Tips/Tricks for a newbie!

 
btarby15
Member
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed. Sep. 26, 2018 9:03 am
Location: Upper Bucks County, PA
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite, Stove
Other Heating: Heatmor 100CB

Post by btarby15 » Sat. Mar. 06, 2021 8:28 am

artbaldoni wrote:
Sat. Mar. 06, 2021 7:46 am
I've been burning coal in an OWB for about 5 years. My boiler was not designed for coal so I made some modifications and through trial and error came up with a good system. It's likely not as efficient as an indoor coal boiler, but I bought it to burn wood off the 35 acres of woodland I have. A few back and knee surgeries has curtailed the wood burning so I switched to coal. It has an under grate blower with a variable opening outlet to adjust the amount of air to the fire and a flapper that completely closes off the air supply.

No shaker grate. I made a grate using steel bar floor decking with expanded metal over top. A poker is slid under the coal to clear the ashes. This works pretty well, just tends to spread the coal out a little. I use a hoe to bring it all back together. Clearing the ash is critical!

I replaced the analog aquastat with an electronic one set at a 3 degree differential. This keeps the coal bed from cooling too much between cycles. I also installed an ambient sensor that will back the setpoint off 10 degrees when the outside temp reaches 50. Normal winter setpoint is 175/3 diff and above 50 the setpoint lowers to 165/3 diff. I added a variable fan speed control so I can dial in the best fan speed so I'm not blasting as much heat out the chimney. I can also shut the blower of and just open the flapper. I only have 1' of chimney, but am thinking about adding some and experimenting with natural draft.

I tend 2x a day in normal winter temps, 3x when temps drop below 30. Once my fire is established (and I don't delay or miss a tending) The routine is simple. Shut off blower, "shake" (which spreads out the fire bed), rake (with hoe to consolidate the bed), add 3 coal shovels full of fresh nut (about 40 lbs). I have added more coal, but the limiting factor on time between tending is the ash build up. Image
Thanks for all the information!! My outdoor boiler is “designed” for coal, but I just burned wood in it since I have so much. Switching to coal since I don’t have all the time in the world right now. I bought and installed the shaker grates a few weeks ago and have been burning stove sized coal, which is what the manufacturer recommends. So far it’s been pretty good, definitely learning.

I’ve gotten some decent burn times, 9-10 hours or so on warmer days, 30-40 degrees. I just learned my lesson the other night not to overfill or else the ashes build up and smother.

I’m going to fill the firebox with firebrick so that the coal can only be over the grates. I think this will help. My blower is under grate and has a flap on it so when it shuts down, the flap closes off air supply completely. I’m optimistic that I’ll get a good routine down and figure out all the little nuances of my boiler. Might also experiment with a slightly smaller coal size. Stove size is so big.

 
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artbaldoni
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Posts: 199
Joined: Sun. Feb. 02, 2014 7:46 am
Location: Newville, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Alaska Kodiak
Other Heating: O W/C B

Post by artbaldoni » Sat. Mar. 06, 2021 8:32 am

Figure a way to keep some air on the fire, even when satisfied. Also see if you can tighten your differential a little. That will surely help.

 
btarby15
Member
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed. Sep. 26, 2018 9:03 am
Location: Upper Bucks County, PA
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite, Stove
Other Heating: Heatmor 100CB

Post by btarby15 » Sat. Mar. 06, 2021 8:42 am

artbaldoni wrote:
Sat. Mar. 06, 2021 8:32 am
Figure a way to keep some air on the fire, even when satisfied. Also see if you can tighten your differential a little. That will surely help.
Will do. Maybe I’ll put a little stopper on the flap so it won’t close all the way, should get some natural draft that way. Have 3’ of chimney but I have more stacks to put on. Right now the shuts off at 185 and goes back on at 165, I think I can change that too.


 
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artbaldoni
Member
Posts: 199
Joined: Sun. Feb. 02, 2014 7:46 am
Location: Newville, PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Alaska Kodiak
Other Heating: O W/C B

Post by artbaldoni » Sat. Mar. 06, 2021 8:48 am

In the end, it's trial and error until you find what gets your specific setup into the zone.

 
ann_abrah
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Joined: Mon. May. 17, 2021 9:07 pm

Post by ann_abrah » Mon. May. 17, 2021 9:08 pm

Wow! Thank you for these tricks :)

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