Coalpail.com Forum

I decide to try burning Pea this spring as my day time temps get warm and the nights still get cold and those off days were it still seems like winter or just plain rainy raw cool weather.
The Pea is easy to shovel, packs very well in the stove. The Mark III shakes it very easy without jams. All one needs to do is jiggle the shaker handle just a little. Even with my center grate warped down and not aligning with the front or back the pea stays fine on the grates. It does burn so slow I love it and will probably buy a pallet of Blazchek in the Fall to start out then switch to nut then back to coal in spring. I'll try mixing Nut with it for those colder days. Topping off the nut at night with Pea. I notice dumping the ash pan is cut way back.
I'm still burning here since Nov. as the Pea will simmer so slow and not go out but when I open it up it will respond in time and give some good heat when needed. I have been running it with 1/2 turn open on average. 1 at night maybe 1 1/2 or so when I want to build up heat late in the afternoon until bedtime then 1 or less during night.
My local dealer doesn't carry Pea only Blazcheck Nut. I don't know why I'll have to ask maybe he'll order some to come on the truck. I got the Pea at Aubuchon's Hardware. $7.50 a bag.

Cheers

I got 5 ton of nut bulk delivered last summer and have been working my way through that pile. During the winter I noticed a couple spots that had a good amount of fines and much smaller stuff than nut. I avoided that stuff for the most part during the cold months. I had been dipping into that part of the pile during the spring, mix it in with the bigger nut pieces and see the same result as you do with the pea coal.

I got a good deal on about 4 tons of pea coal last spring and burned it first in a gibraltar cfs and recently in a Mark I I picked up. I find it very easy to control and consistent. I generally like it better than nut or stove but for the really cold nights I would go for nut coal for more heat.

I found that a combination of pea and nut works well for me. I get a longer burn due to the pea with greater immediate heat of nut. Last year I burned the combination for FEB and MAR but this year I'll be burning it the entire season; I'm buying 50/50 this year. Lisa

we get to 30 below here in NH so Nut is the ticket once winter sets in. Every night temps drop to 0 or below for months straight.
It was 18 here this morning 54 yesterday afternoon.

Jim

The Superior coal I have now is nut size, but there are a lot of smaller pieces mixed in, it's more like "range". The mixture burned great in the Mark I, I also was able to close the air inlet as low as 1/2 of a turn and still keep the fire idling along. The stove is done until the fall.

Wood'nCoal wrote:The Superior coal I have now is nut size, but there are a lot of smaller pieces mixed in, it's more like "range". The mixture burned great in the Mark I, I also was able to close the air inlet as low as 1/2 of a turn and still keep the fire idling along. The stove is done until the fall.

I agree with John. Although I'm not burning a Harman Mark 'x', the Superior nut has a nice 'range' of nut and pea +/- sizes and the blend works in my stove. This size mix works good yeilding a longer burn and more heat than the pea only Reading I've been using the past six years. Temperature is easy to control and it shakes down more easily too. For warmer days of 35 - 60 I'll mix 1:1 Superior nut : Reading pea as I still have a little of each left.

I have a mark II and use pea all the time. I can get plenty of heat when I want and simmer it down to just an idle on warm afternoons. I buy from Superior. I fired it up in early October and it's still going, as a matter of fact I ran over to Superior today for a 1/4 ton to get me to the end of the month if necessary. I checked the 10 day extended forcast and it looks like it will be burning for at least 10 more days.

Yes I find the Pea burns so slow we can use it here as days get warm but clear nights get cool. The temp gauge says 100 deg. but you'd never know its burning.
I couldn't do this with Nut this time of year with out having it get too hot or going out.

I just bought a new Mark III and I've never burned coal before. From what I've read, it sounds like I should bot nut and pea. Any suggestions on how much of each I should purchase? I also have about 7 cords of wood left. It's OK to burn wood in the Mark III, right?

Yes, it will burn wood fine. I would only get a few bags of each and try it out to see how well it burns before making a big investment of a couple tons. I think each chimney/stove setup burns with its own personality and your Mark III may burn nut or pea different than mine does.

If you haven't already, I would recommend installing a barometric damper for burning coal, cap it closed, though, when burning wood. Also it would be a good idea to get a manometer so you can measure your draft and set the baro accurately.

Skinsfan wrote:I just bought a new Mark III and I've never burned coal before. From what I've read, it sounds like I should bot nut and pea. Any suggestions on how much of each I should purchase? I also have about 7 cords of wood left. It's OK to burn wood in the Mark III, right?

I have several friends that burn both fuel in their MkIIIs. Great stoves. If you don't know how much draft you have, try nut first. Air flows easier through nut. Since the technique of burning coal is dissimilar to burning wood, try a dozen or so bags first. Nut will be a little more forgiving with the air settings as you learn. IMHO, if you get a dozen bags and start on the coal when the weather is cold, you'll get a feel for how nut burns with your chimney/stove combination. Figure that in 30 - 40 degree weather, you'll likely go thru ~1x 40# bag/day if you're using 7 cord/season. The dozen should take you through about 2 weeks.

You didn't say how many cords of wood you go through in a season but 7 cord is roughly equal to 4.5 - 5 ton of coal.