Home Made OWB to Coal Burner Newbie
Posted: Mon. Feb. 16, 2015 11:42 am
Brand new to coal. I was hoping to get some basic help to understand what it takes to burn coal. In NE Ohio it cold as hell and I'm out of wood with little hope of getting more right now. We just got a small truckload of hard coal, about 1" pieces. I realize that the coal size and type makes a difference, as well as many other factors. Here is what my boiler is:
Home made OWB enclosed in an outdoor shed.
Fire box: 3' w x 3' h x 4' deep.
1/4 walls
8" outlet, 90° elbow, 3' horizontal run to thimble, cleanout tee, then 8' vertical run, and a cap on top
4 1/2" water jacket on three sides, and the top, I believe
Door has combustion fan controlled by aqua stat in water jacket, maintains water at 160-180°
Fan outlet is about 10" off the floor
no grating and no outlet dampers
We tried just putting coal onto a wide I-beam with slots cut in the bottom, about 10" off of the floor. Water won't go over 110°. I realize there is a lot more to figure out. And i'm sure most of you will say just go buy a different stove, but that is not an option this year.
I guess what I am trying to do is create a decent, although ad-hoc, coal bed, box, or chamber. I would imagine I need to install at least a MPD?
My first idea would be to take the 12" wide I-beam, put a bunch of 1/2" slots in it, put legs on it to get it up above fan, slope it towards the rear slightly, build 3-5" sideboards on it, and enclose the bottom legs to trap the air and force it through the bed of coals. Obviously grate shaking will be a manual process for now.
Any thoughts. Thanks.
Home made OWB enclosed in an outdoor shed.
Fire box: 3' w x 3' h x 4' deep.
1/4 walls
8" outlet, 90° elbow, 3' horizontal run to thimble, cleanout tee, then 8' vertical run, and a cap on top
4 1/2" water jacket on three sides, and the top, I believe
Door has combustion fan controlled by aqua stat in water jacket, maintains water at 160-180°
Fan outlet is about 10" off the floor
no grating and no outlet dampers
We tried just putting coal onto a wide I-beam with slots cut in the bottom, about 10" off of the floor. Water won't go over 110°. I realize there is a lot more to figure out. And i'm sure most of you will say just go buy a different stove, but that is not an option this year.
I guess what I am trying to do is create a decent, although ad-hoc, coal bed, box, or chamber. I would imagine I need to install at least a MPD?
My first idea would be to take the 12" wide I-beam, put a bunch of 1/2" slots in it, put legs on it to get it up above fan, slope it towards the rear slightly, build 3-5" sideboards on it, and enclose the bottom legs to trap the air and force it through the bed of coals. Obviously grate shaking will be a manual process for now.
Any thoughts. Thanks.