Ashes Do Not Shake Down
I need to pick the brains of this site. When I run my Stelrad boiler on nut coal or pea coal the ashes do not drop down, they need to be proded, then they drop fine. I have tried shaking different times, running slow, and different size and type of coal. Pea coal seems to be better but not perfect. Any help would greatly be appreciated.
- coaledsweat
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 13763
- Joined: Fri. Oct. 27, 2006 2:05 pm
- Location: Guilford, Connecticut
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260M
- Coal Size/Type: Pea
I'll guess you have a V shaped firebox, this is a common problem with the design as the fuel wedges itself as it collapses from the previous shake. The solution is what you are doing.
This is a problem common to all the stoves & coal I have ever used, after the fire has been running for about a week. It's called "bridging" & the top of the firebed acts like the crust of a cake. You can shake down & accomplish nothing but mainly moving air below the crust .(brfdge) My procedure is to poke down into the top of the bed (in a number of places) after I have livened up the fire by opening the ash door for a few minutes. Often times, when you poke down, you will see the crust collapse into the air pocket below the crust & then you can shake it down & have room for fresh coal to fill the air pocket. Sounds like you are already doing that so just keep it as part of your normal procedure.mal91152 wrote:When I run my Stelrad boiler on nut coal or pea coal the ashes do not drop down, they need to be proded, then they drop fine.
- MountainPreacher
- Member
- Posts: 77
- Joined: Thu. Feb. 14, 2008 8:36 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania
One thing I have found with the similar problem is to open the bottom door and let the stove heat up to 4-500, throw on some coal, enough to cover over the whole bed, let that coal get started good and then shake the ashes. Putting the layer of coal not only helps to break the bridging on top, it also gives you a good start for the coal you will add once you are done shaking out those ashes.