Hoping to find a manual for an unknown stove - perhaps Efel Arden Harmony?

[natjencks]

Hi, I just moved into a new house and there is an existing Efel wood stove. From what I can find out from googling images, it seems like its prob an Efel Arden Harmony, but its a rear venting model.

It's not working very well, it doesn't draw well when its initially lit, and the stove fills with smoke which leaks out into the room from all the small holes in the stove. If I wait and keep going with it it eventually will heat up enough and start drawing smoke out the chimney.

There are various parts in the stove which I'm not 100% sure how they are designed to function, and would love to find a manual.

Anyone have ideas about a manual or advice on how to get the stove to perform better? Many pictures attached.

 

[coaly]

Name that Efel

Hello, I'm new to the forum and wood burning stoves in general. Got a place with an Efel stove. I'm guessing it's from the mid 80s. Is Efel still around? I've checked online but can't find a company website. Also, it appears that this stove can burn coal or wood. Found some videos on operating...

www.hearth.com

Did you try with ash pan door open?

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Controls similar to this?

https://woodstoves.net/documents/Efel/Harmony-I-Manual.pdf

 

[natjencks]

Thanks! The Harmony 1 manual you linked to is very similar looking but the controls are different. Specifically there primary and secondary air adjustment don't exist on my stove like they do in that manual.

 

[coaly]

Your pics look like it connects to a masonry chimney. If the flue is 8x8, that is a much larger area than the stove outlet, so it’s not going to draft as well or very much at all when cold.
Make sure there are no clean outs open or any openings into flue that can leak air in. Make sure it is sealed where stove pipe enters clay. Make sure the screen at top of chimney is clean if you have one. Did you look up or down chimney to make there are no obstructions and it’s clean?

Most smoking problems are the venting, not the stove.

By leaving the door open a while before lighting it may pre-heat the flue somewhat, then build your fire and light wadded up newspaper in the back on top. That should roar up the stack preheating it as well. If it is sluggish with just twisted up newspaper and open door, (open ash door if grate in place and not a solid bottom you burn on) there is something wrong with venting. The open door gives it plenty of air to burn freely bypassing any mistake being made with controls. If that checks out; Open a window slightly in the same room as the stove when lighting and it should help it start faster.

Did you make sure the thermostat door opens when thermostat is turned up?

Does this have a solid grate that does not move to clean? It looks like the two slots at door bottom are for a slicer knife. Do they have little doors on the back that close until knife is inserted?

Is there a hopper installed through the top? Can’t tell through the glass if that is the back or the front of hopper behind glass at top.

 

[begreen]

I think this might be an Arden Coal 082-65. If so, as a coal burner it probably won't do so well burning wood. The folks over at the coal pail forum may be of more help.

EFEL Stove Parts/Tools | Imported Hand Fired Coal Stoves Using Anthracite | Coalpail.com Forum

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[natjencks]

Your pics look like it connects to a masonry chimney. If the flue is 8x8, that is a much larger area than the stove outlet, so it’s not going to draft as well or very much at all when cold.
Make sure there are no clean outs open or any openings into flue that can leak air in. Make sure it is sealed where stove pipe enters clay. Make sure the screen at top of chimney is clean if you have one. Did you look up or down chimney to make there are no obstructions and it’s clean?

Most smoking problems are the venting, not the stove.

By leaving the door open a while before lighting it may pre-heat the flue somewhat, then build your fire and light wadded up newspaper in the back on top. That should roar up the stack preheating it as well. If it is sluggish with just twisted up newspaper and open door, (open ash door if grate in place and not a solid bottom you burn on) there is something wrong with venting. The open door gives it plenty of air to burn freely bypassing any mistake being made with controls. If that checks out; Open a window slightly in the same room as the stove when lighting and it should help it start faster.

Thank you for the detailed reply, I really appreciate it! Your reply has made me realize there is a lot I don't know about this setup. I am going to have a chimney sweep come and inspect the chimney next week, hopefully that will help confirm that the chimney itself is clear and functioning as it should.

Did you make sure the thermostat door opens when thermostat is turned up?

I appologize for my ignorance on this topic, but I'm not sure what the thermostat door is?

Does this have a solid grate that does not move to clean? It looks like the two slots at door bottom are for a slicer knife. Do they have little doors on the back that close until knife is inserted?

Again I'm sorry I actually don't know what a slicer knife is. There are two little slots with hinged covers that close if they are not pushed open, it sounds like perhaps what you are suggesting? There are little hinged pieces of metal that hang over the slots to keep them closed

Is there a hopper installed through the top? Can’t tell through the glass if that is the back or the front of hopper behind glass at top.

I'm not sure. the door on the top opens up directly to the main chamber of the stove. at the bottom of the main chamber is a grate through which ash can fall into the ash tray below. At the front of the main chamber is a cast iron "fence" type thing with vertical iron posts presumably to keep wood from falling forward or resting on the glass of the door. At the bottom of this "fence" is a thin metal part the function of which I can't figure out.

thank you for all your help!

 

[coaly]

Yes, the slots are for cleaning ash from grate. Insert slicer knife through slots, flat across grate and with a slicing motion work back and forth and side to side across grate. This drops ash through grate easily. The doors prevent air from leaking in making the stove burn harder.

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Slicer knives slowly wear out. They get smaller looking like an envelope opener as they wear away. A flat bar works, but should be ground with an edge on the sides to move under coal easily. The in and out motion drags some ash out of the slots, so a sideways motion as well is cleaner for the home. Practice makes perfect.

The plate across the front is called a banking plate for coal, and a wood fence for wood. Normally they are solid for coal, straight across the top like a dam. Yours looks like one for wood, but maybe that stove uses the same one for both, it appears it may be set up for wood, and your missing the coal banking plate. After coal fire is established, this is the height you pour coal on fire up to. It prevents coal from falling toward door to hold the level over grate.

Putting coal in is called stoking the stove. If it had a large funnel shaped ring at the top, that would be a hopper. It looks like a barrel looking into the top of stove. Oval shaped like a big cone over the fire. Coal is poured through the top and filled to the top of stove. It only burns under the hopper on grate and around hopper. As it burns coal, gravity allows the coal supply to fall onto grate. As you clean fire, coal slowly drops making its way onto the grate. Not all coal stoves are hopper fed, some are stoked, or loaded by hand.
The hopper is normally adjustable in height. They set or hang on ridges that you set the height above grate. The lower the setting, the lower the coal under and around it. Raising the hopper allows the coal to be deeper under is, falling around the sides for a thicker hotter fire. Removal of hopper converts to wood use. This is called a combination wood/ coal stove.

This is why I’m unsure what you have, looks like a combo in the wood mode, but can’t see the inside well enough to tell.

The thermostat controls primary air under grate, up through coal bed. The control on the right upper corner opens a door that lets air into ash pan area under grate. American Stoves use a bimetallic spring to open door as it cools to maintain the set temperature. As the stove heats the coil, it closes the door to slow air flow slowing the fire.
European Stoves use light oil in a closed tubing system called a capillary tube. Like the sensor in an older gas oven, the fluid expands and contracts with heat using hydraulic action to open and close a door flap to adjust how much air is allowed into ash pan area. One end of capillary tube is closed off like a swelled up end in the tube full of fluid. This is placed in cool air flow moving toward stove to sense ambient air temp. The other end acts on a diaphragm to move door. You can probably see it easiest removing ash pan, and by turning up the control on back it should open, or since the stove is cold it may seal open waiting for heat to close it. Do not move the flapper door by hand. This type is much more accurate than a bimetallic spring type.

You “ can” burn wood in any coal stove. Just not efficiently. It will burn fast since it gets so much air, and coals fall through grate not allowing them to build up prolonging the fire. Stoves are designed for one fuel or the other. Combination stoves will operate better on one fuel or the other. This design is primarily a coal stove. Best for coal. Wood stoves converted for coal do much better with wood.

These are very efficient, normally burn pea size coal, that goes by what size does not fall through grate.

This is a very basic crash course on how these stove work. Don’t want to confuse you with the details on each part and tips you learn with use. You will have questions firing it, and there is a learning curve learning coal, but so much easier than wood with a steady heat output until you leave it go out in the spring!

 

[coaly]

The thin metal part at bottom of fence may be for height adjustment? This adjusts heat output by determining depth of coal bed on grate. Close ups of inside are needed to determine if there are supports for hopper, or different banking plates and their adjustment.

Another factor is if this has only been used for wood. Coal stoves require a more corrosion resistant stainless liner than for wood use. Make sure it is for coal use or it will rot out quickly. Coal stoves use a barometric damper, like a tee in connector pipe that opens and closes to allow air up chimney. This automatically adjusts for weather changes, fire, and is for coal use only. Coal requires better control of air through coal bed than wood. A manual damper for wood is not accurate enough to keep a coal fire burning steady, so that is a major difference in vent system. Never use a barometric damper with wood if this gas one installed on pipe. If you’re going to burn coal, it requires a barometric damper.

Inspecting or cleaning chimney and pipe will tell what fuel has been burned in it. Coal produces white ash like incrustation that can be like powder, or get hard over the summer like scale. Wood will be black or brown creosote that is very flammable. Coal does not produce creosote, but the fly ash in chimney is very corrosive.

 

[coaly]

Here is the hopper above the fire in my Hitzer. It is full of coal to the top of stove, so a 5 gallon pail of coal would fill it and last 24 hours or more. If I only shake it and do not add any, it burns 3 days. We only do that at season end when we let it go out.


That gives you an idea of how a hopper holds the fuel above fire, it won’t burn in the hopper since it can’t get air through it. If the gasket or seal on top door leaks, it can start to glow and a hopper fire increases the stove temperature and should be taken care of immediately. I have mistakenly closed the fill door on a small piece of coal allowing it to leak and learned to always wipe the seal area when closing so no debris is on sealing area after filling. Maintaining the gasket is a high priority of hopper fed stoves.