Solid Fuel Not Getting Hot?

[Jennarasion]

12 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Is it a Morso stove with the half moon shaped throat baffle plate, if so remove it.  Read my other post about it

Its an alor stove I think, baffle is V shaped if I recall correctly 

[booke23]

12 minutes ago, Jennarasion said:

I do not! The previously owners dismantled it i think,

 

That's poor.....a CO alarm is a requirement of the BSS. 

[magnetman]

It is interesting about the fuel type. 

 

Sometimes there are batches of fuel which are very bad. I've had Homefire and also Brazier which were terrible in the past. It can also be related to the damp in the fuel. Coal bags are rarely sealed and can hold significant moisture. 

 

 

[Jennarasion]

5 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

For tonight, try riddling as much of the coal dust and ash as you can through the grate to allow more bottom air into the fire.  Also (although it sounds daft) close the top vent all the way to the minus position and fully open the bottom vent on the door.  This should allow more air flow directly through the coals where it needs to be.

 

Tomorrow, when it's cool, remove the angled firebricks and try again with about three times as much supertherm on there once the fire is burning properly.  The angled bricks trick works well in spring and autumn to reduce fuel use but won't help when it's this cold outside.

 

Also see if one of your neighbours will lend you a shovelful of something other than supertherm - I've used it many times, but I once got an awful batch that would barely burn.

Im not sure if the top vent is only for aesthetic purposes, but it doesn't move. Ive burnt fingers trying to get it to move before 😂

Ill try to find some other coal as well 🤔

19 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Flue is bad. 

Thats what I'm thinking as well, and I will probably have to replace the stove while I'm at it

[booke23]

5 minutes ago, magnetman said:

It is interesting about the fuel type. 

 

Yes true. I wouldn't recommend a particular type of coal as everyone has a different stove setup, so what works great for me might not be so good in another stove. I generally find homefire ovals to be really good but a bit pricy, and brazier, while cheap is quite poor in my stove.....but still much better than Supertherm! Oxbow products seem to be pretty good at a reasonable price. 

 

But often you're limited by what you can easily source locally unless you fancy ordering it by the tonne or half tonne pallet. 

Edited December 1, 2023 by booke23

[Jennarasion]

7 minutes ago, booke23 said:

 

That's poor.....a CO alarm is a requirement of the BSS. 

You would be shocked with my discoveries over the months 😂 im going to be booking a bss exam soon, just to see whats not up to scratch in general

[magnetman]

3 minutes ago, Jennarasion said:

Im not sure if the top vent is only for aesthetic purposes, but it doesn't move. Ive burnt fingers trying to get it to move before 😂

Ill try to find some other coal as well 🤔

Thats what I'm thinking as well, and I will probably have to replace the stove while I'm at it

It not only has a dodgy kink but seems to also be made of thin wall ducting tube which is not appropriate. 

 

Major alterations needed I think. 

 

In the meantime good luck with it I hope you can get warm plus do get a CO alarm to be safe. 

[rusty69]

1 hour ago, Jennarasion said:

Excuse the ash on the floor, but this is it currently. A log has just turned into embers after burning for around an hour, and coal below it. Ashtray is virtually empty. I dont think there is much ash I can poke through the grate at the moment.

 

See also the temperature on my fans, and my flue (which really might be the cause as it doesnt seem perfectly sealed, and rain falls through as well)

I would:

 

1.Clean it out .Clean flue etc

 

2.Install CO alarm(s)

 

3.Remove any additional fire bricks 

 

4.investigate if there is a lower air vent 

 

5.if so, burn coal only with lots of bottom air and stove door closed and top vent closed until you know how to drive it. 

 

6.Try and get the flue replaced with one with less joints preferably welded or even a single straight pipe (may mean shifting the stove) 

Good luck 

Edited December 1, 2023 by rusty69

[TheBiscuits]

7 minutes ago, Jennarasion said:

Im not sure if the top vent is only for aesthetic purposes, but it doesn't move. Ive burnt fingers trying to get it to move before 😂

 

It's in the wrong position for solid fuel, but in a good position for burning wood when the bottom vent is closed.

 

Top air for wood, bottom air for solid fuels.

 

Again preferably when it's cool, try and get that top vent moving.  It might need wiggling or bashing with something to free it if it's stuck.  Tap it with a chunk of firewood to see if it will move while hot, but don't break the stove glass while doing this!

 

Don't you have a pair of fire gloves?  Handling a hot stove without them is asking for trouble.  They don't need to be fancy branded ones, I use welding gauntlets bought from my local builders merchants.

[nicknorman]

When the stove door is open, you get more radiant heat out. That is the sort of heat that toasts your front whilst your back is freezing. Opening the stove door also provides a great escape route for any warm air in the boat to rush up the chimney, to be replaced by freezing cold air coming in through the vents.

 

As a rough guide, with the door open the efficiency of the stove is about 25%. With the stove door closed is is around 80%. Massive difference! This is why stoves were invented to replace open fires!

So although opening the door might seem to give a blast of heat, it will actually reduce the general air temperature in the boat considerably. Don’t do it!

 

Check the flue, Supertherm etc tends to coat the inside of the flue with something that closely resembles concrete, to the point where there is barely a hole in the middle. This needs to be cleaned out forcefully.

 

Supertherm makes a lot of ash, you need to empty the ash pan at least once a day, and riddle the stove several times a day. If lack of heat is an issue, don’t use wood, just use coal. Wood gives off far less heat than coal.

 

We’ve started using Winterblaze, it is much better than Supertherm at least because it makes about 1/4 of the amount of ash.

[rusty69]

Closer inspection of that flue and the fact that rain gets in, I would be quite wary of using it at all, especially with the stove door open and no CO alarm. 

Edited December 1, 2023 by rusty69

[magnetman]

38 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Flue is bad. 

 

[Ianws]

44 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

OK Ta.

 

47 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

"only have 1 air vent, but grate is clear. "

That answer might not be answering your question @ditchcrawler

 

It depends what the OP defines as a grate.

Is there a completely solid platform at the base of the stove that the fuel sits on? Or does the stove have a raised base for the fuel to sit on, with air gaps in it, above an ash pan.

Sorry if I'm being too simplistic, I'm just trying to rule out its not a wood only stove. 

[TheBiscuits]

1 minute ago, Ianws said:

 

That answer might not be answering your question @ditchcrawler

 

It depends what the OP defines as a grate.

Is there a completely solid platform at the base of the stove that the fuel sits on? Or does the stove have a raised base for the fuel to sit on, with air gaps in it, above an ash pan.

Sorry if I'm being too simplistic, I'm just trying to rule out its not a wood only stove. 

 

See pictures earlier.  It has a top and bottom air control and a raised grate with an ashpan under.

[rusty69]

2 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

See pictures earlier.  It has a top and bottom air control and a raised grate with an ashpan under.

Is the bottom air control that lever looking thing? 

 

If so, is it open or closed? 

12 minutes ago, magnetman said:

 

Bottom joint looks a bit gappy 

[LadyG]

Essentially the stove itself gets hot, and radiates the heat out to the boat. Regarding opening  the door fully you are preventing the stove heating up. The flue should be hot to the hand. If you crack the door open this will increase the draught, note this is often done to get fire from start, plenty of Kindling on a layer of coal, leave spaces between the coal. The coals should build up to glow red. Don't open the door fully for too long.

Coal should be dry, and I keep the stove warm all winter. I use the premìum coal, and hardwood logs. It takes time to adapt to your stove, and it will be affected by usage and by wind age. Keep air spaces in the fuel.

Clean it from below and from above, a lot of soot dislodged will indicate the problem. 

Edited December 1, 2023 by LadyG

[Ianws]

2 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

See pictures earlier.  It has a top and bottom air control and a raised grate with an ashpan under.

I did see that. I was staying in a cottage last week that had a Charnwood (I think) woodburner that had top and bottom air controls. The ashpan  here looks a bit low in height for a smokeless fuel stove and I can't see a fitting on the front to attach the tool you would usually use to pull the  ashpan out. 

[TheBiscuits]

2 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

Is the bottom air control that lever looking thing? 

 

It's on the open door below the glass.  We can't see the control itself in the pics we have, but we can see part of the vent hole that will line up with the ashpan when the door is shut.

 

I'm also concerned about what appears to be a plastic sack touching the right hand side of the stove!

[magnetman]

15 minutes ago, Ianws said:

 

That answer might not be answering your question @ditchcrawler

 

It depends what the OP defines as a grate.

Is there a completely solid platform at the base of the stove that the fuel sits on? Or does the stove have a raised base for the fuel to sit on, with air gaps in it, above an ash pan.

Sorry if I'm being too simplistic, I'm just trying to rule out its not a wood only stove. 

It does look a bit funny doesn't it. 

 

A little bit of a woodburner look. 

[Ianws]

I just had a look at my multifuel stove at home. From the pictures of the OPs stove I'd guess it's a woodburner. The depth of the ashpan doesn't look anywhere near what would would be needed to cope with the ash and clinker from smokeless fuel. 

[magnetman]

Funny you should say that. 

This would be a good explanation for why it won't burn coal properly. 

[bizzard]

We need to know Jennarisation whether there are grate bars or a flat solid plate under those burning coals.  Grate bars coal, solid plate wood.

Edited December 2, 2023 by bizzard

[Ianws]

1 minute ago, bizzard said:

We need yo know whether there are grate bars or a flat solid plate under those burning coals.  Grate bars coal, solid plate wood.

Already asked that but not as succinctly as you  

[magnetman]

I say that sliding out bit is a solid plate and the ash comes out underneath into the hearth because this is designed to be installed in an open fireplace. 

 

 

 

Wood burning fires need occasional maintenance but the general idea is to burn the wood in a bed of its own ash. 

 

 

[bizzard]

Susan in Swallows and Amazons was brilliant at making fires out doors with bits of dry leaves, pine cones, dry reeds, twigs and so on, to make tea, heat up Pemican and to boil loads of eggs.