Rice Only?

Do all of Leisure Lines stokers burn rice only, no pea or anything else, just rice? I'm just curious if there is a shortage of rice coal if there was any other options for those people who own them.

I don't think they recommend anything but rice. If it's a stoker type stove, it will only burn rice, bigger coal could jam or produce too much air flow and you can get back burn into the hopper.

Some stoves you can run Buckwheat (just slightly larger than Rice), I have run it in my Keystoker without any problems with a 50/50 mix to prevent the clinkers, and I know others on here have too. But didn't want to take any chances in my LL.

The stokers are designed for rice, but will burn a mix of buckwheat,, Pea is way to big.. If the barometric damper is set correctly, and there are not any air leaks at the top of the grate, I can't see how buckwheat would be a problem for a hopper fire..

But Jerry is the guy to comment on this..

I burnt Buckwheat in my LL Pioneer, and the only problem I had was the Buck didn't have enough friction on the grate and the fire slid off the end of the grate once or twice..A mix of rice and buck wouldn't do that I don't think.

Greg L.

Hi,
If need be, you can mix 30% buck with the rice. Straight buck will produce too much waste. It doesn't lay on the grate long enough to burn into a good ash.
Thanks,
Jerry

I'm running Superior buck in the Alaska, but their buck is closer to rice size. I don't see any unburnt coal in the ash pan, but I have noticed what looks like some unburnt coal on the ash piles after a few rainstorms. Maybe I should start sifting...

Does having a larger coal make for a hotter burn? Are you really getting a higher btu output by adding some larger coal with you rice?

Adam Yes The Bigger the coal size the more air goes threw it the more heat you will get out of it
More air more heat less air less heat And Some coal as Higher BTU's per lb Then other's

Has anyone tried to burn wood pellets in their stoker? I haven't tried it yet, but to know if the option exists would be nice. Anybody know what to watch for as far as safety and stove damage if I try running some through?

Leisure Line wrote:Hi,
If need be, you can mix 30% buck with the rice. Straight buck will produce too much waste. It doesn't lay on the grate long enough to burn into a good ash.
Thanks,
Jerry

Is it possible to install a combustion blower with more CFM to burn the buck more completely, at the same time reducing the feed rate? Maybe even adding some more holes on the grate?
My Hyfire 110 never seems to get the heat that other members on this forum talk about with their Hyfire 1. Are the combustion blower the same on the early 110's?
Even if I continue to use 100% rice I was thinking of increasing the combustion blower capacity and increasing the feed rate. Would this keep hot coal from falling off the grate?
Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
Mike

coal berner wrote:Adam Yes The Bigger the coal size the more air goes threw it the more heat you will get out of it

Should be noted the coal will also burn faster, you won't get more BTU's per ton. As far as this is concerned with stokers it's not really going to matter one way or the other because your burn rate is controlled. In hand fired stoves where the natural draft comes into the picture it will effect the length of burn time and output. It's trade-off more heat or longer burns.

Hi Mike,
The Hyfire 110 is a pretty old stove. You would need to make some serious changes to that unit. I believe that stove has tri-burner feeders in it. Make sure that your fans(plastic wheels) on the burner are good and clean.
Jerry

Hi Jerry,
I don't think I have the tri-burner. I have separate adjustment for the feed rate and combustion blowers. Do you know the CFM output of your combustion blowers on the Hyfire 1?
Mike

Mike,
I think 30 and 45 CFM. If I were you I would pull off the grates and check under for being clean. The Hyfire 1 was a more managable stove then the II, but couldn't sell them, everybody wants big.
Jer

Jerry,
I frequently clean the blower wheels and pull the grates of to clean under them. I also run a drill through the holes to clean them.
I took my stove apart today and the blowers are 30 and 45 cfm. I see that if I flip the 45 blower over it fits on the 30 side with some minor work. I then could find a 70 CFM blower and fit it on the larger burner. I would wire the feed motors directly since I run them with the blowers at the highest speeds anyway, and use the rheostats to only adjust the blowers. If I crank up the feed rate and play with the blower speeds do you think I can get more heat?
Mike

I took my stove apart today and the blowers are 30 and 45 cfm. I see that if I flip the 45 blower over it fits on the 30 side with some minor work. I then could find a 70 CFM blower and fit it on the larger burner. I would wire the feed motors directly since I run them with the blowers at the highest speeds anyway, and use the rheostats to only adjust the blowers. If I crank up the feed rate and play with the blower speeds do you think I can get more heat?

I am just guessing here, so I hope someone who knows more will correct me. As the air is increased the rate of heat release will increase. I would expect this will increase the temperature of the grate the coal is burning on. At some point I would expect the grate to soften or melt. I expect there is a limit in terms of BTU per square inch or square foot of grate surface. If you had a way to measure the grate temp. you could find out if it is getting too hot before it is damaged.
If someone knows what that BTU per grate area limit is, please let us know.