Trianco TRG80 - fire keeps dying

[Falladaboy]

Thanks for your message. But does my fuel sound bad to you, from the way I described it? And is there anything I might have overlooked that could go wrong with my boiler?

 

[Terrywookfit]

It can only be the fuel.
Is it Black shiny and brittle .....does it look right ?? After 40 years you should have a good idea.
How much ash are you getting per fill compared to what you put in.
Fill the hopper and note how many buckets it takes.
Save what comes out as ash and unburnt crap to compare.
Unless you can find a "Bomb Calorimeter" to measure the c v !!

 

[nick49]

It can only be the fuel.
Is it Black shiny and brittle .....does it look right ?? After 40 years you should have a good idea.
How much ash are you getting per fill compared to what you put in.
Fill the hopper and note how many buckets it takes.
Save what comes out as ash and unburnt crap to compare.
Unless you can find a "Bomb Calorimeter" to measure the c v !!

Hi all.....wish I'd found this thread earlier

I could have written exactly the same as Falladaboy ....and others..... trg 60 going out......sometimes fine, sometimes crap......getting same excuses from supplier......"noone else has problems".

Fan stay on for hours ..... 'coal' in direct line with fan blast is dark cherry red, but does not migrate to the rest of the coal, and eventually, goes out.......and as Terry has pointed out, the 'coal' is not black as it used to be.....rather slate grey producing too much ash......I've wondered (guess it's kind of obvious) the excess ash insulates the 'coal' like a blanket, preventing the air blast reaching the coal.
Now at least I can go to the supplier and say that I'm not the only one experiencing issues.

?

 

[Falladaboy]

Hello nick49 - I appreciate your input. I'm still having the same problems: if my boiler stays in for 3 days, it's a major triumph. Declinkering is now pure guesswork: sometimes it helps - loosens up the firebed (so I think) and lets air through - sometimes it makes things worse: I inadvertently pull burning coal too far forward. And as you say, it is a dull cherry red at that point, and it is pure luck whether or not it revives to a bright yellow and the fire builds up again (very, very slowly - I fear for my fan bearings!).
My supplier has assured me, after repeated prodding, that they are supplying Black Diamond grade Welsh anthracite, which is said to be the best; but an industry insider tells me my supplier buys "very little" BD fuel. I gather that "group 1" anthracite - an inferior grade - is now much more commonly sold. My options are to stick with my supplier (and keep a large stock of firelighters in the house), pay much more to another, smaller local supplier, or buy online and hope that the delivery driver can be arsed to drive down our farm lane (not guaranteed, according to the vendor: I'd call that a flawed business model myself ...).