Making Coal "Easier"

Yep, I'm a real newbie at coal and I am thankful I found this forum. The information I have found here has been excellent. The people who post here are helpful and have been very respectful, and I want to thank you all.

I also wanted to start a thread about gadjets, gizmos and whacha-ma-callits that you find helpful in your everyday tending of your stove. I'm know the two things I'll show have been thought of before, and maybe pics have even been posted. I'd just like to hear ideas and/or see pics of homemade things that you use to make the task of burning coal easier.

Both the funnel and the hod shown in the pics make the process of loading the coal from the bag into the stove a breeze. I used a 6" pipe, because that's what I had laying around, and it's just about the right amount of coal for one, twice daily tending. A cap screwed on the bottom, and some kind of handle and you're done.

The funnel is just a piece of scrap aluminum flashing I had laying around, with about 6 pop rivets in it. I have yet to spill a piece of coal since I made it, and I now have almost no dust problem at all.

Let's see what you've got, and thanks again to all of the great members of this forum.

I have a few items for your thread....
The bucket with the tin chute I call the "mega coal cannon". I can load up to 60 pounds of coal into it and evenly distribute coal front to back on top the fuel bed at loading.

The bread basket with the hardware cloth on top I use for a fines separator. Simply throw a couple shovel fulls on it, nudge the coal back and forth a couple times, then shovel it into the mega coal cannon for fine free delivery into the stove.

Then the 4 foot section of rebar I have in the third pic I use for jabbing and lifting the fuel bed at shake down. The wire brush is for cleaning the interior of the firebox and water coils. The other tool with the "fin" like bend at the end I use to floss the grates from underneath. I use it for jams and at every tending after shake down just to make sure the pathway for combustion air is nice and clear.

Very nice, Lightning, That's exactly what I was hoping to see. Great pics and explanation.

I did buy myself a length of re-bar, but I have not bent it or used it yet....$17 for a cheapy Chinese one ....the heck with that!

Are the fines what crackles and pops as I'm loading nut? So far I have been lucky and the bags I have used don't have much at all.

Lee, mines bigger than yours

I just started using this 2 weeks ago in the frankenstove. Its a flat grate and I slice it some first, but with this sucker I can move all the coal to the back or front, lift a large section up and the ash just kind of falls thru when released. Wished Id thought of it 2 years ago. Its a shingle remover I think? Real heavy in construction on a 4 foot handle. Every couple days Ive been using it.

I didnt picture it, but I also use a hacksaw frame for slicing the grate.

Wow man, that's certainly a heavy piece of artillery! I could definitely see that coming in handy.

RRBoy wrote:Are the fines what crackles and pops as I'm loading nut? So far I have been lucky and the bags I have used don't have much at all.

In my opinion the small pieces seem to crackle and pop, the fines seem to make more of a sizzling sound like cooking bacon lol.

I didn't make this, it was left with the stove. It is neat anyway. I catch the coal from the gravity bin outside then dump in thru the loading door on the stove. It's a pretty clean process.

Other than cooking pots, pans and utensils, a coal range needs a few items to make heating/cooking life easier,.... but nothing big enough to be considered construction demolition tools.

Left to right in first picture below.
1. Shaker handle with stop-tab that reorients the triangular grates each time they are rotated to grind up clinkers.
2. Poker that can reach in under the grates and also scrap the sides of the firebox to loosen clinker scale before it builds up on the firebrick surfaces.
3. Coiled handle round cover lifter.
4. Butterfly lifter for lifting round covers to put in long pieces of wood. That type lifter raises all three top plates over the firebox at the same time. Makes adding full-length wood faster and easer.
5. Fine brass brush for brushing off any burnt on food spills on the cook top.
6. Inspection mirror for checking the grates from underneath for where a jam might be so that it can be worked free without shutting down the range, or risking busting a grate bar.
7. Long handled BBQ tongs for lifting out dropped and still burning coal from the ash pan and putting it back into the fire.

As far as coal transfer from the basement coal bin, just the typical old coal buckets that hold about 30 pounds of nut coal. Plus a small coal shovel. I find that the shovel gives me more control over where and how much coal is added. With a small firebox dumping the coal directly in doesn't really save time, because I would have to go back in and spread it evenly or I get uneven heating of the cook top.

Paul

Your flat lipped coal pail is the the one people need if using that type of shovel, I want to add. I used to use that combo.

warminmn wrote:Your flat lipped coal pail is the the one people need if using that type of shovel, I want to add. I used to use that combo.

Yes, it does make it easier to get down into the coal to scoop a shovel full. Trying to push the shovel into the coal away from the bucket's edge is tougher because the nut coal chunks don't want move out of the way easily.

And a bucket of stove coal is just about impossible to get that shovel into, if not starting at an edge.

Paul

I use something like this to put coal on the bed for lighting, and for moving coal around in the hopper (it doesn't slide down well as I'd like)
It takes the heat, holds a reasonable amount, and can be dumped from the end, side, or even tossed a bit as needed.

I use a prybar like this to move coal or ashes onto and off the bed.
The long part can be used to block the end while adding coal or pushing a cowboy charcoal loaded newspaper burrito into the coal for lighting. The hooked end is great for moving coal across the bed as needed.

I also use the pry to help engage/disengage the stoker arm. My spring is pretty stiff and I'm always wondering if this is the day I catch the skin of my hand in it

JeepGuy04 wrote:I didn't make this, it was left with the stove. It is neat anyway. I catch the coal from the gravity bin outside then dump in thru the loading door on the stove. It's a pretty clean process.

The handles on that are much better than mine. Now I'm going to have to make modifications.

My tools.