Alaska stove, unburned coal and uneven fire

 
james09294
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Post by james09294 » Thu. Jan. 30, 2020 2:05 pm

Any advice for an Alaska Channing stove that seems to be spitting out lots of unburned coal and a very "jagged" fire? I have shut down and cleaned the stove and power vent, and per recommendation from the guys at Alaska, sanded down the grate a bit, but it just doesn't seem right to me. The fire pic was taken when the stove was set to 2.5 or 3, and there are places where red hot coal is near the edge. I'd like to be able to burn it hotter but I can't without them falling off. Also noticing more "clumps" of fused coal than before. TIA

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BostonBob
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman DVC500,Alaska Gnome 40
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by BostonBob » Thu. Jan. 30, 2020 10:12 pm

Hi James have you cleaned under the grates and poked out all the holes? Clean the combustion fan ? do you have a direct vent on the stove ? Have you checked the draft ?

 
james09294
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Post by james09294 » Fri. Jan. 31, 2020 1:42 pm

I'll admit I'm new to this.. I did shut the stove down and cleaned everything I could with a shop vac. I didn't see an easy way to clean under the grates, does that come apart? Yes, there is a power vent used with the stove, I did take apart the stove pipe to clean in the inside and also cleaned the fins on the outside. Not sure how to check the draft, but the damper doesn't seem to be open quite as much as it used to.

 
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CoalKracker
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Location: Northeast Pa
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Alaska Channing 3
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Baseburners & Antiques: Pittston Stove Co. Magnet No.2
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite rice (reading coal co)

Post by CoalKracker » Fri. Jan. 31, 2020 1:43 pm

Thats a lot if unburned coal. I would deffinitely try cleaning under the grates. What brand coal are you burning?

 
james09294
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Post by james09294 » Fri. Jan. 31, 2020 2:32 pm

Not sure what brand, we get it in bulk from Hollick's in Jersey Shore PA. Those pics were taken a few days ago, there is slightly less unburned coal but still more than I feel is normal.

 
Pacowy
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Stoker Coal Boiler: H.B. Smith 350 Mills boiler/EFM 85R stoker
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Post by Pacowy » Fri. Jan. 31, 2020 4:12 pm

You can usually clean under the grate by removing the combustion blower, which exposes the opening through which the air moves to get to the underside of the grate. If you don't have a suitably small vac attachment, you can improvise with pipe, or just bend a small piece of flat stock and scrape out the chamber. A 1/8" drill bit is good for clearing the air holes in the grate.

Mike

 
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CoalKracker
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Location: Northeast Pa
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Alaska Channing 3
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Baseburners & Antiques: Pittston Stove Co. Magnet No.2
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite rice (reading coal co)

Post by CoalKracker » Fri. Jan. 31, 2020 5:54 pm

If the stove is in a garage or basement you can make sure the holes in the grate are clear and blast compressed air from the top of the grates dowm through the holes with quick blasts. I wouldnt recommend this if its in a finished part of your house though.


 
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CoalHeat
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Coal Size/Type: Rice and Chestnut
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Post by CoalHeat » Fri. Jan. 31, 2020 9:45 pm

Coal fines will build up under the grate and block air flow to the fire. My only experience with this type of stoker was an old Alaska TriBurner, the only way to clean out the compartment under the grate was to disassemble the unit, as Pacowy said.

 
Pacowy
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Post by Pacowy » Sat. Feb. 01, 2020 10:13 am

Removing the combustion blower is simple - I've had a few of these and on all of them the combustion blower and the upper portion of the housing to which it is attached come off together with the removal of a single bolt.

I've never tried the air pressure method, but it sounds like it would have the potential to make a pretty big cloud of coal fines and ash. Maybe that could be lessened if you also had a shop vac over the intake of the combustion blower? Also, sometimes the stuff in the air holes is pretty hard - like unburned coal, rock or clinker fragments. Not sure if air is as effective as a drill bit, awl, etc. at returning the holes to their original size.

Mike

 
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StanT
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Post by StanT » Sat. Feb. 01, 2020 12:40 pm

If you have clumps that means to much air flowing from the burner fan try slowing down by blocking the hole where the fan if or get a register filter and cover with 1 thickness if not enough try 2 pieces.

Good luck Stant

 
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CoalHeat
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Coal Size/Type: Rice and Chestnut
Other Heating: Fisher Fireplace Insert

Post by CoalHeat » Sat. Feb. 01, 2020 10:44 pm

Yes, I seem to remember there was one bolt and the blower housing came out. It's been a while. Odd that I don't remember, I've been searching for the photos of the stoker assembly.
Alaska Kast Console Is Home
I do remember once taking the blower out and finding a whole bunch of fines under the grate.

 
james09294
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Post by james09294 » Sun. Feb. 09, 2020 7:28 pm

How can I tell which is the blower fan and which is the combustion fan? Looking through the manual and it isn't obvious to me. Also - many are saying the fused coal is a result of too much air, and unburned coal is a result of not enough air - is it odd that I'm having both of those at the same time?

 
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CoalKracker
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Location: Northeast Pa
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Alaska Channing 3
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 460
Baseburners & Antiques: Pittston Stove Co. Magnet No.2
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite rice (reading coal co)

Post by CoalKracker » Sun. Feb. 09, 2020 8:13 pm

Blower fan is lower left if your looking at back of stove. Combustion is in the middle. My combustion blower is at full speed all the time. Fused coal is usually a sign of poor coal quality with lots of impurities. Bituminous fuses as it burns and you have to break it up as its burning. Ive never had my anthracite do that. I did away with my warm morning stove and bought the same stove as you have a few months ago and im heating my 2500 square foot bi level home with ease on 40-50 pounds of coal a day. My house is newer and heavily insulated but this stove will deffinitely heat a home even larger if its not drafty. My lower level is pushing 80 degrees and my upper level is pushing 70 degrees without heat registers or fans moving the air. It just comes up my staircase. Do all the proper cleaning and if its still not throwing out massive amounts of heat try different coal. Ive never pushed my stove past 25% of its feed rate to get the heat i was talking about. These stoves will scare you with how much heat they are capable of.

 
BostonBob
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman DVC500,Alaska Gnome 40
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Post by BostonBob » Mon. Feb. 10, 2020 11:44 am

I just cleaned out my Harman DVC 500, empty the ash pan, cleaned under the grates (this stove has a trap door) cleaned the exhaust fan and tube where it goes outside and reversed the vacuum to blow any fly ash out 🧐 all while the stove is still burning !!! Had to restart the blowers 2X just to keep the coal burning but even got the glass cleaned up ! The stove runs at about 1 1/2 feed rate out of 5 and on stove temperature 1 1/4 out of 7 I use 30-35 lbs of coal to heat a 1400-1500 sq ft house at 74-76 degrees. The stove always runs better after a good cleaning 👍👍👍👍

 
Paul k
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Post by Paul k » Fri. Feb. 19, 2021 3:36 pm

James, any update, did you get it fixed?


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