No 1 Match Club for Me...Clinker Attack Already

I had to let the fire go out yesterday because clinker was jamming one of the grates. I never had one as big as an egg before that actually jammed the grates. This was with only one month of burning. I hope this is not a trend with this years coal! My supplier has always carried Blacshack coal but did not think to ask him when he delivered this year. I wish I could find a dealer who carried Lehigh everyone's reviewing possitivly on here.
Randy

No problems with the BLASCHAK I got. Been burnin since mid-Sept, P. Seems like them thar BB's just seem to do that if settings aren't precise. The more I read on all that clinker & adjustment stuff, the happier I am with my old HITZER.

freetown fred wrote:No problems with the BLASCHAK I got. Been burnin since mid-Sept, P. Seems like them thar BB's just seem to do that if settings aren't precise. The more I read on all that clinker & adjustment stuff, the happier I am with my old HITZER.

Fred, the stove I am using now is not a bb, just an oak style stove with a back pipe. I have been burning Blacshack for 5 years now and this is the first one for me.
Randy

well put fred !!!!!

Sorry to hear you missed out, Randy. Needing another match is going to ruin the economy of why you switched over to coal.

Had several iron clinkers jam the grates while burning TSC bagged Kimmels last year. Lots of what looked like iron ore in that coal.

Finally got tired of all the having to wait to let it burn out, clean it out and start all over again. I used one of my mechanic's telescoping mirrors to see where the jam was from underneath. once I located it, I then went fishing for it with a right-angle tipped poker from above. Worked well.

Haven't had clinkers needing to be dug out this year, but I did have several rocks in it that jammed the grates open and had to be fished out. They were all within the first couple of weeks taking coal from the top of the bin pile. That means they were last out of the truck and down the slide, which means they would have been in the bottom of the loader bucket. So I'm guessing they weren't from the breaker, but from my dealer's front end loader scraped up some rocks from the coal yard pile ?

Paul

I am burning Lehigh pea in my hand fed New Yorker boiler this year, have had a couple clinkers, but I blame my combustion fan for it, it can bring an idle fire to roaring very fast, I just take then out with my bar, do not have to shut down or anything.

Don't feel bad Randy, I lost my fire three days after start up because I was trying to idle stove size too low and slow. Then a week or so later I had to shut down on purpose to do a grate repair. Third match for me already.... but since then it's been pretty smooth sailing.

As far as clinkers are concerned, I dunno if it was a shale problem or clinkers or both but I had to clean out the fire box once a month a few years ago over it. I feel yer pain. I'd love to try out the Lehigh too!

freetown fred wrote:No problems with the BLASCHAK I got. Been burnin since mid-Sept, P. Seems like them thar BB's just seem to do that if settings aren't precise. The more I read on all that clinker & adjustment stuff, the happier I am with my old HITZER.

Fred,
I'll bring a few bags of last year's Kimmel's over just so's ya can tell folks you had the pleasure of fighting with locked grates.

Paul

Paul you gotta remember something bout ol Fred. That ol woodpecker has been heating an old leaky Farm house to 72 degrees in the dead of winter with the 5 tons of coal he burns from his 3 ton delivery. Hahaha!

Randy Buddy- use this for the first light:
And this for the rest:
And like me, you too will be immortalized into the infamous "one-match club"

Hey Fred, your point was well received, I have never seen a Hitzer in person but I hear they are built like tanks.

This clinker was too large to fish down through the bottom of the grates. Could not break it up either. Been burning coal for at least 5 years, maybe even 6 and this is the first one to cause a shutdown. Have not changed how I shake down and the stove has not gotten over 400°...mostly around 300° or lower. That's why I said hope it's not because of this years coal.

Randy

You're just jealous I can do that Lee!!!!!!!! As for the KIMMELS, went to TSC last yr. in Cortland & felt the bags, kinda like squeezin a big old---oh never mind--ANYHOW, I passed on even the few bags I'd gone to try.

lobsterman wrote:Randy Buddy- use this for the first light:

IMG_5236.JPG

And this for the rest:

IMG_5237.JPG

And like me, you too will be immortalized into the infamous "one-match club"

Shhh, don't tell anyone but I used a propane torch, don't even know where the matches are. Don't tell on me now!
Randy

Be sure to post pics of that dino egg when ya get her pulled out.

NOW this may be off topic and put to a new thread but does the industry have standards as far as sizing /meaning nut .pea. stove etc and there limits on fines /reading etc and what screens they use round or square .on and on and how from year to year it seemsit varies any thoughts and or concerns for us to them to get a better stanndard . I know shipping and handling on bagged coal is a whole diff. world but come on there has to be a limit thanx. guys