The way I usually start my antique baseburner is by starting a charcoal fire and then loading coal on top - and with a draft-inducing chimney fan I can even use starter fluid without any of the fumes getting into the house. It's a nice bonus! However, I've been thinking...
Hexamine (properly called Hexamethylenetetramine) is sold in tiny tablet form for camping stoves. They burn pretty clean but at a temperature of 1300F. Since anthracite typically needs around 600F heat to ignite, it would seem that these little tablets might be a way to start a coal stove. Having said that, I have no reference anywhere to anyone trying it.
So, has anyone tried it? Any success? I suppose their very small size would make it difficult to heat up a firepot quickly, and possibly never reaching the VOLUME of heat required, even though it gets to the needed temperatures.
Thoughts welcome.
Has anyone tried to use solid fuel (hexamine) tablets to start a coal stove?
- Pauliewog
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- Location: Pittston, Pennsylvania
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: Alaska 140 Dual Paddle Feed
- Baseburners & Antiques: Fame Rosemont #20, Home Stove Works #25, Glenwood #6, Happy Thought Oak, Merry Bride #214, Sunnyside, Worlds Argand #114, New Golden Sun , & About 30 others.
- Coal Size/Type: Stove, Chesnut, Pea, Rice / Anthracite
I never tried them but I'm sure they would work. Not sure how cost effective it would be with an average cost of about .75 per tablet.
I would think you would need about 4 tablets in a base burner pot. I bet they would do well starting a stoker.
Paulie
I would think you would need about 4 tablets in a base burner pot. I bet they would do well starting a stoker.
Paulie
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- Coal Size/Type: rice
tried something similar, did not work. i have a stoker based on a triburner design tho, they are a pain to light.
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https://youtu.be/yNa12QjqbZM
might help a way my buddy does it, new to this place and trying to figure out how to post and comment haha
might help a way my buddy does it, new to this place and trying to figure out how to post and comment haha