SpaceBus,SpaceBus wrote: ↑Mon. Dec. 21, 2020 7:32 amHello, long time since I posted. I have a modern Tim Sistem "North" wood cookstove. It says in the manual that burning coal is possible, and I'd like to try it sometime. The "grate" is fixed cast iron and only in the middle of the firebox, so probably not something that could be reloaded easily. Perhaps it was made for the "coal briquettes" more popular in Europe. My "North" is a Serbian stove and I know coal is still popular there. Always happy to find old solid fuel range oven enthusiasts!
We avoid cooking with the electric stove unless it's just too hot for the wood burner. I imagine coal is probably more friendly for warmer weather, but I've never tried.
Unlike wood, coal produces much more ash and it's denser. Unless it's easy to poke and scrape up through the grate several times a day, you'll likely have trouble clearing coal ash well enough to keep it burning.
Also unlike wood, coal needs it's primary air feed coming in under the firebed and up through the grate. If only part of the firebox floor has openings for air feed there will very likely be dead spots where coal won't burn well. Plus, if there is much over-fire primary air, as used with wood stoves, that will just stall a coal fire.
Paul