Clinker Question
- Wheelo
- Member
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Tue. Dec. 31, 2013 8:14 am
- Location: South-central Ohio
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: 1537 US Stove
- Coal Size/Type: Bit
- Other Heating: Propane
I seldom get clinkers burning this coal. I might get maybe one or two small ones a week, so they really don't bother me too much. But looking at them after they've cooled I gotta ask..
What are they made up of?
How can they be prevented?
And after enough time in the fire, will they eventually burn up?
Thanks!
Wheelo
What are they made up of?
How can they be prevented?
And after enough time in the fire, will they eventually burn up?
Thanks!
Wheelo
- 2001Sierra
- Member
- Posts: 2211
- Joined: Wed. May. 20, 2009 8:09 am
- Location: Wynantskill NY, 10 miles from Albany
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90 Chimney vent
- Coal Size/Type: Rice
- Other Heating: Buderus Oil Boiler 3115-34
Clinker facts:
They will never go away once formed
They typically are formed by hot fires
Red ash coal has a tendency to produce more of them when the fire is especially run hot and the iron in the ash tends to fuse together
White ash coal typically produces less of them
They will never go away once formed
They typically are formed by hot fires
Red ash coal has a tendency to produce more of them when the fire is especially run hot and the iron in the ash tends to fuse together
White ash coal typically produces less of them
- Wheelo
- Member
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Tue. Dec. 31, 2013 8:14 am
- Location: South-central Ohio
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: 1537 US Stove
- Coal Size/Type: Bit
- Other Heating: Propane
Thanks guys!!
The boss lady and I were setting by the stove examining a cooled klinker. Both of us clearly new to burning coal were looking at it like 2 scientists who had just discovered a new life form. For only being in our mid twenties I guess you could say that we are easily fascinated!! bahahaha
Wheelo
The boss lady and I were setting by the stove examining a cooled klinker. Both of us clearly new to burning coal were looking at it like 2 scientists who had just discovered a new life form. For only being in our mid twenties I guess you could say that we are easily fascinated!! bahahaha
Wheelo
- dlj
- Member
- Posts: 1273
- Joined: Thu. Nov. 27, 2008 6:38 pm
- Location: Monroe, NY
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vermont Castings Resolute
- Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood Baseheater #6
- Coal Size/Type: Stove coal
- Other Heating: Oil Furnace, electric space heaters
Klinkers form from different things inside the coal. Silicon's, iron oxides, more. One of the things that is evaluated in a coal is the ash fusion temper. That's is basically the temperature where the ash forms into klinker as I understand it...
Running hot will tend to form more klinkers than running cooler. Type of impurities in the coal will affect how much the coal tends to form klinkers.
dj
Running hot will tend to form more klinkers than running cooler. Type of impurities in the coal will affect how much the coal tends to form klinkers.
dj
- 2001Sierra
- Member
- Posts: 2211
- Joined: Wed. May. 20, 2009 8:09 am
- Location: Wynantskill NY, 10 miles from Albany
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90 Chimney vent
- Coal Size/Type: Rice
- Other Heating: Buderus Oil Boiler 3115-34
Clinkers are from the DEVIL
- Vangellis
- Member
- Posts: 237
- Joined: Mon. Jan. 17, 2011 5:03 pm
- Location: Factoryville, Pa.
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Olix Air Flo
- Coal Size/Type: Nut
Thanks for the chuckle. Been there, done that.Wheelo wrote:Thanks guys!!
The boss lady and I were setting by the stove examining a cooled klinker. Both of us clearly new to burning coal were looking at it like 2 scientists who had just discovered a new life form. For only being in our mid twenties I guess you could say that we are easily fascinated!! bahahaha
Wheelo
Kevin
- rustyrelics
- Member
- Posts: 64
- Joined: Sat. Dec. 28, 2013 2:27 pm
- Baseburners & Antiques: Scranton Stove Works base heater
- Other Heating: Franklin wood stove
clinkers are usually a sign of low quality red ash coal. white ash coal burns nicer and throws more heat with zero clinkers. I never saw a clinker in my life until this year when our family as a whole, had 3 separate coal loads delivered to 3 separate homes by the same delivery service. all of a sudden clinkers in one stove that had the old style circular outer grate. relative who had it, had to shut it down twice to clear them. good white ash coal seems like its getting hard to find lately. I noticed they are starting to mix the coal with a lot of slate to reduce costs and add profit. coal quality is dropping.
- dlj
- Member
- Posts: 1273
- Joined: Thu. Nov. 27, 2008 6:38 pm
- Location: Monroe, NY
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vermont Castings Resolute
- Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood Baseheater #6
- Coal Size/Type: Stove coal
- Other Heating: Oil Furnace, electric space heaters
I've gotten klinkers from both red and white ash coal but for sure lots less with white ash coal... You don't have to shut down to get klinkers out but it does take some technique to get them out so if nobody ever showed you how shutting down is probably the only way...rustyrelics wrote:clinkers are usually a sign of low quality red ash coal. white ash coal burns nicer and throws more heat with zero clinkers. I never saw a clinker in my life until this year when our family as a whole, had 3 separate coal loads delivered to 3 separate homes by the same deliver by service. all of a sudden clinkers in one stove that had the old style circular outer grate. relative who had it, had to shut it down twice to clear them. good white ash coal seems like its getting hard to find lately. I noticed they are starting to mix the coal with a lot of slate to reduce costs and add profit. coal quality is dropping.
dj
- Wheelo
- Member
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Tue. Dec. 31, 2013 8:14 am
- Location: South-central Ohio
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: 1537 US Stove
- Coal Size/Type: Bit
- Other Heating: Propane
White ash and red ash?? Never heard of such a thing! My ash looks like what I consider to be the average white, powdery fly ash looking stuff that I used to haul out of power plants back in the day with a tractor trailer/ dump bucket. Never knew there was difference! Feeling really "green behind the ears" right now
- dcrane
- Verified Business Rep.
- Posts: 3128
- Joined: Sun. Apr. 22, 2012 9:28 am
- Location: Easton, Ma.
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404
every person here was the same way back 20-30-40- or in Fred's case 70 years ago , good to see new faces, questions and insights :punk:Wheelo wrote:White ash and red ash?? Never heard of such a thing! My ash looks like what I consider to be the average white, powdery fly ash looking stuff that I used to haul out of power plants back in the day with a tractor trailer/ dump bucket. Never knew there was difference! Feeling really "green behind the ears" right now
- anthony7812
- Member
- Posts: 5141
- Joined: Sat. Mar. 12, 2011 2:04 pm
- Location: Colley,Pennsylvania
- Stoker Coal Boiler: VanWert VA 400
- Coal Size/Type: Buck/Anthracite
Wow that was me and mrs 3 years ago! I think I even saved that first clinkerWheelo wrote:Thanks guys!!
The boss lady and I were setting by the stove examining a cooled klinker. Both of us clearly new to burning coal were looking at it like 2 scientists who had just discovered a new life form. For only being in our mid twenties I guess you could say that we are easily fascinated!! bahahaha
Wheelo
- rustyrelics
- Member
- Posts: 64
- Joined: Sat. Dec. 28, 2013 2:27 pm
- Baseburners & Antiques: Scranton Stove Works base heater
- Other Heating: Franklin wood stove
it was the relative that couldn't get the clinker out, not me. to this day I never had a clinker in a stove I fired myself, so I never had to break one up. maybe its cuz I rake them briskly to begin with, or perhaps just got better coal. or most likely because I don't fire my stoves really high for long times as a general policy. or perhaps cuz I always had prism shaped grates in my stoves that I burned. (I have quite a few collector stoves I never fired yet) I did buy an old circulator a while back and when I took it off the truck and was cleaning it, I raked down the ash from its last fire left over inside from 45 years ago, and a HUGE clinker eventually fell out into the ash pan. they are one ugly looking thing like the Alien from that sci fi movie... if I did get one my first move would be dig the fire away from it, and bust it up with the poker.dlj wrote:I've gotten klinkers from both red and white ash coal but for sure lots less with white ash coal... You don't have to shut down to get klinkers out but it does take some technique to get them out so if nobody ever showed you how shutting down is probably the only way...rustyrelics wrote:clinkers are usually a sign of low quality red ash coal. white ash coal burns nicer and throws more heat with zero clinkers. I never saw a clinker in my life until this year when our family as a whole, had 3 separate coal loads delivered to 3 separate homes by the same deliver by service. all of a sudden clinkers in one stove that had the old style circular outer grate. relative who had it, had to shut it down twice to clear them. good white ash coal seems like its getting hard to find lately. I noticed they are starting to mix the coal with a lot of slate to reduce costs and add profit. coal quality is dropping.
dj
- dlj
- Member
- Posts: 1273
- Joined: Thu. Nov. 27, 2008 6:38 pm
- Location: Monroe, NY
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vermont Castings Resolute
- Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood Baseheater #6
- Coal Size/Type: Stove coal
- Other Heating: Oil Furnace, electric space heaters
When they are hot klinkers are soft. They get hard when they cool. I can feel them at the bottom of the fire using a straight poker. I try to pull them out without breaking them up - easier to get them out rather than piece by piece.
With white ash coal probably its the fire temp why you don' t get them. I run hot when its cold. Lots hotter than most on here talk about.
dj
With white ash coal probably its the fire temp why you don' t get them. I run hot when its cold. Lots hotter than most on here talk about.
dj