Coal Too Wet Cause Out Fire?

daluds · Post by **daluds** » Thu. Mar. 05, 2009 8:21 pm

Hello,

Anyone know if coal can be too wet and cause an out fire?

Thanks,

Dave

coalmeister · Post by **coalmeister** » Thu. Mar. 05, 2009 10:09 pm

If it is running onto the grate I bet it could put the fire out...

Qball · Post by **Qball** » Thu. Mar. 05, 2009 10:18 pm

I have dumped coal from a 5 gal pail into my hand fired that had been frozen or wet. The bottom of the bucket would have water in it. Stove would steam and sizzle, but haven't lost a fire yet. Now I shovel some from the tops of the bucket and pour out the water into anouther one.

whistlenut · Post by **whistlenut** » Thu. Mar. 05, 2009 10:24 pm

Keep one bucket with a few small holes in it for the wet or frozen coal. Try to get a drain pan under it for an overnight, so when you need to use that coal it won't be carrying water into you fire. Steam burns aren't much fun!

Post by **stoker-man** » Fri. Mar. 06, 2009 5:51 am

Dave, if you're talking about your 520, I doubt it. The warmth of the feed pipe near the pot should have evaporated whatever water that didn't run down the pipe into the bin. I'd be more concerned about rotting out the bin feed pipe.

daluds · Post by **daluds** » Fri. Mar. 06, 2009 11:42 am

Stoker-man,

Yes, its in the DF-520. Had a couple of out fires after starting on a new pallet of coal that seems to contain more water in the bags. I have drilled a couple more holes in the bottom of my trash barrel bin that drains into a washer pan. I suck up about 1 gallon of water for every 3 bags before it goes into the DF-520. I just noticed while cleaning out the pot to restart the fire the coal was very wet. Not sure why the recent out fires.

BTW, it appears the cost of running coal and oil is about the same now since the oil price is below $2/gallon. Is there any problems with switching to oil so I can save my coal? I was considering covering the coal filled pot with a piece of sheet metal, and then cover with kao wool while running on oil.

Thanks,

Dave

Post by **stoker-man** » Fri. Mar. 06, 2009 4:32 pm

I can't remember ever hearing that you needed to cover the pot when running oil. Oil is really meant as a convenience and it's not as efficient as it would be in a regular oil-fired boiler, but give it a try.

daluds · Post by **daluds** » Fri. Mar. 06, 2009 9:04 pm

Stoker-man,

The coal fire went out again tonight. So I turned it to oil until I had time to restart the coal again, but I can't run on oil since inside the house really smells like exhaust. I'll have to get someone to check it out. The CO2 detector did not go off so assume its fine. I tried to restart the coal, and the auger was stuck. I moved the coal bin a bit and spun the auger by hand, and its seems to be freed up now. Maybe there is something clogging the auger. I'll let it run empty, and check it out tomorrow.

Thanks,

Dave

e.alleg · Post by **e.alleg** » Fri. Mar. 06, 2009 9:35 pm

sounds like you have a draft problem, that would explain the coal out fires and the smell when burning oil. Make sure the chimney isn't plugged up..

daluds · Post by **daluds** » Fri. Mar. 06, 2009 10:10 pm

The draft running oil seemed fine, but I will remeasure tomorrow. I did notice the gasket around the door pulled out. I'll have to glue it in tomorrow.

Thanks,

Dave

daluds · Post by **daluds** » Fri. Mar. 06, 2009 10:59 pm

Checked the tooth setting, and it was set really high. Maybe I didn't have it tightened enough. Can running oil make the wet coal harden together so the auger is hard to turn when switching back to coal?

Post by **stoker-man** » Sat. Mar. 07, 2009 6:37 am

I don't see how. It was probably the high feed rate.

daluds · Post by **daluds** » Sat. Mar. 07, 2009 10:02 pm

Thanks all. I'm going to look into installing the Tjernlund In-Line Draft Inducer Vertical Vent Systems D-3 and the UC-1. Hopefully, this will allow me to run with oil too.

Dave

daluds · Post by **daluds** » Thu. Mar. 12, 2009 2:14 pm

Does anyone know how to close off the stoker blower when running on oil?

Thanks.

Post by **stoker-man** » Thu. Mar. 12, 2009 7:56 pm

If smoke is feeding back through the stoker, your draft is no good. I suppose you could lay a piece of steel over the top of the pot.