Steering the Fire

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NoSmoke
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Posts: 1442
Joined: Sun. Oct. 14, 2012 7:52 pm
Location: Mid Coast Maine
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: New Yoker WC90
Baseburners & Antiques: Woods and Bishop Antique Pot Bellied Stove
Coal Size/Type: Stove/Nut/Pea Anthracite
Other Heating: Munchkin LP Boiler/Englander Pellet Stove/Perkins 4.108 Cogeneration diesel

Post by NoSmoke » Sat. Dec. 02, 2017 1:14 pm

This is a problem that has plagued me for years, but on my new-to-me, but old Woods and Bishop New Era #4 Pot Bellied Stove, it really is perplexing. I still have a fire going, good lets say on 3/4of the fire box are, in my case a circle. Lets say from 12 o clock, to 9 o clock, with me looking at it from the 6 o clock position...but from 9 o clock, to 12 o clock, the area is dark.

How do you get the fire to steer back to that area?

I shake it down, and I even lay on the floor and pick at the grates with my poker to get a good glow underneath, but still I get dark areas above that ultimately slowly makes the fire go out.

My method now is to just let the fire go out and start over, but back in the old days, a firemen aboard a Union Pacific Train would not be allowed to do that, surely there must be some tricks to "steer" the fire back to where the entire firebox is aglow again?

 
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Lightning
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Location: Olean, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite

Post by Lightning » Sat. Dec. 02, 2017 1:30 pm

Wow lol. My best guess is that ash just is not getting cleared as well below those dark areas. How's your draft? Mano installed?

 
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Lightning
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Dec. 02, 2017 1:36 pm

Rev it up real good, shake it down, then jab down thru the top of the fuel bed with section of rebar or the like. Once stabbed down thru the top clear to the grate, move the bar to the left and right to agitate ash to fall towards the grate, then shake the grates again.

 
NoSmoke
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Posts: 1442
Joined: Sun. Oct. 14, 2012 7:52 pm
Location: Mid Coast Maine
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: New Yoker WC90
Baseburners & Antiques: Woods and Bishop Antique Pot Bellied Stove
Coal Size/Type: Stove/Nut/Pea Anthracite
Other Heating: Munchkin LP Boiler/Englander Pellet Stove/Perkins 4.108 Cogeneration diesel

Post by NoSmoke » Sun. Dec. 03, 2017 7:13 am

Lightning wrote:
Sat. Dec. 02, 2017 1:36 pm
Rev it up real good, shake it down, then jab down thru the top of the fuel bed with section of rebar or the like. Once stabbed down thru the top clear to the grate, move the bar to the left and right to agitate ash to fall towards the grate, then shake the grates again.
I tried this and once got a nice burn back, but this morning it went out, so 50/50 so far. I think that was what I was doing wrong though. The first time I was able to bring the temp in the house from only 77 degrees up to 84, so when the fired died this morning, it has only dropped to 77 degrees again. I'll clear out the fire and light it again; it is not like I am afraid the pipes will freeze at this point.


 
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michaelanthony
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Location: millinocket,me.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Vigilant 2310, gold marc box stove
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Gold Marc Independence
Baseburners & Antiques: Home Sparkle 12
Coal Size/Type: 'nut
Other Heating: Fujitsu mini split, FHA oil furnace

Post by michaelanthony » Sun. Dec. 03, 2017 8:21 am

I learned how to NOT burn coal in the beginning. :lol: ...but I did learn how to light a fire LMAO! I experienced pain and misery with my first stove, a Vogelzang pot bellied stove. It took a while, I mean a while to figure it out. The best I did was lining the pot with fire brick simply leaning back along the sloping sides of the lower half of the pot. the pot on mine would glow a various, make me nervous as hell, colors. One spot in the fire would always be weaker, I attributed it to thinner cast in that area. I tried to put a radius on the back of the brick to make them fit better but they seemed to stay in place regardless. The insulating of the pot helped tremendously with coal, I don't think it mattered much at all with wood. my .02 ;)

 
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SawDustJack
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Location: Cape Cod
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Newcastle/Ironhouse;Warm Morning 617a
Coal Size/Type: Stove/Nut

Post by SawDustJack » Sun. Dec. 03, 2017 8:45 am

My stove is square but the stove has a round shaker plate so I get dead spots in the corners that I have to attend to about once a weekish(7-10 days). The process takes me longer than a regular shake down so I make sure I have extra time. After a regular shaking down, from above the fire, I push the hot coals down and under the dead spots until I get hot coals all the way up to the top of the fire. I end up with a bunch of ash in the center and I agitate that to the bottom and shake it out as much as possible. I add a coal layer treating it like a new fire and put a layer at a time until the fire recovers. The process really disrupts the fire so it does take a bit for the fire to recover, but it is well worth it in heat output for me. The ash build up seems like it insulates the fire and the stove doesn't give off as much heat if I don't do this.

 
NoSmoke
Member
Posts: 1442
Joined: Sun. Oct. 14, 2012 7:52 pm
Location: Mid Coast Maine
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: New Yoker WC90
Baseburners & Antiques: Woods and Bishop Antique Pot Bellied Stove
Coal Size/Type: Stove/Nut/Pea Anthracite
Other Heating: Munchkin LP Boiler/Englander Pellet Stove/Perkins 4.108 Cogeneration diesel

Post by NoSmoke » Wed. Dec. 06, 2017 4:44 pm

michaelanthony wrote:
Sun. Dec. 03, 2017 8:21 am
I learned how to NOT burn coal in the beginning. :lol: ...but I did learn how to light a fire LMAO! I experienced pain and misery with my first stove, a Vogelzang pot bellied stove. It took a while, I mean a while to figure it out. The best I did was lining the pot with fire brick simply leaning back along the sloping sides of the lower half of the pot. the pot on mine would glow a various, make me nervous as hell, colors. One spot in the fire would always be weaker, I attributed it to thinner cast in that area. I tried to put a radius on the back of the brick to make them fit better but they seemed to stay in place regardless. The insulating of the pot helped tremendously with coal, I don't think it mattered much at all with wood. my .02 ;)
I had this same problem with my Vogelzang Pot Bellied Stove, but while my Bishop and Woods is a pot bellied stove, it does not do that; it does not glow. Katie and I talked about this just the other day.

We are figuring it out though.

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