Tending the Clayton Hand Fed Furnace - Video

Well fellas, my first attempt at producing some video..
I hope ya'll like Joe Satriani lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCdZ_RRA ... e=youtu.be

Just WOW if that is your first attempt go into educational videos for a living - well done. It did clarify my thoughts that I want nothing to do with a Clayton. That is too much work for this very old man to do on a regular basis. I need a girlier stove.

Yes great video, and also confirms my decision on my stove. Not to put your set up down,I am sure it works great for you. I am just more of a load and go type.

Thanks for looking at the video .... I did attempt to liven it up with some music and silly humor so it wasn't too boring lol

I admit, its a little bit of work to operate these units effectively but the learning experience is worthy. I consider it an entry level appliance. Down the road, I will get something easier to operate but I'll most likely stick with a hand fed since I enjoy tending to it and like the option of burning other fuels if needed

WOW,that's a thoro shake down and I don't believe you missed any.Good job on your first video.Now for your second video,how about showing all your modifications when your shut down for summer.Both video's will help many clayton owners get a better outlook and tutorial for operating a very finieky furnace with coal.Good job

Awesome video and I love Joe Satriani. I know from your posts that you take what you have and improve on it. Many times in life that is the statis queo and this should help folks that can't afford the stove of their dreams ( myself included ), but learn from the ground up about burning coal. Thanks Lightning! Mike.

Very nice video and great information . I have a friend who was considering a furnace like yours so this will be of great help to him if he is still interested in that unit .

Thanks for the kind words, you guys rock! As for thorough shake down, its quite necessary. The sloped fire bricks come down to the 2 inline grates that are about 9 inches wide and 28 or so inches long combined. It needs shaken vigorously but at the same time I must maintain a reasonable amount of force so I don't break the little nub that the shaker handle fits onto. I also bolted the grates together in the middle where they join to reduce play between them. So far its worked very well

Great video! Very educational. 9-10 minutes twice a day to tend (judging from the length of the video). Is that about it?

lsayre wrote:Great video! Very educational. 9-10 minutes twice a day to tend (judging from the length of the video). Is that about it?

I trimmed it up a little bit... I sliced out some "dead air" and repetitive motions. Did you notice while I was loading coal all of sudden the pile grew higher by itself?? I cut out 3 shovel scoops when I edited the video ... I usually spend 15 minutes tending the furnace, then it takes about 30 more minutes for the fresh heap of coal to get burning good while the ash pan door is open. During that time, I'm getting ready for work in the morning or doing other things if its evening. Thats when I carry the remote temp alarm (BBQ thermometer) around with me. I do that twice a day normally. When its between 35-45 degrees outside I go to an 18 hour service schedule. Then if its over 50 degrees outside I can idle her way back for 24 hour service schedule

michaelanthony wrote:Awesome video and I love Joe Satriani.

Joe Rocks!!

hcarlow wrote:Very nice video and great information . I have a friend who was considering a furnace like yours so this will be of great help to him if he is still interested in that unit .

Thanks .... There are more tweaks not mentioned in the video that are very important. Its all on previous posts I've made. I can dig up the important ones for you if needed, let me know...

Excellent training video, well done... I used to have a manly coal stove, now its all about the girlie one for me.

Wiz wrote:Excellent training video, well done... I used to have a manly coal stove, now its all about the girlie one for me.

Thanks Wiz I'd like to do a small series of videos that explain the tweaks I did that improve its performance... theres some room for improvement on the tending video too lol

Great job on the video. You've got a good routine down there. It does confirm that I'm glad I went with a stoker instead of a hand fed though. It reminds me of tending the octapus gravity furnace in my parents home when I was growing up.

I use the same BBQ thermometer as you. One lead on the supply water and one on the return water. The remote monitoring unit is on my office desk in the second level of my home on the opposite side of the home from where the boiler is in the basement. It works great until about now (mid feb). I guess the batteries start to get alittle weak but it will lose signal and making beeping noise every few seconds. Makes my dog nuts! Me too if it happens in the middle of the night.

Any links to that barbacue thermometer?

lsayre wrote:Any links to that barbacue thermometer?

http://www.shopper.us.com/Maverick-Wire ... 4AodvBkACw