Ash Buildup in a Harmon MK 2

 
DRBill
Member
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon. Nov. 28, 2016 4:13 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harmon Mk II
Coal Size/Type: nut
Other Heating: oil hot air

Post by DRBill » Sat. Jan. 07, 2017 4:07 pm

I've had the stove for about fifteen years and this is the first time this has happened. Now, it could be the coal, which is a mix of red ash and white ash and has big chunks of ash, not fines. I'm getting a lot of ash buildup at the front and, possibly the sides, even when I shake down. I shake down until the ash pan is glowing red and some red fines are coming down. Last time I shook "aggressively" I got a piece of coal stuck in the grate and had to shovel everything out and was, fortunately, able to remove that piece of coal without the stove going completely out. I have two pokers. One has a short right angle piece and the other is a hook and spike. Just tried to "poke" some of that ash on the front down and later I will try and shake it down. Didn't want to shake it down immediately for fear of getting a piece of ash stuck in the grate.

Anyone else have this problem with a Mark 2?


 
User avatar
SWPaDon
Member
Posts: 9857
Joined: Sun. Nov. 24, 2013 12:05 pm
Location: Southwest Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
Other Heating: Oil furnace

Post by SWPaDon » Sat. Jan. 07, 2017 4:30 pm

Ash build up can happen to most stoves. Here's a current thread about it: Letting the Fire Die Out for Cleaning

 
User avatar
lowfog01
Member
Posts: 3889
Joined: Sat. Dec. 20, 2008 8:33 am
Location: Springfield, VA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Mark II & Mark I
Coal Size/Type: nut/pea

Post by lowfog01 » Sat. Jan. 07, 2017 5:01 pm

DRBill wrote:I've had the stove for about fifteen years and this is the first time this has happened. Now, it could be the coal, which is a mix of red ash and white ash and has big chunks of ash, not fines. I'm getting a lot of ash buildup at the front and, possibly the sides, even when I shake down. I shake down until the ash pan is glowing red and some red fines are coming down. Last time I shook "aggressively" I got a piece of coal stuck in the grate and had to shovel everything out and was, fortunately, able to remove that piece of coal without the stove going completely out. I have two pokers. One has a short right angle piece and the other is a hook and spike. Just tried to "poke" some of that ash on the front down and later I will try and shake it down. Didn't want to shake it down immediately for fear of getting a piece of ash stuck in the grate.

Anyone else have this problem with a Mark 2?
I'm surprised that this is the first time this has happened, consider yourself blessed. The Harman Mark Series are notorious for ash build up just inside the load door. I have both a Mk 2 and MK1. As you say the answer is gentle poking the coal bed to release the ash followed by a thorough shake down. You'll be surprised how much ash comes down. I find that I need to do this poke and shake every 3 or 4th day.

Do the pokers you have fit between the grates? The poker needs to in order to break up the ash. I made mine with a 1/4 steel rod from Home Depot and wooden handle that I screwed on it.

About the piece of coal stuck in the grates, it happens occasionally but if you stop shaking when you realize it's jammed and just wait, the jam will burn up over a couple of hours. You should be able to clear the jam rather easily at your next tending. The Harman grates are excellent clinker crushers.

You needn't worry about a lack of air flowing up the through the coalbed until that next tending. Just open the air gauge a little more and allow the fire to refresh. In the case of most jams that's all it will take to clear it. Lisa

 
rberq
Member
Posts: 6445
Joined: Mon. Apr. 16, 2007 9:34 pm
Location: Central Maine
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine 1300 with hopper
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Anthracite Nut
Other Heating: Oil hot water radiators (fuel oil); propane

Post by rberq » Sat. Jan. 07, 2017 8:53 pm

I constantly had the ash problem with my Mark 1. Every couple days I would poke from the top, through the load door, and pry with the poker to heave the coal, a lot like tossing a salad. That helped a lot to loosen up the ash. It's a dangerous operation though because too much disturbing of the coal bed can kill the fire. Maybe limit the tossing to one side at a time.

I also had the problem with chunks of coal jamming the grates. Strangely enough I have never had that happen with my DS Machine stove. I think the DS grates are anchored at one end and float a little at the other end which makes them more forgiving.

 
User avatar
CoalHeat
Member
Posts: 8862
Joined: Sat. Feb. 10, 2007 9:48 pm
Location: Stillwater, New Jersey
Stoker Coal Boiler: 1959 EFM 350
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Magnafire Mark I
Baseburners & Antiques: Sears Signal Oak 15 & Andes Kitchen Range
Coal Size/Type: Rice and Chestnut
Other Heating: Fisher Fireplace Insert

Post by CoalHeat » Sat. Jan. 07, 2017 10:32 pm

It's the coal.
And lowfog's advice is perfect!

 
User avatar
Homesteader
Member
Posts: 299
Joined: Sat. Aug. 13, 2016 4:24 pm
Location: Goshen, CT.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Mark II
Coal Size/Type: Nut, Stove
Other Heating: H.B. Smith oil fired boiler

Post by Homesteader » Sun. Jan. 08, 2017 9:18 am

Wood'nCoal wrote:It's the coal.
And lowfog's advice is perfect!
I completely agree. Although this is my first year burning coal I have followed many of the threads on this forum to help me out. I just use a 1/4" threaded rod that I had laying around to poke the fire mostly around the edges of the firebox after a quick shakedown then after poking I will do a more thorough shakedown till I can "see the light" through the ashpan door. I also let the fire take care of a coal jam before re shaking. The Harman grates are pretty good at grinding things up.

J.L.

 
User avatar
freetown fred
Member
Posts: 30293
Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
Location: Freetown,NY 13803
Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut

Post by freetown fred » Sun. Jan. 08, 2017 9:37 am

Simplistic is good H. Sounds like you're on a roll! :)


 
RRBoy
Member
Posts: 68
Joined: Mon. Oct. 24, 2016 2:50 pm
Location: Dover De
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 254
Coal Size/Type: Sometimes you feel like a nut.....

Post by RRBoy » Sun. Jan. 08, 2017 9:45 am

I poked and stirred my stove, especially along the edges and corners, and after 2 months of constant burning it still seemed sluggish., I just let the fire go out and then gave it a thorough cleaning.

It is much more responsive now to changes in draft control and MPD control, and even shaking the grates is easier. They move far easier and less shaking is required at each tending.

 
User avatar
Homesteader
Member
Posts: 299
Joined: Sat. Aug. 13, 2016 4:24 pm
Location: Goshen, CT.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Mark II
Coal Size/Type: Nut, Stove
Other Heating: H.B. Smith oil fired boiler

Post by Homesteader » Sun. Jan. 08, 2017 11:59 am

freetown fred wrote:Simplistic is good H. Sounds like you're on a roll! :)
With my simple mind I try to keep it simple. It's the old mantra of "keep it stupid simple". :D

 
DRBill
Member
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon. Nov. 28, 2016 4:13 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harmon Mk II
Coal Size/Type: nut
Other Heating: oil hot air

Post by DRBill » Sun. Jan. 08, 2017 5:30 pm

Wood'Coal is absolutely correct. It is the coal. This is the first year I have gotten big flakes of ash as well as fines. A lot more ash this year than in past years. Lots more ash. I used to empty the ash bucket every four days. Now it is every three days. I have a hook and point poker as well as an "L" shaped poker. Just straightened out the latter. With the cold, the stove is hard pressed keep the house at 75-76F. I don't like opening the draft too much, as that means I have to constantly think, is it time to add coal, and I still need to turn it down at night for fear of losing my fire. Usually, I can turn the blower off once the temperature is about 75F. Not now, with the cold and wind chill. I usually keep the draft open one turn and turn it down to half a turn overnight. That way, my fire doesn't go out and the hot air furnace just kicks in at 73F. Easy to fire up the stove in the morning.

Again, it's just crappy coal. I can't say anything about the volatiles, but it is definitely high ash. But, when you get three tons delivered, rather than bagged coal, you take what you get. Besides, I could have had the same problem with bagged coal, which is twice what I paid for bulk. I can't blame Superior, as the seam determines if it is good coal or not. But, the quality can change depending upon where in the seam it is mined. I was told a seam in the east could be nice hard coal, but in the western end, it could be semi-anthracite. At least that is what they told me about the Southern Field. But, nothing was said about the ash content in any seam over the length of the seam.

 
User avatar
lowfog01
Member
Posts: 3889
Joined: Sat. Dec. 20, 2008 8:33 am
Location: Springfield, VA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Mark II & Mark I
Coal Size/Type: nut/pea

Post by lowfog01 » Sun. Jan. 08, 2017 7:18 pm

DRBill wrote:Wood'Coal is absolutely correct. It is the coal. This is the first year I have gotten big flakes of ash as well as fines. A lot more ash this year than in past years. Lots more ash. I used to empty the ash bucket every four days. Now it is every three days. I have a hook and point poker as well as an "L" shaped poker. Just straightened out the latter. With the cold, the stove is hard pressed keep the house at 75-76F. I don't like opening the draft too much, as that means I have to constantly think, is it time to add coal, and I still need to turn it down at night for fear of losing my fire. Usually, I can turn the blower off once the temperature is about 75F. Not now, with the cold and wind chill. I usually keep the draft open one turn and turn it down to half a turn overnight. That way, my fire doesn't go out and the hot air furnace just kicks in at 73F. Easy to fire up the stove in the morning.
If you could take a minute and fill in your profile we maybe able to help you maximize the heat from the MK 2 despite the coal. Particularly, where are you located? How cold is it there? What you've written is 180* from my experiences with a MK2 but I'm in VA with an average winter temperature of 38*. Still based on what you've written I bet we could save you stove tending time if not money and coal. Good luck, Lisa

 
User avatar
Homesteader
Member
Posts: 299
Joined: Sat. Aug. 13, 2016 4:24 pm
Location: Goshen, CT.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Mark II
Coal Size/Type: Nut, Stove
Other Heating: H.B. Smith oil fired boiler

Post by Homesteader » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 9:45 am

As I am a first year coal burner there are many others on the list that are more capable of giving some suggestions but I’ll let you know what my experiences have been so far with my MK II. Up here in NW. CT. we have been going through a decent cold spell the last few days. Yesterday was in the teens and this morning it was -2. I also run my air at one full turn open but when I load the stove at night after some poking and the shakedown I really load the firebox up to just below the glass in front banked up to the back to just under the baffle . I have not had a problem with the fire going out even after 12 hours with the air opened to one turn. I shake down the ashes twice a day and empty the pan once a day. I also have to empty my 5 gallon ash bucket every three days. So in my case the amount of ash I am getting is similar to what you have. Anyway I just thought I would let you know as an MK II user what my experiences have been.

J.L.

 
User avatar
freetown fred
Member
Posts: 30293
Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
Location: Freetown,NY 13803
Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut

Post by freetown fred » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 12:41 pm

By God H, I'm thinkin ya got er figured out! :)

 
User avatar
lowfog01
Member
Posts: 3889
Joined: Sat. Dec. 20, 2008 8:33 am
Location: Springfield, VA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Mark II & Mark I
Coal Size/Type: nut/pea

Post by lowfog01 » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 7:08 pm

Homesteader wrote:As I am a first year coal burner there are many others on the list that are more capable of giving some suggestions but I’ll let you know what my experiences have been so far with my MK II. Up here in NW. CT. we have been going through a decent cold spell the last few days. Yesterday was in the teens and this morning it was -2. I also run my air at one full turn open but when I load the stove at night after some poking and the shakedown I really load the firebox up to just below the glass in front banked up to the back to just under the baffle . I have not had a problem with the fire going out even after 12 hours with the air opened to one turn. I shake down the ashes twice a day and empty the pan once a day. I also have to empty my 5 gallon ash bucket every three days. So in my case the amount of ash I am getting is similar to what you have. Anyway I just thought I would let you know as an MK II user what my experiences have been.

J.L.
Yes sir, it sounds like you've learned how to maximize the Mark II. As you discovered the trick is to load the stove with as much coal as you can banking it from just below the load door to the top of the firebricks. You can easily get a 12 or 15 hour burn if you do that. My longest burn is 30 hours.

Coal likes a deep coal bed and that's why you get such long burn times. You shouldn't have to be adding coal to it throughout the day. In theory, a coal fire will burn forever given air and fuel. Check out Wikipedia; "The Centralia mine fire is a coal seam fire that has been burning underneath the borough of Centralia, Pennsylvania, United States since at least May 27, 1962."

Personally, I'd be hesitant to load coal all the way to just under the baffle. The reason is those coals reach incredible temperatures and they are burning directly on steel. There's no fire bricks or cast iron to bounce that heat back and out. My used MK I came a great price and a split/gash on the back wall just above the fire bricks. The welder who repaired it thought the gash was from constant exposure to extreme heat. It may have been a weak spot from manufacturing but the direct heat caused it to break through. Just a thought.

I get a long burn without banking high on the back wall but I'm in VA and rarely need to burn the stove beyond a 3/4 turn. :) Good Luck, Lisa

 
rberq
Member
Posts: 6445
Joined: Mon. Apr. 16, 2007 9:34 pm
Location: Central Maine
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine 1300 with hopper
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Anthracite Nut
Other Heating: Oil hot water radiators (fuel oil); propane

Post by rberq » Mon. Jan. 09, 2017 8:34 pm

lowfog01 wrote:the trick is to load the stove with as much coal as you can banking it from just below the load door to the top of the firebricks ... I'd be hesitant to load coal all the way to just under the baffle. The reason is those coals reach incredible temperatures and they are burning directly on steel.
I loaded my Mark 1 to just below the load door, and it twice burned out the steel bracket, bolted middle-front, that held the firebricks. It was a cheap part, about $15 as I recall, and only took about two minutes to replace, but still -- shows you what the burning coal can do to heavy steel. I don't know if the Mark 2 has the same bracket.


Post Reply

Return to “Hand Fired Coal Stoves & Furnaces Using Anthracite”