Hitzer 254

 
coalder
Member
Posts: 1493
Joined: Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 1:48 pm
Location: somewhere high in the catskill mountains
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 160
Coal Size/Type: Nut
Other Heating: wood parlor stove

Post by coalder » Mon. May. 03, 2021 8:35 am

oliver power wrote:
Sun. May. 02, 2021 10:08 pm
I've had to restart my 254 at least three times during these low low burns. The stove will run on low low with no problem. Here are the issues trying to burn low low in these mild temps. Weak draft, and Damp coal. Igniting fresh coal at tending takes forever. Fire can easily be put out if one gets impatient. I'd say the 30-95 is king for the low low burns. As mentioned; The 30-95 has the hopper for drying / preheating the coal. And with it's single grate, the primary
air is more concentrated. On top of that, the 30-95 is a little less efficient, allowing more heated air to flow up the chimney, making for a better draft.
Oliver, I wouldn't be too quick to pass judgement on that 254 just yet. Had a similar issue with my boiler a while back. Was always able to idle it at 180-200* any weather no problem mpd almost closed. One evening while in a hurry, closed it up before I felt it was going properly. Checked it a few hrs later with IR gun 167* on the door. Opened the ash door, got it roaring & was fine after that. I always open ash door & get it revved up pretty good, load it & wait till mano hits about .10 before closing up. By following this practice have never had a problem in mild weather. It'll,idle 24/7 any weather, drawing .02-.03. This experience taught me that in order to do this, the coal bed must be fully ignited & roaring before closing shop. Just passing on my experience.
Jim


 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6019
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Mon. May. 03, 2021 9:03 am

Jim, that worked for me too until I reach a point that the big 354 starts throwing too much heat into my house. Now in a shop situation that is different and I believe that is where Oliver has his 254. Did you run into that issue in the house, same as me? Just wondering.

 
charlesosborne2002
Member
Posts: 400
Joined: Sat. Jan. 24, 2015 11:22 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vigilant II 2310
Other Heating: natural gas central forced air

Post by charlesosborne2002 » Mon. May. 03, 2021 9:25 am

Hoytman wrote:
Mon. May. 03, 2021 12:53 am
Are you running a Hitzer 254 also?

For some reason I was thinking you were running a Harmon/Legacy TLC 2000.
No, I have Vigilant 2. In addition to opening the interior baffle, I crack some windows at 50 degree weather. I also took advice here and leave the sides alone when slicing the grates, to slow the output. But I try not to use it at all in warm weather.
I did once consider the Harmon TLC2000, but got the Vigilant on sale for a bargain.

 
coalder
Member
Posts: 1493
Joined: Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 1:48 pm
Location: somewhere high in the catskill mountains
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 160
Coal Size/Type: Nut
Other Heating: wood parlor stove

Post by coalder » Mon. May. 03, 2021 10:08 am

Hoytman wrote:
Mon. May. 03, 2021 9:03 am
Jim, that worked for me too until I reach a point that the big 354 starts throwing too much heat into my house. Now in a shop situation that is different and I believe that is where Oliver has his 254. Did you run into that issue in the house, same as me? Just wondering.
No, boiler is in basement, & firebox is much smaller than yours. Just about same size firebox as 254. 13x19" firebox. I did however fail to mention that my boiler has secondaries on the door that I do keep cracked. None the less, my coal has to be really going before shutdown or I'll have problems.
Jim

 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6019
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Mon. May. 03, 2021 12:10 pm

Are using secondaries when burning low. I’ve heard too much secondary can kill an anthracite coal fire. When using mine they were mostly just cracked as well.

 
charlesosborne2002
Member
Posts: 400
Joined: Sat. Jan. 24, 2015 11:22 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vigilant II 2310
Other Heating: natural gas central forced air

Post by charlesosborne2002 » Mon. May. 03, 2021 12:22 pm

coalder wrote:
Mon. May. 03, 2021 10:08 am
No, boiler is in basement, & firebox is much smaller than yours. Just about same size firebox as 254. 13x19" firebox. I did however fail to mention that my boiler has secondaries on the door that I do keep cracked. None the less, my coal has to be really going before shutdown or I'll have problems.
Jim
What do you mean when you say the coal has to be really going before shutdown? Is there a right way to shut down? I just let it pass away quietly without defibrillation or other resuscitation measures.

 
coalder
Member
Posts: 1493
Joined: Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 1:48 pm
Location: somewhere high in the catskill mountains
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 160
Coal Size/Type: Nut
Other Heating: wood parlor stove

Post by coalder » Mon. May. 03, 2021 12:51 pm

charlesosborne2002 wrote:
Mon. May. 03, 2021 12:22 pm
What do you mean when you say the coal has to be really going before shutdown? Is there a right way to shut down? I just let it pass away quietly without defibrillation or other resuscitation measures.
Didn't mean shut down for good, just for the night.
Jim


 
coalder
Member
Posts: 1493
Joined: Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 1:48 pm
Location: somewhere high in the catskill mountains
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 160
Coal Size/Type: Nut
Other Heating: wood parlor stove

Post by coalder » Mon. May. 03, 2021 12:56 pm

Hoytman wrote:
Mon. May. 03, 2021 12:10 pm
Are using secondaries when burning low. I’ve heard too much secondary can kill an anthracite coal fire. When using mine they were mostly just cracked as well.
Yes, 1/4 turn.
Jim

 
charlesosborne2002
Member
Posts: 400
Joined: Sat. Jan. 24, 2015 11:22 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vigilant II 2310
Other Heating: natural gas central forced air

Post by charlesosborne2002 » Mon. May. 03, 2021 2:01 pm

coalder wrote:
Mon. May. 03, 2021 12:51 pm
Didn't mean shut down for good, just for the night.
Jim
Ah, good--I see.

 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6019
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Mon. May. 03, 2021 2:47 pm

coalder wrote:
Mon. May. 03, 2021 12:56 pm
Yes, 1/4 turn.
Jim
Yep I did the same. I may try closing them when running low and slow next year. I sort of ran that way because after reloading and not ramping the stove much at all I figured giving some secondary might prevent an explosion. Never had an issue.

 
User avatar
oliver power
Member
Posts: 2970
Joined: Sun. Apr. 16, 2006 9:28 am
Location: Near Dansville, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: KEYSTOKER Kaa-2
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93 & 30-95, Vigilant (pre-2310), D.S. 1600 Circulator, Hitzer 254

Post by oliver power » Mon. May. 03, 2021 11:17 pm

coalder wrote:
Mon. May. 03, 2021 8:35 am
Oliver, I wouldn't be too quick to pass judgement on that 254 just yet. Had a similar issue with my boiler a while back. Was always able to idle it at 180-200* any weather no problem mpd almost closed. One evening while in a hurry, closed it up before I felt it was going properly. Checked it a few hrs later with IR gun 167* on the door. Opened the ash door, got it roaring & was fine after that. I always open ash door & get it revved up pretty good, load it & wait till mano hits about .10 before closing up. By following this practice have never had a problem in mild weather. It'll,idle 24/7 any weather, drawing .02-.03. This experience taught me that in order to do this, the coal bed must be fully ignited & roaring before closing shop. Just passing on my experience.
Jim
Thanks Jim. Yes, if I do as you say, No problem burning low. Like you said, the whole coal bed needs to be going good, then shut down. a little different learning curve to the batch fed stoves, over the hopper fed stoves.

 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6019
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Fri. May. 07, 2021 7:03 pm

Cold snap here. House was 61 this morning. Going to be cold until next weekend, so what they hey...I restarted for a few days. Figure I’ll burn what I had left over plus a bag, maybe. Mainly doing it to get rid of the coal that was in the stove since I hadn’t cleaned it out yet and the extra warmth will be nice without using the fuel oil or electric heaters. Toasty in here now. Cruising about 170-180 under the stat box. Wife was happy when she came home. Calling for low of upper 30’s each night for a week.

 
charlesosborne2002
Member
Posts: 400
Joined: Sat. Jan. 24, 2015 11:22 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vigilant II 2310
Other Heating: natural gas central forced air

Post by charlesosborne2002 » Fri. May. 07, 2021 8:09 pm

Hoytman wrote:
Fri. May. 07, 2021 7:03 pm
Cold snap here. House was 61 this morning. Going to be cold until next weekend, so what they hey...I restarted for a few days. Figure I’ll burn what I had left over plus a bag, maybe. Mainly doing it to get rid of the coal that was in the stove since I hadn’t cleaned it out yet and the extra warmth will be nice without using the fuel oil or electric heaters. Toasty in here now. Cruising about 170-180 under the stat box. Wife was happy when she came home. Calling for low of upper 30’s each night for a week.
We had that cold spell a couple of weeks ago--we call it Blackberry Winter, and sure enough my backyard blackberry patch was in full bloom. Looks like a good crop for this year. I had already put my container garden out in warm weather. I covered the tomatoes, and they seem fine. I planted more kale this year, and it seems to like cold air. In fact, last summer's kale stayed green all winter, even at 12 degrees, though it did not grow much in winter. It went to seed early in the spring, so I replaced it. Next week I will plant okra--they really like heat.

Attachments

-5-7-21.jpg
.JPG | 670.9KB | -5-7-21.jpg

 
User avatar
oliver power
Member
Posts: 2970
Joined: Sun. Apr. 16, 2006 9:28 am
Location: Near Dansville, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: KEYSTOKER Kaa-2
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93 & 30-95, Vigilant (pre-2310), D.S. 1600 Circulator, Hitzer 254

Post by oliver power » Sun. May. 09, 2021 10:49 pm

So now the little 254 is simmering away nicely. It kind of threw me off a little when we started having milder temps. But got're down now. With the milder outside temps, comes the weaker drafts. The weaker drafts mean that the stove takes a lot longer to ignite the fresh coal. The fresh coal is cold, and could be damp. That, along with a weak draft, can take forever to get the coal bed livened up. However, Like Coalder said; The whole coal bed needs to be alive & roaring away. Like 400* to 500*. Then shut it down. It will simmer down nicely. Been doing this now for I think three 24 hour tendings, with very good results. I will say; A hopper fed stove is WAY faster to tend during these milder temps.

 
Hoytman
Member
Posts: 6019
Joined: Wed. Jan. 18, 2017 11:30 pm
Location: swOH near a little town where the homes are mobile and the cars aren’t
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354
Coal Size/Type: nut coal
Other Heating: electric, wood, oil

Post by Hoytman » Mon. May. 10, 2021 12:55 am

I agree...tending wise for time and temp.

I’m running about 180 under the stat box now and I’ve noticed over the entire burn season that anything under 300 under the front doors (With a 180 stat box translates to about 230 on the doors) takes a good ramping of minimum 350 degrees...and likely the 400+ Oliver mentioned is best, then shut it back.

Certainly in these milder temps, and we had a gully washer today, and high humidity I am finding that running 170-180 just below the stat box really takes me about an 1-2 hours of watching the stove so it gets up to temp. Not always, but sometimes. Depends a lot whether or not the temp is higher or lower when I tend. If it is lower then tending is faster because draft is better. Get it good and hot and shut it down and the entire coal bed is lit and will ride for 24 or more. That is, when I need to add more. Note that I’m only running with about a 30-40 lbs of nut in, tops. Oh there was some in it, so call it 50-55lbs.

I think instead of tending every 24 and letting it die down so far, I think I’ll just open it up and rev it a little every 8-10 hours or so and see how that works without shaking or adding coal. I’ve noticed if and when I tend in 12 or 24 it takes a long time to rev it up. That gets old, so I thought I’d try revving it sooner and more frequent. Of course, that depends on how many red coals I am seeing across the coal bed too.

Oh...and my damper is open about an inch and pulling -.02 with 41F OAT.

Should have enough coal in the box to run until Tuesday night and maybe a little longer, but that is when might time temps creep back up into the mid to upper 40’s with mid 60’s during the day. It will then be getting too hot in here again. I’ll be watching the forecast. Hoping I can permanently shut down and clean out for the season by Wednesday. We’ll see what the weather does.

This little cold snap has give me the opportunity to burn what was in the box plus a bag or two. Getting really fine ash burning low and slow too. Super fine.


Post Reply

Return to “Hand Fired Coal Stoves & Furnaces Using Anthracite”