Smoke in Coal Bin

Get a Rubbermaid water tub at Tractor Supply. They make some big ones that are <100 dollars, you could dump your bags in it and the water will just collect in the bottom.

Berlin wrote:Since this seems to be a common problem people experience with these stokers, is there any reason there isn't a small tube from the blower applying positive pressure to the auger tube a foot or so before the retort? This is standard on all bituminous stokers and it prevents just these problems.

Berlin,

Do you have any photos on how this tube would connect to the auger pipe in such a way it could be disconnected from pipe inside the boiler and allow the pipe to be pulled out to service the pot?

There is a coupler from the blower to pot that would be a good place to connect the air tube on the blower side, and there is about 6" or more of pipe before it goes into the pot.

Thanks,

Dave

what you need to check is the area where short tube enters pot assembly, in the lower pot assembly there is an open area from the area where the the short tube enters the pot to where it sits on the pin to stop the tube from turning, when tube is in boot assembly and on the pin there should be a visible gap of about three quarters of an inch open between tube collar and the boot assembly where the grates sit in the lower assembly, if you are burning wet coal this area is caked shut, unfortunately the only way to verify this is to remove grates, or remove the lower pot assembly and visually check it, remove lower pot assembly and install short tube and see if the air holes in the tube are visible, if not you have to clean that area out . SCRAPPER

No smoke after removing the short pipe and cleaning out the 7 holes. I bought a new shovel today for the coal.



I didn't think it was possible to remove the grates without taking the pot out due to the nut on back of each screw. I just rebuilt the pot so everything is good on the pot.

Here is photo of my "green" coal drying:



I like the idea of running an air tube from the blower to the top of the lower pipe instead of relying on the 7 holes. Sounds like a fun project.

Here is my other hobby:




Dave

To remove the plates, you remove the six bolts that hold the large ring in place, then lift the plates and ring up as a unit. On some square doors you can then pull it out diagonally through the door opening. The efm design allowed this, but when efm stopped making the boilers, the new maker goofed. I brought it to their attention, but I don't know if they ever changed anything.

Well, with my luck I am sure I got one of the goofed ones. Mine isn't quite square either. They welded it wrong.

Not sure which is easier to remove the short pipe or grates. I assume removing the short pipe to clean the holes would be easier and faster.

daluds wrote:
Here is my other hobby:

2013-01-05_14-30-08_175_sm.jpg

Dave

OK So where did you get the skis and where do you fly out of ??



Rick

Rob,

Thanks for the info about rubber bins at Tractor Supply. I checked those out yesterday, but did buy a coal shovel. I decided to keep the green bin I have for now.

Rick,

I fly out of Marlboro Airport in MA (9B1), and private strip just north of Marlboro airport call Crow Island where the picture was taken.

You should try drilling a hole in the bottom of your bin and putting a coffee can under it to collect the water. If a coffee can is too tall, a cut down milk container works too. That works for me. I use wet coal all the time. Don't like the dust from the dry stuff.

Wet coal is 'manageable' if it is clean coal...if it has a lot of dust or fines, the water creates sludge that "gums up the works"...hence the plugged holes in your auger pipe.

When I used bagged coal, and it was really wet, I would clip a single corner of several bags ahead of time approximately 3/4" diagonally and stand the bags on that corner in a plastic tray to drain. A grid or make shift lattice affair in bottom of tray will help too. It was convenient for me that I had a floor drain right there and I had a hole in the tray letting the water run down the drain.

What little water/moisture remained in the bags was never a problem and dust was still under control. This is one case where Gravity is your friend.
No need of a shovel for this method.
I found that this took minimal effort on my part to get satisfactory results.

McGiever,

I have been cutting corners of bags to let them drain for the past pallet, but it was like pouring mud out of the bags with all the water. I suspect I had a bad pallet of coal (if thats possible). I'm cutting corners of the bags and letting them drain, and then dumping in the other bin to let it dry even more. The new pallet is much better. Very little water. So this should be good. If not, I know how to break down the DF520 to clean out the clogged holes.

I am working on a way to feed air from the blower to the upper pipe. This should resolve the problem even if the holes get clogged.

Dave

Putting out 5 bags to defrost for a day and then dumping them into another bin to dry for a day seems to be working... FYI. Thanks.

Assume the holes are clogged again in the upper feed pipe since I am getting smoke in the bin which goes in the house.

Is there a way to unclog the holes without taking the pipe out? For example, via bent coat hanger from under the pot? Probably not.

I shut the boiler down tonight, and pull the upper pipe. It took about 2 hours by the time I chiseled out the baked on coal fines down at the bottom of the pot.

The wet coal gets caked up in the lower part of the pot opposite the auger inlet, and then this prevents even flow of coal up the pot preventing even burn.

So when there is more ash on the side of the auger in the ash bucket and smoke in coal bin then its time to rip it apart, clean the holes and get out the chisels to remove the caked on coal fines. Its like cement.

Thanks,

Dave

What is the easiest way to get positive pressure to the auger tube to prevent smoke filling the coal bin when the blower runs once the holes in the upper auger pipe get clogged?

These holes get clogged every 3-4 weeks, and its no fun to take the boiler apart each time to unclog them.

Can I mount a fan in the lid of the coal bin, and wire it to turn on when the blower turns on?

Someone mentioned taping into the blower and upper tube, but this seems more difficult unless someone has suggestions on the parts to use.

Thanks,

Dave