AHS question

Trumpeterb · Post by **Trumpeterb** » Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 8:42 am

Something happened yesterday for the first time since installing my AHS130. I happened to be in the garage when the boiler kicked on, and I noticed a strange sound coming from the stovepipe. Almost sounded like a tapping from inside the pipe. I shut the boiler off, opened the garage doors and windows for ventilation, and pulled the stovepipe. I ended up dumping half of a 5-gallon bucket worth of black coarse fly ash out of the pipe, and then removed an additional shop vac full out of the boiler exhaust and the separator cone inside the boiler. After reassembly, everything was fine and working properly. I clean the boiler 2 times per year, and I have never seen this type of buildup before—frankly I am glad it didn’t cause an explosion. Has anyone else experienced this or know what might cause the cone to become so clogged?

Post by **Lightning** » Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 11:02 am

I've had this happen with my Axeman. I believe that a piece of debris blocked the bottom of the cone in the separator. Then fly ash and raw coal dust/sand wasn't able to drain onto the ash sled. It was likely a piece of scale off the boiler wall that caused the blockage.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 11:15 am

That’s a lot of fines!

Clearing or cleaning up what you found and seen was a must.

Now what about the fines you did not find and clean up? What does your swirl chamber look like?

Trumpeterb · Post by **Trumpeterb** » Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 11:20 am

McGiever wrote: ↑
Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 11:15 am
That’s a lot of fines!

Clearing or cleaning up what you found and seen was a must.

Now what about the fines you did not find and clean up? What does your swirl chamber look like?

I didn’t open that part of the boiler as it is still hot. Didn’t want to get burned or have any additional direct access to the CO coming from the fire. We will be shutting down in April to clean the thing completely, so I am hoping to monitor it until then.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 11:26 am

Trumpeterb wrote: ↑
Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 11:20 am
I didn’t open that part of the boiler as it is still hot. Didn’t want to get burned or have any additional direct access to the CO coming from the fire. We will be shutting down in April to clean the thing completely, so I am hoping to monitor it until then.

Absolutely!

FirstcoalstokerRon · Post by **FirstcoalstokerRon** » Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 12:27 pm

Trumpeterb wrote: ↑
Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 8:42 am
Something happened yesterday for the first time since installing my AHS130. I happened to be in the garage when the boiler kicked on, and I noticed a strange sound coming from the stovepipe. Almost sounded like a tapping from inside the pipe. I shut the boiler off, opened the garage doors and windows for ventilation, and pulled the stovepipe. I ended up dumping half of a 5-gallon bucket worth of black coarse fly ash out of the pipe, and then removed an additional shop vac full out of the boiler exhaust and the separator cone inside the boiler. After reassembly, everything was fine and working properly. I clean the boiler 2 times per year, and I have never seen this type of buildup before—frankly I am glad it didn’t cause an explosion. Has anyone else experienced this or know what might cause the cone to become so clogged?

As Trumpeterb asked, does anyone know what causes the course fly ash he and I found in our AHS S-130 stove pipes?

lzaharis · Post by **lzaharis** » Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 1:06 pm

What Trumpeterb described is what is referred to as siltation where heavy material in a pipeline carrying semi solids like dredge cuttings eventually falls out of a water stream and begins to collect at the lowest point of a floating dredge pipeline which is referred to as the concave portion of a pipe and over time begins to collect more and more material like clay silt and fly ash and reduces the efficiency of a pipe carrying liquids with solids or flue pipes.

Plainly, junk just collects and builds up like lint in a clothes dryer exhaust pipe or clothes dryer flexible tubing.

Post by **Lightning** » Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 1:37 pm

FirstcoalstokerRon wrote: ↑
Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 12:27 pm
As Trumpeterb asked, does anyone know what causes the course fly ash he and I found in our AHS S-130 stove pipes?

Technically its not all fly ash.. its fly ash mixed with raw coal dust/sand. As coal tumbles down from the transfer head into the burn chamber the fan inhales some raw coal dust/sand before the fire has an opportunity to burn it. This is how coal dust/sand bypasses the fire and makes its way into the exhaust stream. The cyclonic separator claims pretty much all of the heavier sand and most of the dust but a small amount of the lightest particles (raw coal dust/powder) doesn't fall into the cone, they instead gets pushed into the stove pipe. And if that cone gets blocked all of that stuff gets sent into the stove pipe. It only took burning a half ton or less to fill my stove pipe with debris when my cone got a blockage.

FirstcoalstokerRon · Post by **FirstcoalstokerRon** » Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 3:09 pm

As my stove pipe between my boiler and the chimney has a lot of the black ash any idea what i can do about it?

Post by **Rob R.** » Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 4:25 pm

FirstcoalstokerRon wrote: ↑
Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 3:09 pm
As my stove pipe between my boiler and the chimney has a lot of the black ash any idea what i can do about it?

What size is your flue pipe?

lzaharis · Post by **lzaharis** » Thu. Mar. 03, 2022 9:44 am

Hello Ron,

If you have the room to install a U pipe to allow the coal fines to fall out you can collect them using a Tee at the bottom of the U
and simply use a 5 inch to 4 inch reducer with a cap to just let it drop into a bucket and then get rid of them or gradually use them in the boiler over time or use the coal fines as driveway grit.

The first section of flue pipe exiting the boiler flue will be the only one where the coal dust is accumulating making the cleaning easier with a five inch steel bristle stove brush.

FirstcoalstokerRon · Post by **FirstcoalstokerRon** » Thu. Mar. 03, 2022 3:05 pm

Rob R. wrote: ↑
Wed. Mar. 02, 2022 4:25 pm
What size is your flue pipe?

My stove pipe goes from 5 inch at the boiler to 6 inch then out into my chimney, the horizonal pipe has a lot of black stuff in it. As the pipe and the boiler are hot I am scared to try and remove it until I shut my boiler down in the spring, will it be safe until then? As always I will say thanks for the help!!

Post by **Lightning** » Thu. Mar. 03, 2022 6:00 pm

FirstcoalstokerRon wrote: ↑
Thu. Mar. 03, 2022 3:05 pm
I am scared to try and remove it until I shut my boiler down

I disconnected the stove pipe, dumped it out and vacuumed out the cyclonic separator without shutting my Axe down.. it can be done, just have everything ready to do the job in place.. kill the power so it can't run while you have the pipe off. Try to keep the complete job down to 15 minutes.

....and it wouldn't hurt to open windows to provide some ventilation in the boiler room.

FirstcoalstokerRon · Post by **FirstcoalstokerRon** » Tue. Mar. 08, 2022 2:33 pm

Can I clean the stove pipe with the fire still burning if I shut down the fan?

Post by **Lightning** » Tue. Mar. 08, 2022 2:59 pm

FirstcoalstokerRon wrote: ↑
Tue. Mar. 08, 2022 2:33 pm
Can I clean the stove pipe with the fire still burning if I shut down the fan?

I did it that way with my Axeman.. just follow the directions I listed in the previous post..