Help!! Stoker User Trying to Help New Hand Fired User

 
User avatar
fishhunter
Member
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed. Aug. 27, 2008 9:02 pm
Location: BROOKFIELD MA

Post by fishhunter » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 5:18 pm

well,
i converted a good friend from wood to coal but he is having issues. I want to get him burning right as I switched him telling him it was going to make his life easier. I went through the basics with him and got a beautiful looking fire, orange underneath with blue flames dancing across the surface. he has been using coal for 3 days now and by morning when he gets up for work there is only about a grapefruit sized area still burning in the middle, he shakes and gets it fairly well established again only to be out by late morning while he is at work. he comes home and the is a fair bit of unburned coal especially around the edge maybe 10lbs total. the stove can hold 30-40 lbs at wack.He is burning blaschak nut. he has run it at night with MPD closed and door screws out about 1 turn.his house has been warmer than ever when it is running but just cant seem to hold a fire through reload and shake. should he try smaller more frequent loads? the edges do not seem to burn well. should he mound it higher in the middle. I had him bank it toward the back for a bigger load. hopefully some handfed guys will chime in as I do not know a lot about handfeds.


 
CapeCoaler
Member
Posts: 6515
Joined: Sun. Feb. 10, 2008 3:48 pm
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: want AA130
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine BS#4, Harman MKII, Hitzer 503,...
Coal Size/Type: Pea/Nut/Stove

Post by CapeCoaler » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 5:48 pm

What stove is in the friends house...
How much space heated...
You know the drill...
It come down to this...
If the coal is mostly turned to ash it has been burned...
So you need to add more coal, more often...
The question is really where did the heat go?...
Up the flue?...
Too much draft...
Too much house for the stove?
Smaller/better insulation house or bigger stove...
I started with a Mark II at 70k btu...
Would not run 12 hours, it needed filling every 6-8 hours in the winter...
My fire tending was not the issue just a work timing...
Got the bigger stove 130k BTU and holds almost 3 times the coal...

 
User avatar
LsFarm
Member
Posts: 7383
Joined: Sun. Nov. 20, 2005 8:02 pm
Location: Michigan
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Self-built 'Big Bertha' SS Boiler
Baseburners & Antiques: Keystone 11, Art Garland

Post by LsFarm » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 5:49 pm

His fire is almost burnt out in the morning, and when you shake down an almost burnt out fire, it usually goes out, or is very slow to recover.
He needs to load fresh coal on the fire, let it get burning then shaked down the ashes. And top off the firebox.
this may not work either, because the grates will be partially blocked by ash from the night-long fire..

Is he MOUNDING the coal up as deep as he can before heading to bed?? He really needs a more vibrant and healthy fire to start with in the morning,,

What make/model of stove is this? maybe it has a quirk or two someone can point out to you/him?

Greg L

 
User avatar
Coalfire
Member
Posts: 1029
Joined: Mon. Nov. 23, 2009 8:28 pm
Location: Denver, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine 96K btu Circulator
Coal Size/Type: Nut

Post by Coalfire » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 5:59 pm

As others have asked what stove are we dealing with?

Eric

 
User avatar
fishhunter
Member
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed. Aug. 27, 2008 9:02 pm
Location: BROOKFIELD MA

Post by fishhunter » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 5:59 pm

i really do not know the model. it is about 17x13 inside. It is a coal only stove with the MPD built into the stove. it is controlled by a lever. the stove is fairly tight. should he close the air down more? maybe 1/2 turn open. his wife says it is too hot in the house but he is afraid to close it too much and lose fire. should he have it as full as possible or try it on a lesser load? he says in the morning the is only a small area glowing in the middle. any other thoughts will be relayed on when we talk later

 
User avatar
fishhunter
Member
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed. Aug. 27, 2008 9:02 pm
Location: BROOKFIELD MA

Post by fishhunter » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 6:01 pm

if you look at member coalfire's avatar, that is exactly what the fire looks like at night

 
User avatar
Coalfire
Member
Posts: 1029
Joined: Mon. Nov. 23, 2009 8:28 pm
Location: Denver, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine 96K btu Circulator
Coal Size/Type: Nut

Post by Coalfire » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 6:03 pm

Is he filling it all the way to the top of the fire bricks?

You do not have a fire established till you have atleast 6" of coal burning

other than that need to know stove model?

Eric


 
User avatar
fishhunter
Member
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed. Aug. 27, 2008 9:02 pm
Location: BROOKFIELD MA

Post by fishhunter » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 6:07 pm

how long should it take to establish the fire and what air settings would you use? so I am taking the consensus at this point is he is not loading it enough.

 
CapeCoaler
Member
Posts: 6515
Joined: Sun. Feb. 10, 2008 3:48 pm
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: want AA130
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine BS#4, Harman MKII, Hitzer 503,...
Coal Size/Type: Pea/Nut/Stove

Post by CapeCoaler » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 6:14 pm

May be a Harman...
Does it look like this...
http://www.harmanstoves.com/Products/Mark-II-Coal ... ifications
Cut the air back by 1/8 th turns...
let it settle for a day...
My guess is if a Harman...
Not filled to top of back bricks...
and too much air...
Wife says it is too warm...
Fill it and cut the air back to 3/4 turn should get them close...
From a cold start to a filled stove maybe 45-60 minutes...
If you are a hand fired newbie it may take more time...
As you play it safe...

 
User avatar
fishhunter
Member
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed. Aug. 27, 2008 9:02 pm
Location: BROOKFIELD MA

Post by fishhunter » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 6:17 pm

he is loading it to the top of the bricks in the back but it has a slope to the door.
he just got me some info from the stove it was all that in written on it

cornell energy systems
model: newcastle F

I have never heard of it before. I would say it is similar in size to mark1 or mark11

 
User avatar
fishhunter
Member
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed. Aug. 27, 2008 9:02 pm
Location: BROOKFIELD MA

Post by fishhunter » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 6:22 pm

he is only heating around 12-1400 sf. and the weather is relatively mild I told him right now he should burn 30-50 lbs a day? is that right for hand fired I am at about 40lbs right now with the stoker but heating 2400 sf.

 
User avatar
fishhunter
Member
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed. Aug. 27, 2008 9:02 pm
Location: BROOKFIELD MA

Post by fishhunter » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 6:31 pm

the stove has 2 spinner knobs, should he possibly go to 1/2 turn on each. I just talked to him again and he says the middle is what mostly burns and alot of unburned on the edge. there is no overfire air. the grate is almost like an oval shape with about 1sq" in all the corners that are grate but do not move with the rest when shook.

 
CapeCoaler
Member
Posts: 6515
Joined: Sun. Feb. 10, 2008 3:48 pm
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: want AA130
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine BS#4, Harman MKII, Hitzer 503,...
Coal Size/Type: Pea/Nut/Stove

Post by CapeCoaler » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 6:52 pm

Sounds like an import as the Newcastle Coal stove That I know of is made here on The Cape...
And it is square but does have a shaker grate...
Yes cut back both spinners to 3/4 turn and see how it does...
Ashin up on the outside edges can happen with a shaker grate and a rectangle firebox...

 
User avatar
fishhunter
Member
Posts: 103
Joined: Wed. Aug. 27, 2008 9:02 pm
Location: BROOKFIELD MA

Post by fishhunter » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 7:24 pm

it could be from the cape as I am only 90 miles from the cape. I believe this stove was in his garage when he moved in and it is quite old, it was with burlap sacks of stove coal. I told him to load in more coal and cut the air back we will see what happens tonight. he for years was burning wood in this stove but it could not hold much wood with the small firebox. He wants to have it easily go through the night and produce heat it would not with wood. if he stuffs it he thinks it will hold around 50lbs

 
CapeCoaler
Member
Posts: 6515
Joined: Sun. Feb. 10, 2008 3:48 pm
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: want AA130
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine BS#4, Harman MKII, Hitzer 503,...
Coal Size/Type: Pea/Nut/Stove

Post by CapeCoaler » Tue. Feb. 07, 2012 10:20 pm

Does it look like this...

If he is using Stove size coal move down a size to Nut...
The Stove size may be burning too quickly...
Last edited by CapeCoaler on Sat. Apr. 01, 2017 4:36 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: <removed dead link>


Post Reply

Return to “Hand Fired Coal Stoves & Furnaces Using Anthracite”