Stovax 5 Wide and burning Anthracite

[LeeMills]

Hi all,

 

Manual is unclear on how to burn anthracite, so need some advice please. I have a Stovax Stockton 5 Wide and have the following 3 air settings:

 

1. Airwash (top)
2. Primary Air (bottom)
3. Secondary Air (below)

 

I intend to burn the Lion Supaglo Anthracite Coal but want to make sure I have the procedure from start to finish correct if anybody could assist?

 

Firstly, I understand burning wood and coal at the same time can cause damage to the flue with sulphur dioxide and I understand coal requires an airflow below, while wood requires above. Also, I’m not able to clear the grate; the coal will sit on the grate and so I’ll have to clear the grate with a stick of some kind.

 

I think my plan of action will be to use a firelighter, kindling, some soft wood and a hard wood log to get the fire going and up to around 320 degrees. I’ll wait for the wood to burn down to embers, then I’ll begin adding the anthracite until it catches fire. I’ll then close the Airwash at the top and the Primary Air and have the Secondary air (below) open around 1/3 of the way.

 

Then give it some time and add another layer of anthracite and keep it burning all day. Has anyone any comments regarding this?

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Lee.

[Mik the Miller]

It's never that complex nor that precise. If your stove has a grate it is designed to burn coal and if often classified as 'multi-fuel'.

You will find a way to light your stove efficiently in the first few weeks that will stay with you. This 'method' may change slightly with different coal batches and differing weather conditions.

 

Try making a nest with a layer of coal on the base and a small section of kindling in the middle. Loosly roll some newspaper with a pile of sticks on top and coal around the edge with perhaps a lump on top.

 

Light the newspaper, open all the airvents, close the door and go away for 15 mins.

If you must put 1/2 a firelighter at the opposite edges of the nest, personaly I don't use them.

Putting hydrocarbons in a sealed hot box give me the creeps, those wax covered wood shaving things are OK

 

[LeeMills]

Hey Mik,

 

First time I tried to light anthracite, I did use kindling, sticks and some coal but it took well over an hour to get to a temperature around 215, so thought I may need to try a different method.

 

I've got plenty of dry kindling, some quite large. I'll try your method with some newspaper (and cardboard?) and see how I get on. Also - I never use those hydrocarbon firelighters - I sometimes use those wax shavings.

 

Let's see how I get on... I'll let you know.

 

Lee.

[LeeMills]

OK, tried the method of a small coal bed with kindling on top with a firelighter. I got the temperature to 120 degrees and the kindling burnt out and the fire went out. I kept the vents open fully but I just couldn't get it going.

 

A second attempt later - instead, I got a wood fire going and got it up to 350-400 degrees. I left the wood to burn to embers and added an anthracite layer, which eventually caught fire. However, I only got it up to around 280 degrees - and no blue flames.

 

I've pretty much mastered the wood fire, but the anthracite fire has eluded me so far.I'll keep experimenting and see if I can find the right balance.

 

Lee.

[GarethM]

You work your way onto anthracite, there's a reason old fashioned fires running on coal were never put out, just riddled and stoked!.

 

Unless you're burning 24/7, add a bit is the best you can realistically achieve to eak out a few extra hours.

 

Some add coal before they go to bed as it's easier to restart from slumber in the morning.

[Steven P]

Anthracite is a bit of a specialist coal, it needs a good air flow and a decent start. I have 2 fires, the stove multifuel grate has half way between coal and a flat bed sized gaps, sort of best of neither but it will burn wood Ok and it will burn house coal or smokeless OK... but not enough airflow for anthracite. Upstairs is a traditional open fire, the grate has larger gaps and anthracite will burn on that. It is never a roaring fire, more a steady burn - with the blue flames. 

 

On larger steam engines, much better air flow and the fire box is a lot hotter generally and anthracite is good on them.

 

Right to your problem them. Ignore the sulphur thing, it is only really an issue if it condenses in the chimney as an acid (sulphuric acid?), as a gas it will go up and out. If the chimney is warm you'll be OK.

 

Get a good wood fire going to start, you can try making a bed of coal and lighting the fire on top or you can try wood fire and adding coals on top of that, both ways should work. You need a decent heat in there to get the coals to light - letting the wood nearly burn out will be too cold.

 

I found it works best with a thin bed (not a thick load of coal) but you do need to add more coal more often. If at bed times you have a decent red / orange fire going then you can bank it up a bit for overnight.

 

As above, keep the grate clear of ash, riddle it ever so often to keep the air flowing. 

 

Not a lot of volatile gasses from Anthracite, so it works better with more lower air than top air

[openspaceman]

3 hours ago, Steven P said:

(sulphuric acid?)

Sulphurous acid H2SO3, made when sulphur burns to sulphur dioxide and that dissolves in water aka acid rain

[LeeMills]

Thanks for all your replies.

 

Seems I don't have the best stove for burning anthracite, so I've decided to stick with wood.

 

Lee.

[Steven P]

However, all might not be lost, once the flu if hot (hot enough for any potential acids to not condense on it), then you might be able to burn a mix, have a bed of anthracite as a base heat and logs on top to keep the fire going - at least till you use up the coal you have. As above a little experimenting with the fuels you have will get you a nice fire going. I've also used smokeless coals similarly, about 3-1 mix smokeless to anthracite to use it up.

 

(alternative might be an angle grinder to the grate to give a better air flow, but not sure anyone would recommend that, it will lower your wood burning efficiency a bit)