Burning coal

[Doofy]

I burned coal back in the 80s and absolutely loved it. 3 tons of coal replaced 10 cords of firewood (spruce). Lost my eyebrows several times when I tried shutting her down to soon. Whoooosh! Door would be blown open and a 10' ball of flame and gas would scare the snot out of everyone. Good Times!

 

[oosik]

My pellet stove - Welenco Pellet Master - says it will burn coal. I have no idea where I would ever get any. I've burned olive pits - one bag - in it and brother, that was a HOT fire. I've also burned wheat in it - wheat does not produce a lot of heat, so you burn a lot, its cheap around here - the house, inside, gets covered in wheat dust. The sack that wheat is put in was never designed to keep the wheat dust inside the sack.

However - I've gone over to electric heat and haven't used the pellet stove for over fifteen years. It's a big 'ol lunkie decoration now.

 

[Doofy]

My pellet stove - Welenco Pellet Master - says it will burn coal. I have no idea where I would ever get any. I've burned olive pits - one bag - in it and brother, that was a HOT fire. I've also burned wheat in it - wheat does not produce a lot of heat, so you burn a lot, its cheap around here - the house, inside, gets covered in wheat dust. The sack that wheat is put in was never designed to keep the wheat dust inside the sack.

However - I've gone over to electric heat and haven't used the pellet stove for over fifteen years. It's a big 'ol lunkie decoration now.

oosik,

Finally sold my ol' King-O-Heat upright coal burner. I sold it for about what it cost new. I like to shake things up a little every 30 or 40 years.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I burned coal back in the 80s and absolutely loved it. 3 tons of coal replaced 10 cords of firewood (spruce).

That Healey coal was good stuff... I burned some coal off the beach too, but the Healey coal was best.

SR

 

[Doofy]

That Healey coal was good stuff... I burned some coal off the beach too, but the Healey coal was best.

SR

I bought hard coal from the old Buffalo Mine in Sutton. First couple of years they had nice Lump coal. Last couple of years, all I could buy was pea size coal. Both worked equally well.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I guess I shouldn't tell you guys when I worked underground I was allowed to buy 18 ton a year at cost which was somewhere around $30/ton. I never did it because I was 20 something and living in an apartment but the option was there. I would still have to arrange for trucking of course. My FIL still has his coal boiler but wants to switch to propane and a HE boiler that does domestic hot water too.

 

[Bocephous]

I've been burning wood for years now in my Harman Mark III, but will be switching to coal during the coldest months. I ordered 3 ton of bagged palleted Lehigh nut that should be delivered this Tuesday.

I tried burning coal the first full winter we relocated back to PA, but it was trial by error. I was raised in a home where the main source of heat was a wood/coal stove, but was never taught the right way to regulate a coal fire. I've been learning a bunch over on Anthracite & Bituminous Coal Forum - Residential & Commercial Heating | Coalpail.com Forum and am ready to make the switch.

 

[HillStreet]

After burning wood for 25+ years I switched to coal. I bought a DS Machine EnergyMax 160 and it is a monster. It will heat the house to 85 degrees turned way down (its in the basement). Takes 3 bags to fill it. Which brings up a question: 3 bags a day is $24—I can heat with propane much cheaper than that. Does anybody know if I could just use one bag a day in that stove??

 

[LouNY]

The forum coalpail.com has a DS section, that is a massive stove but you should be able to throttle it down by reducing the in coming air. Or possibly by adding more fire brick to reduce the fire bed.

 

[Beltzington]

I grew up on the Colorado Eastern Plains during the 60's and 70's and for ~12-years we heated our old farmhouse with a large cast iron parlor stove. Other than starting the fire we exclusively burned coal and one football size coal lump would last all night long providing you managed air flow correctly. Two of my daily chores were dump the ashes and bring in a bucket of coal, I have allot of great memories from those years and often think America would be a much better place everyone had to work on a farm for at least a few years.