Clean Out for Winter

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wilder11354
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Location: Montrose, Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF260 Boiler
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Coal Size/Type: nut or pea, anthracite
Other Heating: crown oil boiler, backup.if needed

Post by wilder11354 » Sun. Aug. 31, 2014 11:11 am

. I was lazy last fall, did a firebox clean-out, replaced cracked broke fire bricks called it good to go. I removed flue pipes from back of stove to wall thimble. Flue bewteen stove and thimble had about a 1/4 fly ash... Holy gee golly.. the thimble was 2/3 to 3/4s full at the 90* turn up chimney!! And one dead black bird in there. So needless to say a complete cleaning of flue is aMUST every year. Cleaned it after 1st year, and it had about 1/4 or so in thimble then I figured after 2 seasons it would be about 1/2 to 3/4 in ash. Man was I wrong.

Got 1/2 inch rope for doors, don't like how it feels closing. no resistance to latch when pushing it to latch. Going to get next size bigger braided rope.. and redo it again.

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Sun. Aug. 31, 2014 11:39 am

We all need to remember the cleaning should be based on amount of coal burned not just time elapsed since the last cleaning. With last winters long cold snaps, polar vortex's and such, we all burned more coal than usual so there will be more fly ash generated than usual.

Kinda like oil changes every 5000 miles or 6 months.

 
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McGiever
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Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
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Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar

Post by McGiever » Sun. Aug. 31, 2014 11:49 am

As you say, You were wrong, this illustrates again how very important having installed working Carbon Monoxide Detectors/Alarms are.
Being wrong is embarrassing, but being Dead Wrong is way worse. :sick:

Everybody, is it time to replace those CO batteries???...Cheapest couple bucks one can ever spend. :|

CO detectors have a useful life...Is the date on rear passed the expiration???

Yours and your loved ones lives depends on this. :!:


 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Aug. 31, 2014 1:35 pm

Its not only the amount of coal used. Some coals have more fly ash than others. There's technique that helps with the amount of fly ash in the pipe and bottom of the chimney stack.. For example, on my furnace, I have to open the ash pan door to gain access to the shaker nub. If I shake with just the ash pan door open, I can see the fly ash being carried up thru the coal bed and up the flue pipe. Now, if I open the load door while shaking, the draft is pulled thru the load door opening instead of the ash pan door significantly cutting down on the amount of fly ash being yanked out of the coal bed.

Another trick is closing the MPD while shaking.. This halts most the draft going up thru the coal bed if you choose not to shake with the load door open. Just make sure to open the MPD before opening the load door to add coal, and always check the mano along with any other safety checks before you leave the stove.

I think best rule of thumb is to vac the flue pipe and bottom of the chimney stack at the middle (late January) and then again at the end of the heating season.

 
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wilder11354
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Location: Montrose, Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF260 Boiler
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93
Coal Size/Type: nut or pea, anthracite
Other Heating: crown oil boiler, backup.if needed

Post by wilder11354 » Sun. Aug. 31, 2014 2:08 pm

Lesson learned, I redid door seals with 3/4 in braided rope. Much tighter fit, and latches postively hold tight now. Rope sat flush with door channel egdes. Good deal. Last season I started burning the 1st of Oct. 2 prior seasons was mid to late november. Plus I burned about 6 tons last year compared to about 4 tons prior years.

The info about having firebox door open some while shaking down I will try this year and see if it will help cut down on amount of flly ash going up flue. Got about 1 1/2 tons of coal in bin from last year to start heating season. When we get back from vacation sept 23 will start to call get another 5 tons droppped off for this coming winter. if temps stay a bit more moderate from Jan > March I should have plenty. Last winter was a brutally cold one in mid Jan > end of feb. avg highs in 0*> 05* for that time pierod, with over nite lows in negative teens. (-15 > -18*)

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Aug. 31, 2014 2:34 pm

Last year I went thru the whole season without vacuuming the bottom of the chimney stack. Burned 6 ton. But even with using the open load door technique to slow fly ash escaping, I still had a significant amount at the bottom of the chimney stack. Would have been choked off if I hadn't tried to control it at all.. My lesson learned as well. This year I'll take my own advise and do the mid season vacuum.. :lol:


 
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2001Sierra
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Post by 2001Sierra » Sun. Aug. 31, 2014 6:22 pm

I ran a Buderus hand fed with a hopper for 28 years. The combustion air came in through a bimetalic damper. I found by closing down the bimetalic damper reduced the draw through the coal bed reducing the fly ash getting sucked up the chimney. The stove had a smoke path that went up each side of the burn chamber rejoining in the back and out the flue. Also I never ran a Baro, as it was not recommended either way, the stove pipe to the chimney rarely exceeded 200 degrees. Hope this helps. Also my house was always very clean with my techniques.

My keystoker 90 produces far more fly ash. I now have to sweep my chimney in the spring, and clean the horizontal pipe in January as mentioned earlier.

 
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lowfog01
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Post by lowfog01 » Sun. Aug. 31, 2014 7:07 pm

wilder11354 wrote: The info about having firebox door open some while shaking down I will try this year and see if it will help cut down on amount of flly ash going up flue.
Just be aware that shaking the stove with the door open will put more flyash into your room. I learned that the hard way. I'd rather let the stove run cool and stick the shop vac nozzle down the black pipe via the barro a couple of times a year. Take care, Lisa

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