A cooking apparatus, having a body defining an interior cooking chamber for cooking food, a pellet supply portion coupled to the body and including a hopper for storing fuel, a combustion chamber for burning the fuel and heating the cooking chamber, a feeding mechanism for supplying fuel from the hopper to the combustion chamber, and a removable collection receptacle located below the combustion chamber. The apparatus also includes an ash-shaker located between the collection receptacle and the combustion chamber, the ash-shaker including an external actuator that controls one or more moving elements located in the combustion chamber, wherein movement of the moving elements encourages unburned debris in the combustion chamber to fall into the receptacle, after which the collection receptacle can be removed and the unburned debris discarded.

A cooking apparatus, having a body defining an interior cooking chamber for cooking food, a pellet supply portion coupled to the body and including a hopper for storing fuel, a combustion chamber for burning the fuel and heating the cooking chamber, a feeding mechanism for supplying fuel from the hopper to the combustion chamber, and a removable collection receptacle located below the combustion chamber. The apparatus also includes an ash-shaker located between the collection receptacle and the combustion chamber, the ash-shaker including an external actuator that controls one or more moving elements located in the combustion chamber, wherein movement of the moving elements encourages unburned debris in the combustion chamber to fall into the receptacle, after which the collection receptacle can be removed and the unburned debris discarded.

A cooking apparatus, having a body defining an interior cooking chamber for cooking food, a pellet supply portion coupled to the body and including a hopper for storing fuel, a combustion chamber for burning the fuel and heating the cooking chamber, a feeding mechanism for supplying fuel from the hopper to the combustion chamber, and a removable collection receptacle located below the combustion chamber. The apparatus also includes an ash-shaker located between the collection receptacle and the combustion chamber, the ash-shaker including an external actuator that controls one or more moving elements located in the combustion chamber, wherein movement of the moving elements encourages unburned debris in the combustion chamber to fall into the receptacle, after which the collection receptacle can be removed and the unburned debris discarded.

A cooking apparatus, having a body defining an interior cooking chamber for cooking food, a pellet supply portion coupled to the body and including a hopper for storing fuel, a combustion chamber for burning the fuel and heating the cooking chamber, a feeding mechanism for supplying fuel from the hopper to the combustion chamber, and a removable collection receptacle located below the combustion chamber. The apparatus also includes an ash-shaker located between the collection receptacle and the combustion chamber, the ash-shaker including an external actuator that controls one or more moving elements located in the combustion chamber, wherein movement of the moving elements encourages unburned debris in the combustion chamber to fall into the receptacle, after which the collection receptacle can be removed and the unburned debris discarded.

A cooking apparatus, having a body defining an interior cooking chamber for cooking food, a pellet supply portion coupled to the body and including a hopper for storing fuel, a combustion chamber for burning the fuel and heating the cooking chamber, a feeding mechanism for supplying fuel from the hopper to the combustion chamber, and a removable collection receptacle located below the combustion chamber. The apparatus also includes an ash-shaker located between the collection receptacle and the combustion chamber, the ash-shaker including an external actuator that controls one or more moving elements located in the combustion chamber, wherein movement of the moving elements encourages unburned debris in the combustion chamber to fall into the receptacle, after which the collection receptacle can be removed and the unburned debris discarded.

A cooking apparatus, having a body defining an interior cooking chamber for cooking food, a pellet supply portion coupled to the body and including a hopper for storing fuel, a combustion chamber for burning the fuel and heating the cooking chamber, a feeding mechanism for supplying fuel from the hopper to the combustion chamber, and a removable collection receptacle located below the combustion chamber. The apparatus also includes an ash-shaker located between the collection receptacle and the combustion chamber, the ash-shaker including an external actuator that controls one or more moving elements located in the combustion chamber, wherein movement of the moving elements encourages unburned debris in the combustion chamber to fall into the receptacle, after which the collection receptacle can be removed and the unburned debris discarded.

A cooking apparatus, having a body defining an interior cooking chamber for cooking food, a pellet supply portion coupled to the body and including a hopper for storing fuel, a combustion chamber for burning the fuel and heating the cooking chamber, a feeding mechanism for supplying fuel from the hopper to the combustion chamber, and a removable collection receptacle located below the combustion chamber. The apparatus also includes an ash-shaker located between the collection receptacle and the combustion chamber, the ash-shaker including an external actuator that controls one or more moving elements located in the combustion chamber, wherein movement of the moving elements encourages unburned debris in the combustion chamber to fall into the receptacle, after which the collection receptacle can be removed and the unburned debris discarded.

A cooking apparatus, having a body defining an interior cooking chamber for cooking food, a pellet supply portion coupled to the body and including a hopper for storing fuel, a combustion chamber for burning the fuel and heating the cooking chamber, a feeding mechanism for supplying fuel from the hopper to the combustion chamber, and a removable collection receptacle located below the combustion chamber. The apparatus also includes an ash-shaker located between the collection receptacle and the combustion chamber, the ash-shaker including an external actuator that controls one or more moving elements located in the combustion chamber, wherein movement of the moving elements encourages unburned debris in the combustion chamber to fall into the receptacle, after which the collection receptacle can be removed and the unburned debris discarded.

A downflow hearth furnace includes a refractory-lined furnace lid. A burner is thermally coupled through the lid. A combustible material conveyor system communicates with an entry port. A variable speed motor driven rotatable combustible material disperser is positioned under the entry port and coupled to a rotation shaft. A refractory-lined furnace shell has a top edge mating with a bottom edge of the furnace lid and can be raised and lowered between an open position and a closed position. A bed of gas-permeable heat resistant material suspended on a layer of filter material defines a bottom end of a hearth disposed above a plenum. An outlet duct communicates with the plenum and has a horizontal outlet flange. A fixed scrubber input duct has an inlet flange positioned to mate with and form a seal with the outlet duct flange when the furnace shell is in the closed position.

A boiler 7 includes: a combustion furnace 100 having a combustion chamber 100F therein; a heat exchanger 140 configured to transfer, to water, thermal energy obtained by burning a solid fuel in the combustion chamber 100F; a belt conveyor 120 including a movable loader 120a, disposed on a bottom of the combustion chamber 100F, and configured to move the solid fuel on the movable loader 120a in the combustion chamber 100F; and a fuel supplier 130 connected to a fuel supply port 111a that communicates an inside and an outside of the combustion furnace 100. The belt conveyor 120 has a starting point below the fuel supply port 111alb . The fuel supplier 130 includes a thickness adjuster 131 that adjusts a thickness of the solid fuel on the movable loader 120a of the belt conveyor 120.