how deep of bed to use?

ok they told me with ant coal that i needed to keep it as deep as i could... SO what about this lump bit that im using? how do i keep a bed of coals in there when im using lump? i broke up a couple 5 gal buckets yesterday to get things going then added lumps to that, but do i need to keep breaking up lumps? what about the theory of keeping the grate covered solid like they said with ant coal ? thanks again sorry to be a pain

I'm sure some bit people will help you on this one my friend

I wouldn't break up your lump coal unless it's too big to fit through the loading door.
As the coal burns and fresh coal is added it will tend to spread over the entire grate and build up the coal bed.
When you reload the furnace, shake the grates until you begin to see some hot coals start to fall into the ash pit or until you see a dim glow in the ashpit from the hot coals above. If the coal bed is weak (not hot enough to adequately ignite fresh coal) you may need to rev up the fire by opening the draft to the ashpit.
Now you should be able to add fresh coal.
"Banking the coal" as Berlin mentioned in the other thread will help burn volatile matter that distills from the fresh coal. Keep manual pipe damper open, open secondary draft in the loading door wide open, open the primary draft into the ash pit wide open at first but if you start to see the ash pit area begin to glow brilliantly then close it down some or else clinkers could form.
You shouldn't have to rush when loading new coal. You don't want to break firebricks by throwing big lumps in.
If you have good chimney draft you shouldn't have smoke rolling out of the loading door while loading new coal.
Once the volatile matter has burned off some you can close the secondary draft in the loading door. How long it takes for volatile matter to be released depends on the coal. With the coal I am using here in Utah I can close secondary draft after 10-15 minutes....You'll have to babysit the furnace until you figure out the best time to close secondary draft.
If the coal fuses, bridges/arches then you can knock it down but don't break the burning coals into tiny pieces because it could be more apt to cause clinkers depending on the coal you're using and how hot you fire the furnace.
If you have excessive chimney draft you can use the manual pipe damper but I would remove the it if I were you. You should be able to run the furnace efficiently without it.

[quote="rockwood"][/quote]


THANKS that helps, all ive ever burnt was wood, then i bought a few bags(test run) of ant but its too hard to get around here and too pricey LOL so im burning this bit and so far its working im just having to learn as i go and with you guys helping me its going better


PS: note to self dont shut down air too fast then open door vent to see inside on the plus side i dont have to trim my eyebrows for a long time

Ah, that first really good black sooty bit coal puffback.......out the loading door and in your face. It's hard to remember you're not burning wood anymore, until you realize you're not loading every 6 hours that is.

I have a hot blast 1500 furnace I use sub bit coal but i can'nt keep the heat up in the furnace for more then 3 to 4 hrs can you'll help

dmay wrote:I have a hot blast 1500 furnace I use sub bit coal but i can'nt keep the heat up in the furnace for more then 3 to 4 hrs can you'll help

You'd do yourself a huge favor by starting your own thread my friend. That way it doesn't get buried when this topic is fixed and someone else will probably have/has had the same problem.