I Know This Has Been Brought up Before but...

Is there anyway to combat the black dust that is finding it's way all over the house?
My wife and I are spending more time cleaning everything then we are enjoying the stove.

PS 24 degrees here tonight and the house is at 82

i still have yet to see this black dust alot of people claim to find.

If it is black dust then it is from not dampening the coal or rough handling of the coal.

gambler wrote:If it is black dust then it is from not dampening the coal or rough handling of the coal.

You can also get dust from shaking it roughly with the door open or transferring the ash to another container while inside the house. This seems to be more prevalent in hand fed than stokers.

Another thought, I used to have two hoses for my shop vac. One was for the suction end and the other went out the window. The dust in the stove was too fine to be trapped by the shop vac filter.

We have our coal stoker in the basement tied into our ductwork.

This is how we now combat the black dust it after having issues ourselves the first year with black dust still getting into the upstairs.

1. Make sure we use good air filters on the stove, cheap ones let the black dust pass through off the basement floor into the duct system.

2. I built and enclosed room around our coal bin and sealed it completely with silicon.

3. I fill 14 pails once per week in the closed coal bin. Let them pails settle in the closed coal bin before removing.

4. I pour slowly into the stoker.

5. I wipe down around the stoker once per week.

6. I empty the ash pan outside!

Now we have little to no dust in the basement and none whatsoever in the house.

If possible, mist the coal before dumping into your stove. I think it is an 'art' to feed and clean up after burning anything, coal or otherwise.
Your shop, your outside projects, your car, mower, motorcycle, gardens. It isn't easy, but can be done quickly after some practice. I've gone to HEPA filters for the shop vacs...big difference.
Assuming you buy bagged coal, you probably can't easily oil it, but oiled bulk is very cost effective. Careful shaking and removing ashes. Always dump them outside-DOWNWIND of the door you left open behind your clever self.
Proper Prior Planning Prevents Pi** Poor Performance is worthy of remembering, as is KISS philosophy:
Keep it Simple Stupid. These are just slogans and not meant to offend anyone..........unless you are Stupid, or neglect to utilize proper planning. Fly ash is so darned light, that it is difficult to contain, so plan accordingly.
If you are a White Smock Puppet, then you had better sell all your coal equipment and go to Natural Gas, otherwise it takes due diligence to be spotless 24/7. I've burned over 1000 tons myself over the years, and no Virginia, it is NOT a perfect world.....but a darned nice one comparing the alternatives. Have a nice, warm, Anthracite day!

whistlenut wrote:I've burned over 1000 tons myself over the years

How much to you go through per year?

I think my problem is I have a 25 gallon drum next to the stove that I fill each week with 5 gallon buckets. When I pour it in I think im getting most of it but cant really see it. I also scoop from the 25 gallon drum to feed the front of my stove maybe im stiring it up to much when I scoop.

Can't really see anyway around that. All fans are off too.

Cleaning up a little black dust everynow and then is a lot better than paying for heating oil or a high electric bill. Once a week, I sweep around the stove and in the spring, just wipe down the walls in the rec room where we have the stove.

load your coal buckets somewhere else rather than your living space.

Gray dust is ash, black dust is coal. To have no black dust, do not move dusty coal in your living space. This means keep the coal damp, either water or oil. Or, keep the coal contained until it's in the stove, that is, in some other location, fill a custom hod that will deliver the coal to your stove and not have it go through the air. Each time coal goes through the air you chance allowing black dust to escape.

I has a problem with black dust. I could see my chair tires with black on them. Also on some tables. I oiled the coal in the bin with used motor oil and a sprayer. Cut about 90% of it out. Still get a little but nothing like before.