Hotblast Year 4

[Lightning]

Cool, I'm happy to see yer still around

[TKalmbach]

Hey Lightning, been reading your posts on flipping those grates around and using a piece of square stock in the female end. Wish I’d have thought of that years ago! Just broke my third one this year last night. Thoroughly fed up! I’m gonna try your idea. You said it worked for 3 years? I didn’t get to read the whole string, any advice I might have missed?

[Lightning]

Hey Lightning, been reading your posts on flipping those grates around and using a piece of square stock in the female end. Wish I’d have thought of that years ago! Just broke my third one this year last night. Thoroughly fed up! I’m gonna try your idea. You said it worked for 3 years? I didn’t get to read the whole string, any advice I might have missed?

Yeah it lasted a long time.. My 1557 had two grates in line with each other. I'm not sure if your stove is setup that way. Finally the grate nub broke between the two grates. At that point I made a radical change to a flat stationary grate and used a sword to clear ash.. Details are in this thread here.

Riddle Method for Ash Clearing

[TKalmbach]

Mine is set up that way, the 2 in line grates. If I read that string right, you had actually threaded set screws into the union of the two grates? How is your Riddle method working? Did that grate fit into your frame? Has it broken on you yet?

[Lightning]

you had actually threaded set screws into the union of the two grates?

That is correct. The set screws into the union of the two grates was to prevent the "slop" between the front and rear grate. The slop between the two grates made for less ash clearing in the back of the stove which of course led to undesirable results.

How is your Riddle method working? Did that grate fit into your frame? Has it broken on you yet?

I was very pleased with the riddle method and wished that I had went that route much sooner. It would have saved a lot of pain and frustration of dealing with the grates. I used the flat grate and sword the final 2 years that I used the Clayton. Although it was a little more messy, it did a much better job of clearing ash. There was also much better combustion air flow thru the fuel bed. Overall it made for a much better user experience, in my opinion. I don't recall having any failed parts once I started using riddle method.

I had malled the Clayton to the point that it was a mutated albeit an evolved shell of it's former self. I was the only person that knew how to run it. It was taken to the scrap iron yard.

I have since switched over to using an automatic stoker boiler, the Axeman 130.

[TKalmbach]

Good info! Thank you! Tell me about your Axeman 130. Did you have to change your whole operation (coal size, method of heating, etc)?

[Lightning]

Did you have to change your whole operation (coal size, method of heating, etc)?

As you know, the Clayton and Hot Blast stoves use forced air and duct work for heat distribution. So my home was set up for forced air.. Currently I'm still using that for most of the house. I built an air handler box that consists of a furnace blower and water to air heat exchanger.

The Axeman uses pea size coal which is slightly smaller than nut size. I already had a bin setup in the basement for the Axeman to take coal from, I just had to cut a hole and install a "dog house" for the auger.

I'm gradually converting over to baseboard radiators. So far I have radiators upstairs. The heat exchanger/air handler heats the downstairs. The Axeman also heats an outbuilding part time via insulated buried pex lines with radiators. The Axeman boilers are very neat and very durable units. I was lucky to find one for $500 that just needed a little TLC

[TKalmbach]

Did you have any issues converting from manual stoking to automatic? IE, I live in Pennsylvania and the temperature can vary a lot from day to day. Most days I’ll load 40lb twice a day, some days fifty and have to check on it more often. Does the timing automatically change when the house calls for more heat, or do have to tweak it yourself?

[Lightning]

Does the timing automatically change when the house calls for more heat, or do have to tweak it yourself?

It's fully automatic... the only assistance it needs are the ashes taken out and keeping coal over top of the auger end. The living room thermostat mainly keeps control of the house temp. When it calls for heat, the furnace blower kicks on, pushes air thru the exchanger then onward thru the ducts. A regulator (aquastat) keeps the boiler water between 150 and 170 degrees. It runs the combustion blower as needed.

[TKalmbach]

Cool beans. Thank you!

[freetown fred]

Where the hell did ya run off to Larry???????????????????????????????????????

[larryfoster]

I'm here, Fred.

Doing mostly fine this year.
Hoping it works well in the upcoming cold blast