How to Shake Buderus G201 Coal Boiler?

This fall I installed a Buderus G201 Logano Wood and Coal Boiler. I have just converted from wood to coal and don't know if my boiler has a shaker or rocker for cleaning out the coal ash. The coal fire burns great for a day or so then I have problems keeping it burning. I am pretty sure that the air supply is getting choked by ash collecting in the grate slots. All of the videos and posts that I have seen mention a shaker or rocker. Either this boiler doesn't have a shaker or I just don't know where it is or how to operate it.

Does anyone have any experience with this the Buderus G201 and whether it has a shaker? If it doesn't have one, how can I clean the ash out from under the hot coal without disturbing the bed causing it to start to go cold.

Thank you for any assistance!

Attached is the operation manual.. It says it can burn coal but does not show how to evacuate the ash.. Some kind of movable grate system is needed for burning coal since it has a substantial amount of ash. I suppose if there is no shakable grate system, you may be able to poke up thru from underneath with a tool, but I would see this as difficult. There has to be a way to shake it.. Nobody would design a modern coal burner with no movable parts in the shaking system ... I must be missing something..

Everything I found says it is a wood fired boiler that you could also burn coal in. It is not made with any type of ash removal system with the exception of two riddling holes that you have to stick a tool in and rake back and forth. The manufacturer doesn't even have that tool available anymore. That alone should tell you something. Sure it will burn coal if you have a wood fire going and you throw some coal on top of it.

Sorry but this is a unit designed to burn wood that you can throw some coal into. It's not a coal burner, not designed to be a coal burner, doesn't appear to be adaptable to becoming a coal burner because it's a dyed in the wool wood burner.

Rev. Larry
New Beginning Church
Ashland Pa.

Thank you for your quick replies. What you are telling me is not a surprise but I wish you had better news. I think I will try reaching out to the Buderus reseller or see if I can find a rack that I could put inside that I could bounce.

Thanks

cool please post if you find anything. It looks like a nice boiler, I'm shocked it doesn't have a shakable grate in it...

Buderus G201 will burn nut coal well. It has "wet grates" the water flows thru them and to remove the ash you need a riddling tool that Buderus no longer makes. The tool is no more than a thin piece of steel that you slide under the coal bed back and forth to knock the ash down. I have a soot saw that works good. There is a small door at the bottom of the fire box ( behind the ash door) that has a small catch on it that will allow you to slice under the burning coal. If you break anything Buderus does not have any parts in the US and what little they have in Germany are BIG $$$$ the shipping is way more than the part and takes weeks to get. If you ever burn wood in it, it MUST be well seasoned and dry hardwood otherwise they make creosote big time. The firebox is small so they need feeding more often.They sold a lot of them in the 70's

crazy4coal you are right on! That is great information. The manual says to burn "Lump 1 (0.8 inch - 1.6 inch) anthracite coal and I ignorantly picked up stove coal instead. The stove coal is much larger with pieces up to 5 inches and I am having a tough time keeping it running hot without adding bio bricks every now and then. You are so right about the creosote buildup with wood that isn't completely seasoned. I am using wood that has a little too much moisture in it and in about a 10 days the stove was choked and I had about a 1 inch buildup or more in the flue and about 1/4 inch on the heat exchange. I spent about two hours cleaning it.

I will try the walnut size coal which I think is easier to keep burning but it clogs with ash easier. I will have to be creative and come up a riddling tool substitute since the grate is fixed and part of the heat transfer system.

Great feedback. This is a great resource for a rookie coal burner.

Update: With all of your very helpful feedback, and some of my own research, I have made some great progress in building and maintaining a hot fire. Firstly, I have now started using "nut" sized coal as is recommended in the manual as the preferred size. As I stated earlier in the thread, I first purchased "stove" sized coal and it was much more difficult to keep fired. The "nut" coal is much easier to get red hot and keep hot. Secondly, I began using my stove poker tool (link to a similar poker below) to clear the ash buildup by running it under the coal bed and over the wet grate. Although this takes a lot of effort and is very dusty, it is helping the air flow significantly. I am loving the lack of creosote which was a huge problem when I was burning wood that wasn't very dry.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31z4BSWjUgL ... SY300_.jpg

Thanks to all that helped me along during this learning process!!!