Franco Belge 475.

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ctcoalwoman
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Post by ctcoalwoman » Mon. Nov. 29, 2010 7:10 pm

Hi! My franco is running differently than last year. It's not putting out as much heat and I need to keep the damper open higher to keep it running. I changed the door glass and gasket. Anyone have any ideas? I had to use the standard door gasket but cut it lengthwise to fit where the old asbestos gasket was. One upside is that the stove seems to stay running overnight better, but at a higher damper setting. The trouble is, it may not heat my house the way things are going. I had vacuumed out the back alleyways on the stove and the side ones too to clear it of dust. I may have to but oil for my tank now....

 
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lowfog01
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Post by lowfog01 » Mon. Nov. 29, 2010 9:16 pm

Two things to explore - First are you sure the new gasket is giving the tightest seal or is air getting in some how? You could try the candle or incense test and see if the smoke/flame is drawn toward the door. You say the fire is burning differently, how so? This is where a coal journal comes in handy; you can compare the stove's operation day to day, year to year. Coal burns from the bottom up, is your fire showing evidence of an over the air supply of air. Do you have a manometer hooked up? How is the draft compared to last year? Could there be something in the chimney? Did you clean your black pipes of flyash at the end of last season? That will mess with your burn because the draft is blocked. If you've never cleaned that out, there could be a couple of inches of fly ash in those pipes particularly if you have a long horizontal pipe. Second, if you eliminate all those things it may be your coal. Some coal just doesn't burn as well as others. Some coal makes clearing the ash very hard and that will effect the burn. Check these ideas out and if it still isn't right, let us know, someone will know what's going on. Lisa

 
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lowfog01
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Posts: 3889
Joined: Sat. Dec. 20, 2008 8:33 am
Location: Springfield, VA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Mark II & Mark I
Coal Size/Type: nut/pea

Post by lowfog01 » Mon. Nov. 29, 2010 9:16 pm

Two things to explore - First are you sure the new gasket is giving the tightest seal or is air getting in some how? You could try the candle or incense test and see if the smoke/flame is drawn toward the door. You say the fire is burning differently, how so? This is where a coal journal comes in handy; you can compare the stove's operation day to day, year to year. Coal burns from the bottom up, is your fire showing evidence of an over the air supply of air. Do you have a manometer hooked up? How is the draft compared to last year? Could there be something in the chimney? Did you clean your black pipes of flyash at the end of last season? That will mess with your burn because the draft is blocked. If you've never cleaned that out, there could be a couple of inches of fly ash in those pipes particularly if you have a long horizontal pipe. Second, if you eliminate all those things it may be your coal. Some coal just doesn't burn as well as others. Some coal makes clearing the ash very hard and that will effect the burn. Check these ideas out and if it still isn't right, let us know, someone will know what's going on. Lisa


 
franco b
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: V ermont Castings 2310, Franco Belge 262
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Coal Size/Type: nut and pea

Post by franco b » Tue. Nov. 30, 2010 12:10 am

A lot of good ideas from Lisa to check.

I would also suspect the fit of the door glass and door gasket. If too much air is bypassing the under grate area it would account for you having to open the air control further. Try closing the door on a dollar bill in various areas to check for loose spots. The trim piece over the door just snaps off to give you more access to the door, just pry one end with a screw driver and you will see.

The pin that the closing door latch rides on is not round but eccentric and is locked in place with a hex headed small bolt. Use a little penetrating oil and loosen it and the screw slotted pivot bolt. If frozen remember that vibration is your friend. Put pressure in both directions and strike the wrench or screw driver with another wrench to make things vibrate. By rotating that screw slotted bolt you can make the latch tighter or looser. I mean you can make the door fit tighter. With a new gasket you should definitely have to exert more pressure on the closing latch to close the door. The clean out plates that you took off to clean the passages also have to be sealed well. If the old gasket has deteriorated just butter the seams with some furnace cement. Any leaks here will also lower draft.

It is running longer because you are burning less coal. The air is bypassing the coal bed.

 
ctcoalwoman
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Post by ctcoalwoman » Sat. Dec. 04, 2010 7:06 pm

Well, well....I did the incense test. The door is not leaking and sucking a draft. The problem seems to be the damper. Numbers 1-8 don't mean a thing because it operates wrong. on 1 it is closed...on 5 it is closed...it opens on 6 and up. It appears to work more accurately when it is cold. I need to get a handle on why it works so strangely. There is a screw adjust for the metal hanger that attaches to the door.. Should it not work the same hot or cold or does it change with stove temperature? Thank you for your help!

 
franco b
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Posts: 11416
Joined: Wed. Nov. 05, 2008 5:11 pm
Location: Kent CT
Hand Fed Coal Stove: V ermont Castings 2310, Franco Belge 262
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood Modern Oak 114
Coal Size/Type: nut and pea

Post by franco b » Sat. Dec. 04, 2010 10:27 pm

With the stove cold adjust the air damper to be just closed or just barely opening with the dial set at one. There is an adjustable link which will allow you to do this.

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