Wasting coal with DS EnergyMax 110

 
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dunedainranger
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Energy Max 110

Post by dunedainranger » Sun. Apr. 25, 2021 4:13 pm

Den, it's funny you mention that. I was thinking of doing that. I only bought 10 bags to try it. I'm sure itbwould work just fine.


 
charlesosborne2002
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Post by charlesosborne2002 » Sun. Apr. 25, 2021 5:01 pm

dunedainranger wrote:
Sun. Apr. 18, 2021 10:40 am
Hello, so I finally got my stove installed two weeks ago and I decided to give it a try considering the temps are still in the 50s here. I heard some mixed things about the TSC bagged nut coal - so I just bought 10 bags to test it. No joke, it was greatly varying in size with fines, and mulch.
Anyways, new to hand fired and had to take a good 2 days to get a good coal fire going. I've been having one issue, however. Maybe it is just a skill that is learned eventually, but I waste so much coal when shaking.
For starters, the shaker gets jammed very easily. I think you guys call that 'bridging'?
I've read older posts regarding how to shake properly. But still losing full coals and getting very little ash. When emptying my ash bin today I noticed a lot of unburnt and half-burned coal.
P.s. I'm not over extending the shaker handle. I'm doing small shakes and yet it still gets jammed up. I've tried poking first to break up the coals and ash, but still jamming and wasting coal.
Any suggestions?
I read your post and the replies so far. I have only ever used TSC coal because that is all we have down here--I am grateful they order it in for me. I do get a variety of sizes in the nut bag, more or less nut size over all; and each bag has a bit of fines. But I have had no problems dumping a hod in, as-is (I have top load). It burns fine. I picked up a habit from someone here--I fill two hods, and when I load one to the stove, the other sits beside the stove another 12 hours to dry. So I always have dry coal. (Others poke holes in the bags with a screwdriver and in time they dry out.)

Washing the coal is part of the breaking and bagging process, not carelessness or greed to make it weigh more. Even wet it will burn immediately in a hot fire, but will add some steam to the flue, which in theory is not ideal for a stainless steel chimney. My chimney sweep says mine is perfect, after ten years of both wood and coal.

My stove (Vigilant 2) came with a "slicer." First you shake down the coal with the shaker handle (maybe 30 times); then you take about 2 minutes to run the slicer between the grates from underneath, which is accessible on my stove, which lets the hot clinkers drop through). If I slice too much, I start getting unburned coal dropping out (not good--wasteful), and if I slice too little, the buildup starts to make large molten chunks, reducing the heat output. Stoves without a slicer may not need one. Possibly your poking the coal down is jamming the grates? Some people load some coal first before shaking (to encourage the cave to fall).

It takes me an hour or more to build a good enough wood fire for a thick bed of coals, then slowly add coal in layers. But usually I start with charcoal. I use the popular charcoal starter gadgets that start charcoal with a sheet of newspaper under it (outside), then I put that in the stove; then add more plain charcoal to build a hot bed; then begin layers of coal. I keep burning it so I don't have to start it again unless I have to. If temps are above 50 outside, I crack windows, but if the 10-day outlook is all warm, I let it go out, clean it, and restart when the cold returns. This year I did not have to start until Christmas, and stopped in the end of Feb. (we had a late very cold spell for a week, 12 degrees). In fall and spring I use a gas furnace as needed, or a wood fire in the evening in the stove.

Some people can't get a good coal fire when it is over 40 degrees outside, for different reasons (short chimney perhaps). Mine burns fine in the 50's, but with windows open I am too cheap to do that for long periods. When real winter sets in, the gas heat does not compare to the cozy coal stove heat, and I like to cook on it, even if the coal costs a bit more than gas and takes a few minutes to service each day. One of the joys of it is to see people's reaction to it when they first see a coal stove in the act, and feel the radiance.

 
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dunedainranger
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Post by dunedainranger » Mon. Apr. 26, 2021 11:15 am

I can understand if that's all you have. I live in PA and have access to coal no problem, I just wanted to try something, and that was the quickest means.
I'm not sure how much you read, but I do believe I'm having a combination of problems - inexperience(1st time with coal), poor draft, and a new house. I have to just work out some things before I can expect to have a reliable system. Thanks to everyone's helpful tips I am able to do that.
I knew that was part of the processing of coal, but some of my bags are about 50% powder, and drenched in water. But oh well. I'll figure something out.
I took a look at your stove. What does this slicer look like? I was trying to do something similar with a poker. I'll try loading first next time - that makes sense. My grates were really jammed up with the small pieces though.
I think I was being too careful with building too big of a wood fire. I'd have small coals scattered all over the grates, so it would just light in some places. One thing someone on here pointed out to me was that I wasn't covering the entire grates. I realized that at one point the area in the back corner where my rear intake flap brings in air was not covered. That's a major problem as to why it was not firing correctly. The air was just moving over the coals instead of from the bottom up. Someone on here who has my stove and the manufacturer made it very clear not to burn wood on the grates to avoid damage. I have a metal plate with the center cut out that I have to place over the grates.
But as most would agree, there is nothing compared to the radiance coal puts off. I'm excited to get a good fire going and have it actually heat my whole house. My air heat pump has such a hard time keeping up and costs me a ton of money. So it will be nice not having to rely on it.
Thanks again for the tips.

 
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dunedainranger
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Post by dunedainranger » Mon. Apr. 26, 2021 11:48 am

charlesosborne2002 wrote:
Sun. Apr. 25, 2021 5:01 pm
One of the joys of it is to see people's reaction to it when they first see a coal stove in the act, and feel the radiance.
I bought my stove for several reasons, and one of them being able to cook/heat when power goes out. We live in a pretty rural area. Unfortunately, I have some irritating family members that just see coal=bad when I told them I have a coal/wood stove now. Then I get told it is super dirty compared to other means of heating. Sure, if you are messy with it can be. But there are dozens of procedures to keep down on the mess.
Also I'm in university for mech eng, and you should hear my environmental professor go off about coal. It's pretty entertaining.

 
charlesosborne2002
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Post by charlesosborne2002 » Mon. Apr. 26, 2021 1:26 pm

dunedainranger wrote:
Mon. Apr. 26, 2021 11:48 am
I bought my stove for several reasons, and one of them being able to cook/heat when power goes out. We live in a pretty rural area. Unfortunately, I have some irritating family members that just see coal=bad when I told them I have a coal/wood stove now. Then I get told it is super dirty compared to other means of heating. Sure, if you are messy with it can be. But there are dozens of procedures to keep down on the mess.
Also I'm in university for mech eng, and you should hear my environmental professor go off about coal. It's pretty entertaining.
People who call coal dirty probably remember burning soft coal when young--smelly, smokey, dusty, and sulfurish. It was often burned like wood in a fireplace coal basket. More likely, they heard about it from grandparents who were happy to get gas heat. The first thing to tell people is that today most of us use "clean coal," (anthracite) which is far cleaner for the environment than wood, and even more so than electric heat made from cheap, dirty coal (which loses much of its energy being transported through wires). Hard coal does indeed release CO2 (and not much else), but so does any other common form of heat such as gas.

If there were a way to harness lightening, it would supply all our needs, and more. The jackpot would be to capture heat from Earth's molten core, but that is also beyond us today--far too deep for most of us, but maybe for Hawaii (which needs no heat).

 
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Post by longears9 » Thu. Jun. 03, 2021 9:28 pm

I have a new DS 15 Anthramax stove and would like to hear from anyone that has that stove or one similar enough to let me know how many pounds of coal (Anthracite) that their stove consumes during a normal winter day. Thanks....

 
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Post by see_me1st » Sat. Jan. 01, 2022 10:42 am

What Mike did to start the DS 1500 Circulator was that stuff they sell that we would never use to cook food with is the light match coal. Put it in the stove, started it and let it get going. Once going filled with some REAL NUT coal. No problem starting it. We do pig roasts and backyard BBQ's so Mike is extremely picky when it comes to cooking food but to start the stove was a great starter.


 
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Post by longears9 » Sat. Jan. 01, 2022 2:26 pm

We are 3 months into our not so normal Montana winter. -21 Below last night. As I mentioned before we are stuck with using Bituminous Coal. I've never used Anthracite Coal so I have no point of reference. Seems to be working well in our DS 15 stove.
I mean +80 degrees inside while it's 50mph wind and -21 outside is really GREAT. Propane is sky high right now and coal has turned out to a fantastic alternative. Only minor complaint with the use of the stove with Bi. Otherwise very pleased. Someone suggested that we have the flue "swept" at least twice .

 
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Post by coalfan » Sat. Jan. 01, 2022 3:54 pm

well my mom got a ds 75 comfort max and we have 4 out fires ,have tried 3 diff. coal adjust evertthing ash pan clean greats clean etc and yet outfires ?? am at a large loss ,the longest fire she had was 3 days and then done !! good chimeny etc and then it just dies ,am sorry to change the format between the stoves but dam ,and our weather is strange up and down etc. thanx in advance !!

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Jan. 01, 2022 4:45 pm

Other than what you listed, the draft might be failing if it hasn't been very cold out.

 
longears9
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Post by longears9 » Sat. Jan. 01, 2022 5:51 pm

If your stove has a Bi-Metal damper control that may be the reason. If your stove has a fan to move the hot air around that may inter act with the temp control. Other than that I have no clue.

 
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dunedainranger
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Post by dunedainranger » Sat. Jan. 01, 2022 7:26 pm

This is my first season burning with a DS EnergyMax. It's an excellent stove, and from what I know about DS, they make quality stoves. Chances are you just need to get adjusted to how it works, depending on your experience with coal. It's hard to say what you are experiencing without getting more info, but when fires go out it usually is a draft issue. Either you are getting too little, or at night the wind picks up and is burning through the coal. I'm sure a more experienced person will be able to help you better.
Also, don't under estimate the temp changes. I have a strong draft ever since I made some modifications to my setup, but if I hit some unusually aarm ays, I notice a major decrease in draft. If I'm not watching my Mano and making adjustments it would easily snuff out.
First things first, I'd get a Mano on it to see what's happening with your draft, then you should be able to make some conclusions.
Additionally, this could be a bit far fetched, but if you have a bimetallic the air intake could be slowly closing if your stove is cooling down. I'm not sure about your model, but my bimetallic has a set screw on the flap. You can adjust that fully to ensure there is air coming in even if the bimetallic cools a bit and attempts to close the flap.

 
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Post by franco b » Sat. Jan. 01, 2022 9:44 pm

coalfan wrote:
Sat. Jan. 01, 2022 3:54 pm
well my mom got a ds 75 comfort max and we have 4 out fires ,have tried 3 diff. coal adjust evertthing ash pan clean greats clean etc and yet outfires ?? am at a large loss ,the longest fire she had was 3 days and then done !! good chimeny etc and then it just dies ,am sorry to change the format between the stoves but dam ,and our weather is strange up and down etc. thanx in advance !!
Seems very much like stove is ash bound after three days. Look for red glow in ash pan after shaking.

 
coalfan
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Post by coalfan » Sat. Jan. 01, 2022 10:24 pm

i thank you all and i have had the same thoughts about draft ,, but the chimeney is 20 plus hi an no restrictions ,hmmm.thank you again .

 
coalfan
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Post by coalfan » Sat. Jan. 01, 2022 10:28 pm

oh and by the way we have had warm weather here 50 or so on average dam !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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