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Stokers - Water-Cooled Oscillating Grate Stoker

Water-Cooled Oscillating Grate Stokers

Water-Cooled Vibrating Grate Stokers

The Riley Power Inc. Water-Cooled Oscillating Grate and Vibrating Grate Stokers are ideal for firing
biomass fuels which vary in moisture content and heating values. Each fuel requires its own proportion of
combustion air quantity, combustion air temperature, degree of oscillation or vibration and speed of fuel
travel on the grate.
Oscillating Grate Stokers
Over the years Riley Power Inc has manufactured underfeed, overfeed and oscillating (with and without
water cooling) grate stokers with a variety of feeders. We pioneered the stoker firing of conventional and
unconventional fuels from coal to coffee grounds, and from bagasse to waste wood. Riley oscillating grate
spreader stokers provide the self-cleaning advantages of traveling grate stokers at appreciably lower cost.
They are designed to efficiently burn a wide range of coals having a variety of caking and ash fusion
characteristics. The design is extremely versatile as it can be easily adapted to small as well as large
boilers. Front or rear ash discharge can be installed.
The Riley Power Inc. oscillating grate is ideal for firing biomass fuels which vary in moisture content and
heating value. Each fuel requires its own proportion of combustion air quantity, combustion air
temperature, degree of oscillation, and speed of fuel travel on the grate.
Low-maintenance grate clips are made of high temperature cast material, seated on the water cooling
tubes with high conductivity grout. We design the high pressure drop grate surface for better air
distribution through the grate. Air zones beneath the grate allow for balancing the air flow across the
front, middle and rear sections.
The stoker has a low profile air plenum and siftings removal system, but allows ample access for
maintenance. Siftings fall into the plenum and are carried to the discharge opening by oscillating motion.
A large siftings hopper is not required.
Water-cooled grates, affording additional reliability and protection, allow the use of high temperature
undergrate air for high moisture fuels, yet they protect the grate components from overheating. The
constant flow of cooling water is also sufficient protection for the grates when firing the boiler with
auxiliary burners. The grates do not require a layer of insulating material for protection. To conserve heat
and water, boiler feedwater is generally used for grate cooling. Other water sources may also be used.
Vibrating Grate Stokers, a Major Advance
Riley Power Inc. can offer a vibrating grate stoker for the full range of applications covered by the Riley
oscillating stoker. Water-cooling is a standard offering with this design. The two major benefits of a
vibrating stoker grate are:
(1) The stoker transmits no vibration to the boiler.

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(2) The grate surface and the air plenum are an integral unit, virtually eliminating air leakage at the grate
sides. Because the integral grate surface and air plenum move together, maintaining a tight seal is
relatively simple. This assures that combustion air will reach the fuel through the grate clips promoting
better air-to-fuel mixing.
Riley Power Inc.'s Water-Cooled Vibrating Grate Stoker is furnished as a shop-assembled modular unit.
The integral grate surface, water cooling tubes and headers, air plenum, and siftings disposal system is
mounted on a counterbalance. They are separated from the structural support with isolation springs. The
module has its own structural steel base and is isolated from the rest of the boiler. A two- to fourhorsepower variable speed drive motor provides oscillation for the stoker. The motor, drive springs, and
isolation springs are mounted on the support steel under the grate and are totally open and accessible
even while the unit is in operation.
Both the time between oscillations and the intensity of the oscillation can be controlled with an easy
control panel adjustment. They require no mechanical adjustment of eccentrics. Typically, oscillation
cycles are approximately five minutes apart with oscillation five to ten seconds long. The times will vary
depending on the fuel characteristics and the moisture content. Actual grate motion is about a quarter of
an inch, and the entire grate surface oscillates at once. The grates do not have to be broken into separate
oscillating zones. Variable oscillation also allows the five to ten second oscillating cycles to start slowly and
build up to full intensity. This puts less stress on the combustion system and eliminates emissions spikes.

Oscillation is shown greatly enlarged in this diagram.

The actual oscillation is about one quarter inch. Motion
is approximately 45 to the grate surface, causing the
ash and non-combustible material to be lifted slightly
off the grate and to move toward the discharge end.

High pressure drop grate clips are attached to the water cooling tubes. A
layer of high-conductivity grout eliminates voids between the clips and the
tubes, maximizing the transfer of cooling.

Multi-zone undergrate air plenum

allows flexibility in adjusting the air
flow to match fuel distribution.

Retrofits to Existing Boilers

We can normally retrofit Riley Power Inc. Water-Cooled Oscillating Grate Stokers and Vibrating Grate
Stokers into existing boilers without pressure part modifications. Vibrating Grate Stokers use oscillating
vertical flow technology which can move material "uphill," and it is not necessary for the grate surface to
be sloping for the process to be effective. Both stokers are equally suitable for horizontal grates. Stokers
can be built to a practical maximum size of 28 feet deep by 40 feet wide.
Besides stokers, Riley Power Inc. furnishes a complete line of biomass combustion equipment. This
includes pneumatic fuel distributors, overfire air and cinder reinjection systems, and sand separators.

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Riley Power Inc. is a Pioneer in Stoker Technology

We have been making stokers since 1913 to burn conventional and unconventional fuels. We built our first
oscillating grate water-cooled stoker in the 1950's.
Ash Discharge is Automatic
Ash is automatically discharged from the grate during timed oscillating intervals.
Oscillating System Vibrates the Fuel, Not the Boiler
We integrate the grate, water cooling tubes, air plenum, and drive mechanism in a free standing shopassembled module isolated from the boiler.
Integral Grate and Air Plenum for Tight Air Seal
Grate surface and air plenum are a single unit that oscillates together, with no seals to separate or leak.
Combustion air reaches the fuel through the grates for thorough burning.
A Cost-Effective Retrofit to Traveling Grate Spreader Stokers
Oscillating vertical flow technology does not require a sloped grate surface, so retrofits to stokers with
horizontal grates can be made without pressure part modification.
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