Coalvac- going to give up
I have been using it for a few weeks and am abit disappointed in the performance. It is way too slow. And this is before the heating season needs. I am thinking of going back to the bucket filling via the chute at the bin bottom. I am thinking of a "misting hose" on the bin top to keep the coal moist to control the dust.
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- Location: Quakertown, PA
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker '81 KA4 (online 1/16/17)
- Coal Size/Type: WAS Lehigh Rice (TBD)
- Other Heating: EFM SPK600
If it's too slow you need more power. Figure out how many pounds/min you want and then back into the math. There is info on the net that you can determine CFM or FPM required to move material density at a given rate. Using a vacuum ~5-8#/min(300-480#/hr) is about average.
- nepacoal
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- Location: Coal Country
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
- Coal Size/Type: Buck
My setup does about 350 to 400 lbs in 15 to 17 minutes, but it's manual, using the hose by hand into 55 gal drums... It takes about 4 to 5 minutes to load my feeder box with 105 lbs.
- nepacoal
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- Joined: Wed. Nov. 21, 2012 7:49 am
- Location: Coal Country
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
- Coal Size/Type: Buck
Horsepower is good, but you also need a decent CFM. Not all 6 hp vacuums have the greatest CFM.
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- Posts: 705
- Joined: Sat. Nov. 08, 2014 11:47 am
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- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker '81 KA4 (online 1/16/17)
- Coal Size/Type: WAS Lehigh Rice (TBD)
- Other Heating: EFM SPK600
Try it without the dust deputy and see how you fare. I ditched mine bc I lost too much suction and it also slowed the velocity to a point where the coal would fall out of suspension and clog the pipe. So trial and error to see how it works or just give up and walk away.
- McGiever
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- Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
- Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
- Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
- Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar
It is as with so many things...less resistance or more power, if you're off, you'll need to pick one to change.
Pipe diameter, number of bends, distance of length and distance of elevation or rise...each adds up.
Pipe size is tricky because when you size for less resistance (bigger) you can easily over-do it and that then causes a need for more added power. (cfm and velocity)
It is a balancing act.
BTW: I was able to get a 75mm (3in) cyclone separator from Chiner for cheap at ebay. "SN75T"
3 inch Cyclone being bigger for less in-line air flow resistance...it is at the end of the line near vacuum and should not be a "bottle-neck" to total air flow from up-stream and really sees nothing bigger than just dust, lots of dust.
If you have access to a second identical vacuum you can hook them in "series" to have biggest effect on the velocity...if they are not identical there will be a strain due to imbalance of the two.
Hooking two in "parallel" will have biggest effect on the cfm. Second vacuum need not match here.
Pipe diameter, number of bends, distance of length and distance of elevation or rise...each adds up.
Pipe size is tricky because when you size for less resistance (bigger) you can easily over-do it and that then causes a need for more added power. (cfm and velocity)
It is a balancing act.
BTW: I was able to get a 75mm (3in) cyclone separator from Chiner for cheap at ebay. "SN75T"
3 inch Cyclone being bigger for less in-line air flow resistance...it is at the end of the line near vacuum and should not be a "bottle-neck" to total air flow from up-stream and really sees nothing bigger than just dust, lots of dust.
If you have access to a second identical vacuum you can hook them in "series" to have biggest effect on the velocity...if they are not identical there will be a strain due to imbalance of the two.
Hooking two in "parallel" will have biggest effect on the cfm. Second vacuum need not match here.
- McGiever
- Member
- Posts: 10130
- Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
- Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
- Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
- Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar
These "hands-free" pickup pipes have potential, but adds another layer to the complexity some what...
Experimental Coal Vac
Experimental Coal Vac
- McGiever
- Member
- Posts: 10130
- Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
- Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
- Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
- Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar
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- Member
- Posts: 247
- Joined: Fri. Jun. 18, 2010 8:57 am
- Location: Finger Lakes Region, NYS
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
- Coal Size/Type: Rice
- Other Heating: Oil- Off line
I run a 6 hp shopvac and a 6.5 hp shop vac in tandem. Each with a dust deputy inline before the "over barrel". Each shopva with an interior vacuum dust bag. Each shopvac with a washable HEPA filter. A flexible smooth bore 1.5 inch 16 ft long hose from out the side of the top of my "over barrel" to reach the furthest corners of my bin. The bin is only a few feet from the boiler. Have not shoveled or bucketed in years. I empty each dust deputy at the end of heating season. A bag inside the shopvac can last a couple years or more before getting full. I toss those instead of trying to empty them. When every thing is empty I can suck up a five gallon pail volume of rice coal in 45 seconds or less. My galvanized 15 gallon open head "over barrel" will usually take the volume of 2.5 five gallon pails before I lose suction. Then I flip off the shop vacs, the coal exits the dump valve at the bottom of the barrel, and I walk away. Easy peasy...
- swyman
- Member
- Posts: 2355
- Joined: Mon. Apr. 13, 2015 9:50 pm
- Location: Blissfield, MI
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman-Anderson 260M Leisure Line AA-220 Boiler (FOR SALE)
- Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Pea
Your 811 short.....pictures speak 1000 words! (Yes I counted!)Dirty Steve wrote: ↑Wed. Nov. 07, 2018 3:24 pmI run a 6 hp shopvac and a 6.5 hp shop vac in tandem. Each with a dust deputy inline before the "over barrel". Each shopva with an interior vacuum dust bag. Each shopvac with a washable HEPA filter. A flexible smooth bore 1.5 inch 16 ft long hose from out the side of the top of my "over barrel" to reach the furthest corners of my bin. The bin is only a few feet from the boiler. Have not shoveled or bucketed in years. I empty each dust deputy at the end of heating season. A bag inside the shopvac can last a couple years or more before getting full. I toss those instead of trying to empty them. When every thing is empty I can suck up a five gallon pail volume of rice coal in 45 seconds or less. My galvanized 15 gallon open head "over barrel" will usually take the volume of 2.5 five gallon pails before I lose suction. Then I flip off the shop vacs, the coal exits the dump valve at the bottom of the barrel, and I walk away. Easy peasy...