Shaken Not Sliced
Just foolin around. It got to over 50 today, but I did not want the stove (VC 1st gen.) to go out, also didn't want the house at 85. This morning I tried a little experiment. Now that it's all sealed up tight (thanks to door gaskets) the airflow through the coal bed is much better than in the past. I usually shake and slice pretty thoroughly to remove as much fine ash as possible to sustain good airflow and high heat, The slicing being VERY important in a VC. I knew that I would not need a lot of heat today, so just shook it down and did not slice at all to see what would happen, if it went out, oh well. What happened is that it burned at a very low rate all day, and about 8PM I shook and sliced and it is coming back quite nicely for the cool of the evening. It appears that controlling the fine ash with no or varying amounts of slicing can allow better (low) burn rate control. Interesting (to me anyway)!
- oliver power
- Member
- Posts: 2970
- Joined: Sun. Apr. 16, 2006 9:28 am
- Location: Near Dansville, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: KEYSTOKER Kaa-2
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93 & 30-95, Vigilant (pre-2310), D.S. 1600 Circulator, Hitzer 254
Yes, when it comes to coal stoves, controlling air flow is the trick, whether it be by vents, ash, or both.