Fine Tuning the Burn...??

double post

Still holding the temps, CH??

You may find after a few days of burning that a little extra effort than the normal shake down is needed to sufficiently clear the ash for the same high level of heat output. A few minutes of some side scraping or poking from the bottom may be needed, the quirks and timetable will soon be known to you.

It's been burning since Friday and temps have moderated a bit. I believe it's because I'm becoming a little more in tune with "the burn" and my air adjustments have kept it in control. I am seeing exactly what you've stated. Shaking down is a little more difficult (I'm not too keen on this shaker mechanism) now that it's been burning a while. I don't want to disturb it too much but do want the ash to drop so that air can circulate.
Yesterday it was windy here and I had a very good draft. Today it's calm and it required me to open MPD a little more than I had it set previously. In a way it's kind of nice in that it forces me to more conscious of the forces in play and my environment...
As time goes on and I learn more about coals nature, I believe a balance will be struck. Dare I say harmonious, where environment, demands/needs, and mind become one......

Hell yes, you can SURELY say that!

That's awesome , a week ago 7 hr burn was hard now your burning around the clock! Good going

Thanks, but I wouldn't be at the point I am now if it wasn't for the good folks here. The help & advice I received here helped shave a tremendous amount of time off of my learning journey. That said, I still have a lot to learn.....

I have some trouble keeping a long burn. I am new this year to burning coal. I have a Clayton 1602M using Blaschak, nut coal. I get the stove rip roaring easily enough but I guess I don't have the right combination of settings. Stove is out and subsequent col mornings follow, (with complaintive family members as to the correct choice to switch to coal).
I have what I believe is a complete burn but not sure what I'm looking at. The coal bed in the morning is all brownish and grey all in the form of the coal chunks. I can shake a lot of ashes so I know a goo portion is burned completely anyways. I've taken some of the pieces out and crushed them on the concert floor to inspect. Usually they're very light in weight and just crumble, not anything in the way of density like unburnt coal. I suspect that I may be just over firing and just burning the whole charge up before dawn. I get maybe 5 hours. I keep drooling over all these posts that people are getting +12 hours per charge!
I have a manual pipe damper but no fan forced draft installed. Any suggestions as to what I can do to get longer burn times (less family grumbling)? Do I HAVE to have a fan forced air drafter? I already have close to 16 foot of chimney/pipe. It seems like I get plenty of draft. What's a complete burn look like? I usually try to fill it to the level of the fire brick for night. If I really shut things down as tight as I can, will it go out or still burn ok?
I'm new to posting, too........... Sorry so long and rambling. I'm an old pro at wood but this coal is a whole different tiger.

Art , I would start a new thread ( repost your question with having trouble with my Clayton) and than get ready to receive help ! I don't know how to move it or I would ! Crows prob was twofold to much under fire air and not a deep enough fuel bed , be as descriptive as poss with your setup mpd or baro 20" level single wall to masonry chimney / vs 20" 3" pitch to stainless chimney etc welcome to the gang ( the new title will get experienced Clayton burners on the topic)Shawn

Art I sent you a private message top of page by your screen name

ShawninNY wrote:Art I sent you a private message top of page by your screen name

That makes 2 of us. I sent him the link for the Clayton thread.

Wow! Thank you everyone! This is awesome!

Crow , where you able to get the magnetic stove thermometers ? Knowing stove body temp vs stove pipe temp will tell you if your losing excess heat up chimney each stove runs different , but typically if the stove body is 4-500 deg, your flue gases will run about 150-250 when you have the correct air setting( it's really just for the purpose of getting the max btus without burning more coal than you have to) Shawn

Don't worry, we have smarties here and long burn times are on the way. No 5 hour burn times here in coal country

Speaking of fine tuning the burn. I'm now to the point of doing the same thing to both identical stoves I have like clockwork and knowing that $950.00 in coal with a warm house is better than 66 degrees with propane and over $6,000.00 yearly to heat the house. Whether I get an extra hour isn't as much of a big deal anymore as I'm in the burn routine and know that I've saved so much from the propane slave king.

ShawninNY wrote:Crow , where you able to get the magnetic stove thermometers ? Knowing stove body temp vs stove pipe temp will tell you if your losing excess heat up chimney each stove runs different , but typically if the stove body is 4-500 deg, your flue gases will run about 150-250 when you have the correct air setting( it's really just for the purpose of getting the max btus without burning more coal than you have to) Shawn

Haven't picked them up yet. Had to deal with an issue with the grates (2 piece). They separated (read, nuts backed off and dropped.). This didn't allow me to shake it down properly and drop[ the ash and you guessed it, it died when I was at work today. Cleaned it out and used ovalated nuts on the 1/4-20 screws securing them together. I'll see how this works out. Might have to use a 5/16 fastener........

Would a non contact IR thermometer be acceptable to use?