Cookin' With Coal

 
PJT
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Location: South Central CT
Baseburners & Antiques: Magee Royal Oak; Glenwood Modern Oak 116
Other Heating: propane

Post by PJT » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 1:08 am

frozen pizza?!?!?!?!?! BLAH!!!!!! :cry:


 
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Photog200
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Posts: 2063
Joined: Tue. Feb. 05, 2013 7:11 pm
Location: Fulton, NY
Baseburners & Antiques: Colonial Clarion cook stove, Kineo #15 base burner & 2 Geneva Oak Andes #517's
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Chestnut
Other Heating: Electric Baseboard

Post by Photog200 » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 6:57 am

I do have a question for you Paul. When you are cooking with the broiler and the wire basket, does the coal leave a flavor on the food like wood coals do? If so, can you describe that flavor, is it a pleasant one?

 
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Sunny Boy
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Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 11:53 am

Photog200 wrote:I do have a question for you Paul. When you are cooking with the broiler and the wire basket, does the coal leave a flavor on the food like wood coals do? If so, can you describe that flavor, is it a pleasant one?

Randy, You read my mind !

We just got home from food shopping and picked up a pack of my favorite hot dogs to try exactly that. The problem is, even damped down for the three hours we were gone, the fire box coals are right up to the top of the fire box and waaaayyy too hot !!!!

Gonna let the coals die down a bit and try it. With fingers crossed :)
Paul

 
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Sunny Boy
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Posts: 25551
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 11:56 am

PJT wrote:Whats a "cooked Tombstone?" :|
I think my last attempt at baking bread would qualify. Carve a name in, stand it up outside, and it would've probably last for years ! :D

Paul

 
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Photog200
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Location: Fulton, NY
Baseburners & Antiques: Colonial Clarion cook stove, Kineo #15 base burner & 2 Geneva Oak Andes #517's
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Chestnut
Other Heating: Electric Baseboard

Post by Photog200 » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 3:03 pm

Today I used a de-greaser and really cleaned the inside of the oven out and then sprayed the inside with high temp silver paint. It made a huge difference in being able to see inside the stove! Pretty smokey out in the garage with the first burn in of the paint but I think it will make a world of difference. The attached photo was taken with just the regular lights I have in the garage, no flash. It was taken with just the iPhone so what you see in the photo is pretty much what I see in the room.

Randy

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buck24
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Location: NEPA/Pittston Twp. PA
Hand Fed Coal Stove: New Buck Corp. / MODEL 24 COAL
Coal Size/Type: Pea, Nut / Anthracite

Post by buck24 » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 3:49 pm

She is looking pretty good there. Even the old stoves are a work of art.

 
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Sunny Boy
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Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 3:50 pm

Randy,
That oven looks great !!!!

The girl friend is mixing up a batch to bake some Irish soda bread as I write this. We just went through the "where's the flash light" while pre heating the oven, so we could read the temp gauge in the cave, . . uh, . I mean the oven. I wish it was still warm weather to let the paint fumes air out. I have the Thermolux silver high temp and shouldn't wait until I get around to restoring the stove.

Ok, you asked about broiling.
Took a few more hours to let the coal burn down so that it's not glowing coals right up against where the cooks tennis racket has to sit. Pictures below show two Sabrett hotdogs before, during, and after cooking by placing the rack in through the Glenwood's broiler door at the upper left side of the range. Keep in mind this is with coal. I think a bed of wood embers would have been better.

Even with the coal level down about an inch below the top of the firebox, I had to keep taking the rack out and turning it about every 20-30 seconds. Plus, I closed off the primary air through the ash drawer so that more cool air would be drawn in through the broiler door. The MPD was at about 45 degrees, the oven damper closed to help slow the fire by sending it "the long way". With all that, the mano gauge only read .03. I thought it would try to climb higher with such a big opening to the top of the firebox, but I guess the extra amount of cool air draw made a difference.

Cooking time, . .
Even after all that, the hot dogs were quick to burn. Only by closing the primary and taking them out often and flipping the rack, did it help prevent them from quickly turning to charcoal. From start to finish, the hotdogs were done in five minutes. And, taken right from the refrigerator to the rack, five minutes was all that was needed and they were very hot on the inside.

It was less than half the cooking time that the same brand hotdogs take in a covered fry pan on the plates right above where I broiled them. Plus, it didn't fill the kitchen with cooking smoke. I would not hesitate to cook like this again.

Taste wise, . .
We went without any condiments so we could taste just the hotdogs. The girl friend and I both noticed a very, very slight difference in taste. But, it was not objectionable. It didn't taste like sulfur, or oil, just different and too slight to really describe. We both agreed that we wouldn't have noticed it at all if we had also used mustard, or ketchup, etc.

Health wise, . . .
The girl friend asked, "What about what's in the coal exhaust getting on the hotdogs? " I said we had survived a lot of food cooked over open wood fires (did I tell you she loves to go camping ? ) and wood is more polluting than hard coal.

However, if I wake up dead tomorrow, don't anybody else try this ! :D

Paul

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Photog200
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Location: Fulton, NY
Baseburners & Antiques: Colonial Clarion cook stove, Kineo #15 base burner & 2 Geneva Oak Andes #517's
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Chestnut
Other Heating: Electric Baseboard

Post by Photog200 » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 4:39 pm

I can imagine that with the fire box full of coal it would be hard to grill on it...that is a lot of heat! I think if I want to grill on mine, I will use a wood fire or just fill the box half full of coal. Thanks for doing the test for us! I don't think you will die from eating anything cooked over the fire as there are coal fired pizza's sold in NY city all over the place. I am not sure how those ovens work, they might not even let the exhaust near the pizza's.

The next time you shut down to clean out the stove, I would highly recommend painting the oven. It really did make a huge difference. I tested two different paints and decided to use Rustoleum high temp because it seems to have metal flake in it and was shinnier (I know that really isn't a word but will use it anyway). I normally do not like Rustoleum paints but for this use I think it worked better than the stove bright paint I had. I tried to find high temp paint in quart so I could paint it on with a brush but could only find black. Just make it a warm day because the paint fumes were powerful both during painting and burn off. Helped to put a fan in the window/door.

I loaded the stove up with coal tonight and turned it down low, want to cure that paint in good. It will be used a lot next week!

Randy

 
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Photog200
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Location: Fulton, NY
Baseburners & Antiques: Colonial Clarion cook stove, Kineo #15 base burner & 2 Geneva Oak Andes #517's
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Chestnut
Other Heating: Electric Baseboard

Post by Photog200 » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 7:24 pm

buck24 wrote:She is looking pretty good there. Even the old stoves are a work of art.
Thank you buck24, I would rather cook on this old stove than the brand new one I just bought in the kitchen.

 
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Photog200
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Joined: Tue. Feb. 05, 2013 7:11 pm
Location: Fulton, NY
Baseburners & Antiques: Colonial Clarion cook stove, Kineo #15 base burner & 2 Geneva Oak Andes #517's
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Chestnut
Other Heating: Electric Baseboard

Post by Photog200 » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 7:26 pm

I put the still black rack back in the oven and it made it look dark in there again. So, I took the rack out and painted that silver too and now it matches rather nicely.

 
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windyhill4.2
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Location: Jonestown,Pa.17038
Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404 with variable blower
Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both

Post by windyhill4.2 » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 7:49 pm

Love this thread, been following from beginning,wife now has coal cook stove need fever,looked at a used Columbia by Keeley ? today ,very poor shape & seemed very cheaply built.We would like to get a used stove,but not interested in junk,what brands are good in cook stoves,how many BTU can we expect ? We love the ones with the warming cabinet on top,but low ceiling & 65" to the center of the chimney outlet prevents that option.Thanks for any opinions,input,advice,BUT we need help quick as the coal fever is raging.

 
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Photog200
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Posts: 2063
Joined: Tue. Feb. 05, 2013 7:11 pm
Location: Fulton, NY
Baseburners & Antiques: Colonial Clarion cook stove, Kineo #15 base burner & 2 Geneva Oak Andes #517's
Coal Size/Type: Blaschak Chestnut
Other Heating: Electric Baseboard

Post by Photog200 » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 9:11 pm

windyhill4.2 wrote:Love this thread, been following from beginning,wife now has coal cook stove need fever,looked at a used Columbia by Keeley ? today ,very poor shape & seemed very cheaply built.We would like to get a used stove,but not interested in junk,what brands are good in cook stoves,how many BTU can we expect ? We love the ones with the warming cabinet on top,but low ceiling & 65" to the center of the chimney outlet prevents that option.Thanks for any opinions,input,advice,BUT we need help quick as the coal fever is raging.
Hello windyhill4.2, I am happy that there are others that enjoy the old cook stove experience. I looked for a long time to find the stove I eventually bought. I personally liked the New England style stoves so that was what I was looking for. I actually found mine in Maine and I drove there last January to get it.( I know, I am a bit crazy) I got a good price on it and it had been restored a few years ago. Then in April, I drove back to Maine again to buy my Kineo stove for the living room. I bought that stove from Bryant's Stove and I found out they are originally the ones that restored the cook stove too. To make a long story short, they have a showroom with about 20-30 old cook stoves in it. I do not know if any of them have coal grates in them or not but if you want their info, I am sending the link:
http://www.bryantstove.com/

Another restoration place:
http://www.goodtimestove.com/wood-cook-stoves

I actually found mine on Craigslist, so if you are patient, I am sure you will find something.
If you put your location in your profile so we know where you are located, we might be able to help you find something close to you.
Randy

 
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windyhill4.2
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Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404 with variable blower
Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both

Post by windyhill4.2 » Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 10:16 pm

thanks,Randy,first link to Bryant was great,other link gave our wallet a stroke,as you can see,profile is updated,thats not easy for me to do all this fancy computer stuff.david

 
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Sunny Boy
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Posts: 25551
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 1:40 pm
Location: Central NY
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Anthracite Industrial, domestic hot water heater
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood range 208, # 6 base heater, 2 Modern Oak 118.
Coal Size/Type: Nuts !
Other Heating: Oil &electric plenum furnace

Post by Sunny Boy » Sat. Nov. 23, 2013 7:03 am

Windyhill,

Yes, the kitchen ranges can get pricy, but there's a lot more to them, thus a lot of work to restore them. The coal ranges are tougher to find. Being that they are often dual fuel capable, that can raise the price. With a water tank, even tougher to find, therefore usually priced higher still. I lucked out finding mine.

However, when restored properly, there's so much more they can do than just provide a heat source. And they do it all right on through power outages. I've been through a few in the 8 years I've been using my range. When it's below zero outside and the powers out, it's nice to walk into a 70 degree kitchen, grab a mug and have hot water ready and waiting to make a hot drink, while food is cooking/baking ! :D

While I was posting the pictures yesterday, about the hotdog broiler experiment, the girl friend made a loaf of Irish soda bread, while some sweet potato's were also baking in foil for dinner. All turned out great !!! But then, having grown up cooking on a coal range, her cooking on the Glenwood always does. :)

Paul

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lsayre
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Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Sat. Nov. 23, 2013 7:23 am

Has anyone on this forum ever witnessed a 'Bakers Choice' cook stove successfully operating on anthracite? The wife and I are going to Lehman's Hardware to look at one today.
Last edited by lsayre on Sat. Nov. 23, 2013 7:50 am, edited 1 time in total.


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