Franco Belge 10-475 Coal Stove for $600

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scoobydoo
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Post by scoobydoo » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 11:12 am

I found a Franco Belge 10-475 for $600 new still in crate.Is it worth it?How much work is it?I don't mind keeping it going,but
I travel for work and I'm not sure if the little woman could keep it going.

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 11:47 am

An easier to tend and more efficient stove would be hard to find but do not expect long burn times. 8 hour tending time at high output. About 40 pounds a day which gives you about 20,000 BTu. Factory rated at 25,000 BTU with pea coal. Ash pan is big so empty once a day.

Price for used in good shape about 300 but I also have seen for much less. New as you have found I would try for 500.

High efficiency means low stack temperature and lower draft so might not be happy in a large fireplace chimney on an outside wall.

Two tools should come with the stove. A handle for the ash pan which doubles as a tool for shaking the grates and removing the hopper cover. A slicing poker which should have an offset at the end rather than just being straight.

If your wife is home and needs to extend the burn time a quick little shake of the grates will extend the burn. No need to adjust air or feed coal since the hopper and thermostat do both automatically and you will have set the thermostat and filled the hopper before leaving in the morning.

 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 11:47 am

Kindly tell me where it is so can inform them they are asking too much. :D

The FB is great little stove especially for that price. The only problem with them is they have 2 plates inside the hopper. There is one on the back and one on the front (I forget how many pieces the front one is but it's either 2 or 3. If you over fire it you're going to damage those plates. They don't have a lot of BTU's and people try and get more heat out of them they are designed for. Make sure those plates are included an no one "robbed" them.

As for the wife it's really easy stove to operate and you only have to do it like twice a day.

 
scoobydoo
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Post by scoobydoo » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 11:55 am

franco b wrote:An easier to tend and more efficient stove would be hard to find but do not expect long burn times. 8 hour tending time at high output. About 40 pounds a day which gives you about 20,000 BTu. Factory rated at 25,000 BTU with pea coal. Ash pan is big so empty once a day.

Price for used in good shape about 300 but I also have seen for much less. New as you have found I would try for 500.

High efficiency means low stack temperature and lower draft so might not be happy in a large fireplace chimney on an outside wall.

Two tools should come with the stove. A handle for the ash pan which doubles as a tool for shaking the grates and removing the hopper cover. A slicing poker which should have an offset at the end rather than just being straight.

If your wife is home and needs to extend the burn time a quick little shake of the grates will extend the burn. No need to adjust air or feed coal since the hopper and thermostat do both automatically and you will have set the thermostat and filled the hopper before leaving in the morning.
Thank you for your reply.I currently have a Napoleon oil stove running with a 5" class A chimney.That's why I am interested in this stove.From what I understand,it has a 5" flue.


 
scoobydoo
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Post by scoobydoo » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 12:00 pm

Richard S. wrote:Kindly tell me where it is so can inform them they are asking too much. :D

The FB is great little stove especially for that price. The only problem with them is they have 2 plates inside the hopper. There is one on the back and one on the front (I forget how many pieces the front one is but it's either 2 or 3. If you over fire it you're going to damage those plates. They don't have a lot of BTU's and people try and get more heat out of them they are designed for. Make sure those plates are included an no one "robbed" them.

As for the wife it's really easy stove to operate and you only have to do it like twice a day.
Thank you for the reply.A gentleman used to own a coal stove business and has since retired.He has two of these left over.He is asking $600 for one and $1100 for both of them.What price do you think I should try to get one for?

 
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Post by franco b » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 12:00 pm

scoobydoo wrote:
franco b wrote:An easier to tend and more efficient stove would be hard to find but do not expect long burn times. 8 hour tending time at high output. About 40 pounds a day which gives you about 20,000 BTu. Factory rated at 25,000 BTU with pea coal. Ash pan is big so empty once a day.

Price for used in good shape about 300 but I also have seen for much less. New as you have found I would try for 500.

High efficiency means low stack temperature and lower draft so might not be happy in a large fireplace chimney on an outside wall.

Two tools should come with the stove. A handle for the ash pan which doubles as a tool for shaking the grates and removing the hopper cover. A slicing poker which should have an offset at the end rather than just being straight.

If your wife is home and needs to extend the burn time a quick little shake of the grates will extend the burn. No need to adjust air or feed coal since the hopper and thermostat do both automatically and you will have set the thermostat and filled the hopper before leaving in the morning.
Thank you for your reply.I currently have a Napoleon oil stove running with a 5" class A chimney.That's why I am interested in this stove.From what I understand,it has a 5" flue.
Yes 5 inch flue is perfect and you don't need any dampers as the thermostat will adjust the air.

 
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 12:06 pm

scoobydoo wrote:He is asking $600 for one and $1100 for both of them.What price do you think I should try to get one for?
If Franco B says it's worth $500 then it's worth $500.... ;)

 
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Post by scoobydoo » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 12:13 pm

Richard S. wrote:
scoobydoo wrote:He is asking $600 for one and $1100 for both of them.What price do you think I should try to get one for?
If Franco B says it's worth $500 then it's worth $500.... ;)
Excellent,thank you.


 
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Post by franco b » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 12:22 pm

I would offer 500 which is about double the price of used.
These stoves are not as popular as their performance should make them because the small fire pot is not capable of long burn times as well as the output expected to heat entire homes, often from the basement. The output I gave you is from the maker and not some trumped up thing by the importer who has to exaggerate since everybody else is doing it. The stove should do just fine heating 1200 square feet in a modern house. Less well in a leaky old house. This is a bargaining point for you since the American stoves have higher output and longer burn times even though their figures are mostly fantasy too.
If you are shown literature claiming higher output just look at the plate on the back for the makers claim. It will be in Kcal which you divide by 252 to get BTU.

 
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Post by scoobydoo » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 12:42 pm

franco b wrote:I would offer 500 which is about double the price of used.
These stoves are not as popular as their performance should make them because the small fire pot is not capable of long burn times as well as the output expected to heat entire homes, often from the basement. The output I gave you is from the maker and not some trumped up thing by the importer who has to exaggerate since everybody else is doing it. The stove should do just fine heating 1200 square feet in a modern house. Less well in a leaky old house. This is a bargaining point for you since the American stoves have higher output and longer burn times even though their figures are mostly fantasy too.
If you are shown literature claiming higher output just look at the plate on the back for the makers claim. It will be in Kcal which you divide by 252 to get BTU.
Yeah,the literature states a Maximum output of 56,200 BTU's and a Normal output of 48,000 btu's.Thank you for the heads up.I can't see the Kcal reading on the picture of the plate,but it is stating a minimum 6" chimney.

 
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Post by franco b » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 1:03 pm

scoobydoo wrote:Yeah,the literature states a Maximum output of 56,200 BTU's and a Nominal output of 48,000 btu's.Thank you for the heads up.I can't see the Kcal reading on the picture of the plate,but it is stating a minimum 6" chimney.
Those readings were probably arrived at during UL testing to establish safe clearances. The stove is run as hot as they can get it which easily puts out twice the heat as running it as intended. Running it that way as Richard S pointed out leads to damage. I have seen the glass in the door start to sag and bow out from the heat of stoves run that way.

I once rented a house with an enormous stone outside fireplace and chimney. Knowing I could never establish draft in this thing I ran plain 5 inch cheap galvanized pipe to the top. Worked perfectly and with your insulated pipe it will work even better.

 
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Post by scoobydoo » Tue. Dec. 17, 2013 2:31 pm

franco b wrote:
scoobydoo wrote:Yeah,the literature states a Maximum output of 56,200 BTU's and a Nominal output of 48,000 btu's.Thank you for the heads up.I can't see the Kcal reading on the picture of the plate,but it is stating a minimum 6" chimney.
Those readings were probably arrived at during UL testing to establish safe clearances. The stove is run as hot as they can get it which easily puts out twice the heat as running it as intended. Running it that way as Richard S pointed out leads to damage. I have seen the glass in the door start to sag and bow out from the heat of stoves run that way.

I once rented a house with an enormous stone outside fireplace and chimney. Knowing I could never establish draft in this thing I ran plain 5 inch cheap galvanized pipe to the top. Worked perfectly and with your insulated pipe it will work even better.
Thank you for your help.I have been researching coal stoves for a while now and every search kept leading me to this forum.I figured I would join and ask my question.You and Richard have been very helpful and I appreciate the time you two have given.Btw,I used to live in Clinton,CT.Back in Maine now.

 
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Post by MarkV » Wed. Dec. 18, 2013 12:08 am

Richard S. wrote: The FB is great little stove especially for that price. The only problem with them is they have 2 plates inside the hopper. There is one on the back and one on the front (I forget how many pieces the front one is but it's either 2 or 3. If you over fire it you're going to damage those plates. They don't have a lot of BTU's and people try and get more heat out of them they are designed for. Make sure those plates are included an no one "robbed" them.

As for the wife it's really easy stove to operate and you only have to do it like twice a day.
I burned two stoves in that F-B series for about 27 years combined. The removal front hopper bar is 2 pieces, upper and lower. They n est together via interlocking tabs cast into the iron. The lower hopper bar is closest to the firebed and is the one most subject to warping if you over-fire.

The back part of the hopper is a single piece of cast iron that sits on top of the back rim of the fire basket.

The firebasket itself is also subject to warping along the front edge if over-fired. It's the mostly expensive cast-iron part to replace in my experience. None of these parts are cheap, and they're becoming harder to order new ones in my experience. I was told several years ago F-B either was no longer making coal stoves or wasn't importing them.

I agree with Richard, make sure none of the inside cast parts is missing.

My F-B stoves burned well but needed tending 3 times a day to keep a good even burn going. I shook mine 7 am, 5 pm, 11 pm. On windy days, my wife gave it a noontime shake as well. Your setup might need less tending. The ash pan is sized to allow dumping once a day if you're shaking 2 or 3 times.

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