Manual Vibrator

I was wondering if anyone is using some type of vibrator to shake the ashes down. I have to spend at least 15 minutes trying to get enough ash down into the tray. When I am done my arms are ready to fall off.

How often are you shakin? (once a day etc.)

slabadie wrote:I was wondering if anyone is using some type of vibrator to shake the ashes down. I have to spend at least 15 minutes trying to get enough ash down into the tray. When I am done my arms are ready to fall off.

Get yourself a steel bar and poke it down through the fire from the loading door in about 8-10 places equally around the fire. Push it down to the bottom if you can. When it is down, give the rod a little shake around before you pull it up. What has occurred is known as bridging. The coal has glued itself together enough so it won't collapse on the grate that you keep shaking. This is common in units with a V shaped firebox for obvious reasons. Once you break up the bridging, you should feel some resistance in the handle and get some ash. Did I say that right?

coaledsweat

I have attached a picture of the rod I have been using. Is this ok?

rockwood
Because it has been difficult getting the ash down, I have been shaking every 3-4 hours.

That will work, it might need some more vigorous movement in the firebed or perhaps pull the hook through the coal? I was thinking of something a little bigger in diameter, even a length of small pipe will do. The idea is to break up the packed coal in the fire's bed above the grate. Did it work?

slabadie wrote:I have been shaking every 3-4 hours.

That is an awful lot. Are you shaking until you see some burning coals in the ash drawer? 8 when very cold and 12 hours is the average between service.

Your suggestion worked perfectly, it cleared up the blockage. Hopefully this process will make it easier to shake. Should I do this before shaking ?

Yes, I shake until I see some burning coal or some light coming from underneath the grates (which ever comes first).

slabadie wrote:coaledsweat

Because it has been difficult getting the ash down, I have been shaking every 3-4 hours.

Just me but I think shaking that often is counterproductive. I was doing that at first too and would get a lot of clinkers caught in the grates that you would have to crush. Now I only shake twice a day and keep it loaded up. I think this allows for a more complete combustion of the coal at the bottom and allows it to be totally ash. I just need a few vigorous shakes and the whole bed kind of collapses on itself. I've found the less attention I pay it the better it burns. Caol definitely doesn't like to be disturbed too often. Try loading up heavy, get the draft right, and don't shake so often.

Too much/too often shaking will create clinkers.. as will poking into a very hot fire.. I'd shake only every 8 hours or so, whenever the fire needs more fuel, add the fuel, open the air controls, let the new fuel catch fire, then shake the fire down,, Poking through the fire to break up the bridge and break up the big clinkers is often needed, depends on how hot you are burning and your firebox/grate design.

Old literature for hand feed stoves are pretty emphatic about not poking a hot fire, because it creates clinkers..

Greg L

LsFarm

My fire grate design is 4 grates that move in one direction. They space between the figures is too large for pea coal, which I would have prefered. After I get a good bed of nut going than I add pea to the mound. It was suggested here that I poke the fire in 10-12 spots to break the bridge so I it is easier to shake down, which it has.

gerard

Based on New York this unit was not design for continual use. They said that it is possible if I fill the box every 3 hours. I found that not to be ture. I can run a fire for 8 hours without a problem. But my capacity is only 40 lbs, so I do need to add more often than most on this forum. If I don't do some poking I will be in the basement shaking until my arms want to fall off with very little ash in the pan.

Slabadie..... I see you're doing much better. You're a long way from a couple of weeks ago when you thought it was going to be a total flop. Congrats on learning how to trick it into submission!

slabadie wrote:Based on New York this unit was not design for continual use. They said that it is possible if I fill the box every 3 hours. I found that not to be ture. I can run a fire for 8 hours without a problem. But my capacity is only 40 lbs, so I do need to add more often than most on this forum. If I don't do some poking I will be in the basement shaking until my arms want to fall off with very little ash in the pan.

I don't know about not being for continuous use slabadie, that is exactly what anthracite is all about. A big fire that burns for a very long time. I believe you should be filling your firebox deeper from the pic you posted. My boiler is very similar, the manual states "fill to the top of the firebrick." It runs lousy at that level. I spoke with an old timer at the factory and he said fill it right up to the door and it runs great. The unit may burn coal well, that doesn't mean the people that made it really know how to use it as they may have never done it before writing the manual. You should have no trouble going 10-12 hours with that beast in this weather.

coaledsweat

According to the manual the coal level should not exceed the bottom of the door, which is around 8 inches. The center of the mound averages around 10 inches. How deep should I go?

BTW - There is no firebrick in my unit, it is all steel.

slabadie wrote:coaledsweat

According to the manual the coal level should not exceed the bottom of the door, which is around 8 inches. The center of the mound averages around 10 inches. How deep should I go?

BTW - There is no firebrick in my unit, it is all steel.

That sounds good to me, in the picture it looked low.