Veteran anthracite user to bit……
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So I’ve burned a lot of anthracite in my Harman mk2. Since the price has doubled, I’m left thinking of burning bit. I know it’s dirty, but what else do I need to think about before making the decision?
Thanks
Thanks
- Lightning
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Before you commit to it you should try it. Like maybe 500 pounds worth. Bit will require more attention. Some of it can be tricky to burn. Your household members will not be happy if any smoke gets in the house. The bit I tried in the past smelled like a tire on a campfire.
It also requires more secondary combustion air. Does your stove have inlets for combustion air above the fire bed?
In my trials with bit coal it was a very scary experience if I added too much coal at one time. I thought I could just heave 40 pounds in and everything would be fine, bad decision lol. The fire went out of control on me. I had to put in a little at a time and tend to it often. The coal would seem to melt and congeal into a big single mass that would need to be broken into pieces between loadings.
Bit fires seem to peak and trough with heat output, kinda like a wood fire does. It's also very sooty and can/will clog the stove pipe.
It also requires more secondary combustion air. Does your stove have inlets for combustion air above the fire bed?
In my trials with bit coal it was a very scary experience if I added too much coal at one time. I thought I could just heave 40 pounds in and everything would be fine, bad decision lol. The fire went out of control on me. I had to put in a little at a time and tend to it often. The coal would seem to melt and congeal into a big single mass that would need to be broken into pieces between loadings.
Bit fires seem to peak and trough with heat output, kinda like a wood fire does. It's also very sooty and can/will clog the stove pipe.
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Good quality bit burns just fine- not quite smokeless but very good, crappy burns just like well crap can stink to high heaven and can make tons of ash.
Get it from known supplier/mine and should be good to go
Get it from known supplier/mine and should be good to go
Been burning bituminous for 40+ years and have no problems with it. It does have a
distinct smell which i don't mind.
It depends if you have the proper equipment to be able to utilize all the
volatile compounds from the coal. A bottom burner is the best to mix
and ignite them for complete combustion and a nice blue flame with no
carbon in the flue.See my other posts on blue flame burning.
I am going to sell my European boiler that does a good job at burning
any type of coal that I feed it twice a day in cold windy weather. I can
no longer service it at my age. It has about a 100,000 btu's of output
at ~85% efficiency with high quality hard or soft coal.
Most heating devices are not true base burners like these boilers which
are filled at the top door and it burns up from the bottom up as the fuel falls
into the hot base fire with the controlled burn and not all the coal is on
fire at once eliminating the smoke and carbon going up the chimney
un-burned.
For more info on base burners you need to look at ''Morning Glory"
which defines this type of device in more detail.
https://archive.org/details/morninggloryorig02lit ... 4/mode/2up
BigBarney
distinct smell which i don't mind.
It depends if you have the proper equipment to be able to utilize all the
volatile compounds from the coal. A bottom burner is the best to mix
and ignite them for complete combustion and a nice blue flame with no
carbon in the flue.See my other posts on blue flame burning.
I am going to sell my European boiler that does a good job at burning
any type of coal that I feed it twice a day in cold windy weather. I can
no longer service it at my age. It has about a 100,000 btu's of output
at ~85% efficiency with high quality hard or soft coal.
Most heating devices are not true base burners like these boilers which
are filled at the top door and it burns up from the bottom up as the fuel falls
into the hot base fire with the controlled burn and not all the coal is on
fire at once eliminating the smoke and carbon going up the chimney
un-burned.
For more info on base burners you need to look at ''Morning Glory"
which defines this type of device in more detail.
https://archive.org/details/morninggloryorig02lit ... 4/mode/2up
BigBarney
- carlherrnstein
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I completely agree that you should get some an try it before you buy tons of it. Just keep in mind the next load will probably be different.
- dbsuz05
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I burn both anthracite and bituminous But….. You need a big firebox to burn bit and get good heat output. And you need overfire air adjustment on your loading door. Emphasis on overfire air!! It’s not like anthracite that is happy getting air from the ash door only. And yes it takes more effort. And yes it stinks and yes it makes a huge amount of ashes!!! And yes that’s what I’m burning this year instead of my aa130 because price has gone out of control.
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Why a big fire box for bit? Do you need more in it?dbsuz05 wrote: ↑Sat. Oct. 22, 2022 8:50 pmI burn both anthracite and bituminous But….. You need a big firebox to burn bit and get good heat output. And you need overfire air adjustment on your loading door. Emphasis on overfire air!! It’s not like anthracite that is happy getting air from the ash door only. And yes it takes more effort. And yes it stinks and yes it makes a huge amount of ashes!!! And yes that’s what I’m burning this year instead of my aa130 because price has gone out of control.
- dbsuz05
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Yes. You need more volume! There are many sizes of bit though. So…. From run of mine. Which is like sand with boulders mixed in. To pea. To chestnut. To maybe even softball sized pieces. You have to be able to determine what size you need for each month. At least that’s how I do it. It’s not just set and forget like hard coal. Over time many find they just use the nut size. Others need the large tennis ball size coal. You figure that out by how much your chimney drafts. How to use your mdp damper. If you have hot air or if your heating a big ol’ home with huge radiators.
And always… the bigger firebox, the more you can throw on and choke it down for a decent heat output even with 150 lbs in the firebox.
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Ok, your help is needed over in the guidance for a.novice thread. I'm not tech savvy enough to put in a link, sorry.dbsuz05 wrote: ↑Sat. Oct. 22, 2022 9:10 pmYes. You need more volume! There are many sizes of bit though. So…. From run of mine. Which is like sand with boulders mixed in. To pea. To chestnut. To maybe even softball sized pieces. You have to be able to determine what size you need for each month. At least that’s how I do it. It’s not just set and forget like hard coal. Over time many find they just use the nut size. Others need the large tennis ball size coal. You figure that out by how much your chimney drafts. How to use your mdp damper. If you have hot air or if your heating a big ol’ home with huge radiators.
And always… the bigger firebox, the more you can throw on and choke it down for a decent heat output even with 150 lbs in the firebox.
- dbsuz05
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That’ll have to get squared away with the person that asked the question I guess. When ya want knowledge…. You’ll search it out!!!waytomany?s wrote: ↑Sat. Oct. 22, 2022 9:13 pmOk, your help is needed over in the guidance for a.novice thread. I'm not tech savvy enough to put in a link, sorry.
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- carlherrnstein
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Bituminous isn't sized like anthracite. There's "pea stoker" (1/4" bottom size 1" top size) "industrial stoker" (somewhat larger than pea, I haven't seen any) "egg" (chicken egg to softball sized) and "lump" (beach ball sized and smaller) egg or lump is what you want, lump is difficult to handle with a shovel.
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How do you use it/handle it then?carlherrnstein wrote: ↑Sat. Oct. 22, 2022 9:41 pmBituminous isn't sized like anthracite. There's "pea stoker" (1/4" bottom size 1" top size) "industrial stoker" (somewhat larger than pea, I haven't seen any) "egg" (chicken egg to softball sized) and "lump" (beach ball sized and smaller) egg or lump is what you want, lump is difficult to handle with a shovel.
- carlherrnstein
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Pick it up piece by piece, I personally prefer egg coal just because it can be shoveled without too much fussing. I will say football size with some smaller pieces mixed in works better. Stoking lump is kinda like burning wood cause you have to place the pieces egg isn't as picky.