Cleaning Franco Belge Stove

 
jasius
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Franco Belge model 144.08.02

Post by jasius » Wed. Oct. 26, 2016 6:35 pm

I was wondering if anybody could give me brief insight or direct to a post that discussed how to clean my Franco Belge coal stove. I hired somebody last year for $150 to come in, take it apart and vacuum it out. That doesn't look very complex to me but I would appreciate more details. in particular, what equipment I need, e.g. some special vacuum cleaner?

thank you

Jonas


 
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 » Wed. Oct. 26, 2016 8:29 pm

jasius wrote:I was wondering if anybody could give me brief insight or direct to a post that discussed how to clean my Franco Belge coal stove. I hired somebody last year for $150 to come in, take it apart and vacuum it out. That doesn't look very complex to me but I would appreciate more details. in particular, what equipment I need, e.g. some special vacuum cleaner?

thank you

Jonas
You need what is generally called a radiator brush. Try plumbing or oil burner supply house, and a shop vac with a filter bag designed for fine dust, or drywall dust. A long crevice tool helps as well.

The most important part is the heat exchange channels running on both sides and terminating at the exhaust outlet. Access is from removable plates on the left and right rear corners of the stove after removing outer skin. the rest should be apparent.

 
jasius
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Location: Allentown, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Franco Belge model 144.08.02

Post by jasius » Wed. Oct. 26, 2016 8:33 pm

Aaah, the brush, but of course. The ShopVac is what I was looking for but didn't know what it was. Well, now I will have to purchase one cause I do not normally have use for it. Any recommendations for ShopVac so I can potentially use it for some other application in the house?

 
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 » Wed. Oct. 26, 2016 8:59 pm

jasius wrote:Aaah, the brush, but of course. The ShopVac is what I was looking for but didn't know what it was. Well, now I will have to purchase one cause I do not normally have use for it. Any recommendations for ShopVac so I can potentially use it for some other application in the house?
First look at the needed bag (fine dust). Probably for 5 gallon vac minimum. A vac under $50 should suffice. Handy for vacuuming the car and by removing any filters it will pick up water. That needs a special nozzle with rubber strip to vac almost dry but standard nozzle will also pick up. I had a toilet overflow from a broken ballcock and picked up 15 gallons easily. Also you can blow the garage floor of dust and leaves as well as blowing off the lawn mower.

Shop Vac was the original brand and works well. Look in Sears, Lowes, and Home Depot which sells Ridgid which seems higher priced. I just checked Sears and $46.86 is the price for 5 gal. Shop Vac. The bags will cost about $10 for three.

 
jasius
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Location: Allentown, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Franco Belge model 144.08.02

Post by jasius » Sun. Dec. 11, 2016 6:58 am

Went back to the business of firing it up. During the day it was OK, last checked at 9:30 PM. First thing in the morning at 6AM - all ashes and died out. I had the hopper on the lowest position since it's not cold and dial on 5. Not sure how to fight this one: shake the ashes in the middle of the night?

 
franco b
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Joined: Wed. Nov. 05, 2008 5:11 pm
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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 » Sun. Dec. 11, 2016 11:39 am

jasius wrote:Went back to the business of firing it up. During the day it was OK, last checked at 9:30 PM. First thing in the morning at 6AM - all ashes and died out. I had the hopper on the lowest position since it's not cold and dial on 5. Not sure how to fight this one: shake the ashes in the middle of the night?
The hopper position determines the depth of the coal bed and the size of the coal determines the best depth. Pea coal wants at least 5 inches depth. 6 is better.

For pea coal set the hopper at the highest position for maXimum depth. Set thermostat for heat output. Too thin a bed will not work and the bed depth is already low even at the highest position.

i run mine with the hopper set on top of the supports to gain more coal depth, but this requires a banking bar at the front of the fire pot to prevent coal from spilling out. That bar is steel 3/4 by 1 inch.

With low output you should easily go 12 hours or more. 8 hours at high output.

 
jasius
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Franco Belge model 144.08.02

Post by jasius » Sun. Dec. 11, 2016 12:04 pm

yes, I noticed that in that position bed in the front was really thin. Today in the morning I put in on a medium height (the hopper adjustment), let's see what happens. Thanks for yoru help


 
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 » Sun. Dec. 11, 2016 12:27 pm

jasius wrote:yes, I noticed that in that position bed in the front was really thin. Today in the morning I put in on a medium height (the hopper adjustment), let's see what happens. Thanks for yoru help
You must put it in the highest position to have enough coal burning to last a decent time. Adjust thermostat for lower heat output and longer burn. if wanted.

 
jasius
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Franco Belge model 144.08.02

Post by jasius » Sun. Dec. 11, 2016 12:46 pm

Oh, I see... I was afraid of it burning too fast if I put too much coal but forgot about the thermostat. It's between 5 and 6 now. I am actually adding coal manually to the front of the bed to raise the height

 
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 » Sun. Dec. 11, 2016 1:53 pm

jasius wrote:Oh, I see... I was afraid of it burning too fast if I put too much coal but forgot about the thermostat. It's between 5 and 6 now. I am actually adding coal manually to the front of the bed to raise the height
Yes that's fine but you are giving up the advantages of thermostat and hopper.

The hopper feeds pre-warmed coal that very quickly gives up its gasses and burns with no danger of puff back from unburned gas.

During normal operation the thermostat will hold a set heat, and as the coal bed ashes up the air shutter will open more to maintain that heat. That means that when you clear ash and the hopper feeds fresh hot coal, there will be an extra supply of air to burn the gasses, and the extra heat from those burning gasses will again cause the thermostat to close down the air shutter to whatever heat level has been determined. Fast and quick tending with no fiddling with the air supply. The stove does it by itself.

So at first opportunity raise that hopper to the top position.

 
franco b
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Posts: 11416
Joined: Wed. Nov. 05, 2008 5:11 pm
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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 » Sun. Dec. 11, 2016 2:00 pm

With a thermostat position of 5 or 6 that is probably a high heat setting. That's OK when starting the fire but you can probably lower it to maybe 4 or even lower for lower output.

Be certain to close the poker slots after shaking and slicing by moving the handles to the right after shaking or you will overheat.

At higher heat levels I have found it advantageous to clear the front and the ends of the coal bed of ash using the poker from above. Very important to have the entire bed burning. Dead spots indicate ash buildup.

 
jasius
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Location: Allentown, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Franco Belge model 144.08.02

Post by jasius » Fri. Dec. 16, 2016 8:36 pm

OK, I managed to get the fire going. It's all about cleaning that ash in front of the pan every 4 hours or so. But my problem is heat output. It's very unpredictable. I fired it up a couple of days ago and it really put out humongous amount of heat with dial set at 6. Now it's so so. It's burning but heat output is very different. I clean the grill as I should, clean the front of the pan, coal is nice and red and thick. Yet heat output is somewhat dissapointing. What am I missing? I should of course buy a thermometer to be more quantitative, can you recommend a cheap thermometer that would do the job?

 
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 » Fri. Dec. 16, 2016 9:01 pm

A new fire starts to ash up after a few days and puts out less heat. Presumably you do have the slicing poker and use it in the three slots to knife or slice over the grate, as well as finish up with shaking? Doing a good job of clearing ash allows more new coal to burn with more heat output.

About 40 pounds a day is about maximum for these stoves tended at 8 hour intervals. If this is inadequate you might need a second or bigger stove.

The next step to get a little longer run time is to raise the hopper to a position right on top of the supports. This might need a banking bar of 1 inch height to prevent coal from spilling out the front. This will give a little more capacity to the fire pot.

A thermometer will not be much help because most of the stove is shielded, but Harbor Freight does sell a cheap IR model that is handy also for measuring spots around the house for possible heat leaks.

 
jasius
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: Franco Belge model 144.08.02

Post by jasius » Fri. Dec. 16, 2016 9:15 pm

franco b wrote:A new fire starts to ash up after a few days and puts out less heat. Presumably you do have the slicing poker and use it in the three slots to knife or slice over the grate, as well as finish up with shaking? Doing a good job of clearing ash allows more new coal to burn with more heat output.

About 40 pounds a day is about maximum for these stoves tended at 8 hour intervals. If this is inadequate you might need a second or bigger stove.

The next step to get a little longer run time is to raise the hopper to a position right on top of the supports. This might need a banking bar of 1 inch height to prevent coal from spilling out the front. This will give a little more capacity to the fire pot.

A thermometer will not be much help because most of the stove is shielded, but Harbor Freight does sell a cheap IR model that is handy also for measuring spots around the house for possible heat leaks.
slicing only in two spots. no poking, no third hole to slice that I know of

 
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 » Fri. Dec. 16, 2016 9:37 pm

jasius wrote:slicing only in two spots. no poking, no third hole to slice that I know of
The left hand shaker uncovers two slots. One right in the middle. Take a light to it and see. Missing that leaves the center of the grate ashed up.


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