Fines in coal

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ad356
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Post by ad356 » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 10:02 am

I'm using a keystoker 90k. My stove was burning lazily not much heat. I cleaned the holes on the grate and vacuumed out underneath the grate. Stove ran like a beast a ton of heat. 2 days later back to a lazy fire with inadequate heat. I looked at the consistently of the coal and there seems to be a high percentage of fines. I guess I'm going to have to screen through this. What is the fastest and most effective way to screen out the garbage. I'm not too thrilled about it, I sent my vendor a text and am waiting for a response. I wont be ordering from him again if this is what I've got to deal with.


 
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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 10:21 am

You could try turning your air up a bit... I had coal with tons of fines and chips in it last year and increasing the air helped quite a bit...

Move your air flap down a 1/4 to 3/8 inch and see if it helps...

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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 10:28 am

Another thought... Have you been oiling your fan every year? If not, your fan might be starting to crap out...

 
ad356
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Post by ad356 » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 11:07 am

I bought the stove used. Someone else replaced the combustion blower. It doesnt have oil ports. I did take it apart and cleaned the squirl cage

 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 11:15 am

To separate fines and dust build a framed screen and mount at 45* angle, make this stand high enough to catch larger coal as it rolls off bottom of angled screen....all the fines that pass through the screen mesh will collect directly under the screen area.

 
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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 11:23 am

ad356 wrote:
Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 11:07 am
I bought the stove used. Someone else replaced the combustion blower. It doesnt have oil ports. I did take it apart and cleaned the squirl cage
Sealed bearings instead of bushings is probably way better around coal dust anyway!

Try turning the air up a bit.. the coal I had last year was horrible. Lots of fines and even more barley sized chips... Burned ok, but worked much better after increasing the air a little.

 
ad356
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Post by ad356 » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 11:26 am

Do I run the stove with the air shutter wide open all of the way?


 
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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 11:28 am

No, just push down the air flap 3/8 of an inch or so .. I marked my original position before moving it.

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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 7:59 pm

Don't forget to check your draft and reset the baro if needed after upping the air...

 
ad356
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Post by ad356 » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 9:12 pm

here is a sample of what was in my hopper. stove was running like crap no matter what i would do. finally i got annoyed and emptied out the hopper and replaced it with some of the better coal i have. im kind of annoyed with my vendor because this trash is mixed in with good coal. i might consider another vendor next year for bulk, but im not sure how many are in my area. there used to be geer farm supply but they shut down several years ago. it seems like bagged is more common. i really dont want to go with bagged, i dont need several hundred bags to get rid of, and i have a system of storage..... and a sub compact tractor with a loader. so i have a system with bulk that works well, and it's cheaper to buy in that form.

i do not like coal of this consistency. some of it was almost powder like.

 
ad356
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Post by ad356 » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 9:13 pm

the stove runs way better now that trash isnt in the hopper

 
ad356
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Post by ad356 » Wed. Jan. 27, 2021 9:15 pm

i have been burning coal since 2015 and i really enjoy reliability and simplicity of my stove. no complex electronics, a very robust heating unit....... that being said you still have to have good consistent fuel

 
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Post by BostonBob » Thu. Jan. 28, 2021 7:37 am

Hi I have been using Blaschak coal (bagged, for storage) I’d love to have a bin in my garage but just don’t have the space, the only problem I had is In a few bags I had some larger chunks of coal that jammed the feeder and broke the gear teeth on the motor. I use Wendel’s in Springville (I live in Boston, NY) I believe he has bulk coal. Who are you using now ?

 
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Post by Den034071 » Thu. Jan. 28, 2021 9:25 am

You gents that have fines in coal .Listen now . Make a frame as wide and as longgas your wheeellbarrel/.Mine works out to 24 by 32.No Bending required .Fasten screen to frame .Wheel fines to diposal area .jack

 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Thu. Jan. 28, 2021 9:41 am

Sounds like a winner Jack!!!!!!!!!!! :)


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