What Went Wrong? What Did I Do Wrong???

 
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I'm On Fire
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Post by I'm On Fire » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 6:52 pm

So, two days ago I call up Bob from Crazy4Coal with a few questions. I decided sinc eit was supposed to be in the mid 40º's here in NJ a few days ago I'd fire up the Chubby for the first time. The first night went pretty easy. I loaded the stove, Bob walked me through the process of getting it lit and how to run the stove. The first night was fun. I woke in the morning to find the stove was still going. I shook it down, loaded it again before I went to work this morning. I came home this afternoon from work at 230pm saw the stove was still going. The body of the stove read around 460º and the stack gauge read 180º I thought all was well. I opened the draft control on the draft door and opened the manual damper. I waited a good 20 minutes before shaking the stove down. I didn't really get any flames before I shook it down. I took the ash pan outside and poured the ashes in the steel trash can I have. I came back in the house put the pan back in. Opened the loading door and this is the horror I discovered.

The stove is full of this [censored]. What did I do wrong? It was burning so well up until I got this evening and I went to refill it. Now I know why I wasn't getting flames when I opened the air control all the way. The fire was smothered.

Did I put too much coal in? I thought I had enough air gaps for the coal to burn evenly. I guess not.

What do I do to correct this? Not add so much coal?

I've been mixing nut and pea. I'd put about 3-4 shovel fulls of nut then 6 shovel fulls of pea. Should I do only one shovel full of pea to 3-4 shovel fulls of nut? I'm guessing that crap is the pea coal.

The stove as of now if completely shut down. I have to figure out how to clean out the crap that is now in it. My shovel doesn't quite fit in the door. I'm so sad right now. I was having so much fun and want to know what I did wrong. :(

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Coalfire
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Post by Coalfire » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 7:17 pm

IOF,
Is that looking down at the fire bed? it looks like your coal just all burned up, Do you have a baro, or know what your draft is, maybe you are burning to fast. Did you have the stove loaded up? If your stove body was 460F I would think that is a little high for the temps we are having, unless you have it cranking. Maybe getting some false air in. What are your shake down times, and how much coal do you have in the stove?
Have a great day, Eric
P.S. I have been following your posts and the stove looks great, I just don't remember your set up

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 7:23 pm

It is tough to tell from the pictures...is the ash stuck together in clumps? If not...you either didn't shake the ash down well enough, or you gave the stove too much air during the day (maybe both). If the ash is stuck in clumps...you have your first clinker(s). When the fire gets hot enough the ash can actually fuse together, forming a "clinker". Naturally the clinker doesn't go down through the grate when you shake down the stove. You either have to bust them up with a poker or fish them right out of the fire. When you are first starting a hand-fed stove it is easy to really get the fire cranking and form a clinker...be gentle with the air and let the fire spread throughout the firepot.

There is a learning curve with handfed stoves...be patient.

 
mason coal burner
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Post by mason coal burner » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 7:26 pm

sounds like maybe you added to much to fast . the pea coal may also choke the fire . do you add the coal before you shake .

 
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JB Sparks
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Post by JB Sparks » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 7:43 pm

IOF, it looks to me that the whole load of coal is burnt up, I'll bet you can use your poker and stir those ashes and most of it will drop into the ash pan. Last season was my first time with my Chubby and I'm still learning myself so I can't be too much help to you. But, hang in there and we will learn together this season. I would suggest watching Larry's video if you haven't already. I found it very helpful.

JB

 
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I'm On Fire
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Post by I'm On Fire » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 7:52 pm

Now that I am looking at it I think my Baro is set wrong. I think I am reading the Dwyer 25 wrong. So, I'm thinking it was running too hot and I did burn it all up. Which sucks.

I also don't think I've ever really explained my setup either. Its been so hectic here the past month what with my wife's father passing away. Basically, the way the stove is setup is I have one T coming out of the back of the stove which feeds into another T that the Baro sits in. At the bottom of the vertical T is a cap so I can clean the chimney. The vertical T goes into a SS liner; yes, I know I don't need it but it was existing to my wood stove so I just left it for the time being. I bought the SS liner from Rockford Chimney and asked if it was OK for me to leave it. They said it was fine. I'm not too worried about the liner being eaten away by the fly ash as all of Rockford's liners come with very good warranties. The liner is also designed for coal. But again, I know I won't get the 25 years out of it if I'd still be burning wood.

If you look at the picture of the Dwyer the guy who works on my oil furnace put the green arrow where he said is .02. I beleive following logic and counting that he actually has the arrow at .04. I set my baro to idle at .06 because I was basing the tic marks off of what the guy who works on my furnace said. The Dwyer was on my furnace up until a few days ago. I think I set the Baro on the Chubby up incorrectly and I was running my stove too hot even with it banked down.

The next picture shows how my stove is fed into my chimney.

The picture after that is of my new poker. That I made. The poker for my wood stove was too big to fit in the draft slots. So, I went out and picked up a steel rod threaded the one end with a die cut the other end down and put a point on it. The handle I happened to have from an old set of fireplace tools that I took the handles from.

The rest of the pictures are from last night. I didn't take any pictures the first night because the paint was curing and even though the windows and ceiling fans were on the house was full of smoke.

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Closeup of the setup.

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Picture of it burning last night after the paint cured.

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I just like how this picture is. That is just awesome.

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I'm On Fire
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Post by I'm On Fire » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 8:01 pm

I have been shaking the stove down before I load. I may not have shook enough though. My arm got tired. :) The entire fire pot was full of that. And yes, it is crumbly if I pick one up in my hand and squish it.

I also agree that the Pea coal is choking the stove out. I'm going to try using less Pea and more nut. Like I posted earlier, maybe only use one or two shovel fulls of Pea to 3-4 of nut. Before I was using 3-4 of nut and 6 of Pea. I can see why there is a large learning curve with Coal. I'm so used to burning wood that it is so difficult to get out of the load the fire-box with fuel open the draft control get it good and hot and walk away. Coal definitely wants it's hand held.

I do have to say, even though everything I have been doing is wrong I am really enjoying the coal though. It gets hot and is always hot. Today due to the rain it was kind of chilly, it was nice to walk into a house that was warm and not have to load a fire-box with wood.


 
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fastcat
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Post by fastcat » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 8:53 pm

So what you are saying is all the coal was burnt. When you shake it down keep shaking till you get fine red ash all over the top of the ash pan and a few larger red coals. Real quick back and forth motion. With the air open add your coal and give it 5 min or so to get going then shut the air down (not all the way) and wait at least a half hour for the stove to settle in, then adjust the air up or down to give you the stove body temp that you want. I agree 450 is a little high for this time of year (less air). When you set the stove for the day turn the air down a bit, it doesn't take long to warm things up to your desired temp once you arive home. Your pictures show either to much air or not enough shaking or both IMO. :rockon:

 
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I'm On Fire
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Post by I'm On Fire » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 8:57 pm

The odd thing is though that once I load the stove I do wait 15-20 minutes before banking it down. When I do bank it down I've generally been shutting the air completely off or leaving it 1/8 open like Larry said to do. I'll try it again tomorrow after I reset my baro because I really think I have it set wrong too.

 
mason coal burner
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Post by mason coal burner » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 9:06 pm

if you havn't already there is a bunch of videos on youtube on starting and refilling a coal stove . very helpful .

 
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I'm On Fire
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Post by I'm On Fire » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 9:10 pm

Thank you. I did watch some of them but it is always a good thing to re-watch them. Especially since I'm a newb. :)

 
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tsb
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Post by tsb » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 9:15 pm

If burning coal were easy, this forum wouldn't exist. Keep at it you'll
get the hang if it before next spring or maybe by next Christmas.
I've burned coal for thirty years and I can still lose a fire.

 
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Post by mason coal burner » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 9:15 pm

they helped me alot . last year was my first . now i'm a pro .

 
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Post by Coalfire » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 9:19 pm

IOF,
The arrow your furnace guy put on is at .04. What draft does the chubby want? You will get the hang of it, like stated shake down until you see a little red ash, then load it up, keep your air turned down, I think you had to much going in for this time of year. As for shaking down, open the ash door and shake down(do this a couple times), this will give you an idea of how much to shake in the future, then you can do it with the ash door closed knowing you shook it enough.
Have fun, Eric

 
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coal berner
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Post by coal berner » Thu. Sep. 16, 2010 9:35 pm

I'm On Fire wrote:Now that I am looking at it I think my Baro is set wrong. I think I am reading the Dwyer 25 wrong. So, I'm thinking it was running too hot and I did burn it all up. Which sucks.

I also don't think I've ever really explained my setup either. Its been so hectic here the past month what with my wife's father passing away. Basically, the way the stove is setup is I have one T coming out of the back of the stove which feeds into another T that the Baro sits in. At the bottom of the vertical T is a cap so I can clean the chimney. The vertical T goes into a SS liner; yes, I know I don't need it but it was existing to my wood stove so I just left it for the time being. I bought the SS liner from Rockford Chimney and asked if it was OK for me to leave it. They said it was fine. I'm not too worried about the liner being eaten away by the fly ash as all of Rockford's liners come with very good warranties. The liner is also designed for coal. But again, I know I won't get the 25 years out of it if I'd still be burning wood.

If you look at the picture of the Dwyer the guy who works on my oil furnace put the green arrow where he said is .02. I beleive following logic and counting that he actually has the arrow at .04. I set my baro to idle at .06 because I was basing the tic marks off of what the guy who works on my furnace said. The Dwyer was on my furnace up until a few days ago. I think I set the Baro on the Chubby up incorrectly and I was running my stove too hot even with it banked down.

The next picture shows how my stove is fed into my chimney.

The picture after that is of my new poker. That I made. The poker for my wood stove was too big to fit in the draft slots. So, I went out and picked up a steel rod threaded the one end with a die cut the other end down and put a point on it. The handle I happened to have from an old set of fireplace tools that I took the handles from.

The rest of the pictures are from last night. I didn't take any pictures the first night because the paint was curing and even though the windows and ceiling fans were on the house was full of smoke.
The manometer is reading .03 the arrow looks to be at .03.5 First Rev up the fire before you shake down open ash door for a few minute until you see the fire Revs up then Shake with short sharp chops until the ash falls down to the tray with a few hot coals then fill up with coal leaving the ash door open for a few more minutes until the new load of coal catches
blue flames coming up threw the bed of new coal once you see that close ash door and adjust your air vents for the amount of heat your looking for don't be Skippy with shaking down and adding coal Anthracite likes a deep bed always Rev the fire up good before shaking & loading new coal shake every 12 or 15 Hrs or more and reload coal


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