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[mikejkd]

It seams that when the blower comes on there is no air going throw the grates. It appears that the draft is only at the front right under the door. It is to hot to see where it is actually coming from but it would seem that there should be a better draft going throw the grates. Is this not the intended design? With the ash door off and the blower going I can barely feel air coming out.

[halfpress]

 I might be wrong, but I understand that our Heatmor 200CSS is supposed to have a good 4" or more bed of hot coals - which it does most of the time. So a lot of the time our grates are definitely not exposed, per se, unless I were to let the fire burn WAY down to fine ash or completely out. When I do get to that point, I can sift the ashes around with the flue cleaner tool (doubles as a nice log pusher / ash raker) and, if the ash pan underneath isn't too full, easily push the fine powder down and expose the grates. If I can't, I will check with the auger and make sure it's not full down there.

 I think the manual says something about trying - if possible - to rake the ashes around and expose about 25% of the grate area. I don't find that to be possible most of the time and, as I said, the instructions I have from our dealer suggesting that we want a deep coal bed throughout the entire firebox would tend to mean that often isn't possible. Maybe that also means the air is coming up from the grates to a degree, but fueling those coals from underneath.

 Most important thing, from what I understand, is that your blower has a clear path, the air vents from the blower aren't blocked, the ash channel underneath the grates isn't packed with ashes and the flapper on the blower is opening when running and sealing well when not.

 Ours burns hot as hell and will reduce a good load of wood to coals and ash in the course of a day with no signs of trouble.

Hope this helps!
 - Aaron

[juddspaintballs]

Mine burns from the front too.  The blower is in the front and the grates are open from the front to the back.  Air will follow the easiest path.  When the fuel in the front burns up, the fuel in the back will.  It's working fine.  Rake the coals around when you reload and keep going.

[MattyNH]

Mine burns from the front too.  The blower is in the front and the grates are open from the front to the back.  Air will follow the easiest path.  When the fuel in the front burns up, the fuel in the back will.  It's working fine.  Rake the coals around when you reload and keep going.

Same way my burns..Just my blower is in the rear.

[vinrum]

Matt, If your not getting any air through your grates, I would take the front blower off and check the little port that leads there..When I bought my Unit, that port was packed solid with ash, due to neglect..After I cleaned it out and put the blower back on, it runs like a champ..As for the bed of coals, the only time I had a solid bed this last weekend when it was in the 50's.   But at night when the boiler had to work harder, the coals were gone..In my normal burns, I have about 40-50% of the grates exposed,,

Steve

[mikejkd]

The reason for my asking was the thick coal bed. If it is supposed to be like that then fine. I just thought that if there was a draft going through the grates it would burn much better.

[farmeral]

In my limited experience with my Heatmor 100, a nice bed of coals is fine, but not a thick bed of ashes.  Too much ash will reduce the flow from the blower significantly.  Try taking out some ashes and reduce the coal bed a bit.  Mine runs fine with very little coal bed.

[OBXNC]

There's an orifice that splits the air flow above and below the grates. The size of it is determined by your fuel - coal or wood. I had my inlet plugged the other day, too. I actually had to remove some ashes the hard way - with a shovel. I went too long without a clean-out.