Coalpail.com Forum

Hi KTMdude, read this thread: Minor Explosion in Coal Stove

If you add a lot of fresh coal on a smoldering fire, with no open flame to burn off the volitiles, you will probably get a minor explosion.. with a really big firebox it could be more than 'minor' I blew the flue pipes off my 'Big Bertha' boiler from one of these 'minor' explosions..

I assume you put the fresh coal over a layer of redhot wood coals??

Greg L

.

Yup, fresh coal over some hot wood embers.

I cant believe it takes 200 lbs to cover the bottom! How much for your big bertha?

My reduced firebox would be about 16-18" deep with 150-200# of coal. A layer of coal only 2" deep won't burn very well, a minimum depth of about 6" is needed to get anthracite to burn well. A fire about as deep as it is wide works best. Without a firebox reducer in your boiler, it will require a lot of coal to have a 6" or better 10" deep fire.

Let us know how it burns..

Greg L

.