Empty Auger
- Scottscoaled
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- Location: Malta N.Y.
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520, 700, Van Wert 800 GJ 61,53
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- Coal Size/Type: Lots of buck
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Aarrhhhh. I went outside this morning to a cold boiler. Last night was getting rid of the last of some St. Nick bags in anticipation of making a coal run.Must be the first bag I dumped in was half full of fines and someclay type crap because it made a softball size lump around the end of my auger. No coal was getting to the fire. My first Bad experience with coal. Stupid Blashack! Guess my friends don't need to hear about this. Scott
- LsFarm
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Yep, you need to look at what you put into the hopper, for any type of feed mechanism. My very first buckets of coal that I tossed into my hopper had two or three hidden fist-sized frozen lumps, that stopped the flow of coal into the auger.
So I learned early that I need to make sure the coal is all loose and separate, and not full of fines damp or dry.. Fines will clog my hopper and auger as well, especially if they are damp.
Greg L.
So I learned early that I need to make sure the coal is all loose and separate, and not full of fines damp or dry.. Fines will clog my hopper and auger as well, especially if they are damp.
Greg L.
- Sting
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I know I am the "new guy" here but wouldn't a big piece of expanded metal over the hopper to pour/drop/screen your fuel solve or prevent this?
- LsFarm
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Yes it could, but for me it would greatly slow down the process of loading the 40+ buckets of coal to fill the 1500# hopper. I do this each week.
If I were filling a small hopper that holds maybe 50# of coal, it wouldn't take that much more time to sift the coal, but it would have to be done from the original container, usually a bag, through the sifting screen and into another container. This need to be done outdoors or a great deal of coal dust would be released in the house.
It can be done, thankfully most of the time the bagged coal isn't that inconsistant or contaminated with wood, rock or muddy fines.
Greg L
If I were filling a small hopper that holds maybe 50# of coal, it wouldn't take that much more time to sift the coal, but it would have to be done from the original container, usually a bag, through the sifting screen and into another container. This need to be done outdoors or a great deal of coal dust would be released in the house.
It can be done, thankfully most of the time the bagged coal isn't that inconsistant or contaminated with wood, rock or muddy fines.
Greg L
- Richard S.
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Put the screen about half way or one quarters of the way up the hopper. That will take care of most of the dust too.LsFarm wrote:Yes it could, but for me it would greatly slow down the process of loading the 40+ buckets of coal to fill the 1500# hopper.