Higher ash this year?

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Protrucker
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Post by Protrucker » Wed. Feb. 06, 2019 1:09 pm

Is anyone else noticing more ash,especially fly ash from Lehigh coal this year?
Normally, I can go thru an entire heating season without having to clean my stove pipes. I've never needed to clean the chimney since I switched to burning coal either. I always check it when cleaning the stove & just before firing up for the year.
Last week my carbon monoxide alarm started going off repeatedly. When I checked the stovepipe, I found it almost half plugged up with fly ash. Then I checked the chimney & saw quite a bit of buildup on the flue walls. I cleaned the stove pipes & haven't had the alarm go off again.

 
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swyman
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Post by swyman » Thu. Feb. 07, 2019 8:50 am

I picked up 10 ton of buck in super sacks and there is a lot of fines in it. I thought getting it in these large bulk sacks that it would come out of the breaker conveyor but apparently it came from the stock pile yard. Wish we could be like a Co-op elevator and get deductions for fines content %! Paying for black sand

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Feb. 07, 2019 9:22 am

It is not uncommon to see changes from one load to the next in the way the coal burns or the amount of flyash.


 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Thu. Feb. 07, 2019 9:44 am

Coal is coal--nothing carved in stone--LOL Just a gift from Mother Earth--:)

 
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bambooboy
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Post by bambooboy » Thu. Feb. 07, 2019 5:54 pm

That's Fred,no beating around the bush,straight to the point. Welcome back Fred

 
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Cuzz01
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Post by Cuzz01 » Wed. Feb. 27, 2019 4:06 pm

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I too have found higher fly ash. Keystoker 160

Two springs ago my dealer said he had switched to another brand (Reading) it was much hotter and I had to readjust all settings on the stove. Month later it was finally dialed in. Last spring the bins were re-filled, re-started in the fall. After running a few weeks (11 days) the manometer dropped from its normal 1.5-2 to below 1. Stove was shut down..the blower fan was completely stuffed along with quite a mess in the pipe! I spoke with the dealers secretary and asked to have the dealer call me back - no call back! I do clean and have always cleaned the bottom and the 2 tubes with a vac every ash dump.

What was a normal 1 month complete break down that thorough clean to an 11 day complete clean! Not good! In the bottom of every bucket as well as the bottom of the bins is a layer of fines, dust and giant lumps. The coal had been mashed, and mixed with other sizes so much that what ended up trying to burn was basic garbage! I have at least a gallon of dust and a small bucket of pieces that should have never been with rice/pea coal. No kidding, nut size to little smaller than fist size!

So, I put up with the mess until I ran out. Cleaned out the bins(broom clean) and got another dealer. This season after running out of the "Stuff" I started with another small dealer that uses (Jeddo) coal. With a small adjustment on the timer and air in, stove is back to a 1 month tear down and clean!

So perhaps the fly ash might be coming from mismanaged coal supplies, just my story. New blower fan on the upcoming 4th. burn season I guess.


 
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getme2tons
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Post by getme2tons » Wed. Feb. 27, 2019 11:11 pm

I buy coal by the bag up here in CT. I've been burning Lehigh nut without problems until the past few weeks but the stuff now has lots of fines in it in each bag. I keep the coal stored in heavy duty containers in the basement and I have to sift it with a chicken wire screen to get rid of the stuff before I put the coal in the bucket. Luckily last time he ran out of Lehigh Valley and gave me Blaschak nut coal instead. It was clean. I told him about the problem this morning when I went for more coal and came back with more Blaschak. For CT folks, this was at BTE in Windsor Locks.

 
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Post by halftrack » Thu. Mar. 21, 2019 8:37 pm

me too get bulk from breaker lehigh lots of fly ash this year have to clean reading allegheny more often ash buildup on stoker outlet connection

 
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Post by lincolnmania » Fri. Mar. 22, 2019 10:11 am

third year using blaschak coal and it's the same.

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