Diary of a Surdiac

 
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ElCamMan515
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Post by ElCamMan515 » Sun. Mar. 15, 2015 9:41 pm

Joe,

Nice video of your tending technique. You also get a good perspective of the size of the Surdiac.

Thanks for posting.

Stay Warm,

Tim


 
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joeq
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Post by joeq » Sun. Mar. 15, 2015 9:47 pm

windyhill4.2 wrote:How do you heat your house with that cold stove ?? You did all that without leather gloves,or do you have real tough skin ? Oh,you do talk funny :lol: now verified by 2 Pa members. :P
You know what they say Dave, "No brain, no pain". And if you guys were here in New England, you'ld be talkin funny too. And if "we-all" went to Indiana, they'ld say "we" talk funny. Funny is relevant. :lol:

 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Sun. Mar. 15, 2015 10:00 pm

You funny talking folks up there think that the Pa. dutch accent that so many around here have sounds funny too. Maybe you's hear funny too toothy

 
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joeq
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Post by joeq » Sun. Mar. 15, 2015 10:48 pm

Hey Dave, do you ever sleep? ;)

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Sun. Mar. 15, 2015 10:49 pm

Joe sounded perfectly normal to me. Must be something wrong with the hearing of some of you.

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Sun. Mar. 15, 2015 10:49 pm

Joe sounded perfectly normal to me. Must be something wrong with the hearing of some of you.

 
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SWPaDon
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Post by SWPaDon » Sun. Mar. 15, 2015 11:00 pm

franco b wrote:Joe sounded perfectly normal to me. Must be something wrong with the hearing of some of you.
Huh? toothy toothy


 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Mon. Mar. 16, 2015 7:05 am

franco b , you talk funny too :shock: I guess all you's guys up there sound like that :) Joeq ,yes I sleep,maybe that's why I sound normal :P toothy

 
Belgianburner
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Post by Belgianburner » Mon. Mar. 16, 2015 7:42 am

"I usually stay lit till May 1st. Last year I think I even went into the first week of May."

Lightning, I have a SpongeBob T-shirt on which Bob and his buds are draped in Christmas lights and it reads "ALL LIT UP!"

Joe, I'll watch your video when I have faster internet, but does any part of your shakedown involve that "stub" sticking out the right side? I leave it alone, because if I mess with it, I usually find a separation between the two grates when it goes out and I can clean it real good...causes big chunks in ash pan.

I moved my "new" stove in, cleaned it (LOTS of heavy silt in the exchanger, including large thin metal flakes). and am ready to tackle the hopper install.
This seems like it won't be easy, given it's weight and being able to see the sockets. I was told to lower it into the bottom of the stove first. There appears to be two positions, about 1-1/2" apart. Which would you suggest? I believe my other stove is in the lower position. Have you tried both? Pics will have to wait until I find my elusive camera. Also, what is your flue temp above the MPD?

 
Belgianburner
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Post by Belgianburner » Mon. Mar. 16, 2015 7:46 am

sorry, posted twice.

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Mon. Mar. 16, 2015 9:39 am

You want the hopper as high as it will go so you have a deeper coal bed for longest burn time. The stub is for clean out.

 
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joeq
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Post by joeq » Mon. Mar. 16, 2015 4:02 pm

Belgianburner wrote:
Joe, I'll watch your video when I have faster internet, but does any part of your shakedown involve that "stub" sticking out the right side? I leave it alone, because if I mess with it, I usually find a separation between the two grates when it goes out and I can clean it real good...causes big chunks in ash pan.
I was told to lower it into the bottom of the stove first. There appears to be two positions, about 1-1/2" apart. Which would you suggest? I believe my other stove is in the lower position. Have you tried both? Pics will have to wait until I find my elusive camera. Also, what is your flue temp above the MPD?
John, the handle sticking out the drivers side is what Franco mentioned. It's a handle that hooks onto the LHS grate, (viewed from the rear), and allows you to pull them apart when cleaning. This season, I pulled mine back,(unhooked it from the grate) and made it inoperative. The reason is "two-fold". #1, when the stove is up and running, there's no need to dump hot coals, and #2, it gets in the way on that side when you're trying to riddle the ashes down. I could never scrape the RHS apron clean, because it was an obstruction, in the way of the riddling tool when working that side. Now my grate on that side gets cleared of ash much better than when the handle was there. When the stove is down for cleaning, you can just as easily push the grates apart with any tool, from the bottom or top. (Just my opinion)
And also, (like franco said), put your hopper as high as you can. I even trimmed some distorted material off the bottom of mine,and made the coal bed even more exposed than stock. It all seems to add up and help the heat out-put, and lengthen the burn times. Putting the interior pieces in, can be "challenging". The engineers didn't give much room for installation, and can be frustrating at times. Put in your hopper before either of the frt and rear aprons.
My method goes like this.
temporarily lay the hopper in the loading door opening with the frt facing up, and the top towards the inside.
Open the fill door on the top of the stove, and stick your left arm down inside and grab, or actually go all the way through to the hopper bottom.
With your right arm, grab the bottom of the hopper, and lift it into place with one 90* curved motion upward.
While performing this final task, make sure you drop as many 4 letter words and "F"-bombs your intellectual brain can muster, and when blood begins dripping from your right fore-arm, you'll know you're getting close :)

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Mon. Mar. 16, 2015 4:07 pm

Indeed JQ :stretcher: :clap: toothy

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Mon. Mar. 16, 2015 4:12 pm

joeq wrote:My method goes like this.
temporarily lay the hopper in the loading door opening with the frt facing up, and the top towards the inside.
Open the fill door on the top of the stove, and stick your left arm down inside and grab, or actually go all the way through to the hopper bottom.
With your right arm, grab the bottom of the hopper, and lift it into place with one 90* curved motion upward.
While performing this final task, make sure you drop as many 4 letter words and "F"-bombs your intellectual brain can muster, and when blood begins dripping from your right fore-arm, you'll know you're getting close
That sounds easy enough. Just a few 4 letter words to ease the way.

 
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joeq
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Post by joeq » Mon. Mar. 16, 2015 4:20 pm

SWPaDon wrote:Better buy some more coal Joe.
As usual, you're right Don. I bought a few more days worth of Kimmel yesterday , not because it's 50* today, but by mid-week, they're talkin another cold spell, (if you can call the "high" of the day of 33* a "cold spell"). Gives me an excuse to burn till spring. (Saturday)


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