Examples and Features of European Coal Stove Designs

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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 » Thu. Jul. 06, 2017 1:38 pm

European stoves were imported to this country right from the beginning. Even Masonry stoves based on the long history of tile stoves in europe.

Here is Martin Luther's stove:
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Like almost everything else things started with imports of goods and ideas from Europe.

When the oil shortage hit in the 1970s many European companies decided to export to this country. Of particular interest to us as coal burners are the designs peculiar to them. Makers i can think of offhand are:
Godin, Elel, Surdiac, Franco Belge, Weso, and no doubt more. I would like to explore what makes these stoves better or worse in some features than American stoves. To start I will write a revue of the Franco Belge stoves which I understand best.

Please chime in with your experience, your opinion, or even what you have just heard about any of these stoves.

Richard

 
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
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood Modern Oak 114
Coal Size/Type: nut and pea

Post by franco b » Thu. Jul. 06, 2017 4:29 pm

Coal burns from the bottom up. That's kind of an axiom, but not always , especially in a Godin which burns both from the front to back and bottom to top.
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Look at the picture of a Godin Oval with the front door open. That big front grill is directly behind the primary air opening in the door. Air obviously enters from the side as well as to the bottom grate area. In fact it will not burn at all until coal is loaded above that front grill to prevent air from bypassing the coal altogether. This is common in other European designs, but not carried to this extreme. An advantage to this is that even with a lot of ash on the grate, air can still reach the unburned coal through the front grate.

Just above the front grill is a passage in the brick that lines the stove for air to reach the top to hopefully, for air to burn of gasses. Since that air is limited by primary air with no provision for separate secondary air it does not work too well and when opening the top to load there will frequently be a little pup of exploding gas.
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Almost everyone likes the styling of the Godin Oval as well as other models and they do heat well

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nortcan
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Post by nortcan » Thu. Jul. 06, 2017 9:51 pm

franco b wrote:Coal burns from the bottom up. That's kind of an axiom, but not always , especially in a Godin which burns both from the front to back and bottom to top.
My question about that burning style is : when opening the front door in front of the grate, is there a lot of ash falling down on the floor. (not shure of my English). That Imported Stove Topics is very instructive.
Thanks
Last edited by Richard S. on Fri. Jul. 07, 2017 4:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Fixed quote


 
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 » Thu. Jul. 06, 2017 10:49 pm

No, ash does not fall out easily. All the Godin stoves are notorious for the coal bridging and having to be poked to get the ash to fall. Some users even resort to letting down that front grill and shoveling out the ash. As you might imagine this can be dangerous to avoid a lap full of burning coal. Here is a picture of the bottom grate:
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As you can see the revolving or shaker part leaves a lot of the bottom choked with ash. The Large Oval covered more of the bottom but still not all.

With all the poking and prodding to clear the grate of ash there is always the danger of a burning coal slipping through the front grate. I have two nice burn spots on my carpet from that. The tiny ash pan and that problem of clearing ash is why I gave up on these stoves, though they heat well and look great.

 
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nortcan
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Post by nortcan » Sat. Jul. 08, 2017 12:28 pm

Thanks a lot Franco, also like the look of these stoves and almost bought one a few months ago, so I appreciate your honest comments on them.

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