Ashley stove not producing heat

[vonb]

I purchased a place that came with an Ashley coal burning stove (model CBAC). The previous owners used it to heat the place with wood. I have been using it in the same manner. However, being overly cautious, I put magnetic ChimGard temp gauges on both the pipe and the stove. I try to keep both gauges in the Orange. However, the single wall pipe is usually in the yellow < 250 F. While the stove gauge is in the orange which is 250-450 F. The pipe gauge is 12” from the back of the stove sitting on the pipe.

With that said, the stove does not seem to be producing any heat. The manual says the stove is too hot when either the stove is red or the pipe is red. I keep the damper dial on the front of the Ashley in the middle.

What am I doing wrong? I do not have any kind of blower fan on the stove. The place in trying to heat is a single wide trailer with an add-on. The entire space is about 1,000 sq ft.

 

[sirbuildalot]

You need to take a poker and make some holes at the base of the coal bed so the air grate underneath can get air flow.

 

[Wood Hound]

What are you trying to burn ? Wood or coal ? If coal, it is not at all like wood..

 

[3jakes]

If this is what you have, get the fan attachment or rig a squirrel cage fan on the back of that sucker.
Makes all the difference.
& since it is a coal stove, it has a shaker grate.
Use it every morning to fire things up.

 

[Lee192233]

If it's a dedicated coal stove there probably isn't enough secondary air supply to burn wood efficiently. A wood fire needs air coming in above the fire bed.
Maybe you can find the parts breakdowns for the wood version and the coal version to see the difference between them.
Lee

 

[Wood Hound]

Here is a good forum for heating with coal..

https://coalpail.com/coal-forum/viewforum.php?f=55&sid=070fc48fe2de9de277d535956e860cb8

 

[Lee192233]

Here is a good forum for heating with coal..

https://coalpail.com/coal-forum/viewforum.php?f=55&sid=070fc48fe2de9de277d535956e860cb8

Agreed. That's where I learned. It's a completely different animal to burn.

 

[3jakes]

In the first 3 sentences the OP explains he is using it to burn wood.

 

[vonb]

Correct. I’m burning hardwood in it. Specifically, hickory with moisture content around 12%.

 

[vonb]

Also, I do believe the wood is burning efficiently as it is all dust and not charcoal clumps.

 

[sirbuildalot]

Like I said, its most likely the coal bed not allowing enough air. I had an Ashley/US Stoveworks stove like that and if you don't get the bed of coals air it didn't throw much heat. I don't think mine had a shaker. Just used my L shaped poker to shake up the coals and voila, it threw heat.

 

[HadleyPA]

I had one like that in my garage for a time. It was kind of the same way when it came to producing heat. Found out it wasn't getting enough air. I learned that if I left the ash door on the bottom cracked a touch it would produce lots of heat. That also made it practically eat the wood, but since it was in the garage I just burned junk or slabs in it anyways. Not sure you would want to leave the bottom cracked like that in the house but in the garage with cement floor I was not worried about the occasional coal falling out. You could try putting a metal cookie sheet under the door and leave it cracked for awhile and see if it makes a difference. The cookie sheet would just be that extra layer of protection in case a red coal happens to fall out the crack while your testing.

 

[farmer steve]

In the first 3 sentences the OP explains he is using it to burn wood.

Glad to see another Pennsyltuckian. York co, here @3jakes

 

[Yarz]

I try to keep both gauges in the Orange. However, the single wall pipe is usually in the yellow < 250 F. While the stove gauge is in the orange which is 250-450 F.

How are you controlling these temperatures? If you are controlling the air, then I agree with others that the fire isn't getting enough air.
I try to keep my gauge (on the pipe) in the orange range. I don't have one one the body of the furnace to compare, but I assume it's hotter

 

[vonb]

I’m trying to control the temp with the dial on the front. I don’t strike often which may be my problem. I’m also paying more attention to the temp gauge on stove as opposed to pipe. Pipe is always running really cool which is usually in the yellow zone of the gauge.

 

[Lee192233]

I’m trying to control the temp with the dial on the front. I don’t strike often which may be my problem. I’m also paying more attention to the temp gauge on stove as opposed to pipe. Pipe is always running really cool which is usually in the yellow zone of the gauge.

I usually run my flue pipe temp around 350 when burning wood.

 

[jetsam]

It's not unusual to get poor results when burning wood in a coal stove (or even a wood/coal stove).

Even a poor wood stove will do better. Swap the thing for a woodburner (and run a camera through the flue- the previous guy who thought it was OK to burn wood in a coal stove probably had little care for the venting system either!)

 

[revdup]

I purchased a place that came with an Ashley coal burning stove (model CBAC). The previous owners used it to heat the place with wood. I have been using it in the same manner. However, being overly cautious, I put magnetic ChimGard temp gauges on both the pipe and the stove. I try to keep both gauges in the Orange. However, the single wall pipe is usually in the yellow < 250 F. While the stove gauge is in the orange which is 250-450 F. The pipe gauge is 12” from the back of the stove sitting on the pipe.

With that said, the stove does not seem to be producing any heat. The manual says the stove is too hot when either the stove is red or the pipe is red. I keep the damper dial on the front of the Ashley in the middle.

What am I doing wrong? I do not have any kind of blower fan on the stove. The place in trying to heat is a single wide trailer with an add-on. The entire space is about 1,000 sq ft.

Because your wood fuel does not have the btu's that coal does you may have to open the damper further. I assume that the damper dial regulated the air intake and not the chimney. In any event check that your chimney is clear from top to bottom. Years ago I was swearing at a brand-new large parlor stove that was dumping a lot of smoke into the house whenever I opened the fire box door. Finally using a mirror, I checked the chimney. (25 feet of 6" id metabestos) It looked clear, and I could see a nice round circle of daylight at the top. By this point I was ready to take the stove out in the yard, put a couple sticks of dynamite in it and invite channel 10 to witness... but... I finally put a ladder up and went up and checked the top of the chimney. There was the top flange for screwing in the next length. With nothing in it, it was uninsulated. There was a coal-like, hard ring of creosote the size of the flange with only a 3" diameter hole in it. A couple whacks with a hammer, the creosote busted and fell to the bottom. A week later, I put an insulated flange and a cap on the chimney. End of problems, maybe not forever, but at least for the past 20 years. I also do a fair amount of cooking on it in the winter. My Vogelzang draws so well now that I never have to clean the chimney, but that also means I burn only dry fuel. If you are having creosote problem, quit burning wet wood. The kind of wood you are burning, has little to nothing to do with creosote, if it is dry wood. PS, I am also in a single wide with addition. It is so old that it only has one inch of insulation, but it is inside a metal pole-building with a sunroom on the south side where my firewood goes and dries fast.