Newbie to Newbie on stove operation

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Burt
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker Hopper

Post by Burt » Thu. Dec. 06, 2018 10:15 am

This is our first season to burn coal, and the learning curve has been a bit steep at times. We burned wood for 38 years, and that's part of the problem--wood burners tend to mess with the stove too much.

First--we did a good set-up, no shortcuts. So, we've got the manometer, barometric damper, etc... No problems yet.

Second--we followed keystokers instructions on starting a fire-- no problem. I was so paranoid at reading of other's problems getting a fire going I had the new paint smoking and stove to 550 degrees in no time. Just follow instructions. No problems.

Third--the hardest thing has been to learn how much to shake the coal down. Bill at Downeast Coal and Stoves said to use short strokes and open the ash door and see glowing in the ash pan. Good advice! (Long, or wide strokes will dump too much fire into the pan.) However, we shook it down too much once--used too wide of strokes which dumped too much fire--and almost had it go out. THEN, we were paranoid and didn't shake it down like Bill said. No matter how much air we gave it, it would hardly burn. Finally, i realized it was ash bound. I had to take a straight steel rod of 1/4" diameter to work the ashes down through the grates in the front where they were a good inch and a half deep. THEN it burned great again. So-- if you've got coals glowing at all and it won't burn better with more air from the bottom--make sure you ashes are getting shaken down.

Fourth--hang in there!

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Thu. Dec. 06, 2018 10:35 am

:yes: Good Advice all around, especially #4!!

Shaking is an art form but should not be overdone....

To paraphrase Gunnery Sergeant Highway..... If ya shake it too much that's pleasure and we're not in that business!! :lol:

 
ratherbeflying
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Post by ratherbeflying » Thu. Dec. 06, 2018 11:23 am

only shake when the fire is good and hot, make sure you always load the stove to the top of the fire brick with a nice mound in the middle, i always shake two long quick strokes first then about 10 or so short choppy quick shake strokes until i see about a half dozen glowers drop. then i pick from the bottom until i get all parts of the grates glowing, every 5 days or so ill run a 3/8" pipe with a bend on it down the sides to get the ashes that built up on the sides down.. re filling i always do it in about 3 inch layers, wait to see blue flames then do another 3 inches, always keeping one corner showing glowing red coals until i have a full mounded bed of blue flames, then i fill the corner i left open and let it scream for another few minutes, then close ash door and set primary.. seems to be working awesome, normally im every 12-15 hours sometimes i go 24-26 hours if i let her run low the whole time. window cracked near stove helps when you wanna burn low..
i know i probably go above and beyond the call of duty in my shake and pick process, im just ocd with it. lol

 
Burt
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker Hopper

Post by Burt » Thu. Dec. 06, 2018 4:33 pm

Thanks! After owning a number of wood stoves, I learned that each type had their operational differences. (Of course, the big problem with a wood stove is that it only burns once.... Sorry, couldn't resist...). We can watch the coal drop through the Keystoker Hopper window glass and now have a pretty good idea of what it should look like. But, in the beginning it was a very apprehensive time shaking the coal down! That one time we didn't have a good fire going as it was so ash bound. I got a hair dryer, opened the door and blew air into the coals. No improvement. I graduated to a heat gun... still no improvement. Then, realized the ashes were thick about the coal. Soon we had the "blue ladies dancing", and have ever since when we want to. We've also gotten 24-26 hrs burn time when we've had to be gone. IT IS SO WONDERFUL LOADING THIS JUST TWICE IN 24 HOURS! It used to be more like every 2 hours with the wood stove. Loving it!

 
ratherbeflying
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Post by ratherbeflying » Thu. Dec. 06, 2018 4:48 pm

yeah coal is awesome i dont know why more people arent riding the coal train.... i never played with a hopper mine is hand fed. and honestly coal wants cold air, not hot.. cold air is more dense, much more oxygen per cubic inch, same reason why cars and airplanes have more power in the cold temps. more oxygen=better combustion. not to mention if u want to "fan" you should do so from underneath from the ash pan under the grates, not from ontop like a wood fire.


 
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keegs
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Post by keegs » Thu. Dec. 06, 2018 5:04 pm

Nothing like a full night's sleep Burt. Word has it Downeast stove sells Lehigh... lots of good things said on here about Lehigh. It's a mystery to me why there's not more coal suppliers in ME.

 
Burt
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker Hopper

Post by Burt » Thu. Dec. 06, 2018 5:37 pm

Yes, Downeast Coal--they do sell Lehigh. I've gotten three tons from them, and it is $340 per ton. I know that is high compared to buying in in PA and having it dumped in the back of a pickup. But, it is here and they are a local business to support. I was a total ignoramus on coal and Bill put up with about six phone calls from me, always friendly and helpful. Once in awhile there is some dust in a bag, but is mostly beautiful. They no longer do deliveries. They do have a forklift, and set the pallet on my trailer. The pallet is tightly wrapped. A couple big straps over it and we are good to go. We have a Tractor Supply here, but the reviews on their coal are awful. EBS, now Hammond, did sell coal but I don't know what brand. And yes, I don't know why people pay essentially the same price for wood as for coal, and go to the hassle.

 
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keegs
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Post by keegs » Thu. Dec. 06, 2018 6:12 pm

We have a guy in Easton about 10 miles from us that sells Blaschak in bulk and bags. I think the bulk w/delivery is around $340 a ton. I don't burn that much coal as it's a second home so I stick with the bags. The TS in Houlton has been selling Kimmels but I was in their store about six weeks ago and they had some other brand... I think I read on the bag the product is from Kentucky. I picked up 8 bags ... not a coal connoisseur but there were more fines in it than I'm used to. Nothing beats waking up to a warm house after a full night's rest. 👍

 
Burt
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker Hopper

Post by Burt » Mon. Dec. 10, 2018 11:41 am

When I read the reviews on the TS coal... some were favorable but many were scathing. It was, pardon the pun, a mixed bag. No telling what was going to be in the bag. Some said it was mostly like mud. As this is our first year I didn't want to take a chance as I'm very ignorant on what is good. When we used to get a cold snap here, it was always up twice at night to load the wood stove. It is so nice to come downstairs and have a warm room. I see you have a Chubby. I've got a Chubby Junior that I have almost finished restoring. I was going to put it in our second living room, but we are not sure if we want to give up the space. I may go buy a bag of coal for TS just to see what its like, since they are only about half a mile from my workplace. Stay warm!

 
rberq
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Post by rberq » Mon. Dec. 10, 2018 11:56 am

Burt wrote:
Thu. Dec. 06, 2018 5:37 pm
And yes, I don't know why people pay essentially the same price for wood as for coal, and go to the hassle.
People have the idea that it's virtuous to burn wood. And, they're conformist sheep -- if all my neighbors burn wood, who am I to think I have a better idea? I really believe the case can be made that anthracite is overall cleaner and better for the air/environment. CO2 production per BTU is about the same for coal and wood. Plus, all those trees that I'm NOT burning are still growing and absorbing atmospheric CO2. :yes:


 
Burt
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker Hopper

Post by Burt » Mon. Dec. 10, 2018 12:26 pm

Yes. I hear, "isn't that awfully dusty and dirty?" And, "why would you burn coal?" And, "I'll bet the neighbors don't like it."

One guy in Home Depot the other day grilled me with questions. He had no idea it was possible to load a stove just once in the morning and once in the evening. "Where do you get a stove like that??" Next question, "How expensive is it?" For cut, split, and delivered firewood... cost is almost exactly the same. Of course, we cut all our own wood, but I'm done with that! Yes!

 
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keegs
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Post by keegs » Mon. Dec. 10, 2018 2:05 pm

Burt... for me it's not so much cutting up, splitting and stacking, it's the cutting down that I'm not up to anymore. Way too much drama for this old boy.
If you're not careful moving the ashes they can get airborne and settle but it's nothing compared to the schmoots a pile of frozen firewood can leave behind.
I've burned several brands of coal and my experience so far is that the TS stuff is overall not that much different. I haven't had the pleasure of burning the Lehigh so I'll wait to hear your verdict.
No idea why more Mainers don't burn coal.... supply does seems somewhat limited. Up in these parts there's quite a few that burn pellets and some burn grains but I'd guess most burn wood. Several neighbors have those outside wood boilers and they can put out some smoke.

 
Burt
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker Hopper

Post by Burt » Mon. Dec. 10, 2018 6:08 pm

Glad to hear you've had good experiences with the TC coal. I just learned that Hammond Lumber (just bought out EBS) sells LeHigh for $6.99 a bag. That works out to only ten bucks more a ton that what we've been paying, and they deliver. I'd much rather support Bill up in Gouldsboro, but that's about 45 minutes each way for us. My neighbor said that a number of years ago coal was very cheap and lots of people put in coal boilers and then the supplier dropped out...or something happened on the supply end of things and those people were stuck. Perhaps that history is why there is some reluctance on coal? We have lots burning pellets around here. The problem is that it takes electricity to run a pellet stove and that can be pretty sketchy on supply when we have ice storms. I cannot understand how people would live in Maine and not have a ready way to heat their house in a power outage. Or cook. Last year our neighbor was without power for a week--spent over $300 for his propane whole house generator's fuel. Meanwhile, we heated with wood and ran our genset in the morning and some in the evening and made it through the week only spending about twenty bucks on fuel. We have so many lose power during the ice storms that we've set up our church for disaster relief by having four showers, etc..

 
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Post by keegs » Mon. Dec. 10, 2018 10:06 pm

We were living in NJ during hurricane Sandy. We were without power for almost two weeks. Portable generators were just starting to become popular back then and most ran on gasoline. But most local filling stations were also without power for a time. What a mess. We relied on a small Jotul 602 for cooking, boiling water and to keep warm. (it was late Oct.) Nighttime was candles and oil lamps. But I ran wifi off the phone, plugged into the car cig lighter port....helped to take some of the edge off I guess. I was at work when the power was restored. My neighbor was at home and sent me a phone message with the image of his porch light turned on... 🙂

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