Coal Burning Safety
- freetown fred
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- Posts: 30293
- Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
- Location: Freetown,NY 13803
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
- Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut
And on the other hand, an equivelant size bag of sand would have cost $5.00 KISS--many different thoughts on the old FORUM here
- FarmKid
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- Joined: Thu. Mar. 31, 2011 10:03 am
- Location: Midway between Buffalo, NY and Erie, PA - "Lake Effect" Country
Because of the location of my stove relative to my chimney, I have to travel about 4-5' horizontally. What's the best way to design the stovepipe to avoid buildup and create a safety issue? (new installation, haven't constructed the chimney yet.)
- lowfog01
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- Joined: Sat. Dec. 20, 2008 8:33 am
- Location: Springfield, VA
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Mark II & Mark I
- Coal Size/Type: nut/pea
Welcome to the Forum,FarmKid wrote:Because of the location of my stove relative to my chimney, I have to travel about 4-5' horizontally. What's the best way to design the stovepipe to avoid buildup and create a safety issue? (new installation, haven't constructed the chimney yet.)
You may want to repost this to the Coal Bins, Chimneys, CO Detectors & Thermostats page. It will have more exposure there. It's possible that some where on that page there is a better way that fits your situation. The guys will ask for a little more detail about the location of both the chimney and the stove. Why is a 4 or 5 ft run needed. Good luck, Lisa
- coalkirk
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- Joined: Wed. May. 17, 2006 8:12 pm
- Location: Forest Hill MD
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1981 EFM DF520 retired
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Jotul 507 on standby
- Coal Size/Type: Lehigh anthracite/rice coal
Thought it might be time to dust off this old thread. This is the point in the season when flyash has accumulated in the horizontal pipes and starts to diminish draft. Time to clean it out. Also check the manufacture date on that CO detector. Most have a sensor that is reliable for 5 years. Some for 7. Date is on the back. And lets not forget the smoke detectors. Don't want any of my coal burning brothers and sisters to have an incident.
- Poconoeagle
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- Joined: Sat. Nov. 08, 2008 7:26 pm
- Location: Tobyhanna PA
Great Idea
that loss in CT of the 3 kids and 2 grandparents really hit me sad as it came out that they had permit paperwork for 7 smokedetectors yet none of them were hooked up SO
if any procrastinators out there with the detectors still in the plastic amour package.......rip em open and stick the 9volt in!!
ALSO the reality of that terrible loss is that they took hot ashes and put them just outside the door on the porch....
that loss in CT of the 3 kids and 2 grandparents really hit me sad as it came out that they had permit paperwork for 7 smokedetectors yet none of them were hooked up SO
if any procrastinators out there with the detectors still in the plastic amour package.......rip em open and stick the 9volt in!!
ALSO the reality of that terrible loss is that they took hot ashes and put them just outside the door on the porch....
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- Member
- Posts: 8601
- Joined: Sat. May. 24, 2008 4:26 pm
- Location: Chester, NY
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: LL AnthraKing 180K, Pocono110K,KStokr 90K, DVC
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Invader 2
- Baseburners & Antiques: Wings Best, Glenwood #8(x2) Herald 116x
- Coal Size/Type: Rice,
- Other Heating: Heating Oil CH, Toyotomi OM 22
OK, perhaps it's a newbie talking but bicarb picks up moisture sooo quickly that when you come to actually use it in say three years or so it will be a rock however it is packaged. What is wrong with coal ash? I did notice that my AnthraKIng Powervent has a 90C tab on the side. Is that so that I can connect a sensor to do something if it gets over 90C? If so what and is that an effective aid to safety?
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- Member
- Posts: 8601
- Joined: Sat. May. 24, 2008 4:26 pm
- Location: Chester, NY
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: LL AnthraKing 180K, Pocono110K,KStokr 90K, DVC
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Invader 2
- Baseburners & Antiques: Wings Best, Glenwood #8(x2) Herald 116x
- Coal Size/Type: Rice,
- Other Heating: Heating Oil CH, Toyotomi OM 22
Pilots on this board will tell you that we have a access to a directory of past screw ups on our type of plane. So for my Cessna 182 I could always look up why pilots died or planes crashed, was it pilot error, mechanical failure or weather. We learn a lot from this as a community. So the small plane pilot learns early that most of his buddies died from not paying attention to weather and so that is built into our training from the FAA. So AHS/AA puffbacks, I am sure scares the c rap out of you but how many have actually died or been injured? So now about a forum, stoves listed my manufacturer and stove type and an incident report. It is much more focused than a "let's all be safe".ALSO the reality of that terrible loss is that they took hot ashes and put them just outside the door on the porch....
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- Location: Bucks county, Pa.
read where another house in Conn. caught on fire,family saved by a passing contractor who woke them up . same scenario, hot fireplace ashes placed outside the porch. maybe building codes should include fire rated porches for homes with fireplaces.
- coalkirk
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- Joined: Wed. May. 17, 2006 8:12 pm
- Location: Forest Hill MD
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1981 EFM DF520 retired
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Jotul 507 on standby
- Coal Size/Type: Lehigh anthracite/rice coal
I'm going to assume you are joking. Why don't we just outlaw all fireplaces but electric? You can't fix stupid. Anyone with a shred of common sense would not put ashes in anything combustible (cardboard box) or put them on a wood deck.homecomfort wrote:read where another house in Conn. caught on fire,family saved by a passing contractor who woke them up . same scenario, hot fireplace ashes placed outside the porch. maybe building codes should include fire rated porches for homes with fireplaces.
- Eric L
- Member
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- Joined: Tue. Nov. 04, 2008 4:33 pm
- Location: Sunny Maine
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chappee 8033
- Coal Size/Type: Nut Antracite
[I'm a very occasional poster here...]coalkirk wrote:You can't fix stupid. Anyone with a shred of common sense would not put ashes in anything combustible (cardboard box) or put them on a wood deck.
Yeah. I hesitate to "pile on" in such a horrific and tragic (and terrifying) situation, but this has had me going for a few days now.
Nothing can bring those unfortunate people back, and that man will have to spend the rest of his life thinking about this every single day, but, WOW!
He was the contractor, living in the house as he worked on it, and he PUT THE ASHES / EMBERS IN A COMBUSTIBLE CONTAINER AND LEFT THEM ON THE PORCH AGAINST THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE.
Good heaven, I still can't wrap my brain around it.
I put my ashes in a closed metal can as far from the house as possible - it would never occur to me to leave then in contact with the structure.
I also go around the house upstairs sometimes when the stove is really going, and feel the walls around the chimney, just to be sure they're cold.
Regarding that, and the subject of safety advice, several years ago near here, a very "fashionable" couple had a 1700s-era farmhouse they had just bought and fixed up, and were having a housewarming party with a raging fire in the huge fireplace. Someone noticed the walls around the chimney upstairs felt warm, so they MADE HOLES IN THE WALLS, STUCK IN VACUUM CLEANER HOSES, AND BLEW IN AIR FROM VACUUM CLEANERS TO COOL THEM DOWN. As many of us know, smoldering fire + air = great big fire. The insurance rebuilt the house quite nicely, though.
Happy New Year!
- Eric
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yeah, I was being sarcastic. tragedy like that is no joking matter, but goes to show that sometimes people need to be protected from themselves, and lack of common sense. what a shame.
- Sunny Boy
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- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
- Location: Central NY
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
- Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
- Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
- Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace
When I was a teenager, my older brother and his friend hooked up an old cabinet coal stove in the garage.
They thought they were being safe by dumping a load of hot ashes in a steel trash can, then setting the can outside. However, they put the trash can on a wooden pallet. After awhile they smelled smoke, looked outside and saw that the pallet caught fire. Turns out they were shaking the grates too often and there was still a lot of still burning coal mixed in.
Even metal cans are sometimes not enough protection.
After my steel ash can sat for a few hours, I dumped a load of coal ash in my gravel driveway. As I walked back to the house, I felt stones sticking to my work boots. Turns out it was still-hot small cinders were melting into the rubber treads of the boots.
Paul
They thought they were being safe by dumping a load of hot ashes in a steel trash can, then setting the can outside. However, they put the trash can on a wooden pallet. After awhile they smelled smoke, looked outside and saw that the pallet caught fire. Turns out they were shaking the grates too often and there was still a lot of still burning coal mixed in.
Even metal cans are sometimes not enough protection.
After my steel ash can sat for a few hours, I dumped a load of coal ash in my gravel driveway. As I walked back to the house, I felt stones sticking to my work boots. Turns out it was still-hot small cinders were melting into the rubber treads of the boots.
Paul