I have had problems with outfires in warm weather when the pump doesn't run much. If I run the pump constantly, I have far less problems but use more coal.
-Don
I have had problems with outfires in warm weather when the pump doesn't run much. If I run the pump constantly, I have far less problems but use more coal.
That's amazing usage, especially since your boiler is oversized by at least a factor of 4 lol. But I know you have more plans for it I used 6 tons over the cold months which is better than I expected.hotblast1357 wrote: ↑Sun. May. 15, 2022 9:01 amI circulate 24/7, never had an outfire, I only burnt 4 tons this last heating season.
That makes sense.. I think I have the outfire ordeal figured out to a set of circumstances. It seems to be about the overshoots.... and I'll explain. So since I've set the boiler to 1 degree differential, it will run often for just very short periods attempting to maintain that small differential, only overshooting 5-10 degrees. This works great, boiler runs once or twice an hour. Then, one of the kids comes along and takes a 20+ minute shower and gets the fire raging. After that, it overshoots 20-30 degrees. Then it takes 2 or 3 hours for the boiler to lose that heat and run again. During that time, if the fire is too thin or maybe it loses draft, not sure which or both, it will go out. I sped up the ashing to help keep the fire thicker.
Yeah, a couple noticeable things right off the bat. The feed tube is quite a bit quieter. It takes longer for the fire to ramp up to full output so the over shoots haven't been quite as severe or as often. The appearance of the ash seems that the coal is burning more completely, but this remains to be proven by the numbers. I'll be able to figure that in about 10 days.
To elaborate a little - this in conjunction with the 1 degree differential should get the boiler to run more often. This should aid with preventing outfires.
Your observations echo those in the Bureau of Mines report. Years ago another member on here switched to buck year-round and also eliminated the baro at the same time. Unless you need the full output of an AA130 or AA260 buck seems like the better choice.Lightning wrote: ↑Wed. May. 18, 2022 8:03 pmYeah, a couple noticeable things right off the bat. The feed tube is quite a bit quieter. It takes longer for the fire to ramp up to full output so the over shoots haven't been quite as severe or as often. The appearance of the ash seems that the coal is burning more completely, but this remains to be proven by the numbers. I'll be able to figure that in about 10 days.
Crap I just got 3 tons of buck for the KA6 last weekend and then got 1.5 tons of Pea for the future AA...I could have just gone all buck! Thanks for the insightRob R. wrote: ↑Fri. May. 20, 2022 6:47 amYour observations echo those in the Bureau of Mines report. Years ago another member on here switched to buck year-round and also eliminated the baro at the same time. Unless you need the full output of an AA130 or AA260 buck seems like the better choice.
Post by mikeandgerry - Just Lit up Buckwheat in the AA130 for the Season
No problem, whatever buck you have leftover (I assume the KA6 will be decommissioned?) you can mix in with the pea size for the Axe..Retro_Origin wrote: ↑Sat. May. 21, 2022 5:25 pmCrap I just got 3 tons of buck for the KA6 last weekend and then got 1.5 tons of Pea for the future AA...I could have just gone all buck! Thanks for the insight
Not totally sure on that actually, the KA6 is growing on me as far as it's epic simplicity and few moving parts. I'm actually considering doing a dual install so I can have both for a while and see which one I actually like more and if there really is any substantial efficiency difference, then sell one. I am glad I didn't go with the EFM my friend had because I bulk haul all my coal in truck and trailer and then shovel it into my shed and then later into buckets to take to the basement, too much opportunity for wood and foreign matter to get mixed in, with the small EFM auger I think I'd have to be a lot more careful keeping it clean.