Coal Ash

Good Morning Everyone,

We were finally able to fire up our Hyfire II yesterday. She's been running just under 24 hours. It's been YEARS since I burned coal and I have a question about the ash. The ash I have emptied so far (two times) is a combination of dust (60%) and what looks like unburned coal (40%, gray in color) although I'm not sure how it could have been unburned as the fire was hot (A thermometer on the outside of the firebox was indicating 550 degrees for awhile) and red, burning coals were NOT falling into the ash pan. I have a good two inches of ash on the burners as well. My question is this.... Should the ash I collect be 100% dust or is it typical when burning coal to have a combination of ash and hard debris as well? I just want to make certain we are burning the coal completely and not wasting any of the heating value. We have a lot to learn about this stove and coal in general and appreciate the assistance we have been provided by members of this board.

Any info will be appreciated....

I burn an LL Pioneer and a home built boiler with about
the same burners that are in your Hyfire. I see the same
ash that your getting. Most would say that that is the best
your going to get. I'm now working on a tumbling and washing
device to reclaim the unburned coal. It may be a total boondoggle,
but somebody has to try.
Tom

bbnx wrote:My question is this.... Should the ash I collect be 100% dust or is it typical when burning coal to have a combination of ash and hard debris as well?

Yes, it is typical to have hard debris. When you burn wood, all you put in is wood and all you get out is ash. Coal however comes out of the ground and has had millions of years for inorganic materials to work into the organic materials that we mine as coal. The part of the coal that burns leaves you with ash, the part that doesn't can be melted, fused or just warmed up like a rock. Nevertheless, it will leave you with something other than ash. It's the nature of the beast.

I guess I never expected there to be anything other than dust in the ash pan. Thanks for the replies!

Typical impurities in the coal, rock, etc...you will have that. Pieces that do not burn. It doesn't burn completely up to ash like your would expect like wood.

Thanks WNY!