What am I doing wrong?

 
Hoytman
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Post by Hoytman » Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 1:27 pm

Lightning wrote:
Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 12:43 pm
It shouldn't be that hard.. try this procedure every 12 hours.

1) open the ash door to rev up the fire
2) shake ashes until you see red embers falling
3) fill back up to the top of the fire bricks with fresh coal
4) add secondary air or prop load door open 1/8 inch to prevent puffback
5) leave ash door open till the fresh coal ignites
6) close both doors, set primary combustion air, and done..

You should stay with the stove while the ash door is open or set an alarm to remind yourself. If this doesn't work then there could be other problems like a stalling draft..
This should easily work for you.

What I was describing was for when idling the stove.


 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 1:58 pm

Hoytman wrote:
Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 1:27 pm
This should easily work for you.

What I was describing was for when idling the stove.
Righto. Just to be clear I was referring to his comment,
KozyKingOhio wrote:
Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 12:28 pm
I can't believe how hard this is........I'll keep trying!

 
Hoytman
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Post by Hoytman » Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 2:40 pm

Lightning wrote:
Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 1:58 pm
Righto. Just to be clear I was referring to his comment,
Yeah I knew that. I was explaining to the OP that your suggestion should work just fine, and that if he needed to idle the stove what to watch out for. :yes:

 
KozyKingOhio
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Post by KozyKingOhio » Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 4:03 pm

Lightning wrote:
Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 12:43 pm
It shouldn't be that hard.. try this procedure every 12 hours.

1) open the ash door to rev up the fire
2) shake ashes until you see red embers falling
3) fill back up to the top of the fire bricks with fresh coal
4) add secondary air or prop load door open 1/8 inch to prevent puffback
5) leave ash door open till the fresh coal ignites
6) close both doors, set primary combustion air, and done..

You should stay with the stove while the ash door is open or set an alarm to remind yourself. If this doesn't work then there could be other problems like a stalling draft..
I've never seen puffback. Dancing blue flames and a good draft prevent that? Can you expand on #4?

 
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 4:15 pm

Sure.. a puffback can happen when you bury a hot fire with fresh coal. What happens is the hydrocarbons will gas out of the coal and can flash when it mixes with the right amount of oxygen. My solution was to add secondary air or keep the load door propped a smidge. This keeps the volatiles diluted until they can safely ignite over the coal bed (instead of flashing) once the proper fuel/air ratio is met and there is an ignition source. This is one of many ways to prevent a puffback.

A puffback can be a bit unnerving if it's unexpected lol

I used to purposely provoke puffbacks just for fun. Here's one at 1/16 speed..


 
KozyKingOhio
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Post by KozyKingOhio » Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 4:21 pm

Oh my! That's puffback! :o

 
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Sunny Boy
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Post by Sunny Boy » Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 4:24 pm

Reminds me of the time at a friend's house that we had take-out from an Indian restaurant in Queens. :o

Paul


 
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Post by Retro_Origin » Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 6:30 pm

Beautious maximus!

 
KozyKingOhio
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Post by KozyKingOhio » Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 2:46 pm

Good luck so far..... my personal record, 7 days in a row and burning strong! :clap:

Some things I've learned, let me know what you all think....

1. I didn't shake or poke for about 36 hours when I started the fire.
2. Give it some air. Get a good, hot fire going before shaking and/or poking.
3. Shake until a little hot coals appear in the ash tray.
(I noticed if an area doesn't have any ash showing up in the tray, just poke a little in that area, and ashes drop.)

Some things I still aren't sure of..... maybe next year when I can get consistent colder temperatures and have more time to figure out things....??

1. Efficiency!!! seems like I'm going through 60-80 lbs of coal a day, and it isn't even that cold outside! Grant it, I have to crack a window upstairs to keep from roasting. The day temps around here have been about 50, nights about 30.
2. I have a manual damper. Can I set it and go to work and not worry????? My furnace manual says to run about .06-.08 draft. I'm sure I'm wasting heat up the chimney.
(I have a Mark II monometer)

Thanks for all your help.

 
KozyKingOhio
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Post by KozyKingOhio » Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 2:49 pm

Lightning wrote:
Sat. Mar. 11, 2023 4:15 pm
Sure.. a puffback can happen when you bury a hot fire with fresh coal. What happens is the hydrocarbons will gas out of the coal and can flash when it mixes with the right amount of oxygen. My solution was to add secondary air or keep the load door propped a smidge. This keeps the volatiles diluted until they can safely ignite over the coal bed (instead of flashing) once the proper fuel/air ratio is met and there is an ignition source. This is one of many ways to prevent a puffback.

A puffback can be a bit unnerving if it's unexpected lol

I used to purposely provoke puffbacks just for fun. Here's one at 1/16 speed..



I had my first puffback......It was epic! :D Don't try and "peek" in and see if the new coal is lit!!!!

 
waytomany?s
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Post by waytomany?s » Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 3:01 pm

KozyKingOhio wrote:
Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 2:49 pm
I had my first puffback......It was epic! :D Don't try and "peek" in and see if the new coal is lit!!!!
Always crack the door open and wait. Patience .Most everything about burning coal is slow. Except when you realize you left the ash door open, then you are in fast forward. :what:

 
waytomany?s
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Post by waytomany?s » Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 3:03 pm

KozyKingOhio wrote:
Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 2:46 pm
Good luck so far..... my personal record, 7 days in a row and burning strong! :clap:

Some things I've learned, let me know what you all think....

1. I didn't shake or poke for about 36 hours when I started the fire.
2. Give it some air. Get a good, hot fire going before shaking and/or poking.
3. Shake until a little hot coals appear in the ash tray.
(I noticed if an area doesn't have any ash showing up in the tray, just poke a little in that area, and ashes drop.)

Some things I still aren't sure of..... maybe next year when I can get consistent colder temperatures and have more time to figure out things....??

1. Efficiency!!! seems like I'm going through 60-80 lbs of coal a day, and it isn't even that cold outside! Grant it, I have to crack a window upstairs to keep from roasting. The day temps around here have been about 50, nights about 30.
2. I have a manual damper. Can I set it and go to work and not worry????? My furnace manual says to run about .06-.08 draft. I'm sure I'm wasting heat up the chimney.
(I have a Mark II monometer)

Thanks for all your help.
What are your exhaust temps?

 
KozyKingOhio
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Post by KozyKingOhio » Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 3:33 pm

waytomany?s wrote:
Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 3:01 pm
Always crack the door open and wait. Patience .Most everything about burning coal is slow. Except when you realize you left the ash door open, then you are in fast forward. :what:
I've done that once..... :stfu:

 
KozyKingOhio
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Post by KozyKingOhio » Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 3:34 pm

waytomany?s wrote:
Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 3:03 pm
What are your exhaust temps?
200 or more? just magnetic, not very accurate.

 
waytomany?s
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Post by waytomany?s » Fri. Mar. 17, 2023 4:36 pm

That's not overly high, but you probably do have more lost up the chimney than necessary.


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