Tunnel of Coal

Sure we are..

Greg L

i must not be so mature. all I can picture is a coal hopper with a plastic vibrator taped on the side.....

How about bolting a vibrating sander to the side.
Or when you add 30degree angle inside bury the vibrating sander under one of the angled pieces.

yutyoy wrote:im kinda suprised that there hasnt been any vibrator jokes yet!

Thought about doing it--I'm trying to stay out of trouble.

Funny, I did a Google search for Vibrators and the results looked nothing like yours, Woodn'Coal. On the bright side, I'm learning a lot.

Im having the same problems. Im running a Reading Allegheny with the flat bottom hopper. I had the same idea for ramps, so I made up to ramps. The ramps are 4 inches high and extend down to where the coal feeds onto the carpet. I figured this would solve my problem but it has not. The coal still just disappears in the middle like a tunnel leaving the coal mounded up to the sides. So I added a piece of glass to each ramp figuring the metal was not slippery enough. Still not moving. Im burning blackshak bagged and it is sticking to itself. My next thought was maybe if I raise the ramps up so the coal has to drop an inch or two down onto the carpet that might help but I am thinking it is still going to stick to itself and hang up. I think I have already lost about 10-15 pounds worth of capacity due to the ramps and I don't think I have gained much because the coal is still hanging up. Does anyone know the exact amount the flat bottom hoppers hold? I think I got only about 60 pounds into mine which only lasts me about 24-36 hours even with the stove close to idle. I would like to fabricate an add on to extend the hopper to hopefully double the capacity. I also have been contemplating pouring the coal out and letting it dry out first to see if it doesnt stick to itself when its dry. Hopefully someone has figured something out to keep the coal from hanging up.

I believe rice coal needs a 40* to 45* slope to slide from a standstill.. so you will lose a lot of capacity in the hopper .. This is why we have been discussing some way to shake or vibrate the hopper to get the coal to flow or settle...

Greg L

.

Only 3 nights in and I have had the same problem each morning. I am going to try the ramp as well, my figuring that even though I lose some space it will save me needing to shimmy the coal around each morning. I get massive columns on either side nearly as high as the actual hopper.

To Honda's question with my intial empty hopper I was able to add 2 40lb bags with enough space for maybe another 10lbs, 15 max. The place that sold me the stove indiacte it would hold 110lbs but I don't see it.

I made ramps that where 8 inches on the bottom, 4 inches high and about 9.5 to finish off the triangle. The ramps are not enough of an angle to let the coal slide. I even added glass to the ramp but still I don't get a lot of movement. I ended up building a hopper that is the same size as the oem model but has no bottom. I screwed this new one to the oem hopper and doubled my capacity. I can get 150 pounds now into the hopper. My burn time is now 3-4 days although my ash bin will overflow if I let the entire hopper run out.