Pissed Coal Virgin

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bob4666
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Post by bob4666 » Tue. Dec. 30, 2008 12:14 am

wow am I new, ok here it goes, bought a wood coal boiler for outside here in the suberbs of Buffalo NY, yes there are subs of Buffalo so stop laughing. I have a 50 acre place with lots of woods but coal is easier for me at 56 years old so I thought I woud give coal a try. Man what a learning curve coal is. First off , everything I tried put out the coal ,second off , I aint done doing the first thing. But I will say , this forum helped me greatly. Dont mess with coal when its burning good , that is to say , if its red below ,leave it alone . I also had to engineer my own grate to use with coal for this specific boiler, I even put it on ebay after making sure it worked .And it does. I am not selling it here but will tell you how to do it yourself if you e mail me, kind of a pay back for all the help to all of you in this forum . see ebay #110331165662 ,or type in cast iron grate, its there some where, its not a decorative floor grate , its for a natures comfort furnace, anyway , thats where the pictures are . Still , thanks to all of you that have posted the things that have helped me . just hope others benifit from it too ...............Bob [email protected]

 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Dec. 30, 2008 12:38 am

Well bob feel free to post the pictures and documentation here. The idea behind a forum is to share your knowledge like what you have gathered from others. You can pass on what you have learned by posting it, pictures always help.

 
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hugg
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Post by hugg » Tue. Dec. 30, 2008 12:45 am

AMEN. Coal talk. Not guns and Heros.


 
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Freddy
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Post by Freddy » Tue. Dec. 30, 2008 5:00 am

I took a look at the auction.... assuming that is what you're burning coal in, no wonder the learning curve slapped you! Coal likes depth, not width....and it doesn't have much depth in your burner. Coal also like the grates to cover the entire bottom....side to side as well as front to back.... So, with two strikes against you, I'd say you've done well to force the beast into submission. :)

 
Gary L
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Post by Gary L » Tue. Dec. 30, 2008 8:33 am

I took a look and agree with Freddy. That stove with your grate looks like a real bear to get burning and keep burning.

Coal likes depth and to be confined. I bet if you could line the fire box with fire bricks stood on end in a V shape front to back this might give you the depth the caol prefers.
You will still need air from under the grate, not over the top. You would also need to fill in behind the bricks, possibly with sand or refractory cement or they will break.

So far, in my hand fired coal adventures I have found a deep, cylindrical, fire brick lined box to work best and a good shaker grate is an absolute must.

Gary

 
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Uglysquirrel
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Post by Uglysquirrel » Tue. Dec. 30, 2008 9:37 am

Did a Google on Natures Comfort and their website does not seem to show any model let alone mention a coal/wood version. Anyone have a website showing the Model 250 insides as received from the Manufacturer?


 
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Uglysquirrel
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Post by Uglysquirrel » Tue. Dec. 30, 2008 9:46 am

Found the pdf manual for this outdoor boiler, page 9 (Fuels) says " for best results coal should be mixed with wood to help the air pass through. "

Sounds to me (my feeble mind) that efficient coal burning may have been an afterthought in this design.

 
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coaledsweat
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Post by coaledsweat » Tue. Dec. 30, 2008 10:45 am

Uglysquirrel wrote:Found the pdf manual for this outdoor boiler, page 9 (Fuels) says " for best results coal should be mixed with wood to help the air pass through. "
A switch to stove size coal will help that airgap bigtime, I wouldn't use wood.

 
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rockwood
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Post by rockwood » Tue. Dec. 30, 2008 11:18 am

bob4666,
Give us more of an idea how this is running, burn duration before reloading, how difficult getting ash to ash pan with grates that don't move/shake, total running time (days,weeks etc.without relighting), it's ability to keep water temperature up, square feet of area heated by boiler, etc.?

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