Draw Grate Shaking Tips

D.lapan · Post by **D.lapan** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2016 7:17 pm

KingCoal wrote:
D.lapan wrote:Well so much for that. I came home 10 min ago and the damn thing was completely out and cold house at 58...
out as in burned up all the fuel or out as in died from over agitation or ashing up ?

Out from ashing up on the sides beside the pot, first time it has gone out that fast on me, I do not have a clinker door however I can get to the front of the grate which is where I have been prying and poking at my wife was home for the better part of the day I'm wondering if she might have had something to do with it, as when I got home both primates were wide open and both mpd

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2016 7:27 pm

D.lapan wrote:
Out from ashing up on the sides beside the pot, first time it has gone out that fast on me, I do not have a clinker door however I can get to the front of the grate which is where I have been prying and poking at my wife was home for the better part of the day I'm wondering if she might have had something to do with it, as when I got home both primates were wide open and both mpd

Ash most likely didn't cause that. With all the dampers opened, that'll burn up all the coal in a very short time.

Everyone who will be tending the stove has to learn to control it by proper settings of dampers,.... when/how to shake ash,.... and when/how to add coal.

Paul

D.lapan · Post by **D.lapan** » Mon. Jan. 04, 2016 7:34 pm

Sunny Boy wrote:
D.lapan wrote:
Out from ashing up on the sides beside the pot, first time it has gone out that fast on me, I do not have a clinker door however I can get to the front of the grate which is where I have been prying and poking at my wife was home for the better part of the day I'm wondering if she might have had something to do with it, as when I got home both primates were wide open and both mpd
Ash most likely didn't cause that. With all the dampers opened, that'll burn up all the coal in a very short time.

Everyone who will be tending the stove has to learn to control it by proper settings of dampers,.... when/how to shake ash,.... and when/how to add coal.

Paul

I just asked her and she said she opened them up at 3 when she came home from shipping to try and save it, when I cleaned it out there was approx 10lbs of half burnt coal so I sifted it and reused it when I re lit it, all the ash that was built up was only around the outside of the grate against the pot as if I didn't shake it enough oh well ill keep at it

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 9:28 am

D.lapan wrote:
I just asked her and she said she opened them up at 3 when she came home from shipping to try and save it, when I cleaned it out there was approx 10lbs of half burnt coal so I sifted it and reused it when I re lit it, all the ash that was built up was only around the outside of the grate against the pot as if I didn't shake it enough oh well ill keep at it

With that much unburned coal in it, if the secondary was wide open, that most likely stalled the fire by killing the draft with too much cool air above the fire going to the chimney. If the secondary had remained closed, more of the coal would have burned up.

Is the wife a wood stove, Gal ?

Paul

D.lapan · Post by **D.lapan** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 9:51 am

Yes she dose alright with wood and normally won't mess with it when I have coal in it, secondary air was still shut just the primary's were open, It Was still burning strong this morning on a 12hr burn no tending, I pulled the grate got straight ash, poked from the top around the edges and then shook and still looked good when I left for work. Only time will tell I guess

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 10:04 am

D.lapan wrote:Yes she dose alright with wood and normally won't mess with it when I have coal in it, secondary air was still shut just the primary's were open, It Was still burning strong this morning on a 12hr burn no tending, I pulled the grate got straight ash, poked from the top around the edges and then shook and still looked good when I left for work. Only time will tell I guess

Ok.

Rather strange that it didn't burn up more of the coal before going out.

Are you getting some small bits of still burning coal dropping into the ash pan, and an even orange glow throughout the ash pan area when your done shaking ash ?

When you shake ash, are you using short, choppy strokes to really get the firebed shaking/moving ?

If not, your problem may be that you need to do more to clear out more ash.

Paul

Photog200 · Post by **Photog200** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 10:28 am

D.lapan wrote:Yes she dose alright with wood and normally won't mess with it when I have coal in it, secondary air was still shut just the primary's were open, It Was still burning strong this morning on a 12hr burn no tending, I pulled the grate got straight ash, poked from the top around the edges and then shook and still looked good when I left for work. Only time will tell I guess

This may sound like a stupid question but after you shook the stove down, you said it looked good before you went to work. You did not mention if you filled the stove back up to the top or if you just left it burning with what remained in the firepot? If that was the case, this could be the reason it went out.
Randy

D.lapan · Post by **D.lapan** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 11:36 am

As far as the glow being even it looked even other than the very outter edge and I start with a few long strokes and change to short choppy ones.. As far as this morning yes I refilled after tending, took 3/4 of a hod having the bed being mounded in the middle

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 12:26 pm

D.lapan wrote:As far as the glow being even it looked even other than the very outter edge and I start with a few long strokes and change to short choppy ones.. As far as this morning yes I refilled after tending, took 3/4 of a hod having the bed being mounded in the middle

Gotta clear that ash around the outside of the grate, too. That's what I mean by throughout the ash pan area having that same orange glow. Otherwise you still have a partially choked fire, with a lot of dead coal which means that there's less fresh coal to burn. The fire won't last as long, and that ash will insulate rather than let the pot transfer as much heat.

Do you dump all that 3/4 hod in all at once, or let the fire build up - only putting on one layer at a time with some of the fire below visible though each layer - then the fire bed has blue ladies dancing on top is when you set the dampers for the day ?

Paul

D.lapan · Post by **D.lapan** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 3:47 pm

Yes I build it up over maybe 20 min on average, then I have blues on top.. So short of poking from the top around the outside edge of the grate is there any better way to get it cleaned out because there's not much of a gap, this morning I bent one of my pokers in a 90 so I could poke and scrape the edge of the pot and the grate to clear it out, seemed to work alright

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 4:20 pm

That's a tough area to get cleared with some designs of shaker grates. That's why you'll hear of so many stove owners on here with homemade right angle pokers for exactly that reason.

One of the first tools I made for my range was a right-angle poker with a bent end long enough to reach up well past the grates to loosen the ash.

I think that at least once a day you'll have to poke up through the grate as best you can to break up and loosen that outer ring of ash. Then shake with short choppy strokes. Might have to alternate back and forth between poking around the edge of the grate and then shake the grate. Whatever it takes to clear that outer area.

Paul

D.lapan · Post by **D.lapan** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 8:10 pm

Came home at 630, 11 hours after I left it this morning to a 76* house and still burning good, I quickly pulled the slide dumped the ash, poked around the pot again and then shook down and then had a nice glow in the ash pan as if it was a new bed. Maybe this is the technique that I've been looking for

Photog200 · Post by **Photog200** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 8:27 pm

D.lapan wrote:Came home at 630, 11 hours after I left it this morning to a 76* house and still burning good, I quickly pulled the slide dumped the ash, poked around the pot again and then shook down and then had a nice glow in the ash pan as if it was a new bed. Maybe this is the technique that I've been looking for

Yup, that is what I meant with bridging, the coal bed will bridge and leave a few inch gap between it and the grates. The coal burns from the bottom up and that is what causes that gap. Perfect opportunity to poke and clear the ash that has dropped onto the grates. I do the same with my Andes just do it with the triangular grates. Then I knock the hot coals down, then I give the grates a good rattling to clear any more loose ash until I see a good glow under the grates. I think you have found the right form of ash removal for that stove.

Randy

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Jan. 05, 2016 9:47 pm

D.lapan wrote:Came home at 630, 11 hours after I left it this morning to a 76* house and still burning good, I quickly pulled the slide dumped the ash, poked around the pot again and then shook down and then had a nice glow in the ash pan as if it was a new bed. Maybe this is the technique that I've been looking for

There ya go !!!!

Paul