Nut Coal and Pea Coal Mixture

 
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JB Sparks
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Post by JB Sparks » Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 2:53 pm

I recently read a thread about mixing nut and pea coal to slow down the burn rate. I have a new Harman Trident SF 160 and am using just nut coal. While the weather here in north central Mass is still pretty warm during the day, at night it's cold enough for some heat. I'm trying to keep the boiler water around 160*, which is doing a great job, but using a 50# bag a day of coal. What would be the amount of nut on the bottom of the bed and how much pea size on top? I believe it was Greg L. who talked about this. And yes, i'm a brand new newbee to this forum. Enjoyed the install process of the boiler(did myself) and am now enjoying learning how to handle this beast.

Not to change topics but, thought it worth mentioning, I like everything about this Harman so far except for the shaker grate system. I think Harman could have done better, dumped two loads so far. I'm already thinking of making some changes will talk about that in another thread.

Thanks for a great forum, it is very valuable to all us newbees.

Thanks for any info.
JB

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Here's some pictures of my install

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WNY
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Post by WNY » Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 3:57 pm

No Baro Damper on your coal stove? Or becuase you can burn wood and you don't want it to back out thru?

 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 4:04 pm

Any amount will work because it falls into the cracks. The more you use the more it will restrict the airflow and the longer it will last. You can mix them together too, if you're getting it delivered ask the delivery person about purchasing range.

 
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Post by JB Sparks » Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 7:19 pm

I see a baro damper it's just not on the coal stove flue pipe. Yesterday we set the draw at .05 thats down from .07. have a manometer coming Modle DW something, should be here in a couple of days.

JB

 
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Post by JB Sparks » Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 7:23 pm

Thanks Richard, I got my coal at farmers exchange in Townsand Ma. It comes from Kimmel's. If I have time tomorrow i'll go up buy a couple of bags of pea and try it out. If it works as I hope i'll order a ton.

JB

 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 7:27 pm

Note that unless they are in the NEPA area and you ask about range they most likely will have no idea what you are talking about. That just means nut and pea mixed. If a customer wanted that we'd load half a truck of nut then fill the rest of it with pea. Since the coal funnels out the back of the truck it would mix very nicely.

 
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Post by JB Sparks » Wed. Oct. 22, 2008 8:35 pm

Richard, when I took delivery of the two pallets of nut coal(50- 50# bags = 1-1/4 tons each pallet) I asked about stove coal thinking that that would burn longer, but I've since learned thanks to this forum that ain't so. When I first ordered the coal I was asked what size I wanted, so hopefully they will have what I want.

Thanks for the tip
JB


 
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Oct. 23, 2008 6:16 am

Very nice install, we love pictures. :D

I am considering one of the Trident boilers for next year, so I will be interested so see how yours works with the different sizes of coal. What kind of burn times are you getting so far with the nut coal? Stove coal would give your some impressive heat in cold weather, but probably wouldn't work well at all in the fall.

 
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Post by Freddy » Thu. Oct. 23, 2008 6:59 am

Very nice install. Beautiful work. A few details I might add... Have three screws on each stove pipe joint instead of two. It makes them much more rigid & is recommended. I'd put caps on the boiler drains. That type of drain is sweet, but if accidently kicked will open. The caps are hard to find sometimes. If you really really want them & can't find them, PM me, I can get them & drop them in the mail. Level the damper. Maybe it's an illusion, but it is important that the hinge pins be level. Again, a very pretty job, you did well!

Oh, and using a flashlight housing as a second supply pipe, very McGiver of you. :P ;)

 
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Post by dbev » Thu. Oct. 23, 2008 7:27 am

JB,

Very nice looking installation! I've just started using coal this month in a Hitzer hand fired and I'm very happy with the results but your setup looks sweet.
Just thought I would mention that the Aubuchon hardware on route 2a In Lunenburg has Blackshack nut. Great looking setup.

Dave

 
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Oct. 23, 2008 8:05 am

Hello, I've been checking out the pictures you posted of your Trident boiler installation. Nice work. I was wondering if you had any other pictures that show how it is plumbed at the supply side of the coal boiler? It appears that you have it circulating through the oil boiler. Please explain your plumbing setup and how you have the aquastats setup. I am planning a boiler install next year and looking for all the advice I can get on the best way to tie it into my existing oil boiler.

thanks.

-Robert

 
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Post by JB Sparks » Thu. Oct. 23, 2008 5:16 pm

Thanks Markviii, appreiciate the comments. I'll attach a picture that shows the supply side plumbing. Basicly I just cut in a "T" before the expantion tank, installed a ball valve, then a "T" for a dump zone, and into the supply side of the coal boiler. Had to use 2 unions to make it up.

Hello dbev, Thanks for the tip, i'll take a ride over to Aubuchon's and check the blackshack. I'm new to coal burning, is blackshack good coal?

Thanks for the tip Freddy, never thought of caps I will be sure to get a couple and put them on. Ya the damper is not level i'll take care of that too. Forgot to take the flashlite off the boiler before pictures were taken. If I didn't know it is a flashlite I would think it was some new kind of anttena.

Markviii, On the first load I let it run till it went out, it ran for 18 hours and the boiler temp. was still 140* when I relit it.

Had a problem with the shaker today, I'll explain in another thread what I did and how I fixed it. will be looking for comments and suggestions.

JB

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Post by dbev » Fri. Oct. 24, 2008 7:12 am

JB,

Blaschak seems to get universally good reviews and it is burning very nicely for me. Duh I just relized it's not Blackshack it's
Blaschak. http://www.blaschakcoal.com/

 
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Post by JB Sparks » Fri. Oct. 24, 2008 7:51 am

Hey dbev, what do I know, I thought that blackshack was just another coal name that I hadn't heard of. from all I've read on this forum everyone seems to give good reviews on blaschak. would like to try it.

What are you using for a coal heat set-up?

JB

 
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Post by JafaDog » Fri. Oct. 24, 2008 8:08 am

Beautiful install! Great attention to detail. One question, though: It looks like the oil burner and the coal furnace are vented into the same chimney. I thought that venting liquid fuel (oil burner) and solid fuel (coal burner) appliances into the same flue/chimney was a big no-no (and against building codes in most places). Does this perhaps only apply to mixing oil and wood? The previous owners of my house had a wood boiler hooked into the oil boiler and vented them into the same chimney. The result was eroded tiles that broke and fell down and a chimney fire (all before we bought the house). After the chimney fire, they disconnected the wood boiler. After we moved in, we had to re-line that flue with an SS liner. Coal might be different, though (no creosote buildup). Just wondering since I was thinking about doing this myself but ruled it out for now because I assumed I'd have to vent the coal furnace separately.


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