Coal Tools...

Crow Horse · Post by **Crow Horse** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 1:47 pm

I'm a toolaholic and admit it freely but my justification is that if a tool(s) makes the job at hand go quicker, easier or better, then I'm all for it. I've only started burning coal but these common tools have proved helpful for me....
(far right) 1/4" stainless rod 90° bend and straight, stainless filler rod.......
(need to make handles for them but they work well as is.....

Any other ideas?

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 2:06 pm

You BETTER have those welders gloves with them thar short handled thing-a-ma-jigs

BUT--yes they will work just fine--I like to call it good old American ingenuity. Everything but the oink! Nice CH

Crow Horse · Post by **Crow Horse** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 3:32 pm

The TIG gloves are just perfect for removing the ash pans when hot. MIG gloves offer better protection but lack dexterity. The short handles don't bother me but I'm careful not to contact any metal when reloading. However, I'm quite tolerant of high temps as at work I have to walk into a 500° oven to retrieve carts many times daily. Cold is another story.for me.....

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 4:28 pm

Well, just for the record, my MIG gloves worked REALLY well until the friggin puppy decided to EAT them!!!

Crow Horse · Post by **Crow Horse** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 4:49 pm

I feel your pain although my big guy destroys (hopefully past tense) big. I'm on couch #2....... Need another pair of gloves? I have a spare set you can have. I get them from work so it's not a problem....

I believe my Dane has seen the error of his ways and is rehabilitated. But I'm holding off on getting a new couch for a while.....

LsFarm · Post by **LsFarm** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 4:53 pm

That poor, poor puppy, deprived of normal food, resorts to eating any thing that resembles food, like a pair of leather gloves..

As for tools.. I have several five gallon pails that I use for transporting coal from the storage building to the boiler's hopper.
I have an infrared no-touch thermometer for checking temperatures.
I have several full size shovels for filling buckets.
I have four large 2 bushel ash tubs. they are about ? 22"x22"x 12" ? not sure, I will try to measure one the next time i'm out.

The most important 'tool' is my bare or stocking feet.. on a slate floor, in the middle of winter, in the frigid midwest..
I take my shoes off to warm up my feet in my home. there is nothing to compare.

Of course, if I had a nice handfed stove inside the house, I'd probably have my feet propped up near the stove to soak up some radiant heat..

Greg L

LsFarm · Post by **LsFarm** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 5:01 pm

Thankfully my dog doesn't like to chew on anything but his toys.. or my toes or arm.

He does like plastic water bottles.. for some reason. He must like the 'interactive' noise the bottles make when he bites them..
OH, and he loves his 5 gallon bucket.. it's a former coal bucket, one disappeared one day..

Greg L

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Crow Horse · Post by **Crow Horse** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 5:23 pm

Fred & Greg, great pics of your K9 buddies!!

Post by **Lightning** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 6:07 pm

Here is a snap of my coal artillery.. From bottom to top..

1) Coal Pusher
2) Clinker Buster
3) Grate Poker
4) Center Frame Slicer
5) Grate/Frame Slicer
6) Wire Fire Box Brush
7) Coal Bed Leveler
8) Ash Pan Area Illuminater (on the right)

I use welding gloves too. I use every tool at every shake down except the Center Frame Slicer, I use occasionally...

Uh, whatchya do with the Kitty litter scoop?

rberq · Post by **rberq** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 6:29 pm

Crow Horse wrote:Any other ideas?

Well, I just read an Agatha Christie murder mystery where an old fart tried to do people in with the coal hammer. So I figure I should get me one of those just in case I need it.

Crow Horse · Post by **Crow Horse** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 7:28 pm

There's some pretty interesting tools there.....I feel a tool attack coming on...

The aluminum kitty litter scoop works great when I need to clean out the stove if the fire burned out. The ash drops through to the grates and I recover the unburned coal. The ash left on the grates is swept down into the ash pan. It's also useful when I get down to the bottom of my bucket and there's a fair amount of fines. I can scoop, shake it down and the fines drop through back into the bucket....

freetown fred · Post by **freetown fred** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 7:53 pm

Ahhhhhhh, you guys:)

Crow Horse · Post by **Crow Horse** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 8:07 pm

Fred, although it's difficult to tell for sure, it does appear that you can clean out your stove from the other side of the room.....

joeq · Post by **joeq** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 8:11 pm

Hey Fred, my protologist has the same tools!

I've already posted my tools,but will show them again. Nothing you guys haven't already seen.

I do enjoy your puppy (?) pics.

Crow Horse · Post by **Crow Horse** » Sat. Mar. 08, 2014 8:55 pm

Oddly enough, so does my former dentist........

Coal Tools...

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