Wasted Coal

 
jcsee
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Post by jcsee » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 12:55 am

Do any of you folks sift your ashes to recover unburned coal?


 
CapeCoaler
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Post by CapeCoaler » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 1:20 am

Nope...
Learn to burn properly...
No need to sift...
At 10 cents a pound...
Just let it go...

 
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Tim
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Post by Tim » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 1:44 am

X2

 
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lowfog01
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Post by lowfog01 » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 2:17 am

Only in the very beginning when I didn't have a clue and was dumping the coal bed frequently while I learned. We are talking about 50 or 60 lbs of coal here. That happens a lot with the Harmons and newbies. DK took a plastic milk crate and lined it with 1/4 screen that I shook over my ash can - way back in the woods because it's a huge mess.

Now I don't bother because a well burning stove produces little or no unburned coal and it's not worth it. Instead if I notice that there is some unburned coal in the ash pan due to excess shaking , I shovel it up and put it right back on the fire. It doesn't matter if I get some ash along with it. That will settle down and get removed in the next tending. Take care, Lisa

 
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Freddy
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Post by Freddy » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 5:01 am

I've done it....don't anymore.

 
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oliver power
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Post by oliver power » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 7:19 am

CapeCoaler wrote:Nope...
Learn to burn properly...
No need to sift...
At 10 cents a pound...
Just let it go...
Agree!

 
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whistlenut
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Post by whistlenut » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 8:29 am

Many old timers had a 'sifter' designed to fit over a barrel, and some are for sale occasionally. That was back in the 'hand fed only' days when nut or stove coal were 'King'. I'm with the rest of you, keep it running properly and it will only be a beginning thing with "Learning Curve Life Lessons'.
The old timers were very frugal for obvious reasons, and the trains that brought it were very busy indeed.

Stokers make the job even easier...until we have a power outage for a few days, but most of us have a hand fed or two around for emergencies. I fired up my Glenwood Model 24 for the days of the -20 weather. Three bags of nut, 80 degrees, no hassles.....a 1924 stove that works as good as new. No wasted coal, but some great radiant heat for cheap. :idea: :) 8-) :!: :idea:


 
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tsb
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Post by tsb » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 9:15 am

Put all your ashes in a pile that can get rained on.
The ash will wash down and leave the unburned coal on top.
Then pay your kids or grand kids $1.00 a pound for all the coal
they can recover. Each time it rains there will be more.
They will soon learn it's a losing proposition and tell you about it.

 
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Chuck_Steak
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Post by Chuck_Steak » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 9:52 am

jcsee wrote:Do any of you folks sift your ashes to recover unburned coal?
Sounds like a tip for Heloise Hints....
The kind where you work your butt off, get very, very dirty,
and in three years will save 62 cents.

 
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LsFarm
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Post by LsFarm » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 1:18 pm

The other issue with picking out the dark, apparently unburnt pieces from the ash, is that often those pieces won't burn.. they are shale, or slate.. black like coal but won't burn..
I've picked pieces from the as in an inclined-bed stoker,, like a Leisure Line, or Keystoker. and put the 'unburnt' back on the grate, right in the middle of the hot fire.. and watched a dark spot appear there,, and watch that dark spot slide down the grate with the fire, and when it got pushed off the end into the ashpan,, it looked the same.. like unburnt coal.

So, unless you had a 'Harman Moment' and opened the grates too far, and dumped a big pile of fresh, unburnt coal into the ashpan,, I'd not spend the time/effort sifting through it..

Greg L.

 
jcsee
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Post by jcsee » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 1:33 pm

Thanks all!
I must be shaking too much. I’m burning a Chubby Junior which only holds 10 pounds or so of fresh pea size coal anyway. I guess I’m a bit excessive compulsive; but the way I figure it, coal is money, and being unemployed, I got lots of time to be picky. I recover about a pound (takes about 20 min.) per day which works out to, lets see… @ $235 per ton, about 0.23 cents per…? humm… that’s a whopping 7 dollars month! OK, maybe 28 bucks per burning season? not much gain here, maybe I’ll try stuffin envelopes, pays the same (5 cents per hour), AND has much better working conditions.
But seriously, spreading the ashes onto my dirt road exposes a lot of waste. In addition to shaking less, do you think a larger size coal will be helpful? Chubby suggests nut size in their larger stove,
Jeff

 
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tsb
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Post by tsb » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 1:41 pm

I'll admit, when I burned a hand fed stove, I would pick up unburns if I saw them.
Hell, I pick up coal out in the field when I walk the dog. One time I stumbled on
an old stone breaker site that had a small pile of Bit coal. I brought a sack home
and burned it the the Saey. Not being cheap, just fun.

 
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AA130FIREMAN
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Post by AA130FIREMAN » Sat. Jan. 29, 2011 2:00 pm

tsb wrote:Not being cheap, just fun.
Ever here of the guy that just finished doing a #2 on the john, before flushing he noticed a penny inside that droped out of his pocket, he figured it was not worth it, so he grabs a nickle out of his poctet and tosses it in. For a penny NO, but for $.06 I'LL DO IT.

 
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Post by McGiever » Sun. Jan. 30, 2011 11:06 pm

jcsee wrote:Thanks all!
I must be shaking too much. I’m burning a Chubby Junior which only holds 10 pounds or so of fresh pea size coal anyway. In addition to shaking less, do you think a larger size coal will be helpful? Chubby suggests nut size in their larger stove,
Jeff
Get a bag of nut size and you will find out for sure. :)

 
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Post by 2DeXtreMe » Mon. Jan. 31, 2011 7:26 pm

I've done it before, but the dust consumes you when I sift outdoors. It is something not to look forward to. I've taken a shallow tote (2'x4') and drilled hundreds of holes through it. I would then place the tote outside on the ground and dump my ash into the tote. Then I would take a few steps in the tote ( as though I was prepping for wine making). :lol: Finally, I would shake and watch the ash just fly out. Afterwards, I would just pick up the clinkers by hand, and I would have probably about a 1/2 gallon of unburt coal that I would spray with some water and dump back into the hopper.


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