Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers WITH EPA-Certified Models => Natures Comfort => Topic started by: JDfarmer on November 26, 2013, 11:16:13 PM
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Does anybody have any advice on the NCB-250 Coal, how to effectively use coal in it.
I've been burning wood mainly, and it works pretty well ( I installed it about 2 months ago). I only get about 8-10 of burn time. It's set at 180F with 15 degree diff. , with the draft door open all the way.
Should I change these settings for longer burn time, and/ or different setting for coal?
What's the best way to burn coal in this unit? Mound it in one area (back or front), or just layer it evenly flat on the shaker grade, or just toss it in between bellow the bricks level?
Or is it better to mix wood and coal?
Also, should I fill up the boiler completely at each re-load, or just put in an approximate amount that it will need till the next re-load.
thank you.
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How many sq ft are you heating? Thats short burn times
In regard to how to load, a mound cemtered over grates will Work better than a thin layer
The more coal you burn the tighter ur differential will need to be, if your all coal you may need to go down as low as a 3 degree dif or it will go out
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How many sq ft are you heating? Thats short burn times
In regard to how to load, a mound cemtered over grates will Work better than a thin layer
The more coal you burn the tighter ur differential will need to be, if your all coal you may need to go down as low as a 3 degree dif or it will go out
Thanks for the reply;
Our house is 4000+ sqft, very well insulted.
I was wondering about the differential. I was worried that the coal will die out if the boiler is idle for a long time with a larger differential.
The last couple of days; I've been adding about 7 split logs (boiler about 40%-50% full); about 2 foot long, and 12-14 hours later it all burnt down to ashes and some red coal. The water temp goes down by then to 100F.
So, I might have to add more wood, or add coal to the wood. The boiler seem to do better if I add 7-8 logs and about 25 lb of coal in a small mound. If use both wood and coal, is it ok to still tighten the differential to 3-5 degrees? 170F with 3-5 diff.
Thank you for your help.
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Yep, id likely go 180 sp with 175 refire
Is yours a 3/8 or 1/4
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I have a 2013 3/8 NCB 250 Coal.
I actually went to amish country to buy organic chicken feed, and steped by a fireplace store. They sell stoves boilers, fireplaces and I buy anthracite coal from them too. I told him my issues; and he went through step by step how he recommend burning coal in the boilers.
So, I went home and did exactly what he said;
1. changed settings to 3 differentials; so I did 180/175 5 diff. that is as low the NCB 250 goes. Cannot not set it to 3 diff.
2. build a FULL bed of coal, as thick as the fire bricks are and as long as the firebox. The intensity of the fire is determined by the air you add to the burning coal not the amount of coal you put in.
3. Don't brother it, poke at it, or do anything to it other than shaking the ask down twice a day.
He said I should get about 24-30+ hours of burn time.
Well, tried it. It's been 16 hours. I have not done anything.
I did have to lower the setting to 175/168 7 diff right at the beginning; because the water temp was getting up to 195 and I was worried it will over heat.
Other than that, I have not touch the boiler for almost 17 hrs. I just checked it because there was no smoke; water temp is at 175F, just like the settings; there is a full bed of hot coal burning. There is virtually no smoke out of the chimney!!!. I first thought my fire went out again like it aways does with wood after 12 hours. But no, the fire just as strong as 17 hours ago.
I hope this keeps up.
My house is 4400sqft and we are heating the water tank too.
;D
[attachment deleted by admin for space issues]
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We are still going strong. I think I got it figured out. I've been getting 26-28 hrs of burn time with one reload of 4 shovel full of coal.
I finished my chimney last week. The boiler works much better with the 16 foot chimney by the way. No over heating issues like some has predicted that it may happen. NC actually said it's ok to add a 20 foot stack if need to.
Now, there is no smoke at all at the house with the top of the chimney 7+1(clean out T)+16+1(cap)=25 high.
I filled up the entire firebox three days ago with anthracite coal. All the way from front to back and to the top of the fire bricks.
Settings are 175/168 with 7 differential.
Draft 100% fully open.
I have a 16 foot double wall chimney on.
Once the first load burned for 26 hours, I added 4 shovel full of coal, than it goes another 24-28 hours.
I shake the coals down ever 12-16 hours, and empty the ash once every two days. Not full but very important not to let it fill up or the grade can warp I guess.
That's it. It is working way, way, way, better than with wood. And, there is no smoke, or embers coming our at all.
If I load wood only at 10pm, it is almost all died down by 8am. By 10am, the fire would be completely out.
Now, I have 100% coal, and I love being able to go an entire day (yes 24-28 hrs) with just shaking the coals and adding 2-4 shovels full of coal.
I am so much happier with this boiler now.
I hope this helps anybody else wanting to burn coal in the NCB-250 coal.
I tried butanious coal too. Works well, but too smelly, and too many clinkers to clean. With the anthracite coal, no clinkers, just load and shake. I love it.
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Sounds good
the risks of adding chimney are minimal when its new, but after time the tiniest of air leaks that would normally go un noticed could cause a boil over, but when every thing is right, it does fine
glad your enjoying the ncb
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Thank you Scott7m;
I was worried about the over heating with the added chimney, and potential draft. Unfortunately, the way we are in the woods and the wind direction; 25% of the time the smoke was coming towards our house. So, adding the chimney was not an option (according to my wife). How can I prevent air leaks as the boiler gets older? Should I change the seals every year? How often do you spray the seals with WD40?
As I see it there are 3 main places air can leak;
1. Main load door.
2. Ash pan door.
3. Blower rubber seal.
Am I missing something? The boiler is working so incredible well now, I hope it keeps it up, and nothing changes. I do love it now.
Actually, I like having the chimney, because when I open the door now, the smoke all clears through the chimney, and I don't even get my cloths smoky if am heading to work and want to top off the fire.
Thanks again.
Attila
Sounds good
the risks of adding chimney are minimal when its new, but after time the tiniest of air leaks that would normally go un noticed could cause a boil over, but when every thing is right, it does fine
glad your enjoying the ncb
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We are still going strong. I think I got it figured out. I've been getting 26-28 hrs of burn time with one reload of 4 shovel full of coal.
I finished my chimney last week. The boiler works much better with the 16 foot chimney by the way. No over heating issues like some has predicted that it may happen. NC actually said it's ok to add a 20 foot stack if need to.
Now, there is no smoke at all at the house with the top of the chimney 7+1(clean out T)+16+1(cap)=25 high.
I filled up the entire firebox three days ago with anthracite coal. All the way from front to back and to the top of the fire bricks.
Settings are 175/168 with 7 differential.
Draft 100% fully open.
I have a 16 foot double wall chimney on.
Once the first load burned for 26 hours, I added 4 shovel full of coal, than it goes another 24-28 hours.
I shake the coals down ever 12-16 hours, and empty the ash once every two days. Not full but very important not to let it fill up or the grade can warp I guess.
That's it. It is working way, way, way, better than with wood. And, there is no smoke, or embers coming our at all.
If I load wood only at 10pm, it is almost all died down by 8am. By 10am, the fire would be completely out.
Now, I have 100% coal, and I love being able to go an entire day (yes 24-28 hrs) with just shaking the coals and adding 2-4 shovels full of coal.
I am so much happier with this boiler now.
I hope this helps anybody else wanting to burn coal in the NCB-250 coal.
I tried butanious coal too. Works well, but too smelly, and too many clinkers to clean. With the anthracite coal, no clinkers, just load and shake. I love it.
4 shovels full? what size shovel?
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4-6 shovels full per day = about 50-60lbs / day. (That's with minimal wood use. If the temperature gets to be warm 50F+ I use wood, because the boiler's fan doesn't come on as much and the coal goes out. Otherwise, no wood.)
Which is about right, because 1350lb of coal is a load I get on my tractor, and it will lasts me about three-four weeks or less.
Our house is large 4000+ sqft, well insulated, and it has been very cold here. Also, we are heating the water tank with the boiler.
We are still going strong. I think I got it figured out. I've been getting 26-28 hrs of burn time with one reload of 4 shovel full of coal.
I finished my chimney last week. The boiler works much better with the 16 foot chimney by the way. No over heating issues like some has predicted that it may happen. NC actually said it's ok to add a 20 foot stack if need to.
Now, there is no smoke at all at the house with the top of the chimney 7+1(clean out T)+16+1(cap)=25 high.
I filled up the entire firebox three days ago with anthracite coal. All the way from front to back and to the top of the fire bricks.
Settings are 175/168 with 7 differential.
Draft 100% fully open.
I have a 16 foot double wall chimney on.
Once the first load burned for 26 hours, I added 4 shovel full of coal, than it goes another 24-28 hours.
I shake the coals down ever 12-16 hours, and empty the ash once every two days. Not full but very important not to let it fill up or the grade can warp I guess.
That's it. It is working way, way, way, better than with wood. And, there is no smoke, or embers coming our at all.
If I load wood only at 10pm, it is almost all died down by 8am. By 10am, the fire would be completely out.
Now, I have 100% coal, and I love being able to go an entire day (yes 24-28 hrs) with just shaking the coals and adding 2-4 shovels full of coal.
I am so much happier with this boiler now.
I hope this helps anybody else wanting to burn coal in the NCB-250 coal.
I tried butanious coal too. Works well, but too smelly, and too many clinkers to clean. With the anthracite coal, no clinkers, just load and shake. I love it.
4 shovels full? what size shovel?
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Yep keep the door adjusted, probably change rope gaskets a little more often than normal just for precautionary reasons, likely every 2-3 seasons would work
keep an eye on the rubber flap, ive seen them dry rot before
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Thank you Scott7m. Can I wipe the rubber flapper with ARMOR ALL that you use on car interiors and tires? I was wondering if that would help prevent it from cracking. Or just replace it as needed?
Also, when I got my boiler the dealer sprayed the rope seals (door, and ash pan) with WD-40. He said it prevents the creosol build up. Should I spay the rope seals periodically with the WD40? I mainly burn coal 80%, and 20% wood.
thank you
Yep keep the door adjusted, probably change rope gaskets a little more often than normal just for precautionary reasons, likely every 2-3 seasons would work
keep an eye on the rubber flap, ive seen them dry rot before
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okay, ncb250coal unit. decided to try ant coal again. bought 5 50 lb bags of reading nut coal. put 3 bags in to start with to fill up to the fire brick and started a fire. got it going and boy did it burn hot. have my stat set at 175° with a 3° diff. draft wide open. this was at 2:30pm. just checked it here at 8:30pm and there is plenty of coal still fire was dismal and the stove was down to 167°. it really seems like it is starving for air. i took a hoe and moved the coal around and the coal on the bottom was molten lava caked to together and i noticed it no longer sounded like a blast furnace like it did when i first lit it. after i moved the coal around the fire came back. it got crazy hot again and sounded like a blast furnace again. stove came up to 169° in ten minutes. any ideas why it is doing this? ati53 advises not to touch it but didn't think it was ever going to recover if i didn't. consumption seemed minimal over the period.
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I would leave it alone and see what happens.
Does it drop down to 140f, or does it come back up to 175f
I have my 250coal set at 175, 170 5 diff. It goes between 165 to 190.
Big swings; however I load it and leave it alone for 12 hrs. You should test;
Does it keep the house warm? Does it cool down to 140 , or does it heat up to 200.
When my stove is idle/blower is off it will look exactly what you described; red hot in the bottom. If you stir it it will come up roaring because air is getting in through the open door.
Coal fire with the blower off will look dead. It isn't. You need the differential close together otherwise the coal fire will go out. Just trust me. I heated with coal in eastern Europa for 20 years. My grandfathers brother was a black smith.
Coal will only burn if it get air. No air for longer than 1 hr or so , coal fire especially Anthrocite will go out.
Keep the differential between 3-7. 175/170/5 diff is perfect. It will swing from 165-190. Mine does for sure.
Just try it.
Stop messing with it:)
Call me so I can explain. I sent you mine number.
Coal is very tricky. It's not like wood. Wood you have to move, poke, rake.
Coal you load and go away.
Call me.
okay, ncb250coal unit. decided to try ant coal again. bought 5 50 lb bags of reading nut coal. put 3 bags in to start with to fill up to the fire brick and started a fire. got it going and boy did it burn hot. have my stat set at 175° with a 3° diff. draft wide open. this was at 2:30pm. just checked it here at 8:30pm and there is plenty of coal still fire was dismal and the stove was down to 167°. it really seems like it is starving for air. i took a hoe and moved the coal around and the coal on the bottom was molten lava caked to together and i noticed it no longer sounded like a blast furnace like it did when i first lit it. after i moved the coal around the fire came back. it got crazy hot again and sounded like a blast furnace again. stove came up to 169° in ten minutes. any ideas why it is doing this? ati53 advises not to touch it but didn't think it was ever going to recover if i didn't. consumption seemed minimal over the period.
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Woodedacre;
I never had a coal boiler, we always used a coal fireplace. I can tell you, a boiler is different from a fireplace. In a fireplace you set the air vent so the fire is burning but not raging and not so little that it goes out.
Remember, with coal the limiting factor is air. More air, more fire. You can light 1 ton coal, if you adjust the airflow it will burn for a month. Very different from wood.
So, just imitate how you would burn coal in a fire place to a boiler.
In a fireplace you need a constant flow of air so the coal bed is burning but not raging but also not so little that the fire goes out.
In the boiler it's more difficult because of the on off cycle of the fan. So, you fan needs to come on frequent enough so the coal keeps burning but not so infrequent that it goes out. 1-2 hr off, and it might be out. Especially anthrocite. That's why it's a good idea to mix anthrocite with bit coal that keep lit longer than anthrocite.
Anyway, so you must keep the setting of the diff small to imitate a steady airflow. In my 250coal it's anywhere from 5-7. If its warm outside 5, if its a cold day more like 7. I keep it at 5. And it works great.
Now, coal is like a train, once it goes it goes with a momentum. Once a coal fire is lit it gives out tremendous energy. So when the fan shuts off, the train is going and the fire will keep heating the water which will over shoot in temperature. Mine goes 10F over the top settings. So I set my top at 170-172, and I get 180f top.
Now, like a train coal fire takes a lot to get it moving. Watch the fan kick in. Nothing happens for minutes. It take some time for the coal fire to gear up again. There fore your bottom number may fluctuate too.
Mine is set at 170/165/5diff. I get readings 160-185-190 even. I really don't care. If you have a coal fireplace do you keep measuring the surface temperature? Never ever. What do you measure? Is the room warm enough.
Do the same with then boiler.
Just try this trust me;
Set it 175/170/5 diff or anywhere 3-7.
Mix anthrocite with bit coal, or anthrocite and 2-3 logs.
Load/ fill up the entire firebox with coal up to the fire bricks front to back. 3-4 bags.
Lite it (I use pre soaked match lite charcoal for easy lighting).
Once lit, about 30 min; please don't mess with it. No looking, no poking, no nothing.
After 12 hrs very gently shake the ashes off for 15'sec. Gently, don't let the unburned coal fall down between the grates. The rule is shake till you see red ash fall down in the ash pan. Than stop when you see red ash in the ash pan. Difficult in a boiler to see. So shake gently for 10-15 second and stop. No steering, poking, raking, or nothing. If its very cold out, you would normally add 3-4 shovel of coals. Not at the first 12 hrs after lighting it. 3-4 bags of anthrocite will heat my 4500 sqft house and water tank for 26 hrs.
Just try it, mine is working awesome just doing it this very way.
If your's won't there has to be something wrong with the boiler or how you operate it, or the installation, or all.
Since you have been heating with wood no problem, I really think that you just have to get used to heating burning with coal. It's much much more difficult than wood at first.
Again, anthrocite is actually the most difficult coal to burn. So, if you can burn bit. coal, that would be about 100 times easier.
Bit coal burns like wood. Ohio bit coal smells like Satan just came over for supper but boy it burns. Most people burn ky bit coal, with great luck. It has less sulfur,and much cleaner. I love anthrocite because it's so clean. No, smell, so smoke. Awesome. However, very hard to light, and very hard to keep burning.
I mix it with bit coal. It help to keep the fire more steady. I put a football size bit coal in the firebox on sat at 3pm. It's 50%burnt at Sunday at 7pm. Wow.
If you change your diff to higher than 7 I will guarantee you, the fire will go out. Especially if its only, 35-40f outside; too warm.
Again remember, coal fire will over shoot the top number; so at 170/165/5. You get 180+/160/ actual differential is 20+ even though you set it at 5diff. So, the fan will not kick in until the temp drops from 180+ to 160!!!!!! In a 45 F day, that could be 2-3 hrs. The coal will go out for sure.
If you have settings 180/165/15 diff like you would with wood burning, with coal you will get;
195/155+/40!!!!!diff. Remember you said that last year those were your setting when you tried to burn anth coal, and the fire kept going out? Are you surprised now that the coal fire went out with an actual diff of 40 degrees? In a warmer day it will take hours and hours for 250 gallons of insulated water to drop 40 degrees for the fan to kick in!!! That is just not happening with coal. Not ever.
The diff has to be 3-7 no more. Just keep it at 5 for now.
Let me know how it went.
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I just followed Scott7m's advice with the differential. I went to see my Amish friend who sells boilers, he said the exact same thing. Keep the diff at 3-5 a most.
Thanks Scott!!
I'm new to these boiler. I used coal stoves for many years. I must say, boilers are WAY WAY WAY more complicated than stoves. A stove you load, shake, load, shake. Empty sometimes. Than you load, shake, load, shake...you don't set anything other than the air vent and damper.
There are so many variables with these boilers. I must say, you kind of have to pay attention much closed than a stove.
Anyway, I love mine now.
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okay checked stove at 4:30 am. been 14 hrs. reason I checked was that I noticed house blower running a long time between cycles( 25 minutes) went out to boiler and the stove was down to 124° and coal was down to the 1st row of fire brick . seemed like plenty of coal still in there. barely burning though just a little bit way in the back. was barely enough to light the wood I had to add. wife will be up soon for work and will be upset to wake to a cold house since she was against ant experiment again.
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okay checked stove at 4:30 am. been 14 hrs. reason I checked was that I noticed house blower running a long time between cycles( 25 minutes) went out to boiler and the stove was down to 124° and coal was down to the 1st row of fire brick . seemed like plenty of coal still in there. barely burning though just a little bit way in the back. was barely enough to light the wood I had to add. wife will be up soon for work and will be upset to wake to a cold house since she was against ant experiment again.
So,
a/ did it keep you house warm for 12hrs, and than cooled down,
or
b/ did it just gradually cool down.
if a/ start over - see below
if b/ I'd have the boiler looked at, there might be an issues with it. You said that it burns wood ok, and you heated your house with wood before, so I doubt that there is any problems with your boiler.
I would start again, and follow what I do;
I HAD SOME BAGGED ANTHROCITE, IT IS VERY WET, AND EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO BURN. Don't use it unless you can dry it.
I use dumped anthrocite mixed with bit coal and 2 logs. I had the exact same result with bagged anthracite. Doesn't burn well, and goes out in some areas, some ares keep burning low than go out.
I would try what I wrote before, and below here.
If your boiler burns wood ok, than there is not problem with it. You are only changing the fuel type. As I said, you are having the exact same problems as I did. With some minor changes I got mine working in a week, and it's been running awesome since. I was ready to send it back before.
So start again with the way I described it intermix two or three logs with the anthracite or mix some bit coal with anthracite.
Then check it every 10 to 12 hours just to begin with if you need to add coal just add a couple shovels.
Maybe change the differential to five and see what happens.
If you cannot get it to work just call NCB.
As I said anthracite coal is very difficult to burn A lot of times mine doesn't burn evenly either. That's why I have to mix some bit cool or wood.
Start over with some wood mixed with the anthracite or bit coal mixed with the anthsite and put a couple logs on top
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ati53, i want to thank you for trying to aid in my trying anthracite coal again. i have to give up with it for now and go back to a combo of bituminous coal and wood. it worked fairly well last season. i was just so impressed with your burn times i had to try it. i may revisit anthracite when the weather breaks just a little. and i agree with you that scott7m is a godsend for info on these boilers. he has advised me on more than one occasion with everything him telling me being exactly the case. happy holidays everyone
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Have you checked your stack?
Is it blocked!!!!
now something may be wrong. I am having trouble keeping a fire with a proven combo wood/bit. took the blower off and inspected the draft opening for blockage. negative wide open. did notice the rubber flap is cracked but would give the opposite effect. only other thing I did was hoe A LOT of ash build up around the stack. I have a bit and ant coal combination since 5:30 am and when I did it the fire was growing strong as I shut the door. at 9am fire is/was almost out and the fire box is almost full to the fire bricks still. stove down to 129°.
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The main reasons the fire would die out to me;
1. if there is no oxygen coming in, - blower.
2. no fuel, not enough fuel.
3. blocked stack!!!!!!!! Smoke can't escape. - make sure to look at this.
4. too much time in the differential before the fan comes on, so, the fire dies out between cycles.
In your case;
1- you said that the fan is working. Is it working properly?
2. There is fuel.
3. Check stack
4. you should be good at diff of 3-5.
I'd look, if the fan actually works. Does it lift up? May be the cracked flapper doesn't lift up and no oxygen in going in.
Also, check the stack.
Also, check to make sure the draft opening is not blocked by wood or coal ash.
can't think of anything else right now.
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winner winner chicken dinner. i believe the draft opening being plugged was the culprit. pleasure speaking with you ati53. when you mentioned the ash door blowing ashes all over the place when opened while the blower was running got me to thinking. i haven't had it blast ashes in a loooong time. went out and checked after speaking with you and it does now. Scott7m i called you and left a message. need to order some things
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natures comfort ncb250 coal. this is getting to be like a boat for me. two best days owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. the latter of the two is fast approaching for me
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Are you doing any better? Where are you located?
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marginal success. lost fire sometime this morning. stove was 147° when i went out at 9am. fire pretty much out except for an area 10inches by inches. threw some slabwood in to hopefully reignite the coal. burning lehigh anthracite nut coal. draft at 2 1/2 notches from closed 175/3 aquastat settings. cast iron shaker grates...i also increased the demand in house by raising stat so hopefully it helps for the long idle times. i am in ashtabula county ohio...
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Well, I think we tried everything remotely. Next thing would be to have someone look at your boiler.
I have the same NCB 250 coal, with the difference of stainless steal shaker grates I guess.
Mine works awesome as long as I use good coal; Blackshack anthrocite. (when I was using crappy bit. coal, I was ready to return the boiler. It was awful. Fire dies out in 8-10 hrs, lot of nasty smoke, lot of ash, etc.)
There is like no smoke at all with the anthrocite. No ash either. Just a very fine powered.
I much much much prefer burning anthracite over wood.
As soon as I switched to this Blackshack anthrocite coal, and I changed my settings all my problems went away ;
new settings 10/2013 to resolve the issues;
172/5/100-80% draft open/
house at 72F,
and I load the coal in the middle,
shake it once a day gently,
load at 9pm 6 shovels +1-2 logs at most,
top off with 4 shovels of coal at 7am, all is good. I can go 20-28 hrs with coal.
I had all the same issues as you, before this. I have not touched any of the setting for 2+ months, because all is good now.
There has to be something with the boiler.
All it needs is fuel, and air for the coal to burn.
I wonder if your draft opening keeps getting clogged since it was clogged before.
Don't load the coal or wood all the way in the back.
Have you taken the blower off since last time you de-clogged it? It would be interesting to see if it is clogged again.
I would open the draft all the way. The only reason a coal fire would go out, if;
#1 out of air,
#2 out of fuel/coal
It almost seems to me that it is out of air, that's why it goes out so quickly.
With your settings at 175/3 that blower is coming on pretty ofter even when it's warm outside.
Mine is at 172/5 and it never goes out. I have heat and water hooked up at the house.
When I had my differential higher 180/12 my fire did go out. It was because, coal over shoots the high temp.
So it would start at 168F, get a very hot fire, shot off at 180, but the hot coal would heat the water to 188-190+, than it would idle till water drops to 168F, which is 20F difference, that could take a long time to drop to.
I have a termometer set up that is 0.5F accurate, and now with 172/5 setting; I get 170-165, sometimes if I open the load door 161F.
My house is at 72-74, and all the hot water.
So, I think your settings are good.
I'd look at the draft again, open it more, and check if it is clogged (take blower off, and stick the broom stick in to see like last time). May be shop vacuum it out from both side, ash pan, and blower unmounted.
After that, new boiler…
:bash:
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don't know what to say. fire went out again. house freezing. boiler at 113°. plenty of material. i will take blower back off once it quits snowing and i have daylight. opened draft all the way and it will barely burn. cleaned draft opening a week ago. fill up with ash in a week? when i empty it daily? i don't know but i will check. out of ideas
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Has to be a bad boiler.
Unless the shaker grates do not allow enough air trough. Why would the fire constantly die out, if there is plenty of fuel, and the blower is running.
Have you tried burning wood lately?
Can you burn wood and maintain temperature without the fire going out?
You said you could heat the house last year ok, but could never burn coal. I wonder what happened since? Bad shaker grates?!
Man, this is very strange.
don't know what to say. fire went out again. house freezing. boiler at 113°. plenty of material. i will take blower back off once it quits snowing and i have daylight. opened draft all the way and it will barely burn. cleaned draft opening a week ago. fill up with ash in a week? when i empty it daily? i don't know but i will check. out of ideas
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Mine isn't a coal unit, but I had a problem where it wouldn't build any heat then die. I found that the ash falls from ash pan and plugs blower opening in the bottom, so I made a rake to rake it out every once in a while
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I'm so glad that you posted this. I thought for a while that wood acres having that very problem. He's was clogged before and when he de clogged it with the broom stick it was working for a while.
I think it keeps getting clogged with ash for him.
I really can't see why else he would keep loosing fire.
I burn my coal wood only in the middle and front and never had any issues.
Thanks for the post.
Mine isn't a coal unit, but I had a problem where it wouldn't build any heat then die. I found that the ash falls from ash pan and plugs blower opening in the bottom, so I made a rake to rake it out every once in a while
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I also had a problem with ash backing up just in front of the blower. The ash pan is not long enough to get it, so every so often I stick a shovel back there and pull out the ash.
I've been trying to burn "stove" coal in it and I love it, but eventually the grates get clogged and results in not enough air being delivered to the coal. I want to find some retro fit for shaker grates...I don't have them now. Thinking about some type of pan with holes that can tossed a bit. Any thoughts?
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I generally don't burn anything in the very back.
I haven't had any clogging issues but I get a super intense fire through the chimney if i have wood in the vary back of the firebox. With coal I burn everything in the middle of the firebox.
What's a stove coal?
I use anthrocite.
Have you tried that? Can you burn that in your boiler?
I also had a problem with ash backing up just in front of the blower. The ash pan is not long enough to get it, so every so often I stick a shovel back there and pull out the ash.
I've been trying to burn "stove" coal in it and I love it, but eventually the grates get clogged and results in not enough air being delivered to the coal. I want to find some retro fit for shaker grates...I don't have them now. Thinking about some type of pan with holes that can tossed a bit. Any thoughts?
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It's anthracite- I believe "stove" coal refers to the size...averages about 2.5"X2". It will eventually burn everything in the back, but clearly the hottest/most air seems to be in the front of the boiler. Looses way to much heat up the chimney, in general, imo.
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I don't have shaker grates, so I have been tinkering with different techniques to "shake" it, but after about 2 days. it always gets clogged. I want to make a retro shaker grate, but need some input from the members.
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It's not a coal burner, but NC says it can burn coal and I believe a few others on this site burn it without the shaker grates. It does have the forced air and fire brick under the fire. the fire brick doesn't go up the sides.
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i put some lump coal on top of the wood when I fill it works just fine