Ash Me No Questions, I'll Tell You...

 
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Freddy
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Post by Freddy » Sun. Nov. 09, 2008 8:13 pm

We talked of just lighting the pile. Heheee! That'd be a big glow!

Here's a pic of my ashes. That's about a day's worth. If I sift through it I'd get two cups of unburned. It's been so warm!

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traderfjp
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Post by traderfjp » Sun. Nov. 09, 2008 8:50 pm

Is it normal to get unburned coal in your ash? I have a stoker and have none. Also, my stoker hasn't been tested at all this year so far. Mostly idling.

 
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coal berner
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Post by coal berner » Sun. Nov. 09, 2008 9:14 pm

coalkirk wrote:After only a few weeks of burning, I shut my boiler down the other day because of the warm weather. I started it back up this morning but before I did, I noticed a large amount of fly ash in the boiler. Just for the heck of it, I disconnected the horizontal section of my vent pipe which had been perfectly clean before the start of burning. I was ash-tonished :lol: how much fly ash there was! :shock: It was almost as much as I typcially remove at the end of the season. The only difference from last year is I'm burning Summit rice. JC has said that Summit has less ash percentage wise and honestly I haven't noticed it. It's only a few percent so I'm not surprised I can't tell the difference. But it seems to produce MUCH more fly ash. Is that possible/reasonable? I'm going to have to modify my vent to accomodate regular cleaning of this horizontal section by installing a T where I now have a 90.
Summit 9.5% ash content less BTU's per lb mostly white ash coal with a little red ash coal white ash will burn more like a powder so you will have more fly ash because it is lighter ash Superior coal is more red ash coal which will be heavier and does not burn up to a powder lots of iron in the coal much more crunchy ash 12.4% ash content less fly ash
the lighter/ powdery the ash the more fly ash you will have

 
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traderfjp
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Post by traderfjp » Sun. Nov. 09, 2008 9:35 pm

I was burning mystery coal from my dealer and bought a truck load from Kinnels this summer (220.00 delivered). I can't tell you how nice it's to empty my ash pan and not have talcum powder like ash flume all over the place. The new coal is mostly red ash and it burns hot and doesn't create as much ash. Unfortunately I still have 3 tons of the older coal to burn.


 
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Freddy
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Post by Freddy » Sun. Nov. 09, 2008 10:38 pm

I don't know what's normal! But, I have read if the AA is slow, as low as it'll go, to expect some unburned. It's been so warm all week. Once it gets colder I think it'll be happier.

 
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traderfjp
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Post by traderfjp » Sun. Nov. 09, 2008 11:11 pm

I had to shut my stove off but tonight it's getting down to 38 so I lit it back up. How much coal are u burning with an idle?

 
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Freddy
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Post by Freddy » Mon. Nov. 10, 2008 6:53 am

traderfjp wrote:How much coal are u burning with an idle?
I have no idea! The auger takes it from the bin & I have no way to measure it accurately. I'll have to wait a year to know. All I can do is weigh the ash & guess & I'm getting to realize it can't be done that way. I'll venture a guess that I'm using 30-35 pounds a day, but that's making my DHW. Ask me in a year! Althouh I might have an idea pretty soon. After 30 days I'm going to rake the bin level and measure down the wall. That may or may not give a clue. If it's dropped two feet I'll know I used two & a quarter ton the first month! Ohhh noooooo :) :)

 
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Devil505
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Post by Devil505 » Mon. Nov. 10, 2008 7:05 am

Freddy wrote:Here's a pic of my ashes.
Hey Freddy......no offense but I for one don't want to look at your............ ASh!! :P :no2: :devil:

(but I will ask you.........What are you wearing??) :inlove: :funny:


 
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traderfjp
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Post by traderfjp » Mon. Nov. 10, 2008 8:19 am

I wonder if you could turn off the automatic auger and use pails for a month to get a feel for usage. The coal is next to the boiler so it can be fed easily?

 
SAU
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Post by SAU » Mon. Nov. 10, 2008 11:06 am

From The Coal Primer by Edward McNally
What you have left after you take out the volatile matter and moisture is ash and fixed carbon. Fixed carbon, of course, being - fixed carbon. The way you determine which is which is by burning the carbon off and what you have left is the ash. then you can subtract the ash from the total of the fixed carbon and the ash mix and figure out how much fixed carbon you have. Now, of course, you lose a little ash in the burning and pick up a little oxygen during combustion but for practical purposes , this will give you a pretty good determination of the content of the coal
It's measured by weight, but the labs use specific testin methods. The coal is precisely heated to expel the tars, gasses and moisture, then the carbon is burned leaving the ash to be weighed. From what I'm reading, the sample is weighed after each laboratory process.

 
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Razzler
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Post by Razzler » Mon. Nov. 10, 2008 8:55 pm

Freddy wrote:I have no idea! The auger takes it from the bin & I have no way to measure it accurately
Fred Is there any way you can catch the coal as it comes out of the auger and time it? You can figure out the pounds per hour. Then you can time how long the auger runs in a day = pounds per day. :eek2:

 
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Freddy
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Post by Freddy » Mon. Nov. 10, 2008 11:14 pm

Razzler wrote:catch the coal as it comes out of the auger and time it? You can figure out the pounds per hour
Nope.... the auger fills the boiler. When the boiler is full, the auger continues to operate, but it does not deliver more coal. Just because the auger is turning does not mean it's adding coal to the boiler.

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