Coalpail.com Forum

Here's a short video of the KAA-4 burning buck. It's very close to a full fire...

Nice video clip! It's hard to get pics/video of such a bright fire. Have to be careful not to cook the camera

Does it look like you have too much combustion air? How is your coal usage?

I'll see if I can get down and take a video of my KA-6 for comparison. Maybe it is the same? I can't remember....LOL

CoalisCoolxWarm wrote: ↑

Sun. Dec. 08, 2019 10:22 am

Nice video clip! It's hard to get pics/video of such a bright fire. Have to be careful not to cook the camera

Does it look like you have too much combustion air? How is your coal usage?

I'll see if I can get down and take a video of my KA-6 for comparison. Maybe it is the same? I can't remember....LOL

Definitely gets hot if you get the camera too close...

I burn right at 6.5 lbs per hour and do not get any clinkers in the ash pan so I don't think it's too much air. I have an over fire draft of -.02 to -.0225 and it jumps to -.05 after the combustion fan shuts off.

Might just look that way since it's all buck which let's more air through than rice.

I appreciate this. I’ve been burning Rice in mine, but I have 2 tons of Blaschak Buck that I want to burn when it gets really cold in Jan/Feb.

P.johnson14 wrote: ↑

Sun. Dec. 08, 2019 5:21 pm

I appreciate this. I’ve been burning Rice in mine, but I have 2 tons of Blaschak Buck that I want to burn when it gets really cold in Jan/Feb.

You'll probably need to turn up your feed a half to a full turn once you switch to buck. My Keystoker sure likes it!

nepacoal wrote: ↑

Sun. Dec. 08, 2019 5:38 pm

You'll probably need to turn up your feed a half to a full turn once you switch to buck. My Keystoker sure likes it!

I burn rice in my keystoker. If you go full turn on feed rate to burn buck, you are burning more for the same results, no?

Qtown1835 wrote: ↑

Sun. Dec. 08, 2019 8:50 pm

I burn rice in my keystoker. If you go full turn on feed rate to burn buck, you are burning more for the same results, no?

Anthracite is usually considered in lbs as the BTU's are pretty steady. Buck is packed less together, so less dense = less coal per volume.

So a bit more feed rate *can* equal the same amount of coal, but not necessarily (lots of factors).

Consider the inverse. If you go from buck to rice, you slow down the feed rate because there is *more* (densely packed) coal per stroke.

Make sense?

nepacoal wrote: ↑

Sun. Dec. 08, 2019 10:50 am

Might just look that way since it's all buck which let's more air through than rice.

I got a chance to sneak down to the boiler, but wouldn't you know it...just idling. I change the ashes. Still idling. LOL.

I was out, so missed the girls showering and hot water usage. That likely would have kicked it on.

I'll post it up when I get one tomorrow

CoalisCoolxWarm wrote: ↑

Sun. Dec. 08, 2019 10:45 pm

Anthracite is usually considered in lbs as the BTU's are pretty steady. Buck is packed less together, so less dense = less coal per volume.

So a bit more feed rate *can* equal the same amount of coal, but not necessarily (lots of factors).

Consider the inverse. If you go from buck to rice, you slow down the feed rate because there is *more* (densely packed) coal per stroke.

Make sense?

Good point. Have you always burned buck in the keystoker? When i get a full burn my entire grate is burning, the ways yours looks is if it just work up from idle. I wonder if my rice bruns back faster than buck? I will try to get a pic

The first year I burned a mix of buck and rice... The last two years I have burned straight buck. The boiler seems to recover faster and has a little more BTUs available. My idle looks like a small orange glow about 1.5 inches wide. Takes a good half hour of running or a little longer to get to the last row of holes.

If you have a full grate all the way to the end, dropping hot coals, the feed is too high. My fire line turns to ash right at the last set of holes or maybe just past the last set of holes.

Q,
You have the old KA-4... I doubt the hole pattern is the same on the slanted grate versus the flat grate...

Qtown1835 wrote: ↑

Sun. Dec. 08, 2019 8:50 pm

If you go full turn on feed rate to burn buck, you are burning more for the same results, no?

No, I think the point is that the improved air flow with buck allows you to burn somewhat more coal and put more btu's into the boiler when needed during the coldest parts of the season. Rice may idle better during shoulder periods, when max output generally isn't required.

Mike

nepacoal wrote: ↑

Mon. Dec. 09, 2019 10:25 am

Q,
You have the old KA-4... I doubt the hole pattern is the same on the slanted grate versus the flat grate...

Oh ok. I do have updated grate castings that deleted about 4 rows of holes closest to the hopper from the originals. When i get a fullt burn the entire bed, where the holes are, is burning. I do have about 1.5" of dead ash. I may get a few bags to run thru to see how it does, just for fun.

I have been burning nothing but rice Anthracite Coal this year and I started the stoker at 7 threads out again this year. My hold fire timer is running 14 minutes in every 30 minute(4/3/4/3) cycle.

I burn a bit more coal and I have not have had an out fire unless the spouse forgets to turn the combustion fan back on after changing ash buckets.

I am using 150 low 170 high and I have yet to run out of heat so far.

Since we began the heating season we have had many nights where I may have had a gallon of ash in the 4 gallon bucket from the whole night of burning and in saying that we had no high winds but the barometer was stuck at 29.2 Millibars for a couple of days.

As long as I can keep supporting Pennsylvania Anthracite miners life is good.

Why do you shut off the fan when changing the ash tub?