It's a Clinker! Anything I Can Do?

Well, this morning, woke up to a grinding noise on the stove, The stoker was pushing coal all over the sides burn plate and landing around the ash bin, I had a BIG clinker form and it got stuck against the front of the stove and stopped the flow of coal and made it overflow over the side? It was Mounding up too behind it, I had to level it off and knock the thing down....

Not enough Stoke? Should I increase the adjustment, I have around 2-3 turns out and burning just about to the end of the burn plate? Too Hot?
I did have it too much and it was burning falling off the plate.

Anything I can do? I have noticed alot more clinkers forming since hooking it up to the chimney, never had the problem with the direct vent.

Hi Dave, to get a clinker, the ash has to fuse together. This takes a lot of heat with anthracite. You are running the stove a lot hotter than you used to at the other house, right??

I'm thinking that being hooked to the chimney may be helping the combustion blower a lot, and pulling more air through the coal bed, making it burn a lot hotter.

Are the flames taller than you remember from when it was on the other venting system?? Did you install the baro damper yet?? Maybe you have a lot more draft than you think??

I'm not sure what to suggest, maybe take a look at the fire every morning and night, and just touch the ash at the end of the burner bed, to break it up a bit, so it will fall into the ash pan in smaller chunks.

That must have been a big clinker, was the ash pan near full? Or was the clinker so hard that it pushed straight off the bed and jammed up against the front of the stove.. Did you get a photo??

Greg L

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Greg-
Thanks!

It's been burning pretty good, around 200-230 exhaust, stove around 400-450 on the sides. I check it all the time when in the basement when I am home.

Yes, it was so big, it pushed right off the end of the burn plate and jammed against the front of the stove, between the doors! Funny, there was very little ash in the bin, I just empitied last night. It was all clumped together this morning. I even had to level off the burn plate, it was so mounded up.

I think the furnance kicked on a few times and made the stove go into Idle, so the coals didn't get pushed as far on idle. Will have to check feed rate and idle mode again.

Sorry no pics, didn't think, too concerned about getting it fixed. The fire didn't go out, but sure made a mess with overflowed coal.

Thanks!

Made me think of "The Christmas Story" (ya know, you'll shoot your eye out!), when the father sees the black smoke coming out of the grate "Who Turned the Damper Down , It's A Clinker!!!
Gotta luv it.! Now it really makes me laugh!!

Keystone told me today that my problem of chunks of ashes forming in my Keystoker Hearth stove is caused by the rice coal fusing together forming clinkers. They suggested that I mix some buckwheat coal with the rice coal. The larger size of the buckwheat is supposed to keep the rice from fusing together.

I left a question about my problem in a post in this forum in an adjacent thread but no one had responded to it yet. I'm going to try Keystone's suggestion this weekend.
If your problem persists and if your stove can handle some buckwheat size coal, maybe this will help you also.

Stay warm!

Tim///

Yes, I think a while back, my dealer stated that if it happens. I Might give it a try.

Hi Tim, Hi Dave, I'll be real interested to read what you think about the buckwheat size coal in your bed-type stokers. I'm planning on buying several tons of rice next week, but have been debating about buckwheat.

I'll really be interested to hear if the larger pieces burn completely on their short journey down the grate... I'm pretty sure it will be a hotter fire, with more air getting through the coal bed. But will the larger pieces burn to ash or just burn on the outside by the time they get to the end of the grates??

I'm trying to see if Buckwheat will net me more heat compared to rice.. I guess the only way to know is to try it. I envy you guys with coal breakers just around the corner...

Greg L

Yes, I stopped by coal dealer today, and 4 other guys at the shop were having the same problem, huge Clinkers in there stoves !!

The dealer stated it was a common problem when it gets really, really cold and they burn really hot, it fuses the coal to the sides of the grate and sometimes doesn't move and then overflows with raw coal.

His suggestion to all us was use Buckwheat, I bought 2 bags to to try tonight/tomorrow to see if it stops the problem of the large clinkers. I still had about 40-50# in the hopper, but filled it with almost a 50# bag of buckwheat.

Results to follow...

Burnt the buckwheat last night, it finally started going down the grate and seems to be doing much better, NO CLINKERS, falling right off the plate and seems to burn up a bit better, I had minimal ash this time. Pics to follow.

Since a bit bigger, I am still playing with the feed rate, but haven't pushed it off the plate on fire yet, may have to back it 1/2 turn down...

So far So Good!!!

Ran 50# bag of buckwheat thru the stove, and everything seems decent on the ash side, of course, it has warmed up a bit (20's) so it burnt up quite well.

Supposed to get colder again later in the week, I will mix what I have left 50/50 with the rice.

This is my first year with coal, I have a Keystroker Koker. My dealer said I would have better luck with buckwheat. Not knowing any better, that's all I have used. The house is warm.. I think it is burning fairly complete. (if anyone would like I could send them a sample of my ashes.) Like I say, I have nothing to compair it too.
Gary