Wet bagged coal. Can I still burn it?

 
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warminmn
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Post by warminmn » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 3:16 pm

franco b wrote:
Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 3:01 pm
Go to the Hitzer site from the ad on the forum page and download the owners manual for your stove. There is also a brochure on running the stove.

Open your basement door for awhile with the stove running. If you feel, while standing on the steps a strong current of air going down, that indicates you need to provide more return air to the Hitzer furnace.

Concerning puff backs. you should be concerned with such large loads of coal at one time, but with understanding what is happening stress can be relieved.

About 5 percent of the heat of anthracite is released as gas when first heated. If not burned it goes up the chimney as wasted heat, or it can accumulate until the proper air and heat conditions are met and then explode all at once. So we want to burn it as it is produced for safe operation. Revving up the fire before loading by opening the ash door for a few minutes before shaking is good. After shaking it might be good practice to load only half the intended load at one time and then the other half when that first half is going well. You might also load only one half the fire box while leaving the other half with exposed burning coal to ignite and burn that gas. Another method is to drill down, with a poker through the new coal to make several passages to the hot burning coal underneath. To hurry the appearance of blue flame you might open the ash door to provide maximum air. Be aware though that sometimes air can be too high a velocity and actually blow the blue flames out, and reappear when the ash door is closed. Once the blue flames are well established you can close that damper which redirects the flue gasses away from going directly up the chimney.

The furnace will have cooled down from the fresh batch of coal and as a result the thermostat will open of itself to provide enough air for the new load and close down as the furnace heats. Experience will teach you the best method, but figure to spend at least 20 minutes tending, and never leave the ash door open while you are not there.
My limited experience loading my Dad's 55, that is how we loaded it. And the lever was closed after it got burning decent. The spinner was also closed after it is burning good with red coals on top. It was probably 20-30 minutes after loading but that will vary. Loading half at a time worked best, back part first.

At the point when your stove is about to turn red, maybe 50-100 degrees more/less before red, if you have a magnet thermometer it will fall off. Its kind of an early warning system if you are near the stove.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 3:41 pm

A very good general rule is to never load more fresh coal than what is already burning in the stove, and to leave some brightly burning coal exposed to help burn off the gasses.

 
ReneeC
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Post by ReneeC » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 4:59 pm

Thanks everyone. From what I’m reading I’m doing most of this right, regarding loading. I usually load half my load and leave a corner of red coals exposed. If I feel it isn’t enough exposure I poke a few spots to get some flames coming through before I shut the door. Then, after the temp spikes and settles back down (20 minutes +\-), I finish loading and repeat the monitoring to ensure the temp comes back down after the spike. The only think I haven’t done is close the chimney off after it settles. I don’t open the ash door because it gets too hot. I haven’t had any issues with the coals catching.

 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 5:07 pm

It sounds like you may be able to continue "heating" your house comfortably without spending lots,if you lower that lever.

I really pity anyone who has to cool their house off because of high cost fuel being used.

Seriously !!!!!

I am so grateful that i can have my house at 75*, & even my shop at 70-72*... :D

I cannot imagine being out in this crazy cold we currently have,getting chilled & then walking into a cold 64* house in an attempt to warm up.... :what:


 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 6:33 pm

I would not expect miracles from closing that lever. Small improvement.

The big change would come from properly tying the return into the furnace ductwork and letting the furnace blower move the heat through the house.

 
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Post by hunterseat » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 8:09 pm

Nearly every bag of coal we've ever bought from Tractor Supply is wet. I've read through this and we will now pour bags into plastic tubs in advance. We have a dehumidifier in the basement where the coal is stored so that will help.
Still trying to figure out how we could ever begin getting bulk coal. Just not sure how we'd handle that amount loose. But we're still figuring!
Puffbacks. I'm really good at them! :)

 
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Post by jschaefer7406 » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 9:09 pm

I agree with Rob, having the cold air return connected to the living area will be a huge improvement.

When I first started burning ours, it was drawing from the basement as yours is. Measured almost a 30 degree increase in register temp after connecting a single 12” flex duct to the existing cold air trunk on the oil furnace. Not only is the air warmer, but it’s also sucking the cold air out of the house, doubling the effectiveness.

Realize it’s not something you’re going to be able to do right away probably, but maybe something to consider for a summer project or sometime in the future.

Joe

 
ReneeC
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Post by ReneeC » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 9:17 pm

We have numerous returns that run through our vents for the propane furnace. And the coal furnace ties into those vents, so does that mean I already have returns, or would it be a separate piping running into the stove?


 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 9:27 pm

The 1 picture you posted earlier shows what seems to be an air filter ... usually meaning that cold air is entering the furnace at that filter. This would also mean that your coal furnace is pulling cold air from the basement,heating it for the upstairs.... repeat constantly.
The cold air should be coming from your upstairs inside a cold air return duct to your coal furnace.

 
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Post by CDF_USAF » Sun. Jan. 07, 2018 11:34 pm

It did not look like there was return air from the living area tied to the back of the coal furnace. The work around for that is to leave the basement door open or cut return air holes in the floor with drop downs.

The idea is to not heat "new" air each time it passes through the furnace, but to make the already heated air make a big loop getting warmer each time. Leaving a door open would allow the cooled heated air from the living area to fall semi naturally back to the furnace, where it gets heated and returned back to the living area. With no return air from the living area, the furnace is pulling air from where ever it can get it the easiest, you want the easiest to be from the living area.

If you have an extra baby gate, you could gate off the basement door or access to that area where the door is. That would allow the cooled air from the living area to return to the furnace to get heated again.

 
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turbine
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Post by turbine » Tue. Jan. 09, 2018 8:40 pm

I had wet coal. I got several plastic concrete type mixing basins from lowes as a drying area. Using a shovel every day, lift coal from the bottom to top to dry. I then surround stove with a few days worth of coal buckets. I only got concerned when stove size pops like popcorn on my glass.

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