I am not giving up!!!!! I love this stove! Love love love it! No we don't have a hot tub and the winds are gusting 35mph+ today so naked is NOT a good idea! I am actually pretty impressed with the heat distribution thru the house. The common areas (kitchen and living room) are nice and toasty 70 degrees right now (wind chill is -15) and not using any propane or electric heat! I am telling the rest of the housemates when they get here to NOT TOUCH THE STOVE without me supervising. They mess with the vents and stir it - because they are wood burners. NO TOUCH!
Going to hang a sign as we speak....I have had the coal going perfectly for the past 24 hours....

Thinking I need to chat to Wilson about that back pipe though.
Just tell them that whatever they are tempted to do with a wood stove, DO THE OPOSITE with a coal stove. If they still get that wood burner's craving to fiddle with the stove to feel warm, ..... hand them some wool and knitting needles. After they've made a nice sweater it'll be too hot to go near the stove. ;)

Paul


 
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keegs
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Posts: 678
Joined: Sat. Dec. 24, 2016 7:38 pm
Location: Bridgewater, ME
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby (main floor)
Coal Size/Type: nut

Post by keegs » Fri. Jan. 05, 2018 6:27 pm

:clap:
specialtg wrote:
Fri. Jan. 05, 2018 1:32 pm
Yes, you are right I am not giving up!!!!! I love this stove! Love love love it! No we don't have a hot tub and the winds are gusting 35mph+ today so naked is NOT a good idea! I am actually pretty impressed with the heat distribution thru the house. The common areas (kitchen and living room) are nice and toasty 70 degrees right now (wind chill is -15) and not using any propane or electric heat! I am telling the rest of the housemates when they get here to NOT TOUCH THE STOVE without me supervising. They mess with the vents and stir it - because they are wood burners. NO TOUCH!
Going to hang a sign as we speak....I have had the coal going perfectly for the past 24 hours....

Thinking I need to chat to Wilson about that back pipe though.

 
specialtg
Member
Posts: 31
Joined: Mon. Apr. 03, 2017 4:19 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Glenwood Oak #116

Post by specialtg » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 9:02 am

*sigh*
Everything was going great - 2 solid days of consistent burning. I was talking smack to my wood burning house mates that coal is the way to go and wood burning is a step backwards.
Tonight was the coldest night yet. -15F air temp without the wind chill.

At 10:30pm topped the stove off. All dampers shut tight. Stove was humming along great.
At 3am- I woke up. It felt cool. The stove was totally out :(

I think the coal bed was stuck up high in the burn pot. Even though I shook and poked from the bottom. I also gently went around the edges and pushed down. But I think the bulk of coal bed was suspended leaving not a lot of fuel.
Is this called bridging?

When I shook the cold ashes this morning this is what I was left with. A ring of ash stuck to the refractory...
And so the start up begins and my woodburning housemates are giving me crap again to switch to wood....
If I get the back pipe installed does that also help with efficiency burning wood?
Can I install my wood grate on top of the shaker grates or can I burn wood on top of the grates?
Thanks everyone

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Sunny Boy
Member
Posts: 25559
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 9:36 am

Yes, it looks like it bridged and wasn't filled enough. Especially since 4.5 hours after being filled, it was out. Only other way that could happen with a full pot is if the dampers weren't set closed enough.

You already had it run through the night so you know it can do it with that system and it's operating environment.

Next time, open the primary and the MPD for a few minutes to heat up the stove and chimney system. Add a layer of coal and wait for it to stop snapping. That adds weight on top to help make any bridging and ash fall so that you don't have to do as much poking from the top of the firebed. Then shake ash, poke/scrape any dark areas of the grates to clear more ash and get an even glow. Then don't stir, just poke straight down in a few places in the middle and around the edge where you now see that ash ring formed. If it drops, good, if not, then very likely it didn't bridge. Add layers of coal mounded up to the firepot edge, let it get going well and then set your dampers.

To help prevent ash from sticking to the firepot and reduces tendency to bridge, once every day or two, before you shake ashes, get the fire hot. Then scrape the edges of the firepot with the right angled end of the poker to get the ash "barnacles" off that bridging grabs onto. Then shake to remove whatever gets scarped off.

The only other way that would burn up all the fuel is if you had the dampers too open for how cold it gets. Remember that the colder it gets the stronger the draft gets, so, if you know it's going to be a really cold night use a bit tighter damper settings.

Some people do the opposite, thinking they need more heat so they open the dampers more. Coal is somewhat self regulating for burn rate. When it gets cold outside the draft naturally increases and the coal burns hotter without changing the dampers. When it warms up outside the draft strength drops some and the coal fire naturally slows down.

This is where a mano and temp gauges come in very handy to help set the dampers.

Back pipe.
As you know, the back pipe is for extracting more heat before it gets to the chimney. Because coal stoves can run safely with lower chimney temps than wood stoves should it helps get as much heat indoors as possible. However, to be safe, wood stoves have to send much more heat up the chimney to help reduce creosote condensation on the chimney walls. Even the driest wood causes creosote.

As long as the stove can burn hot enough to keep the back pipe and chimney system hot enough to reduce the creosote condensation, then it's ok. But, your having to send alot of heat up the chimney and the point of the back pipe is to not do that, so there's not as much to be gained from a back pipe with wood as there is with coal.

Paul

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