High Vol Bit Coal

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archbolter
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Post by archbolter » Sun. Nov. 03, 2013 1:24 pm

i know I have another thread running but I wanted to ask if anyone knew of a stove that would burn high vol bit coal? most I see have warnings against it. the mine I work at mines high vol bit and they said I could probly get a few loads cheap.

the said from the samples, it burns VERY VERY HOT! not much left after the prep plant though. pretty small nuggets and fines.

 
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Hambden Bob
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Post by Hambden Bob » Sun. Nov. 03, 2013 1:58 pm

I dunno,but the stuff damn near sounds like Napalm to me ! :blowup:

 
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Short Bus
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Post by Short Bus » Sun. Nov. 03, 2013 1:58 pm

I've never had any luck burning my bituminous coal fines. All the prep work to make pellets or bricks is harder then getting more lump. If the stove recommends against burning high volatile bit then it's probably for a reason.

I was reading about a Atmos coal gasification boiler and it even wants nut, http://www.atmos.cz/english/kotle-002-zplynovaci- ... uhli-drevo I would have thought gasifying fines would have been the solution.

I guess price alone is not what makes a good home heating fuel.


 
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LDPosse
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Post by LDPosse » Sun. Nov. 03, 2013 2:36 pm

If you want a good stove for burning bit, you would want to get a Warm Morning, or if you want an antique stove, a Florence Hot Blast. Stoves like these are set up to deal with the volatile gases given off by bit, and extract the heat from it, rather than sending it up the chimney in the for, of smoke.

 
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Berlin
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Post by Berlin » Sun. Nov. 03, 2013 3:36 pm

If you don't have close neighbors, the level of smoke produced (you'll produce some w/ any bit coal in a hand-fired stove) is mostly irrelevent. I've heard good things about the DS machine stoves w/ secondary air. If you want to burn small stoker w/ some fines, an underfeed stoker is the way to go. In a hand-fired stove lump coal (baseball and larger) is really what you want or you'll be pretty frustrated. Another VERY important thing is the "coke button" or FSI (free swelling index) of the coal - a high coke button agglomerating coal is NOT what you want, a maximum of 6 to have good performance in a hand-fired stove.

Many high volitile coals burn very well in hand-fired stoves provided they have 1. large size (lump) and 2. low coke button.

 
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LDPosse
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Post by LDPosse » Sun. Nov. 03, 2013 4:04 pm

Berlin wrote:....I've heard good things about the DS machine stoves w/ secondary air.
I've tried a number if different bit coals in my DS 1500, using the "DS Newstyle" door with the secondary air controls. I have discussed this with the folks at DS. They do not recommend burning bituminous in their stoves. I talked with them about my experience burning bituminous. They only recommended against bituminous becasue they are under the impression that the emissions are more corrosive than those of anthracite. I think this is just a case of mis-information. I finished up the 2012-2013 burning season with bituminous. I finally cleaned my stove out in October of this year just before I started burning again. There was no rust to be found in the stove. The soot in the bituminous seems to form a protective layer.
Berlin wrote:Many high volitile coals burn very well in hand-fired stoves provided they have 1. large size (lump) and 2. low coke button.
I can vouch for sticking with large lumps only when hand firing high vol bit. Initially I tried some that was about the size of nut anthracite. That stuff was very difficult to control, kind of like all-or-nothing.


 
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Berlin
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Post by Berlin » Sun. Nov. 03, 2013 5:50 pm

LDPosse wrote:
Berlin wrote:....I've heard good things about the DS machine stoves w/ secondary air.
I've tried a number if different bit coals in my DS 1500, using the "DS Newstyle" door with the secondary air controls. I have discussed this with the folks at DS. They do not recommend burning bituminous in their stoves. I talked with them about my experience burning bituminous. They only recommended against bituminous becasue they are under the impression that the emissions are more corrosive than those of anthracite. I think this is just a case of mis-information. I finished up the 2012-2013 burning season with bituminous. I finally cleaned my stove out in October of this year just before I started burning again. There was no rust to be found in the stove. The soot in the bituminous seems to form a protective layer.
Berlin wrote:Many high volitile coals burn very well in hand-fired stoves provided they have 1. large size (lump) and 2. low coke button.
I can vouch for sticking with large lumps only when hand firing high vol bit. Initially I tried some that was about the size of nut anthracite. That stuff was very difficult to control, kind of like all-or-nothing.
That's too bad that they're under that impression. It's a wrong impression. The levels of sulfur and other corrosive elements are similar between coals or slightly higher in bituminous, not enough to make a difference. You are right in that the soot offers some level of protection that anthracite does not. My big hand-fired stove that I've had for many years now has zero rust inside; a nice, smouldering sooty fire before I shut it down for the season is all I do - I do the same w/ my stoker.

 
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casino_boy
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Post by casino_boy » Sat. Nov. 09, 2013 10:56 am

I am burning sub bit pea coal from wolf moutain this year just cant pass up the cost saving's and it is delivered to me.
Burned bit coal last year from ski coal from aimes Iowa best yet better in my op than ant coal.
More heat and shorter lag time from refueling than the ant.
You just got to bank it in my stove.

 
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Post by Z-man » Sat. Jan. 25, 2014 2:27 pm

I burn High Volatile A (HVA) bit coal because that is what is locally available. It is mined in Durango, CO and is rated for 13800 to 14900 BTUs prepared. It has a lot of gasses to drive off so with HVA bit coal you will need secondary air like a wood stove to ensure that it burns off. If not you may see puffback/explosion when it does ignite. I use a TLC 2000 so I can supply top air to the fire. Ensure you have a flame when you load it. The volatiles will suck to the aflame and spontaneously combust. the stuff I burn is 11 to 15% ash so the coke button is low but it craps out a lot of ash. As mentioned before check the coke button.

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