Hi folks,
The ash has never got to the point of blocking the inlet as there is at least 6" of 80mm square tube (all I had at the time!) Air inlet is 60mm pipe with a flange to fit my blower onto.
The coal I used because I thought anthracite was better for some reason, it was free tbh as my coal man gave me it to try, might try some
bituminous if he has any as I can't get coke easily anywhere local.
Yes the clunker is rock hard, almost glass like and hasn't got any bigger than half a gold ball size so far, that's from like a full days running (only used a 15l bucket of coal during the day).
The blower is definitely blowing air through enough to push any gasses up I would say, only gets limited if I think it's going to blow bits out, you can see it starting with a few yellow embers spitting then it just lets go!
Haven't cleared it out yet as I've had other work to do so I don't know what state the second grate I put in yesterday afternoon is in but from the sudden drop of fuel down the inlet with a slight poke this morning I'd say it's shot.
Dan