Coal Gun and Water Storage

 
greenftechn
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Post by greenftechn » Mon. Feb. 17, 2014 3:59 pm

On the pea/buckwheat/rice issue, the latter is not a good choice for the Coal Gun due to poor air flow through the coal pot. It may be possible to burn a blend, but you would need to limit the amount of rice used, or suffer from low output.

 
Dave 1234
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Post by Dave 1234 » Mon. Feb. 17, 2014 4:12 pm

re. ''hot water storage''.
Sting said it best, '' all your storage is right in them little black rocks''.
Its the beauty of coal ! 8-)

Dave

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Mon. Feb. 17, 2014 5:21 pm

I would burn only pea. Buckwheat opens up more potential for puff-backs. Rice will not allow the fire to breath and should not be considered.

Your chimney isn't much different from mine.

I didn't reduce my thimble down to 5". I went up right at the boiler to 6" and I've had no problems.

 
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coaledsweat
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Post by coaledsweat » Mon. Feb. 17, 2014 6:10 pm

lzaharis wrote:3.I would have to reduce the thimble down to 5 inch of course but thats a minor issue :)
Actually, you are better off using the Axeman style muzzle brake install. One pipe into a larger pipe at the Baro. The smaller pipe runs about half the depth of the baro. It suppresses any puffbacks if they should occur.


 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Feb. 17, 2014 9:07 pm

Well, can it burn buck or not? I know some AA guys that are happy burning buck.

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Mon. Feb. 17, 2014 10:01 pm

Rob R. wrote:Well, can it burn buck or not? I know some AA guys that are happy burning buck.
Didn't the 1949 (ish) 'US Bureau Of Mines' test report on the AA-130 state that in order to burn buck properly in it they had to drill a 5/8" hole in the port cover (flapper) door? I can't recall if puff-backs were explicitly mentioned as the reason behind this, but it is certain something wasn't going quite right with it until they drilled it for buck. That to me indicates that buck is minimal at best as to suitability. YMMV

 
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Yanche
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Post by Yanche » Mon. Feb. 17, 2014 10:15 pm

coaledsweat wrote:
lzaharis wrote:3.I would have to reduce the thimble down to 5 inch of course but thats a minor issue :)
Actually, you are better off using the Axeman style muzzle brake install. One pipe into a larger pipe at the Baro. The smaller pipe runs about half the depth of the baro. It suppresses any puffbacks if they should occur.
Run 5" stovepipe all the way to your chimney thimble as coaledsweat recommends. The smaller diameter, keeps the flue stack velocity higher, carrying the stack ash with it. Ideally it's carried all the way to your chimney where there will be an abrupt change in velocity and the ash will fall down to your chimney bottom clean out. Careful flue pipe layout will minimize the need to clean it. Avoid right angle changes.

 
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mdhorvath
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Post by mdhorvath » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 5:31 am

I burned buck in mine for the first week of the season with no problem.
Last edited by mdhorvath on Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 5:32 am, edited 1 time in total.


 
cabinover
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Post by cabinover » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 5:31 am

I find that an AA will burn buck just as easily as pea. Don't see any reason why an AHS wouldn't do the same being pretty much identical in nature.

 
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Post by greenftechn » Tue. Feb. 18, 2014 9:09 am

Buckwheat is fine. As to puffbacks, the coal chemistry will have greater impact than the size. Some folks have already mentioned draft and venting related suggestions. Positioning of the fire will have impact as well. For those with the temperature based grate control, adjust hysteresis on your controller to 1. This will limit the amount of fresh coal added to the fire at once.

 
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plumberman
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Post by plumberman » Fri. Feb. 21, 2014 7:20 am

was oxygen getting in from owb? copper in boiler plumbing only has to be M grade due to lack of free oxgen in water. also fosta-pex works great for boiler runs, it has a aluminum layer which helps it from expanding a mile. bladder style expansion tank is way to go... forget holding tanks, not needed. spend you money on underground pipe, 2-1" pex lines foamed together in one 4" black pipe, don't skimp period. once you are in house switch to fost apex and run into existing boiler system. I have converted raddiators over to hot water in and out in bottom tappings work perfect. put manual bleeder in top. burning straight pea coal in my 130 sweet as can be!! hopefully answered a question or two. by the way I still don't miss my wood boiler or splitter :D

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