adding coal....

[knockbill]

has anyone used coal in their stove for an extended burn? a buddy was telling me he got a bucket of coal from a co worker to try,, he put a shovel or so on top of teh wood coals, and it burned overnight,,, he has a vc absolute...
i guess it would be more efficient if teh stove was set up for coal, and had a grate, but i was just wondering what experiences you guys had???
thanks...

 

[John R]

Coal burns hotter than wood, be careful with it if your stove isn't made to burn it.

 

[pook]

coal turns grey & when stove is cleaned ,grey coal can be broken to find that the interior is black & didnt burn

 

[PA Plumber]

Nope, never tried burning coal in the wood stove.

Doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

 

[loadthestove]

Yes coal will hold a fire better than wood.But as mentioned it can damage your stove.I simply dont like the smell in my house.

Unless you have a coal mine on your property you will have to buy the coal.around here block coal sells for around $120 a ton and stoker coal goes for $150. a few years back I used a stoker furnace to heat my business.I would easily burn at least a ton a month.so if you burn any significant amount and had to buy it where would the savings be.

If I have to spend anything other than my labor on heat I will simply turn the thermostat up on my furnace

 

[knockbill]

Yes coal will hold a fire better than wood.But as mentioned it can damage your stove.I simply dont like the smell in my house.

i think thats the answer i was thinking of... my old stove was a combo coal/wood stove, you used the grate for coal, but i never tried it...


If I have to spend anything other than my labor on heat I will simply turn the thermostat up on my furnace

thats my thoughts on wood burning,,, i can get all teh oak & maple i want right here in town for free,,, if i had to pay for it, i'd run teh gas furnace, a lot less work!!!

thanks for teh replies

 

[fubar2]

I would never burn coal over anything other than iron, iron shaker grates are best for it. I have seen what it does to steel grates and it ain't pretty, I can imagine what it would do to a steel stove bottom.

 

[knockbill]

I would never burn coal over anything other than iron, iron shaker grates are best for it. I have seen what it does to steel grates and it ain't pretty, I can imagine what it would do to a steel stove bottom.

i don't think i've ever seen a steel stove without brick on teh bottom,,, the one i replaced was steel, and it was rated for coal or wood, but it had firebrick on teh bottom and sides,, i never tried it with coal, as i didn't have teh optional grate...

 

[Streblerm]

My dad burns a little bit of coal. He has shaker grates in his wood furnace though. I will root through the pile and pull out some bigger pieces occasionally. I don't pack the stove with them but I will throw a couple pieces on top of the fire.

They will burn completely that way, but a couple pieces of coal don't seem to extend the burn time at all. I don't notice significantly more heat than a good load of dry seasoned hardwood.

IMO it is not worth the hassle. If I were going to buy something to burn in a wood stove, I would look at the "bio blocks" or "eco bricks" which are blocks made of compressed sawdust. They are kind of like giant pellets.

 

[micker30]

using coal

I have a Crown royal Stove with grates in the bottom. I throw bucket of coal in everytime I check it. Then throw couple of logs on fire I get longer burn time and use less wood. Without the coal when it gets below zero I'm at the stove every 5 to 6 hours because it burns up all the wood. It seems that the coal gives me longer burns but the stove doesn't drop in temp. I also dropped my fan temp so the stove only drops 4 degrres instead of the normal 10 keeps fire burning.

 

[savageactor7]

Long time ago I burned coal in a coal stove that provided hot water as well. I was told I was pretty good at it cause there's a knack to it.

Fast forward to sometime in the 70's we got an r65 Shenandoah with grates that supposedly could do coal. Well I couldn't get the coal to burn in the stove for anything...and blamed it on the stove.

If I didn't have all this free wood I buy a coal stove and get coal a few tons at a time.

The coal I burned with success many years ago sat outside in the snow and rain on a concrete revetment. I didn't know the name of it but it was bulletproof to the elements.

Good luck with your coal fire...but first make sure your stove can handle it. Coal gets a lot hotter than wood.

 

[trouba]

Yep I have, but it was in a coal/wood stove. Mix it in with mostly wood and in the morning all that would be left would be some lumps of coal still burning. I would probable still burn some but its kinda hard to come by in Iowa.