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Anyone tried coal as a fuel?

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posted 11 years ago

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Working up in coal country this week, got me wondering if anyone has used coal as a fuel, or as a supplementary fuel

dave

dave jersey

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posted 11 years ago

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https://permies.com/forums/bookmarks/insert/2/20896

too bad it doesn't suggest other topics when i start one.

dave

allen lumley

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posted 11 years ago

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Dave Jersey : If Ernie says it can be done, then it can ! If I was to try and live with a coal fueled Rocket Mass Heater R.M.H. it would have to be a Batch loading
Horizontal feeding model, and need the extra heat that a 8'' diameter model would produce, hopefully I will never have to heat a house that large again !

For the Future of the Craft ! Be safe, keep warm ! PYROLOGICAL, Big AL ! - As always,questions and comments are solicited and are Welcome ! A. L.

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Satamax Antone

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posted 11 years ago

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allen lumley wrote:Dave Jersey : If Ernie says it can be done, then it can ! If I was to try and live with a coal fueled Rocket Mass Heater R.M.H. it would have to be a Batch loading
Horizontal feeding model, and need the extra heat that a 8'' diameter model would produce, hopefully I will never have to heat a house that large again !For the Future of the Craft ! Be safe, keep warm ! PYROLOGICAL, Big AL ! - As always,questions and comments are solicited and are Welcome ! A. L.

Allen, you might not want one for a house, but what a nice forge it could make

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allen lumley

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posted 11 years ago

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Satamax: Just recently Ernie and Erica,plus paul ( the Ws )set down to make another 'pod' cast, and announced that Erica's Rocket cook stove was capable of heating
mild steal red hot,- with just wood - they talked about improving that stove but as full as their plates are now I won't hold my breath ! big AL

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R Scott

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posted 11 years ago

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A coal rocket would be INTENSE. Great for a big open space like a barn/shop but not something I would want in a house unless you were in the arctic.

Web4deb's (youtube name, I don't remember his name on here) pellet burner could be adapted to coal easy enough, you just would need to choose your materials carefully. If E&E can forge on stick wood, coal would be running hotter than most materials can handle.

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allen lumley

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posted 11 years ago

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R. Scott : when you talk about big open spaces you are starting to get in the working range Of a 55 gal drum Pocket Rocket, I saw it set alight old dead grass last april
and it had to dry out the grass from limp and soggy first! Around here Ice fishermen make up 5 gal pails into pocket rockets, coal would be interesting ! I can remember
when you could get 'pea coal' that would work in Rob T.s' pellet stove, but would probably burn out his grate ! For the Future Good of the Craft ! PYRO AL

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R Scott

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posted 11 years ago

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I had a 55 gallon pocket rocket as a stock tank heater. It would simmer 700 gallons of water when it was 10 degrees outside. It was awesome.

allen lumley

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Location: Northern New York Zone4-5 the OUTER 'RONDACs percip 36''

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R. Scot : Four questions how did you keep it down inside and not floating up? Did you Drain the tank, start the fire, and re-fill the tank? or what ? and how long
did the pocket rocket last !

There are enough other people who are interested in pocket rockets so this should be a Forum >> Thread of its own ! PYRO AL

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R Scott

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posted 11 years ago

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55 gallon drum was held down with cast iron scrap and sand in the bottom. Just standing there in an 8' metal stock tank. Downside was this was about half the depth of the water, putting the fire much higher than optimum for heat transfer. Didn't burn out the bottom of the stock tank as the big plus. Next time I will do a double layer drums with sand in the middle. It is surprisingly hard to find 30 gallon drums around here, though

We got one season out of the drum and it was a pretty thin drum with no paint. If you found a heavy gauge drum and used some stove paint to protect from rust you should get a couple seasons from the outer barrel. Or build one out of a stainless barrel if you can find one.

The feed tube needs to be made with better than standard black stovepipe to last.

allen lumley

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Location: Northern New York Zone4-5 the OUTER 'RONDACs percip 36''

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R. Scott :There are new stainless 55gal drums, I wonder what happens to the ones that won't seal, During WW11 there were a type of 55gal heavy gage drum
That had two I-beam shaped 2'' high ribs in addition to the placement of regular ribs, for rolling along hard ground! They used to be loaned out to farmers with
Maple Syrup Operations in the spring, I think that at least the outside was galvanized ! They disappeared out of this neck-of-the-woods, 50 years ago ! There
maybe one or two dented old ones hidden away in a neighbors barn! Good luck to both of us! I have already told 5 people if I found some that they would go
on a list - - right after I get mine !

For the Future Good of the Craft ! Be safe, keep warm ! PYRO-LOGICAL Big AL -As always, your comments and questions are solicited and are welcome ! A. L.

Success has a Thousand Fathers , Failure is an Orphan

LOOK AT THE " SIMILAR THREADS " BELOW !

Satamax Antone

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posted 11 years ago

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http://www.leboncoin.fr/bricolage/364739352.htm?ca=21_s

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allen lumley

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Location: Northern New York Zone4-5 the OUTER 'RONDACs percip 36''

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Satamax : Thank you, That barrel was probably made in '43 - '44, to hold some petroleum product ! It could make a superior 55 gal 'Rocket' drum !
For the Future Good of the Craft ! Be safe, keep warm ! PYRO AL - As always, your comments and questions are solicited and are Welcome ! A. L.

Success has a Thousand Fathers , Failure is an Orphan

LOOK AT THE " SIMILAR THREADS " BELOW !

rodney johnson

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Location: canada ontario

posted 11 years ago

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My next door neighbourhood just made one for his maple syrup operation and he said the heat that bugger throw off from a 55 gallon drum was epic, he original tried just wood in the barrel with an opening and a fan never even got the pot boiling, and only heated the sides somewhat for boiling and used about 21 full skids, the one I helped make he said he used only less than 6 skids to run all day 3 slats running together and boiled the pot all day, than when was just finished he had a ss lid from another bucket he put on top and said with a short time the whole lid was glowing red hot. Be kind of interesting what coal would run like.

allen lumley

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Rodney J. : I am trying to read between the lines here! Was this a Pocket Rocket that he made to " Boil down '' his Maple Sap to syrup ? And he had a Stainless steel
drum for the stove or for the boiling pot !?! Sorry to be so thick, I am speculating the difference was in how far down into the barrel the air inlet went ! Most people try
to leave room to 'get more wood' in there and cheat themselves on Pre-heating ! With a good rocket stove a fan is never needed !

For the Good of the Crafts ! Be safe, keep warm ! As always, comments and questions are solicited and Welcome ! PYRO - LOGICAL Big AL !

Success has a Thousand Fathers , Failure is an Orphan

LOOK AT THE " SIMILAR THREADS " BELOW !

rodney johnson

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Location: canada ontario

posted 11 years ago

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Yes to boil down the maple sap, the first time was just a steel barrel with a cut out on the bottom tried a fan for more heat, I think someone mentioned a rocket stove to him at that time so he researched it, than he asked me to make to build a rocket stove which was if I recall correctly a 1/8 x 5 x 9 x 22" steel tube with a cover plate welded one side than cut a circle on top for a 1/8 x 9 x 27 3/4" round steel tube welded to the top of the rectangle tube, I left a 1 1/8 x 12" bent flat bar on the bottom of the barrel and he filled it with vermiculite attic insulation I cut the opening in the bottom side with an air chisel cutter attachment and cut the top as well with 9" hole and the top part drops down inside the barrel just to the top of the tube and fastened with some L brackets to the drum than he mixed up some fireplace mortar and fitted it around the barrel and pressed his SS con-caved pot to the mortar so it just touched the top of the tube and than put 4 bolts into the mortar so the pot would be lifted 1/8 to 1/4" above the top of the tube after the mortar set he can adjust the bolts for maximum heat settings. The bottom hole was just crimped around the tube same for the top lid around the tube, the fire wood sits on top of a piece of 2 x 8 channel that just sits inside the tube and hand feeds the wood which he wants to make a timed motor for feeding the wood into the fire for next year.
Be better if I had some pics of it. he can add more maple sap without interrupting the boiling process. Said he going to boil some lobster's in it this weekend as well.

David Brock

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posted 11 years ago

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any pictures yet? I'm thinking/planning on something for next springs sap run and would like more visual aids to help with my build.

Jerry Ward

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Location: S.E. Michigan - Zone 6a

posted 11 years ago

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Yes please, pictures or drawings. My family does the maple syrup thing and this would help in the amount of wood needed.

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