AA130

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Wed. Jun. 20, 2018 8:20 pm

A sustained coal fire with zero draft and no induced fan intervention does not seem possible. Is your CO detector going off intermittently?


 
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hotblast1357
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Post by hotblast1357 » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 5:05 am

There is no CO detector, it’s in its own building.

 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 9:12 am

Zero draft is likely over stated...There can be no measurable draft and yet still be 'some' draft present.
It is akin to 'hibernation' and, under the right conditions, this can be sustained as witnessed here. :)
Last edited by McGiever on Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 9:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 9:16 am

I expect the larger fire of a 260 is harder to kill than a 130. I can remember several people struggling with outfires in 130s over the last 10 years, but no one with a 260.

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 9:40 am

Rob R. wrote:
Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 9:16 am
I expect the larger fire of a 260 is harder to kill than a 130. I can remember several people struggling with outfires in 130s over the last 10 years, but no one with a 260.
Very good point!

 
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coaledsweat
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Post by coaledsweat » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 10:36 am

Rob R. wrote:
Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 9:16 am
I expect the larger fire of a 260 is harder to kill than a 130. I can remember several people struggling with outfires in 130s over the last 10 years, but no one with a 260.
Greg (LsFarm) had big problems when he started his 260 IIRC. It all stemmed from starting the fire right on the grate instead of a half filled with ash fire tube.

 
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hotblast1357
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Post by hotblast1357 » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 10:57 am

McGiever wrote:
Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 9:12 am
Zero draft is likely over stated...There can be no measurable draft and yet still be 'some' draft present.
It is akin to 'hibernation' and, under the right conditions, this can be sustained as witnessed here. :)
Zero out the magnehelic gauge, hook it up, says 0.

Your right though, it might be .0001.


 
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hotblast1357
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Post by hotblast1357 » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 10:58 am

coaledsweat wrote:
Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 10:36 am
Greg (LsFarm) had big problems when he started his 260 IIRC. It all stemmed from starting the fire right on the grate instead of a half filled with ash fire tube.
I will say, I used no ash when I fired, I simply filled with coal, shoved charcoal in, torched it, and turned the fan on. That was October of 17.

 
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Post by hotblast1357 » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 10:59 am

Rob R. wrote:
Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 9:16 am
I expect the larger fire of a 260 is harder to kill than a 130. I can remember several people struggling with outfires in 130s over the last 10 years, but no one with a 260.
Yes it is a huge mass!

 
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Post by lsayre » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 11:15 am

I've alternated between adding ash first or just pouring coal in on start-up, and I don't notice any real difference.

 
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Post by hotblast1357 » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 11:30 am

Just a little spent coal, that’s it.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 11:49 am

coaledsweat wrote:
Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 10:36 am
Greg (LsFarm) had big problems when he started his 260 IIRC. It all stemmed from starting the fire right on the grate instead of a half filled with ash fire tube.
Yes, he had a lot of issues with unburned coal around the edge. I don't remember it going out though.

 
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Post by McGiever » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 2:09 pm

lsayre wrote:
Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 11:15 am
I've alternated between adding ash first or just pouring coal in on start-up, and I don't notice any real difference.
Not clear on the "just pouring coal in" method. Could you explain in detail?... :annoyed:

Begin with a clean/cleared grate?

Hopper pre-filled or, some slowly added coal manually during the start-up process?

Where is the starter placed in relationship to everything?

Grate not engaged for some certain period of time or just watch for some visual cue?

Do you get some ejected un-burnt coal until the fire gets lowered by the ashing grate?

Does this work equally well after a summer shut down as one during the winter?

Do certain start-ups mandate running a bit of DHW down a drain for a specific period to create a sizable artificial load?

Do digital control set points remain the same as always, nothing different needs adjusting?

The devil is in the details, as they say. ;)

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 3:23 pm

McGiever wrote:
Thu. Jun. 21, 2018 2:09 pm
Not clear on the "just pouring coal in" method. Could you explain in detail?... :annoyed:
I start with it completely empty. Add about 8.5 x 40 Lb. pails of fresh pea to completely fill it (boiler and hopper). Then jam in 10-12 briquette sized (give or take) chunks of lump charcoal, turn on the fan (with the ash switch off) and light the charcoal with a Burnz-O-Matic type torch. After the boilers temperature reaches 160 degrees, I run DHW down the drain at about 2.5 GPM and let the boiler fight against the DHW until it reaches fan cut-off temperature (which for me is 180 degrees). Then a few hours later I flip on the ashing grate motors power switch. The ash grate motor only runs if the fan is on and the grate temperature is below my 105 degree set-point. By the time I flip the ash grate switch to "ON" the grate is above my set-point, and if it isn't, I wait until it is before I flip the switch to "ON". I don't want ashing to occur at this juncture, but I don't ever want to go to bed without the ash switch set to the "ON" position either.

 
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Post by StokerDon » Sat. Jun. 23, 2018 9:04 am

While we are on the subject of how to start a fire in an Axeman Anderson, I found the thread posted by LsFarm (Greg). This thread describes in detail what the cause of his problem was.
Post by LsFarm - Axeman Anderson 260M Success.. Finally

It is very likely that this problem is related to the 260 only. So you AA and AHS / Eshland 260 guys should read it for your own situational awareness.

-Don


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