KA-6 Ashes, feed and air settings

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 3:08 pm

Retro_Origin wrote:
Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 8:08 am
Confusion is mine! Clinkers be good, be them divine?
The Axe is indifferent to clinkers.. Clinkers are a good sign that you have an appropriate heat demand for it to chew on 🙂

 
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Retro_Origin
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Post by Retro_Origin » Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 3:35 pm

Guys this thread is about my keystoker, stop trying to guilt me into going out in the freezing cold chicken coop to work on my axe cadaver, and stop trying to convince me it's better than my keystoker because convincing my wife I should move it into the house is the real conundrum...just tell me what I want to hear...

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 4:03 pm

Retro_Origin wrote:
Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 3:35 pm
convince me it's better than my keystoker because convincing my wife I should move it into the house is the real conundrum...just tell me what I want to hear...
Ok... lol.. the Axe is a really neat piece of mechanical engineering. At the time of its birth in the 1940's it was the pinnacle of residential coal heating appliances.. so much so that its still sought after in the 2020s. Its design is durable, efficient and has stood the test of time. What's more is that today's technology can be incorporated into it to make it even more efficient, reliable and fun to use. Run this by the wife and you'll be good to go :lol:

 
Pacowy
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Post by Pacowy » Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 4:45 pm

Not sure who declared AA to be "the pinnacle of residential coal heating appliances". Late and esteemed forum member whistlenut once told me that from his (extensive) experience running anthracite equipment from different mfgrs, he would vote for AA as "Most Likely to Still be Running After a Long Time with No Maintenance", and EFM as "Best Controls to Ensure Efficient Burn". Not sure where he stood on other performance attributes or mfgrs, but obviously many mfgrs besides AA and EFM have sold a lot of good coal equipment.

Mike


 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 5:20 pm

Pacowy wrote:
Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 4:45 pm
Not sure who declared AA to be "the pinnacle of residential coal heating appliances".
Oh.. that was probably just me :lol:

And yes I admit I don't have the vast experience with other coal equipment to say so.. :D

 
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Retro_Origin
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Post by Retro_Origin » Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 6:55 pm

Lightning wrote:
Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 4:03 pm
....more efficient, reliable and fun to use....Run this by the wife and you'll be good to go :lol:
She would fully enjoy stumbling around the basement with a shovel, ash tub, mining lamp, donkey ...all for a few dollars savings!

I think most men are too proud to admit our wives are more sensible and practical than we are. This isn't a complaint about my wife, moreso an admission to her less emotional, less obsessive decision making!! lol!

And as far as 'what stoker is better'...well whichever one you decide...there's no absolute truth anymore! We've evolved past that! :lol: :lol: :roll: :roll:

 
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Post by Jerrybro » Sat. Jan. 08, 2022 10:06 pm

We all need someone to ask us how much effort we are willing to expend to save that dime.

 
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Retro_Origin
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Post by Retro_Origin » Tue. Jan. 11, 2022 6:51 pm

So maybe some more advice:
Past few days been in the teens overnight, today I don't think it got above 20, in 24 hrs burnt thru 116 lbs. Isn't too bad considering my whole house is uninsulated and the whole thing is just one zone. T-stat downstairs is set to 73 but since it's pretty drafty down there the upstairs usually gets into the 80's...literally sitting at my computer sweating!
Anywho this summer I'll do a second zone, but I have some clinkers still forming at the end of the grate causing some rolling of the bed and it's not very consistent thickness, though about 2" or sometimes a little less from the edge. I think I'm going to leave it unless anyone has some other advice, air shutter is all but closed and I had increased the feed half turn because it was struggling to keep up.

116lbs/17 lbs ash / 17hr circ time = 14.5% ash still, 6.8 lbs / hr.
Boiler keeps up nice but I'd take any quick hacks to try to reduce heat going upstairs as much, closed up the dampers on the finned baseboards and the two available balancing valves are a little old and crispy so I'm a little nervous to touch them, although I did back the one out a little that controls the return from the downstairs, didn't notice any difference.


 
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CoalisCoolxWarm
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Post by CoalisCoolxWarm » Tue. Jan. 11, 2022 7:28 pm

For those wondering, guess this is a good place to put this.

Excerpt:
Coal, anthracite broken weighs 856.187 kg/m³ (53.45001 lb/ft³)
Coal, anthracite broken, red-ash weighs 829.756 kg/m³ (51.79997 lb/ft³)
Coal, anthracite broken, red-ash, buckwheat-size weighs 808.932 kg/m³ (50.49998 lb/ft³)
Coal, anthracite broken, red-ash, chestnut-size weighs 832.96 kg/m³ (51.99999 lb/ft³)
Coal, anthracite broken, red-ash, egg-size weighs 848.979 kg/m³ (53.00003 lb/ft³)

Source: https://www.aqua-calc.com/calculate/volume-to-wei ... lank-solid

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Jan. 11, 2022 7:35 pm

The upstairs is hot because the warm air is leaking out of the second story and drawing cold air in the basement/first floor. This is known as the stack effect.

Air sealing is the real fix, but you could try hanging a blanket in the stairwell going upstairs.

 
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Retro_Origin
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Post by Retro_Origin » Tue. Jan. 11, 2022 9:33 pm

Rob R. wrote:
Tue. Jan. 11, 2022 7:35 pm
The upstairs is hot because the warm air is leaking out of the second story and drawing cold air in the basement/first floor. This is known as the stack effect.

Air sealing is the real fix, but you could try hanging a blanket in the stairwell going upstairs.
So this is different than just 'heat migrating upstairs thru the stairwell' (which never seems to happen when you want it to)...thanks, I'll try that, I don't think I would have thought about the relationship between floors in a million years.

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