successfully burning anthracite coal in a clayton furnace

johnstar:

Fly ash is a very fine powder that collects on the chimney walls and lays at the bottom of the horizontal pipe runs, especially the elbows. As the powder builds up in the pipe and the secondary heat exchanger of the stove, it starts to restrict the air flow of the exhaust. This restriction will cause the stove eventually to operate poorly and possibly close off the flow to the point the gas may exhaust into the house or put out the fire. I have roughly a three foot section of stove pipe from the stove to the wall thimble. I have been burning for about five weeks and when I cleaned it out this weekend I removed about one half gallon of the powder from the pipe. The chimney has approximately an eighth of an inch of powder clinging to the walls. My chimney is one size larger than the stove pipe so I'm going to leave it another month. But when I do clean it out next month I expect to remove about a five gallon bucket of the powder just from the 37' chimney. It is a messy job. wear a face mask, run a chimney brush through the stove pipe and chimney and be ready with a shop vac. The amount of cleaning you need to do really depends on how hard you burn. That is why I use the tapping of the stove pipe method and look up the clean out to gauge when it needs to be done. With a clean stove pipe, when you tap it with a screwdriver, it will sound with a hollow ring. When the stove pipe has got some build up, when you tap it with the screwdriver, it will sound like a thud. Hope this helps and keep us posted. DOUG

Well I found a place that has stove coal and it's blaschak.I've burned blaschak nut coal before so I know what it burns like.A lot of you guys burn stove coal in your US stove furnaces so I had to try some.I'll post my thoughts next week.
DON

Thanks for the info Doug. I was never really sure how often I should clean out the chimney but according to what you wrote it's about every 5-6 weeks. The next time it gets slightly warmer here I will plan on cleaning out the pipes

Hello,well i think with evryones help i finaly got my stove to work! So if i can i would like it to go a little longer im geting about 8 hours out of it. Im open 8 cranks on my ash door does anyone know how far down i can go before it will go out, should i just try 1 turn to a time, do i need to mess with the baro. damper when i do this or do i leave it where i got it.

Congratulations on the progress! I would recommend slowly trying to find the lowest air setting that the furnace will burn at.. The problem is that the lowest burnable setting really depends on the weather..
Unless your baro damper is always open to maintain a max draft, meaning you have a very strong draft all the time, then during the warmer days and nights, with no wind the draft will be lower,, to keep the fire burning you will need a bit more air to the fire, since the draft pulling the air throught he fire will be lower and the fire will make less heat and less draft..

What you are trying to do is to develope a 'feel' and the experience to look at today's or tonight's weather, decide that you need more or could use less air and still have a fire burning 10-12 hours later.. I'd recommend a pad of paper, write down the temperature, the wind, and your air control setting, and at the end of the 8 or 12 hour burn write down your observations,, too long: the fire burnt out, or not hot enough: the house is too cool, or Plenty of coal remaining: It could burn longer.. The 'paper memory' will help as we go from fall into winter and back into spring weather.. it will REALLY help next fall when you start over again..

If you have a Manometer hooked up, and a thermometer in the flue, you can observe the draft, and watch the flue temperature, and watch the higher or lower draft trends appear as you try more or less air feeding the fire..

Greg L

thirstieturtle:

Greg is right! Mark down what the temperatures are outside, on the stove pipe and how many turns out you need to go for the needed heat output. It will really help you fine tune the operation. I've set my Clayton ash door spinner as little as two turns out to a maximum of all the way out minus a turn. I've gotten from 8 to 20+ hour burns out of the Clayton. If you can get your hands on a draft gauge, measure it and set it between .04 and .08 inches of water. Observe what happens at the different settings and choose one that works best for your system. The different size coal you use will effect the setting. The larger the coal, the less draft you need. The smaller the coal, the more draft you need. You are doing great! Just be patient and adjust things a little at a time. Record what you find and you'll be able to repeat the process all the time. I've found that when I burn really hard, HIGH TEMPERATURE AND HIGH DRAFT, do to the shape of the firebox , it may clinker into one big chunk of fused ash. Don't be discouraged if it happens to you. It's just the nature of the stove. Let it go out, remove the mess and start over. Another lesson learned the hard way. You are on your way. Pretty soon you'll be teaching us a few tricks. Thanks for your progress report. We'll be watching for some more. DOUG

WELL im back needing more info. I got up this morn. and only the back of the stove was going so i move some of the coal out of the way in the front and made a charcol fire and covered it with coal.Now only the front is going real good but no heat in the house. when this acours how do i get the other half to go and what may be the cause?????????

thirstieturtle:

Okay, relax. I know it's frustrating but you'll get it yet. A deep charge will give a more even heat and a longer fire. It may take one to two hours before the whole bed is fully ignited. When the fire is well established and the room is becoming warm, you can partially close the ash door spinner to the desired heating level required. The secondary air supply, the flap on the combustion fan, can be nearly closed. With anthracite you will see short blue flames above the coal except when the fire is started or a new charge is added. If there is no flame, the fire needs more air from the bottom or it is near the end of its burn cycle and needs to be recharged.

COAL REFUELING THE CLAYTON:

When the coal has burned down to half its original depth it's time to add coal. Open the dampers and allow the fire to pick up a little and also burn off the gases. Open the feed door and push the glowing coal to the rear of the firebox. Not all the glowing coal. Leave some to ignite the new coal. Try not to disturb the fire too much. I use a metal handled hoe. Next add a fresh charge up front, being careful not to seal off the top of the rear glowing coals. Close the feed door but leave the secondary draft flap on the combustion blower open for a few minutes until the volatile gases have burned off. After that you may shake down the ashes. Be gentle when you shake the ashes. A few short strokes are better than large movement of the grate. The objective is to remove the ashes without disturbing the fire. Depending on how hard you burn, I might shake as little as 20 to as much as 100 times, or until the first live coals fall into the ash pan. You should also be careful in shaking the ashes so that you don't form clinkers. These form when the very hot burning coal comes in contact with the ash layer. This occurs when you shake the fire too much or poke the fire. Some coals, especially those high in iron, form more clinkers. Because clinkers will not burn and will block the grate when formed in large pieces, remove them as necessary before refueling.

BANKING THE FIRE IN THE CLAYTON:

For overnight operation or if you are away all day, you want to bank the fire. To do so, heap the coal so the fire gradually burns it over a longer period of time. You also reduce the intensity of the fire without letting it go out. Follow the same procedure as for fueling. After loading, let the fire establish itself for about a half hour and then close the dampers to the point where the house does not become too cold. It's important that the banking be done early enough before you go to bed or leave the house so that you can make adjustments after the fire is well established.

REVIVING THE FIRE THAT'S ALMOST OUT IN THE CLAYTON:

Occasionally you may find that the fire is almost out before you remember or have time to refuel it. You may first notice this as the house cools. The first thing to do is open the ash door and damper. Close the secondary combustion blower flap to get a good draft through the grate. Then place a thin layer of dry coal over the entire top of the fire and close the feed door. DO NOT POKE OR SHAKE AT THIS TIME. After the fresh coal has become well ignited, shake the grates and refuel.

AFTER THE FIRE GOES OUT IN THE CLAYTON:

This will happen from time to time even to the most experienced stove operator. You remove the coal through the feed door, empty the ash pan and start all over.

SIDE NOTE:

Some stove manufactures will have you pull the glowing coal to the front of the firebox instead of the rear. I believe it is all how the stove draft is designed for the burn. When I burn strictly wood in the Clayton, I rake the wood charcoal to the front of the firebox, making sure the draft holes in the cast iron front baffle are clear, and stuff if full of wood. Close the ash door spinner all the way shut and adjust the heat output with the combustion blower flap. Then switch the blower fan on and set the thermostat to the desired temperature.

This should help. If only the manual from US STOVE were this detailed, we wouldn't had anything to talk about. I'll be watching for your progress report. DOUG

Excellent advice and instructions Doug !!

Greg L.

Thanks Greg. If it wasn't for your help in the past, I still wouldn't understand how to burn coal. I'd probably still have been trying to figure it out and very frustrated. You are a great asset to this forum! Thanks for being there. DOUG

Doug, thank you for the kind comments.. since it seems you have mastered the Clayton and it's cousins,, my job is MUCH easier..

You have been a great help tutoring the members with the wood/coal combo furnaces and boilers.. I really appreciate your help, it is almost a full time job with all the new members on the forum with the US Stove products..

Greg L.

I agree the both of you are Kings of the Coal respectfully!
This post has been quiet for too long and I would like to hear from some of the newer Clayton/Hotblast users out there.
I know the three, no four Johns I spoke to on the phone could give us some updates!
My update is I'm done burning off the trees we needed to take out in the spring and back at the coal for a week now.
What a differance! I'm selling the wood next time. And what do you think I'd do with the money? That's right I'd use it to go see Dougs masterpiece!!! I've moved the clayton from last years location to where I think will be it's new location.
Long story/remodeling
Well after getting out of the wood mode and readjusting, cleaning etc. we are on track.
Running a .05 heavy draft, two turns on the ash door draft, FAD open 3/8 of an inch and the tsat set at 68 degrees.
FAD kicks on the house warms up and the Clayton blower cycles on and off in between. I treat it as if I were burning wood in some respects by adding a metal grain scoop or two every couple of hours or so. I can leave it for 10 plus hours and kick it back up in short order and go back to my routine. I shake off ash once or twice a day depending on how hard it runs. It is always (in routine) mounded at the fire brick level. It like's it deep and glowing!
That's it for now.
Charles

Just taken 2 light scoops added 2 hours ago

alright charles, i ll give an update. when am i comin out to roof your house?! have the beer ready. this hotblast of mine is burning great!!!!!!!!!!! now i heard of a few people having to add additional dampners and such on their ash pan doors to force enough air up to the coal bed. for some reason, and im not coplaining one bit, i only need mine open 2, 3 turns max for enough air! i have no idea why, must have gotten lucky i guess.
shaker grates, well, could improve on these units i think. i been reading all the new threads on this topic. i got a new grate from USSC and hooked it all up, and the front grate nub broke off that we welded with nickle rod. i also found out at the same time that the HANDLE was cracked too, and the fiance heard @$&*?!#^% from downstairs, you fill in the blank. needless to say i needed some liquid encouragement, and went out to the shop.
now i had a little bit left on the grate nub left, and it just so happeded we had some square tubing left from farming. the i.d. demension was just a little smaller than the old handle, which i feel would be better cause im not working with much now, the nub got smaller (stop smiling charles lol). so had a few more beers and welded up the square tubing into a 90 degree angle and put a 5/8 bolt on for a handle. works good so far! not bad for a carpenter.
still have not hooked up the thermo to my blower fans, still waiting for my HVAC buddy to slow up with work to help me with that. as i told charles on the phone, i attempted once, and had smoke rolling out from the thermostat. walked away from that and watch tv instead. all and all i do like the unit bottom line. only thing USSC could have maybe improved on the hotblast line would be a better shaker grate. and to everyone on this forum, especially charles, thank you thank you thank you for all the help. if it was not for you i would still be scratchin my head and the house would not have been 74 DEGREES!

New to coal burning coal. Got a Clayton 5.6 from my dad and has just been siting in my basement for several years. Back in July when fuel oil was $4.60 a gallon I decided to burn coal. Got 5 tons but just now hooking things up since oil has come down in price. Thought I would use this year to try it and see if I like it and if I can get the hang of it. Anyway today started my first fire. So far so good, I read this thread and took everyone's advise and loaded it up to the firebricks and installed a baro damper and only giving it draft from the ash door drafrt control. My forced air draft does not work so can't even use this anyway. Couple of questions though. Today is about 25F out and I have only been able to get the house up to 69F, which is OK now, but am worried about when the really cold weather comes. How can I get more heat out of this thing? I think the 5.6 model is older and is the same as the Clayton 1600. Do I need a manual damper along with the baro damper? I have the baro damper set between 2 and 4. My Clayton book says I need .04 to .06. Now sure what this means? Any pointers anyone can provide will be appreciated.

Thanks