Hotblast Year 5

 
larryfoster
Member
Posts: 1352
Joined: Fri. Nov. 21, 2014 1:02 am
Location: Armstrong County, Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 617-B
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Hot Blast 1557M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous nut (me and the coal)
Other Heating: Propane Kerosene

Post by larryfoster » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 8:44 pm

Not sure if it will be Perils of Pauline or Happy Days.
Just have to wait and see.

Didn't fire up until Sunday 11/11 primarily because I didn't have any coal
Propane was burning steadily for more than two weeks.
Just had 5 tons delivered yesterday and it looks pretty nice.
Lumps the size of limes.

Seems to burn well, too.

Always nervous getting coal because if you get a bad batch, what do you do with it?

Al Gore (Lying Politician) promised global warming and I had trouble seeing a downside to it.
Not supposed to get out of the 30s for highs for at least a week.

Made no mods to the furnace but sided the house this summer.
Had it wrapped under the siding.
Not a terribly good insulator but should really help with infiltration.

New windows last year.

Eventually, I hope to learn how to regulate the heat a little better.
Right now, it's pretty warm.
About as warm as I'd like it.

Manometer was running about 9 when I had it fired hard and all dampers open.
I have it about 4-5 right now.

As much as I've hated the stove and coal in years past, it does feel good.
And the wife is warm, too.

(Happy wife, happy life) 8-)


 
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CoalisCoolxWarm
Member
Posts: 2323
Joined: Wed. Jan. 19, 2011 11:41 am
Location: Western PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: old Sears rebuilt, bituminous- offline as of winter 2014
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite Buckwheat
Other Heating: Oil Boiler

Post by CoalisCoolxWarm » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 10:43 pm

Hi Larry! Glad you are still alive and burning coal...you know from past years, there were times I wondered if your head might explode from frustration, LOL.

So it sounds like you are getting good coal and good heat now? AWESOME!

Care to give us a quick rundown of the improvements/changes you made that got you from frustrated to warm? Good way to start a thread ;)

 
larryfoster
Member
Posts: 1352
Joined: Fri. Nov. 21, 2014 1:02 am
Location: Armstrong County, Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 617-B
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Hot Blast 1557M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous nut (me and the coal)
Other Heating: Propane Kerosene

Post by larryfoster » Wed. Nov. 14, 2018 6:41 am

It may be a little early to claim success, yet.

I think the coal was (mostly) ok before, CoalisCoolxWarm.
One problem with the coal was inconsistency in size.

Nut coal seems to give me the best results.
Of the three loads prior, one was ok, one was unscreened and had everything from powder to lumps the size of basketballs, and one had an inordinate amount of fines.

My 8'X16' coal bin has a 12"-18" floor of packed coal dust.

I had a heart to heart with my hauler before this load.

If there is anything that finally helped, it was learning better how to tend it.

My curved poker was a great help in keeping my grates clean and moving hot coals around.

Keeping the chimney cleaned to preserve my marginal draw. This is much easier with my drill attachment.
I don't need to get on the roof anymore to clean.
From start to finish, tearing apart and putting back together is way less than an hour.

Over the years, I got a lot of good advice and it is greatly appreciated.
In the end, I'm not sure all of it was pertinent to my situation and some was contradictory.

My Hotblast isn't a Cadillac and I haven't been giving it the top shelf stuff.

But, it may be more like a Chevy running regular and not high test.

I still think I can figure out the dampers better

 
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Lightning
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Posts: 14658
Joined: Wed. Nov. 16, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Olean, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite

Post by Lightning » Wed. Nov. 14, 2018 2:15 pm

Nice to have ya back around Larry, good luck with keeping warm this winter :)

 
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warminmn
Member
Posts: 8108
Joined: Tue. Feb. 08, 2011 5:59 pm
Location: Land of 11,842 lakes
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Junior, Efel Nestor Martin, Riteway 37
Coal Size/Type: nut and stove anthracite, lignite
Other Heating: Wood and wear a wool shirt

Post by warminmn » Wed. Nov. 14, 2018 3:01 pm

Thanks in advance for another season of reading :lol: Im sure there are a few people in your situation that you have helped, people that dont post online, and those that do. We all learn from our mistakes and from trial and error, and from others.

 
larryfoster
Member
Posts: 1352
Joined: Fri. Nov. 21, 2014 1:02 am
Location: Armstrong County, Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 617-B
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Hot Blast 1557M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous nut (me and the coal)
Other Heating: Propane Kerosene

Post by larryfoster » Wed. Nov. 14, 2018 4:39 pm

Thanks.
It's great that there is a place like this and so many giving helpful people.

I hope my ineptitude may have helped someone. else.
There was a lot of info in all those pages and posts

 
larryfoster
Member
Posts: 1352
Joined: Fri. Nov. 21, 2014 1:02 am
Location: Armstrong County, Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 617-B
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Hot Blast 1557M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous nut (me and the coal)
Other Heating: Propane Kerosene

Post by larryfoster » Sun. Nov. 18, 2018 12:11 pm

Today, I really, really love my Hotblast.

We lost all power due to ice storms a few days ago.
No electric from 10 PM Thursday evening until 7 PM last night.

Even though there were no blowers to push the air, we were quite comfortable with gravity air.

That's a good thing to know.
It wasn't frigid but 30ish during the day and 20s at night


 
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Lightning
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Posts: 14658
Joined: Wed. Nov. 16, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Olean, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite

Post by Lightning » Sun. Nov. 18, 2018 12:16 pm

Yup, I've had to do the same thing for short term power outages. I pull the filter out so the air can gravity feed freely and turn down the fire as to not overheat the furnace and duct work too much. It will keep the house 60+ with temps of 25-30 outside.

 
larryfoster
Member
Posts: 1352
Joined: Fri. Nov. 21, 2014 1:02 am
Location: Armstrong County, Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 617-B
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Hot Blast 1557M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous nut (me and the coal)
Other Heating: Propane Kerosene

Post by larryfoster » Sun. Nov. 18, 2018 12:34 pm

I didn't know to do that.
Thanks

:D

 
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CoalisCoolxWarm
Member
Posts: 2323
Joined: Wed. Jan. 19, 2011 11:41 am
Location: Western PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: old Sears rebuilt, bituminous- offline as of winter 2014
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite Buckwheat
Other Heating: Oil Boiler

Post by CoalisCoolxWarm » Sun. Nov. 18, 2018 1:34 pm

Quite a pleasant change for your furnace, Larry!
Glad everyone can stay warm during power outages. Our stoker needs a backup power system this year. Propane is our backup that doesn't require electricity.

Always need to have a backup heating system ready. Never know ;)

 
larryfoster
Member
Posts: 1352
Joined: Fri. Nov. 21, 2014 1:02 am
Location: Armstrong County, Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 617-B
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Hot Blast 1557M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous nut (me and the coal)
Other Heating: Propane Kerosene

Post by larryfoster » Sun. Nov. 18, 2018 1:38 pm

I'm pleased with how well it did.

Of course, no arctic winds blasting either

 
larryfoster
Member
Posts: 1352
Joined: Fri. Nov. 21, 2014 1:02 am
Location: Armstrong County, Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 617-B
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Hot Blast 1557M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous nut (me and the coal)
Other Heating: Propane Kerosene

Post by larryfoster » Mon. Nov. 19, 2018 1:34 pm

At this point, I have the opposite problem that I started with years ago.

How do I make my house not so hot?

The last few nights, when I'm getting the furnace ready for bed, I'm almost sweating and sleep with no covers.
After shaking it down and pushing all the hot coals to the back, I fill the front so it will burn to the front by morning.

In the past I would leave the ash door damper 4 turns open on a set it and forget it.
The MPD is 1/2 to 3/4 closed.
I've tried to close the bottom by 1/2 turn and then a whole turn.

Not sure what that does.
Any suggestions, as always, are appreciated.

Maybe this problem goes away when it gets colder?

 
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Lightning
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Joined: Wed. Nov. 16, 2011 9:51 am
Location: Olean, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite

Post by Lightning » Mon. Nov. 19, 2018 2:34 pm

Maybe you have a better batch of coal this year. The only thing I can think of is to keep turning down the primary air till it's more comfortable for ya.

 
corey
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Posts: 1035
Joined: Fri. Nov. 14, 2014 11:14 am
Location: Southwest VA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Buck Stove Hybrid
Coal Size/Type: Eastern KY bituminous

Post by corey » Mon. Nov. 19, 2018 3:04 pm

Hey Larry.

Glad all is well.

 
larryfoster
Member
Posts: 1352
Joined: Fri. Nov. 21, 2014 1:02 am
Location: Armstrong County, Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 617-B
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Hot Blast 1557M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous nut (me and the coal)
Other Heating: Propane Kerosene

Post by larryfoster » Mon. Nov. 19, 2018 6:45 pm

Hey, corey.

Lightning, I think it's the same coal as previously but I got a consistent sized nut this time.
I had a heart to heart with my hauler before he brought the load.

I was worried that, if I necked it down too much, it would hinder combustion and, I don't know, increase a chance for carbon monoxide


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