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To start our coal fire, we use charcoal briquets. We don't add coal until the charcoal has produced a hot bed of embers. Then we add coal, slowly, using a metal feed scoop to move the coal from hod to stove. In truth, it takes about a season to fully master the art (and science) of burning anthracite coal. Our first winter was a season of frustration--hard to start the coal burning, keep it burning, learn to adjust the temp and air, etc. Essentially, what we learned last year is that coal needs air. From time to time you may have to slice through a crust of ash, vertically and horizontally, inside the stove in order to keep the air flowing. Without a flow of air, the fire will dwindle and go out. You'll notice this happening when the stove looks like it has a lot of embers, little to no blue flame, and it's not throwing a lot of heat into the room. You can remedy these problems with some judicious slicing and poking with the slicer. Next is to be sure the ash pan is not overflowing. Keep the ash in the stove under control, and put a lot of coal into the stove. Coal likes a full load of fuel for even burning. With our stove turned down (manually, by adjusting air intake behind the stove), it stays about 80 in our livingroom, and 70 in the rest of the house. Too hot, but we use a fan to help distribute heat. The first time the oil man showed up this winter, we needed 53 gallons to top up the tank. The coal stove has not gone out at all, so far this year.
To start our coal fire, we use charcoal briquets. We don't add coal until the charcoal has produced a hot bed of embers. Then we add coal, slowly, using a metal feed scoop to move the coal from hod to stove. In truth, it takes about a season to fully master the art (and science) of burning anthracite coal. Our first winter was a season of frustration--hard to start the coal burning, keep it burning, learn to adjust the temp and air, etc.
Wow, I am right in the middle of that.
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... Essentially, what we learned last year is that coal needs air. From time to time you may have to slice through a crust of ash, vertically and horizontally, inside the stove in order to keep the air flowing. Without a flow of air, the fire will dwindle and go out. You'll notice this happening when the stove looks like it has a lot of embers, little to no blue flame, and it's not throwing a lot of heat into the room. You can remedy these problems with some judicious slicing and poking with the slicer. Next is to be sure the ash pan is not overflowing. Keep the ash in the stove under control, and put a lot of coal into the stove. Coal likes a full load of fuel for even burning. With our stove turned down (manually, by adjusting air intake behind the stove), it stays about 80 in our livingroom, and 70 in the rest of the house. Too hot, but we use a fan to help distribute heat. The first time the oil man showed up this winter, we needed 53 gallons to top up the tank. The coal stove has not gone out at all, so far this year.
To start our coal fire, we use charcoal briquets. We don't add coal until the charcoal has produced a hot bed of embers.
Patience is important, one of the issues with many people using coal is they expect instant and immediate results like they have with wood. For example if you have a very hot fire going with coal and turn the air off it may take 15 to 30 minutes before it starts slowing down. Same thing when you add more air. It's like a freight train. It takes along time to get up to speed but once it does good look stopping it.
You are actually doing two things by getting a nice fire going before adding the coal, in addtion to the nice hot bed to ignite it you're priming the chimney so it has a good draft going to pull sufficient air through the coal.
I have been starting with a layer of wadded newspaper and about 9 pounds of charcoal [which pretty much fills the firebox], and lighting it.
Then waiting an hour for it to burn down to about 50% of the firebox, then adding just a few pieces of coal [not close enough for them to touch each other], and another layer of charcoal.
Then waiting an hour to 90 minutes for that to burn down. I was told to shake the grate at this point, which seems to give me more room in the firebox and allows the adding a few more pieces of coal, and another layer of charcoal.
After that in a few hours there will be just a little bit of room in the top of the firebox, so I top it off by adding a layer of coal.
I have seen that by placing a small fan in front of the stove, blowing air into the air intake, it does encourage tall leaping blue flames on top of the firebox.
I also have a propane flame-thrower torch. I have tried placing it underneath the grate, and adjusting it's flame so it goes up through the grate. When combined with the fan blowing air; together they do increase how much heat the stove puts out.
The stove pipe is straight up and out the roof, and 8 inches in diameter. I see no indication that it is not drafting well. It sucks all smoke and fumes out nicely.
In the mornings when I take it all out. Among the pieces of coal that were on top maybe half are un-lit, and half were lit on one side, before they went out. Most of the pieces of coal on the bottom are still black coal in the center, and crusty ash on the outside.
There is a learning curve here. Some mornings at 8am I find it is still burning just slightly right in the center of the heap. I have tried shaking the grate, which seems to hasten the fire being extinguished. I have tried shifting the fan to high-speed, which seems to blow out that last remaining glow very quickly. Pretty much any method in which I touch it, it will go out by 10am.
The only place where I could find a cheap price on coal, I had to buy it by the ton. So we have a ton of coal. However we are burning far more charcoal, than coal, and stores here do not restock their charcoal until next summer.
I also note that the semi-burnt coal is accumulating. I have been taking it outside putting it in a soil sifter and washing it to remove all ash. Then storing it in a drum, in the hope that one day when we get this stove to burn well, we will be able to burn through all of this semi-burnt coal too. But it is accumulating.
I have tried putting it back into the firebox, but so far it seems to be non-combustible.
Unless it's burning good I wouldn't shake anything.
Considering the amount of trouble you are having I would suggest you either have air infiltration over the top of the the coal or a bad batch of coal. It's troublesome for those trying to get a fire going but you seem to be having an extraordinary amount of trouble.
Try buying a few bags from a different source is my only suggestion.
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in the hope that one day when we get this stove to burn well, we will be able to burn through all of this semi-burnt coal too. But it is accumulating.
Depends, if you have a bad batch of coal it might be all bone(this has layers of rock and coal) which doesn't burn by itself well. Having said that it won;t hurt to throw it over the top of a fire in small amounts once you have a good fire going. One of the tricks for example when you may want to dampen the fire off is to throw a layer of ash over the top.
Post a picture of your coal, hard to tell with pictures but I can make some judgment.
What's the model of the stove you are using again?
Clarification to starting and saving a coal fire: Any hot fire will do for starting coal, but it has to be seriously hot for the coal to ignite. We use wadded-up newspaper and a few pieces of scrap wood to get the charcoal burning, but then we wait for the charcoal bed to turn orange before we add any coal. We use charcoal rather than wood because it's convenient and reliable for creating the necessary heat for starting a coal fire. The purpose of the start-up fire is to create a draft in the chimney and ignite the first shallow layer of coal (just one scoopful spread over the top of the hot coals). Too much coal at this point will smother the fire, and too little will starve it. It's best to start small and keep adding coal. I never shake the grates until I can see white ash buildup near the bottom of the fire or just inside the grate, below a good coal fire. While it's tempting to try and salvage unburned coal, only the heavy, shiny pieces are worth retrieving. Partially burned pieces aren't worth the trouble and mess to pick them out because they don't burn. If you have a lot of partially burned or unburned coal, it means you have a problem to resolve. There shouldn't be too much wasted coal. Ninety-nine percent of what you throw out should be gray ash. The size of anthracite can also affect your fire. Last year, when we had nothing but trouble, we used nut size, which is the size of a child's fist. This year, we bought a ton of pea size, and our stove seems to like it better and burn more steadily. We have a Vermont Castings Vigilant. The best trick I read about last year is to crack the ash pan door a couple of inches for about 5 minutes (often less) after adding coal. Along with this, we open the rear air intake flap (a primitive thermostat) to the maximum, and we leave the damper handle up to maintain a strong draft until we see a lot of blue flame. It's not recommended to leave the fire unattended at this point, but within about 5 minutes there should be a strong blue flame that suddenly ignites across the surface of the coal. At this point, I shut the ash door, close the damper behind the stove, and put the handle down to slow the chimney draft. We don't shake, poke, or slice until the fire is well established. On the other hand, if you find virtually no fire in the morning, you have too much ash, not enough coal, and the fire is going out from lack of air and fuel. It's critical NOT to shake the grates at this point, because shaking will send your last embers down into the ash pan, when you might have had just enough heat left in the embers to ignite a few chunks of coal. Sometimes you can nurse the fire back to life at this point, but it takes time and patience. And you'll probably have to crack the ash pan door in order to get the fresh coal burning, since the overnight ash buildup will clog other sources of air until you can get it cleaned out. Slice, poke, and shake the grates, empty the no doubt full ash pan, and add more coal.
Hi guys I am looking for some good advice,last year i was on a coal forum but I could not get all the advice i needed.I am from northern wis and have access to bagged anthracite at 300 a ton.I REALLY WANT TO BURN THIS STUFF BUT MY OWB IS NOT SET UP TO DO IT.So my question is ,is could i build a rectangle box with shaker grates and air underneath and successfully get the anthracite to heat my boiler.the fire box is rather large but i have a 13 inch wide by 32 inch long grate up center with a full lenghth ash drop under.I am just thinking of an insert type thing. If so how high should sides be .I am a certified welder so design is not a problem.I just hate to build another boiler for coal if i can use anthracite to heat the water in this one .the stove is built super strong the fire box is a 500 gallon propane tank i cut in half so its 3/8 thick plenty for coal also what kind of draft should i use i have ampd in now for wood.But i am sick of wood it seems very dirty and inefficient in this stove lots of creoste and seems to never fully combust
We have a boiler that can be oil or coal. We always burn coal in the winter, and don't start up the heat until it's cold enough to sustain it. It fills with an augar system which pulls in the coal as needed, and ash falls into a space below that gets cleaned out daily. It seems that we frequently have a problem with an odor when the coal is burning, and light smoke coming out of the hopper, no matter how high it is filled (I used to think that it was because the coal supply would get too low). We have a high chimney in my opinion (2 story house, and the chimney is several feet than the rooftop) and use a chimney cap. This isn't a problem everyday, but my wife is concerned about fumes etc. especially for the kids. We do also have CO2 detectors in place. Any suggestions? It's very bothersome, and I'd just like to know if this is normal with our type of set-up or if we need to make adjustments.
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burning anthracite in my owb
