How Do You Handle Dust?

JLF53 wrote:It is Jane

Hi Jane.....I know there was an Emily in the mix here somewhere?!?

Devil505 wrote:

JLF53 wrote:It is Jane

Hi Jane.....I know there was an Emily in the mix here somewhere?!?

You are so helpful to so many members I am certain that it is hard to keep track of names. Name is not important. Info and helpful substance are important!!!!

JLF53 wrote:

Devil505 wrote:

JLF53 wrote:It is Jane

Hi Jane.....I know there was an Emily in the mix here somewhere?!?

You are so helpful to so many members I am certain that it is hard to keep track of names. Name is not important. Info and helpful substance are important!!!!

Thanks very much Jane.

JLF53 wrote:

cArNaGe wrote:Your burning Anthracite right Jane?

Hi,

I supposedly purchased Blaschek nut size coal from a dealer in Easton PA. So it is supposedly anthracite.

Just wanted to make sure. When you described it as "like soot", I thought maybe you got some bituminous coal. That would be a simple fix. As far as dust, I'm afraid I can't help. I have a boiler in the basement. It is dusty. But I'm not really careful either. I just dump in the coal.

Jane, are you dumping the coal in the top loader door of your stove or are you feeding it through the glass door?

Razzler wrote:Jane, are you dumping the coal in the top loader door of your stove or are you feeding it through the glass door?

I have been using a coffee can to add coal one can at a time. I have been going through the front door or the top depending on where I wanted to place the caol. I have lightly sprayed with water just prior to adding it to the stove with a bottle of water in a windex spray bottle. I can load it any way that is best. Just finished sealing all pipe to pipe sections with high temp metal speciality tape. Have put foil over the baro damper and am about to shake it down. As I load the coal I am going to keep the ash door shut.

Have spent 7 hours scrubbing, washing, removing furniture and various other cleaning things in order to see if it was left over from the wood we used to start the stove.

Jane

Hi Jane

I am getting a grey dust similar to what comes out of the ash pan. I usually empty the pan before shaking down, that way it is a lot cooler and I can close the bottom of the stove back up. My Alaska is in the basement so I'm not so concerned with the mess but I have also installed the laundry option (clothes lines) so I can't always be the pig-pen I would like to be.

If you are getting a black soot, is this constant (ie do you notice it again after you clean) or just once.
What are you starting your stove with, are you burning trash (really black soot is usually from a polycarbonate/ plastic material if its black and greasy and makes stains it sounds more like a fat or grease soot)
I don't think you should be getting the black soot if you are using BlackShack I started the season with this but was getting a lot of clunkers so I'm trying a pallet of Kimmell but no black (as a matter of fact the only black I got on me was from the inside of the bags)
Also if it was a new stove it probably smoked quite a bit as the paint seasoned (so far the only time my smoke detector went off knockwood)

Ray

JLF53 wrote: it was left over from the wood we used to start the stove.

That may be the culprit If you are wetting the coal and dumping it slow you shouldn't have a lot of coal dust. When i load my coal i just throw it in the door with a coal bucket and the draft will pull the dust in the stove at the same time.

ray in ma wrote:Hi Jane

I am getting a grey dust similar to what comes out of the ash pan. I usually empty the pan before shaking down, that way it is a lot cooler and I can close the bottom of the stove back up. My Alaska is in the basement so I'm not so concerned with the mess but I have also installed the laundry option (clothes lines) so I can't always be the pig-pen I would like to be.

If you are getting a black soot, is this constant (ie do you notice it again after you clean) or just once.
What are you starting your stove with, are you burning trash (really black soot is usually from a polycarbonate/ plastic material if its black and greasy and makes stains it sounds more like a fat or grease soot)
I don't think you should be getting the black soot if you are using BlackShack I started the season with this but was getting a lot of clunkers so I'm trying a pallet of Kimmell but no black (as a matter of fact the only black I got on me was from the inside of the bags)
Also if it was a new stove it probably smoked quite a bit as the paint seasoned (so far the only time my smoke detector went off knockwood)

Ray

Unfortunately the only sound flu was in the living room. so the best room is taking the brunt of this dirt. It looked like it could be due to the wood smoke that we generated when we lit the stove and when we opened the stove to load coal the smoke poured out each time. Just now I emptied the ash pan and left the door open while dumping the ash outside. When I came in the fire was strong. I gently water spritzed the coal in the 5 gal bucket we store it in. When I got below spritzed with water coal, I gently sprayed more. I just loaded 35 lobs of coal and it should last me 12 hours. I kept a scrub bucket and rags to clean up after shaking down. Coal is now either in the coal bin in the cellar or in 5 gallon buckets on the side porch.

I have to clean the adjoining kitchen to get all the dust like soot off the tops of the doors, windows and cabinets. My kitchen is white maple cabinets with a white tile table and white cushioned chairs. Wo I am taking it on the chin with this soot!!!!!

I think this is called trial by fire!!!!!

Razzler wrote:

JLF53 wrote: it was left over from the wood we used to start the stove.

That may be the culprit If you are wetting the coal and dumping it slow you shouldn't have a lot of coal dust. When i load my coal i just throw it in the door with a coal bucket and the draft will pull the dust in the stove at the same time.

I am cautiously optimistic that this soot is the residue from the wood and when I get is out and take great careful pains to be gentle with the coal and the ash pan, things will stay better. I just dumped the ash pan, covering is gently with aluminum foil prior to carryin it 15 feet to the door. I dumped it in a metal garbage can. I shook down the fire made certain I saw gloing in all grate holes or cleaned them with a right angle wire.

I kept the ash door closed while loading and only loaded through the front door with a coffee can.

It just cannot be this dirty every 4 hours.

A few things Jane:

1. Are you turning off the stove's blower fan when you shake down & refill? (If not.....turn it off)

2. Do you guys have a shop vac in the house? (If so buy a plaster filter for it & vacuum the stove top & surrounds daily)

JLF53 wrote:I have been using a coffee can to add coal one can at a time.

I can ful,l at a time...or one piece of coal at a time? (Try using a hand shovel so you can get more coal in there quicker & shut the load door.


You can't avoid a little dust........ but from the sound of it you're shaking down & loading technique needs refining to avoid creating so much dust.

JLF53 wrote:I shook down the fire made certain I saw gloing in all grate holes or cleaned them with a right angle wire.

I kept the ash door closed while loading and only loaded through the front door with a coffee can.

Make sure the first thing you do (b4 shaking down) is to open the ash door for a few minutes & let the fire liven up. This will increase the draw up the chimney & will suck most of the ash/dust back into the stove instead of all over your living room.

Lose the coffee can & buy a hand shovel for coal. (Much easier to put the coal way in the back of the stove with a shovel without burning your hands!)

Edit: Forgot you have a TLC...I would recommend loading just through the glass load door & leave the top load door closed. See if that creates less dust for you. (I find I have more control loading through the front anyway. Dumping from the top, the coal goes everywhere!!)

Devil505 wrote:

JLF53 wrote:I shook down the fire made certain I saw gloing in all grate holes or cleaned them with a right angle wire.

I kept the ash door closed while loading and only loaded through the front door with a coffee can.

Make sure the first thing you do (b4 shaking down) is to open the ash door for a few minutes & let the fire liven up. This will increase the draw up the chimney & will suck most of the ash/dust back into the stove instead of all over your living room.

Lose the coffee can & buy a hand shovel for coal. (Much easier to put the coal way in the back of the stove with a shovel without burning your hands!)

Edit: Forgot you have a TLC...I would recommend loading just through the glass load door & leave the top load door closed. See if that creates less dust for you. (I find I have more control loading through the front anyway. Dumping from the top, the coal goes everywhere!!)

I just finished emptying the ash pan carefully covered. Left the ash door open while emptying. Fire was strong when I returned (maybe two minutes cause went out side without shoes). Sprayed the coal with water in a windex bottle. Shook down the stove counted the short strokes, wiped up residue on stove board and surrounding area with a scrub bucket and rag. Brought in coal from porch. Loaded through the front door while keeping the ash door closed and baro damper covered with foil. Sprayed coal as necessary. Used coffee can cause is holds more (thought of purchasing a metal scoop). Have shovel but only holds 1/3 of coffee can so shoveling would be endless. Finished with one hour. Will not have to touch til 8 AM. Baro damper really helps to keep the pipe temp down and burn rate is reduced. Have bottom slide between 1/4 and 1/2 with a pipe temp of 250 degrees F and stove temp of 400 degrees F. Have stopped running the fan behind the stove.

Still have to get on the 10' ladder tomorow to clean the high parts like the cabinets and doors and windows.

Some how some way this needs to work. i only want to use the 4 tons I bought till I stop using coal in the spring. That would be 900 dollars compared to 2700 for natural gas and freezing. At least the bedrooms are comfortable and the living room is nice and taosty mostly between 75 to 80 even in this cold snap. Kitchen is warm also. The family room is 60 which is where I was trying to blow the hot air to, but we are going to make the fr our lr and close it off.

Jane,

Try using Devils method of starting the stove with charcoal instead of wood, also always open the ash door for a few minutes to get the fire reved up before opening the main door, this gets the draft pulling hard and prevents any smoke from coming into the house.

None of us here experience the kind of soot and dirt that you describe. When you learn to use this stove you will never go back to wood, also you will not have the soot and dirt problems.

Keep in touch, there are a lot of very helpful, nice people here.

Bk

You're doing great Jane!!

JLF53 wrote:I just finished emptying the ash pan carefully covered. Left the ash door open while emptying. Fire was strong when I returned (maybe two minutes cause went out side without shoes). Sprayed the coal with water in a windex bottle. Shook down the stove counted the short strokes, wiped up residue on stove board and surrounding area with a scrub bucket and rag. Brought in coal from porch. Loaded through the front door while keeping the ash door closed and baro damper covered with foil. Sprayed coal as necessary. Used coffee can cause is holds more (thought of purchasing a metal scoop). Have shovel but only holds 1/3 of coffee can so shoveling would be endless. Finished with one hour. Will not have to touch til 8 AM. Baro damper really helps to keep the pipe temp down and burn rate is reduced. Have bottom slide between 1/4 and 1/2 with a pipe temp of 250 degrees F and stove temp of 400 degrees F. Have stopped running the fan behind the stove.

When you get comfortable doing it, shaking down & reloading will take 10-15 minutes a day. You are doing allot more work than I do (spraying coal with water, etc) but if it works...great!

Couple of recommendations:

1. Shake down....Only after you have livened up the fire: I usually leave my ash door open & shake down while I'm watching the ash fall into the pan to watch for embers. My stove is in the basement family room so I'm not as concerned about dust as you are. Most ash/dust will be sucked backed into the stove but some will excape with the ash door open.... If you want to avoid most dust, you can slide the air control all the way to the right (max air) close the ash door & shake down, wait about 10 seconds for the dust to be sucked up into the stove & THEN open the ash door to check for red embers in the ash pan.

2. I leave the ash door open when I'm loading the coal. I think the draft is stronger that way & the coal dust will be sucked up the chimney anyway. Try it both ways & see what you think.

3. Turn the blower fan off first .......b4 you do anything & then turn it back on LAST!!...No sense blowing the dust around.