Stupid Question

[Russo81]

Im still new at burning wood and coal. Just got a 1981 russo coal/wood stove insert. Anyone have a problem with coal falling through grates? I get a nice fire going add some coal and then I would like to shake the grate but coal falls through and most of the time gets stuck, so i cant shake the great....i look in the ash pan and there are some nice size coal in it...?

 

[Fire Bug]

Im still new at burning wood and coal. Just got a 1981 russo coal/wood stove insert. Anyone have a problem with coal falling through grates? I get a nice fire going add some coal and then I would like to shake the grate but coal falls through and most of the time gets stuck, so i cant shake the great....i look in the ash pan and there are some nice size coal in it...?

Hey Russo81,
I am not a coal burner but I think possibly you may be using the wrong sized coal for your stove. This is just a suggestion and a possibility.
John

 

[Russo81]

Thanks maybe i am. I use nut coal...i thought that was what most coal stoves take......i dont know maybe ill try the next size up..like i said im still new at it....

 

[begreen]

Calling Craig to the lobby. Russo stove question on the front burner.

 

[ansehnlich1]

If your stove is designed for nut coal what may be happening here is that you are shaking the grate either too soon, or too much. If you are getting unburnt coal stuck in your grate then you are shaking too much. When I would shake down my coal stove I'd pay attention to the ashpan, and when the first small glowing embers would begin to fall through the grates that would be the time to stop. I could also feel the harder, nearly burnt coal chunks start to grind in the grates while shaking, that's a sure sign to stop shaking.

My Baker coal stove had a handle that you'd rock back and forth, which in turned rocked the intermeshed grates back and forth, if your's works the same, then stop shaking when you feel the resistance on the handle, or when you start to see glowing embers falling into the ashpan.

Let me know how you make out.

 

[begreen]

I was hoping Woodcutter or Craig would chime in. Perhaps it would be better to change the title of this thread to Russo coal question? Have you contacted Russo regarding the type of coal the stove is designed for and what size?

http://www.russostoves.com

 

[Russo81]

ok i got it....i was shaking to hard and two soon.....i have a nice coal fire going tonight...about half way up the fire brick because thats all the coal i had....nothing stuck in the grates and house is really hot.....had two open a window. lol.... when i loaded all the coal on top of my first layer i got a carbon smell like rotten eggs but i shut the door and it only lasted a min or so and cleared up. its been about 2 hours since and everything is burning good no more smell....i dont know what would cause that! i got carbon monoxide detecters in the room...

 

[Russo81]

thanks for everyones help.

 

[Corie]

Glad to hear you're on track.

That stove is meant to burn chesnut or larger (stove) sized coal. It won't be able to burn pea coal, which is probably obvous to you due to the distance between the rocker grates.

Take care, good luck and if you need anything else, I'd be happy to help.

 

[berlin]

also, just fyi to make your coal burning experience easier; make sure you fill the coal as high as you can in the stove once you have a decent bed going; to the top of the firebrick if possible. always adjust the heat output with the air on a coalstove, not a combination of reducing air and fuel as is common with woodstoves to prevent creosote; this is unecessary and problematic in a coal stove, esp. with anthricite. reduce and adjust air supply only, not fuel, the bed should always be as deep as you can get it.