How Deep of a Bituminous Bed??

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crzybowhntr
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Post by crzybowhntr » Sun. Dec. 27, 2015 7:12 pm

I`ve been told not to put a deep bed of bit coal in the furnace like I do for anthracite.

So, how much do you all put in at a time? I`m burning in an Energy King 480EK and it has a rather large box and it does have the shaker grates. The coal that I have ranges from just under nut size up to a few baseball sized pieces. I reads that a lot of you are using LARGER pieces and that you put it in like wood, but what do we folks that don't have a source for larger bit coal do?

 
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Hambden Bob
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Post by Hambden Bob » Sun. Dec. 27, 2015 7:18 pm

Greetings,Crazy ! Where are You in the State of West By God ? We may be able to help You find a source of larger sized Bit. Give these Bloodhounds a valid target,and You just won't believe how They'll Bust Hump to help 'Ya !! :dancing:

 
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SWPaDon
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Post by SWPaDon » Sun. Dec. 27, 2015 7:23 pm

I mound mine up in the middle, letting the hot coals exposed for the most part in the front and rear of the firebox. My total bed depth in the center is probably 10 inches or so, and the ends (which is mainly hot coals) are at about 7 to 8 inches. You will need to experiment with yours to see what it likes.

My coal is equivalet to 'stove' size in anthracite measurements, but I have a lot of fines, and small chunks in there also. Those are good for covering, or slowing down the burn if necessary.

 
crzybowhntr
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Post by crzybowhntr » Sun. Dec. 27, 2015 8:01 pm

I`m in the Salem, WV area.

Right now I have it going pretty good. It is up to top of firebrick in the back and comes down to nothing about 3/4 the way to the front. I found out what a puff back is!!! All is well :shock: :shock:

Also, when I poke at what looks like crust it is gooey like poking at marshmallows in spots. Is that the norm? I`ll have more questions soon.

THanks for the help SWPaDon


 
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SWPaDon
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Post by SWPaDon » Sun. Dec. 27, 2015 8:17 pm

Yes, that gooey stuff you see is normal if you poke a little too soon. I can tell you about puffbacks. I was using coal that was mined in Waynesburg, Pa. . That stuff was extremely volatile. One time I threw coal in, saw the glow amid the smoke, and turned just in time for a ball of fire to come out the load door..........seperate as it went around my midsection, then the flames met again in front of me traveling for several more feet. I've blown the pipe off my furnace more than once over the years.

If you could add 'Salem' to your profile, it would help members give you info a lot quicker.

 
crzybowhntr
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Post by crzybowhntr » Thu. Jan. 07, 2016 7:23 am

In case anyone else comes by later to read this...

I have found that I can make as deep of a bed as I want IF I add the coal in a layered process somewhat similar to adding anthy coal. The reason being is that I must have some high volatile coal and it needs to breath when being loaded. I have to keep my load door cracked a bit for about 10-15 minutes or the box becomes overwhelmed with smoke and creates "fun time" when I open the door to load more if I do that too fast. Last night I did exactly what others had suggested when loading and had no issues. I got a GOOD fire WITH flames going and I started loading a thin layer in the back and made it thicker as I came to the front of the stove (left door open a crack for a while until gasses slowed), making sure that the back of the stove still had a good flame going to burn the gasses off. Worked perfect and I had no issues. I tended the fire when my dog woke me at 2am to go out and found I had far less large ash clumps this morning and after 9 hours I still had a firebox temp of 225*.

 
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SWPaDon
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Post by SWPaDon » Fri. Jan. 08, 2016 7:31 am

crzybowhntr wrote:In case anyone else comes by later to read this...

I have found that I can make as deep of a bed as I want IF I add the coal in a layered process somewhat similar to adding anthy coal. The reason being is that I must have some high volatile coal and it needs to breath when being loaded. I have to keep my load door cracked a bit for about 10-15 minutes or the box becomes overwhelmed with smoke and creates "fun time" when I open the door to load more if I do that too fast. Last night I did exactly what others had suggested when loading and had no issues. I got a GOOD fire WITH flames going and I started loading a thin layer in the back and made it thicker as I came to the front of the stove (left door open a crack for a while until gasses slowed), making sure that the back of the stove still had a good flame going to burn the gasses off. Worked perfect and I had no issues. I tended the fire when my dog woke me at 2am to go out and found I had far less large ash clumps this morning and after 9 hours I still had a firebox temp of 225*.
Glad to hear you found a routine that appears to work for your stove.

If I keep my load door open for 15 minutes after loading, I have an overfire condition and puffbacks. The coal I'm using loves 'over the fire' air, and the worst part is, it never stops smoking. This is the worst coal I've ever had for smoke, and the soot levels are extremely high. The 2am tending you mentioned, is what has always worked best for my situation.

 
crzybowhntr
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Post by crzybowhntr » Fri. Jan. 08, 2016 8:17 am

Thanks.

Since you`re already up at 2am I`ll leave my basement door open for you to QUIETLY tend my furnace, too. :D


 
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SWPaDon
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Post by SWPaDon » Fri. Jan. 08, 2016 8:34 am

crzybowhntr wrote:Thanks.

Since you`re already up at 2am I`ll leave my basement door open for you to QUIETLY tend my furnace, too. :D
Leave cookies and Rum on the counter :clap: toothy

 
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Post by Smitty275 » Sat. Jan. 09, 2016 2:41 pm

I've found my stove to like it piled somewhat like a pyramid for smaller fires and like an upside down V going across the box for fires needing more output. I'd say about 10" deep is all the more I ever get.
I've had bit that made that gooey crust over top. If you let it go a little longer it'll get hard and you can crack it open and it'll go back to burning flames only not as bad as when its gooey. The coal I had like this was large stoker and egg.
The bit I've got this year is top cut lump. Very hard and brittle for some if it. It doesn't goo over. It gets a surface that looks like its covered in soot and then burn it off. Seem to like the smaller stuff to get going and then add the big stuff once the fire us established.
Weirdly it wants a lot of under fire air and about half the top air from last year's coal. Probably a 50/50 mix. Anything else I've burned wanted little to no under air and lots of over air.

 
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SWPaDon
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Post by SWPaDon » Sat. Jan. 09, 2016 3:00 pm

Smitty275 wrote:I've found my stove to like it piled somewhat like a pyramid for smaller fires and like an upside down V going across the box for fires needing more output. I'd say about 10" deep is all the more I ever get.
I've had bit that made that gooey crust over top. If you let it go a little longer it'll get hard and you can crack it open and it'll go back to burning flames only not as bad as when its gooey. The coal I had like this was large stoker and egg.
The bit I've got this year is top cut lump. Very hard and brittle for some if it. It doesn't goo over. It gets a surface that looks like its covered in soot and then burn it off. Seem to like the smaller stuff to get going and then add the big stuff once the fire us established.
Weirdly it wants a lot of under fire air and about half the top air from last year's coal. Probably a 50/50 mix. Anything else I've burned wanted little to no under air and lots of over air.
When I used the 'big vein' coal, it wanted the air underneath, as well as the coal I used last winter which they said may have been 'Pittsburgh' coal. I even modified and blocked off the over fire air on my furnace and it worked beautifully.
The coal I have now (unknown origin) but may be from the Waynesburg mine, will run away very quickly with 'over fire' air or 'underfire air' . I must keep all air turned way down. This coal is extremely smoky and sooty as well. It never stops smoking. I had to undo the modifications I made in order to use this coal.

 
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Post by voodoochylde » Sun. Jan. 17, 2016 3:44 pm

I keep my stove as full as I can. I tend to load small amounts quite often. This serves 2 purposes.

First, small amounts of coal limit the quantity of volatiles/soot/smoke the stove and flue have to deal with. I'm working through some very volatile stuff from Grand View and it tends to go nuclear if I feed lots at a time.

Second, it seems like overall combustion efficiency goes way up if I keep a deep bed of coke and red coals. I can have the stove door at 400 degrees but only read 180 on the skin of my smoke pipe 12" up.

Banking like you're doing works well if you've got coal that releases lots of volatiles during the first stage of its burn.

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