Clean Enough?

Post Reply

Clean enough?

Yes
1
100%
No
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 1

 
josh_g
New Member
Posts: 14
Joined: Sat. Jan. 30, 2016 9:07 am
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker Koker
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by josh_g » Fri. May. 27, 2016 12:57 am

Performed my first clean out, stove has been running since December till May 23. I haven't cleaned a thing except for the glass which after a month of trial and error I gave up. Here is what I did and hoping that if anyone has any more incite to help a newbie out. My biggest question is the fire box clean enough or should I break out the wire wheel / brush?
stove clean 1.jpg
.JPG | 92.9KB | stove clean 1.jpg
stove clean 2.jpg
.JPG | 92.2KB | stove clean 2.jpg
stove glass.jpg
.JPG | 148.7KB | stove glass.jpg
1. Removed all coal from hopper
2. Removed cap from DV pipe on inside of house and vacuumed out
3. Removed DV motor, vacuumed out motor
4. Oiled DV motor
5. Brushed all fly ash towards outside T with cap off from inside basement.
6. Brushed all fly ash from chimney pipe exit to lower T.
7. Removed clean out door for exhaust
8. Vacuumed and brushed exhaust tubes to fire box.
9. Vacuumed fire box and grate
10. Removed Combustion motor and oiled
11. Vacuumed through hole where combustion motor was to get under the fire grates.
12. Looked at blower and do not see any oil ports.
13. Oiled both handles
14. Installed a 60w bulb (energy efficient, states uses only 45 w) bulb in fire box )
15. Taped over the location where the DV motor lives ( to block access to the out side via the chimney pipe)
16. Tapped over the hopper feed.
17. Planning on spraying the fire box with rust preventative
18. Planning on adding a desiccant like Damp Rid

Well how did I do?
What can I do with this glass?

 
User avatar
plumberman
Member
Posts: 264
Joined: Sun. Apr. 14, 2013 2:45 am
Location: andes ny
Stoker Coal Boiler: coal gun 130
Coal Size/Type: pea
Other Heating: solar dhw/samsung mini split/oil

Post by plumberman » Fri. May. 27, 2016 5:19 am

personaly I don't use light bulb, but use a product called fluid film to coat everything.


 
WNYRob
Member
Posts: 264
Joined: Thu. Apr. 14, 2011 12:13 pm
Location: Springville, NY
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker Koker controlled with CoalTrol

Post by WNYRob » Mon. May. 30, 2016 7:47 am

For the fire box, last year I tried this and it worked well. But most people wouldn't agree to do this, since you normally don't want to mix fly ash with water. Last year I would spray down a small area at a time with water, to soak the crusted, built up fly ash for a couple minutes. Then just scrape the fly ash off and wipe down with paper towels. It makes a heck of a mess, but I was able to get right down to the steel. The crust softens nicely when wet. I just made sure I dried the areas well and then heated the inside with a infrared reptile heater/light bulb. Heating the fire box took care of the rest of the dampness. I have been using the reptile heater for a couple years and it has worked well. It keeps the firebox about 10 degrees warmer than the basement, which helps drive out moisture/humidity from inside the stove. The other thing that helps is my basement is dry so my humidity levels are held in check with a dehumidifier.

I haven't sprayed the fire box with any type of oil for a couple years, and my stove still looks close to new. It seemed like when I sprayed the firebox previous years, the crust build up would be worse, the next burn season, as not all the rust preventative would burn off, so the fly ash would start sticking to it and start building.

I guess for your firebox, I would try to get it a little cleaner. The best heat transfer occurs with no build up on the steel walls, so if you start with nice clean walls next fall, you are starting with a more efficient stove. You could try wire brushing or so on, but prepare for a dust storm. I am sure you have witnessed how light fly ash dust is, and if you hit it with any type of power tool, it is going to fly. That is the reason I tried the wet procedure, I would rather deal with the black sooty, mud mess than trying to control dust.

Oh, and I just noticed you are using an energy efficient bulb. For this case, you want to waste a little energy. You want to take advantage of the heat that is generated from the bulb, so a regular incandescent bulb throws more heat than an energy efficient one). And, for more heat, go for a nice 75 watter, you want to make sure your firebox stays warmer than the surrounding air in the basement.

One last thing, is to make sure you poke out the holes in the burn plate with a drill bit or something similar. This ensures you have maximum air flow through the grates next season.

Right now I am heating the firebox, buying me more time till I start to clean it. I will post some pictures once I get it cleaned up.

Post Reply

Return to “Stoker Coal Furnaces & Stoves Using Anthracite (Hot Air)”