Keeping Franco Belge Going

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Mon. Feb. 15, 2016 7:40 am

well, my fire lasted exactly two days. it gradually became dimmer on the second day, sides of the bed fire became not functioning. Last night before going to bed I still got blue flames after I raked it but tonight 4AM it was barely visible and raking just made it worse as it poured a fresh coal onto a barely burning coal. So it was cold in the morning. Still, much longer than anytime before


 
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joeq
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Post by joeq » Mon. Feb. 15, 2016 9:19 am

Any progress is good Jas. With my Surdiac, after a week or 2 after initial cleaning and light off, mine would be barely burning in the morning also. I learned "not" to start poking around, until I got it to come up on temp. 1st. I would open the ash pan door and MPD, and try to get the coal bed burning better, "then" start poking around, a little at a time, until it looked strong enuff for the "full Nelson" shake down. Keep at it. Your getting there.

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Mon. Feb. 15, 2016 10:07 am

jasius wrote:well, my fire lasted exactly two days. it gradually became dimmer on the second day, sides of the bed fire became not functioning. Last night before going to bed I still got blue flames after I raked it but tonight 4AM it was barely visible and raking just made it worse as it poured a fresh coal onto a barely burning coal. So it was cold in the morning. Still, much longer than anytime before


It still is ash bound. Poke from the top those ash bound corners before you slice. Your aim is to have even fire edge to edge. If you see a corner not burning, give it a poke from above to clear the ash.

Do a good job of clearing ash by raking from above as well as slicing. Then clear a spot in the middle and light a new fire.

 
Den034071
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Post by Den034071 » Mon. Feb. 15, 2016 10:37 am

With a Franco the Manual Clearly States a 5 Inch flue is Required .A 6 inch works moderately . jackIf you have an 8 by 8 or fireplace flue the stove will start with normal procedure an die out .

 
Belgianburner
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Post by Belgianburner » Mon. Feb. 15, 2016 4:52 pm

One thing you can do to help correct a mismatched flue is to install a cap with the same size opening as the stove collar. I did just that at the beginning of this season. Not noticing much difference. I took a pic but not sure how to put it on here...

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Mon. Feb. 15, 2016 5:55 pm

Belgianburner wrote:One thing you can do to help correct a mismatched flue is to install a cap with the same size opening as the stove collar. I did just that at the beginning of this season. Not noticing much difference. I took a pic but not sure how to put it on here...
picture would help, not quite sure what it is

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 4:39 pm

Dear all, where do I buy those two gaskets for the holes in the flue gas ducts?


 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 5:03 pm

jasius wrote:
Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 4:39 pm
Dear all, where do I buy those two gaskets for the holes in the flue gas ducts?
Use four pieces of flat gasket . There is gasket intended for glass that has built in sticky that works well. You can instead just butter around the edges with furnace cement. The original gaskets were asbestos which you don't want.

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 5:06 pm

OK, where do I typically get those flat gaskets? What do they look like?

 
franco b
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Post by franco b » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 5:23 pm

jasius wrote:
Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 5:06 pm
OK, where do I typically get those flat gaskets? What do they look like?
Any stove store will have gasket material, but failing that Amazon or Ebay. Thin and flat, almost any width. A store will have rolls so you can buy just what you need.

 
Belgianburner
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Post by Belgianburner » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 8:09 am

I haven't been here in many moons...looks like new owners/new name & format. But all you regulars are still here.

If you could find some original gaskets (old stock or decent used ones) I wouldn't be afraid to use them, as long as you don't have to modify them.

Regarding my previous post about the chimney cap, it was just a flat piece of sheet aluminum I laid over the orange flue block to trace. I cut the piece 1" larger & bent the 4 sides down to fit snugly over the flue. You can then either scribe & cut a 5" diameter circle or a square with the same sq. in. opening. I then put a conventional chimney cap over this cover. This may not work as well as lining your oversized flue with 5" stove pipe, but it is the next best thing (& way easier & cheaper!).

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Thu. Nov. 22, 2018 12:39 pm

Found them. One local store had it. Nowhere else, even online

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Thu. Nov. 22, 2018 12:41 pm

Dear all, happy Thanksgiving. Incidentally, the glass pieces from my front door started to fall out, see picture attached. Most of them are lose now, I see some of them lack the sealant on top or bottom where the glass meets the metal. Can you please recommend a sealant and a procedure hot to refurbish these glass pieces and put them back in?

Image

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joeq
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Post by joeq » Thu. Nov. 22, 2018 12:53 pm

Diary of a Surdiac
If you check out my old thread, on page 12, I address this problem. Not sure how similar the design is, but hopefully you'll get some type of idea. Good luck.
And Happy Turkey day to you too.

 
jasius
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Post by jasius » Thu. Nov. 22, 2018 1:11 pm

asbestos u-shaped seal?


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