Setting up an Outside Boiler to Burn Coal

 
Sixkids
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Post by Sixkids » Sat. Mar. 01, 2014 11:18 am

Would you get that length of burn from the 8 shovelfuls? We have an OWB (Heatmore 400DCSS), heating DHW and a 3500 sq ft full log house. (With option to heat additional outside large building). We are located just south of Erie, PA, and have used approx. 20+ cord of hardwood this winter, so far, (at approximately $40 per cord). We have hot water baseboard heat which we have set up so our oil furnace will take over when the OWB isn't running. Thinking of adding coal grates to the OWB.
What do you do with the coal in the winter? Bunker? Does it have a roof to keep the snow / freezing rain off? If not, will the coal freeze into one big lump?
Thanks,
Carole

 
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artbaldoni
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Post by artbaldoni » Sat. Mar. 01, 2014 1:16 pm

Carole, btw thats my wife's name - with the e at the end,
I am a noob with this coal burning thing. My setup sounds just like yours.
My owb was wood only and I made a grate, just to try, but its working so well I think it will stay until it disintegrates! I have been experimenting with coal for about a month now. I've only been getting a few hundred pounds at a time until I found the magic bullet. I went and picked up a ton of mixed and have just been shoveling off the truck directly into the stove. I finally unloaded into the basement this morning and will use a wheelbarrow to transport to load the stove. Yes it will freeze into a lump, mostly the bituminous, not so much the anthracite.
Look into this forum: http://outdoorwoodfurnaceinfo.com/forum/index.php ... opic=744.0 There are alot of owb folks experimenting with coal.

 
Sixkids
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Post by Sixkids » Sat. Mar. 01, 2014 8:22 pm

CarolE's a good name!! :) Our woodburner is an outside one so storing the coal in the basement would probably be a real pain!! :)
We checked into a purchased coal grate set up for our Heatmore and it would cost about $500. According to the literature that came with our OWB they suggest burning 'stove' coal. Not sure if we will be using coal, or what size coal yet. Working with our wood /coal cook range first! :)
Carole

 
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CoalCracker3
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Post by CoalCracker3 » Tue. Oct. 20, 2015 7:09 pm

Hello Members

I just read this old thread and wanted to touch on my experience with converting an OWB To coal. Hopefully the info is of use. I too have an OWB that as the manufacturer stated was "coal capable". Every time I tried using coal I ran into an overfire situation followed by ash fusing Into klinker and putting the fire out.

I modified my stove to mimic a hand fired stove set up mods included
Adding a manual pipe damper
Adding flu pipe to create better draft
Modifing the ash pan door to provide primary air to achieve an adjustable slow fire
Disabling the air blower to stop overfireing. The auto damper system still lets additional primary air in when the aquastat calls for heat

My stove had a nice shaker grate system and v style fire brick in the fire box so it was able to support a coal fire. I am able to get up to 36 hour burn times on 80lb of coal in warmer weather and 12-24 hour burn times when it is cold. It is a little extra work to keep the ash clear but I burn with no klinker. I shake it down every 12 hours and pick the grates from below. It's not a perfect set up but it works and is serviceable. Food for thought to a frustrated OWB owner.


 
Sixkids
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Post by Sixkids » Tue. Oct. 20, 2015 8:06 pm

Thank you. This helps a lot. We were wondering how much coal we might need to use if we converted it from wood. I had asked about converting our OWB before, and didn't really find anyone with our kind of OWB who replied that if given the chance that they would definitely do the conversion all over again because they really like the results. $500 would be do-able if we could save that amount by using coal instead of wood.
There was one person on this website who had made his own conversion to a Heatmore 400 dcss. His name was "Wallyp", but I don't seem to be able to contact him to ask if he still recommends doing the conversion.
Thank you again,
Carole :)

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Oct. 20, 2015 8:58 pm

The last time Wallyp was on the forum he was talking about installing Keystokers...so it seems like he started installing coal boilers rather than trying to convert the wood units.

 
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CoalCracker3
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Coal Size/Type: Nut, nutty, nuttier
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Post by CoalCracker3 » Wed. Oct. 21, 2015 9:00 am

It was suggested by a member to start a new thread on this subject. I have had good luck running my OWB modifications and it keeps the fire and mess outside. For the last 7 years I've burned wood in my OWB and always enjoyed the outdoor activity especially in the dead of winter. I took a fall at work a few years back and my current Health limits my ability to get around in the woods. So that's the reason/need to make the coal work. Grandma use to tell me where there's a will, there's a way. I like to prove her right! Good luck with your set up. It can be done. New thread will be converting a OWB to a hand fed coal boiler.

Thanks

 
Sixkids
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Post by Sixkids » Wed. Oct. 21, 2015 8:56 pm

Thank you! It sounds like a good topic. :)
I'll be looking forward to it!
Carole


 
Sixkids
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Post by Sixkids » Wed. Oct. 21, 2015 9:14 pm

rhfritz1 - Did you go back to burning wood or stay with the coal in your Heatmore?
We have a Heatmore 400 dcss and have been considering burning coal.
Thanks,
Carole

 
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plumberman
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Post by plumberman » Thu. Oct. 22, 2015 3:20 am

i had a heatmore I converted it into cash. then bought a coal gun and couldn't be any happier :clap:

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Thu. Oct. 22, 2015 9:04 am

plumberman wrote:i had a heatmore I converted it into cash. then bought a coal gun and couldn't be any happier :clap:
That is the smart way to convert an OWB to a coal burner :clap: :up: toothy

 
Sixkids
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Post by Sixkids » Thu. Oct. 22, 2015 9:23 am

I am glad that worked out well for you.

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