In Much Need of Help on a Franco Belge Coal Stove

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deweypolice
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Post by deweypolice » Sun. Oct. 24, 2010 11:02 pm

Hello, I am very new to this forum and I was not sure as to where to post this question. I recently have purchased a house that has a Franco Belge coal stove and I have not used and or inspected it until today. Upon looking into the top fill site I noticed that the front and back internal hopper chute's are warped and completely broken, which I have found out is from the previous owner running the stove too hot!. With that said I have hunted around on this forum and I see that they may be very expensive to replace however the model that my stove placard is showing I cannot find it anywhere on the net. The model number is 10.262. I am at the point where I do not know if it is worth replacing or attempt to buy a used one. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again.

Peter D.

 
beemerboy
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Post by beemerboy » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 10:10 am

Could you post some pictures? Many of the Franco-Belge stove internal parts are interchangeable.

There are places you can get new parts, get prices then check craig's list. You might be able to find something better for the cost of the new parts.

 
deweypolice
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Post by deweypolice » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 12:14 pm

I hope this worked with the pictures, please let me know thanks Peter.

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franco b
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Post by franco b » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 5:57 pm

Check Craigslist. A lot of Franco Belge stoves come up.


 
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tsb
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Post by tsb » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 8:16 pm

When I had Frano Belge stoves I got parts from http://www.kcstovesandfireplaces.com/
They may or may not have what you need.
If you have damage to the hopper plate, my guess is that
if you remove the sheet metal covers, you will find some of the
main castings cracked. I got about 15 years out of my Franos before
I gave up and replaced them.

Tom

 
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Freddy
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Post by Freddy » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 8:22 pm

Gosh, Ouch! Yup, for sure the previous owner fed that stove some hot suppers. I'll venture a guess he was trying to get 80,000 BTU's from a 50,000 BTU stove. (I'm not sure what BTU the Franco's are rated). Certainly I'd take it apart for full inspection before I even looked for parts. As they say "Hard sayin', not knowin'." I may or may nor be worth fixing, even if all the parts are available.
Just a note.... the Franco Belge are a good little stove, but they prefer an ash stir every 6 or 8 hours. It's tricky to get them to go 12 hours.

 
deweypolice
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Post by deweypolice » Tue. Oct. 26, 2010 12:25 am

I very much appreciate everyone's replys. I at this point am not really sure as to what to do, I do not know very much about coal stove's. At this point I don't want to pay some specialists to come in and say this, this and this is wrong w/ it and your right around the price of a new one to get it fixed. However the specialists will charge $150 to come inspect the unit, which that could go towards a used unit in decent condition. Any suggestion's would still be greatly accepted. Thanks again, Peter

 
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VigIIPeaBurner
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Post by VigIIPeaBurner » Tue. Oct. 26, 2010 1:49 am

I checked on Woodman's Parts web but didn't see a .262. There are a few that look very similar to your pictures. I remember reading a thread just a few days ago where a poster stated that the model number was hidden behind a panel. Was your 10.262 in such a location?

franco b is right on the mark. I do see a lot of offerings for this style stove. Another place to check is the Treasure Hunt flier that comes out in our location every Thursday night. You can find piles of them near the doors of many stores. I like to download the .pdf version and use Adobe's "Find" function. Sorta takes the pleasure out of perusing through the pages but it's quick.


 
deweypolice
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Post by deweypolice » Tue. Oct. 26, 2010 4:20 am

I have a silver in color tag that is affixed to the lower right rear corner and the only true number of great value state's : Poele 10.262. Classe 1. And it goes on give dimension's I am guessing of the low and high end of the sq ft. of the room it will heat. 10x20 and 20x30.

Thanks Peter

 
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Post by CapeCoaler » Tue. Oct. 26, 2010 9:01 am

If it looks beat up, it most likley is...
Save your money and put it towards a different stove in working order...
A different used stove with parts avaliablility would be a better value if money is tight...
Hitzer and Harman are on Craigslist and parts can be had...
I am partial to DS Machine Stoves...
No fans on the stove...
If it was run hard and overheated in that house...
You probably need a stove with more BTU capacity...

 
deweypolice
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Post by deweypolice » Tue. Oct. 26, 2010 9:16 am

Yes, I truly believe that the previous owner was very lazy when it came to the stove it appears that it was just filled up with coal and turn all the way on high and left alone. The total sq. ft. of the house is 1100 and I believe he attempted to heat the whole house instead of supplementing the furnace and electric heat to assist the stove. So it look's like at this point we are going to have to start the hefty search to find another stove that is not "beat up" and we are not buying someone else's problem. And to top that other than the basic look's and inside's I do not have the first clue as to what to look for if the stove is "worth it" or not. Any tips on that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again Peter

 
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VigIIPeaBurner
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Post by VigIIPeaBurner » Tue. Oct. 26, 2010 10:59 am

If you decide to look for another stove, keep in mind what your existing infrastructure is. How many sq. ft. will you expect to heat with it? This way you won't get involved in making more modifications and can choose a stove that's as close to 'plug & play' as possible.

I'm looking at this picture...
... and looking at the height of the chimney thimble. Estimating each course of brick to be ~ 2.75", the bottom of your thimble appears to be 16.5 - 19.25" above your hearth. The thimble looks to be a 6" diameter leading to the chimney. If you can easily see the chimney, maybe through the clean out door, measure the size of the inside as best you can. See if it's terracotta tile or SS. Have a look or get someone to asses the condition of the chimney liner. Keep these factors in mind while you make your search for what model stove will work and what you like to look at.

If the PO pushed this unit so hard, it might be undersized for your conditions. Also, there is no barometric damper visible in the picture. I'm not familiar with the burn charistics of the FB, but if the PO operated the stove with too much draft, that alone could have caused the damage. A common early mistake with burning coal is to give too much air in an attemp to get more heat out of the stove. If a stove is operated with too much draft and given too much air, most of the heat goes up the chimney and not into the room. That's a change from buring wood. This might be the right size stove. Just guesing why your FB is so beat. Maybe it's just worn out.

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