Coal newby..

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Butterbean
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Other Heating: Wood stove

Post by Butterbean » Fri. Nov. 19, 2021 9:57 pm

Good Afternoon. I live in NW Alabama and I am considering a coal stove. Granted, I have heated with wood for years, but the allure of coal is a curiosity to me. As best as I can see, there are no coal suppliers in my area. We do have Tractor Supply that can get 40lb bags of nut coal for 6.45 a bag. Our winters are likely not as severe as those of you up north, but we do get fairly severe ice storms every winter. I would need a manual stove, for the likelihood of loosing power for weeks at a time. I have a few questions if you have the time.
What stove would you recommend?
Would you get a ton of bagged coal from Tractor Supply?
Is is worth me swapping my wood burner for coal?
Thanks for your time guys...

 
coalfan
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Location: NW ohio
Hand Fed Coal Stove: ds circultor1500 \chubby coal stove
Coal Size/Type: nut/ pea ant.some bit.
Other Heating: kerosene\cold nat. gas

Post by coalfan » Fri. Nov. 19, 2021 11:29 pm

for starters how big is your home. ts coal is a hit and miss .do you want a modern style stove or some thing along the line of glenwoods etc.if you want keep the wood burner for backup but many of the newer stoves burn wood and coal so the keeping of the wb. is up to you and the newer stoves have a reburn in them also .hitzer. and DS.both make very good stoves for starters and both can burn wood and coal ,hope this helps you off to a starting point ,the other guys will chime in with there thoughts as well and can also lead you in the direction you need to go good luck.

 
KLook
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Other Heating: Wishing it was cold enough for coal here....not really

Post by KLook » Sat. Nov. 20, 2021 7:46 am

I have often thought about having one also, I am just outside Chattanooga, about the same climate as you. The problem as I see it is keeping the coal burning without over heating, and not letting it go out as it is more difficult to start. Coal does not make creosote like wood, so a stove that will just barely keep going is desirable. Wood brings all kinds of bugs and pests around your home, coal would not. I notice many people burn wood in this region and they tend to smolder the fire to keep heat down, lots of nasty thick smoke from the chimneys. I know this makes creosote a problem. The other problem would be draft as coal has cool exhaust compared to hot wood. Wood smokes your house up and coal kills you. I will let others weigh in on the type of stove best for what would be considered "shoulder months" up North. But I know many love the Hitzer and DS stoves.

 
tiogajoe
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: keystoker 105 (sold)
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Post by tiogajoe » Sat. Nov. 20, 2021 8:33 am

I am new to a hand feed stove starting this season. Burned a stoker for about 8 years prior. I am by no means experienced like some of the other members here but I can idle my stove back to where I can put my hand on it. It was in the 60's here a few times. House got a little warm so I just opened a window or two. Look around for something used? Seems to be lots of stoves on FB marketplace.


 
leward
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Location: Clearfield County, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM520
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Hitzer 50-93 at camp
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354 double door woodburner

Post by leward » Sat. Nov. 20, 2021 9:15 pm

Consider one of the hopper stoves that can run without electricity.
Hitzer 30-95 & 50-93, DS, Keystoker, and Alaskan are several.
Can burn wood in several of these if you remove hopper.
I have a hitzer at an off grid camp and use it instead of woodburner the boys like messing with. I'd rather have heat in morning. You can idle one down as low as a woodburner.

 
Shaun643
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Joined: Sat. Nov. 03, 2018 11:44 am
Location: Peck Mi" in the thumb"
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93
Coal Size/Type: Nut and pea

Post by Shaun643 » Sun. Nov. 21, 2021 9:51 pm

I burned wood for a few years in my house. It was my only heat source. Three years ago I switched to coal it is still my only heat source. I use a single stove that is located in my living room. I have a Hitzer 50-93 and really love the stove. The stove is to big for my house but I bought it with plans of moving to a bigger home. However I can idel the stove down just fine to use in my home. I live in Michigan so weather here is colder and for longer than you get I would guess. Iam glad I made the switch to coal and I believe you would be as well. I would say if you only use your wood stove for a few days at a time or for a week here and their I don't think you would be happy with a coal stove. Coal is not like wood you don't have a small fire in the morning or evening to take the chill off. Once coal is going it's best to leave it running all season

 
Butterbean
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Post by Butterbean » Mon. Nov. 22, 2021 3:19 am

That's an interesting observation. As the cold season comes in, we may have a fire in the morning to knock the chill out of the air. It may have 30° nights and 55° days and be too warm for a fire. During Dec through March it's a constant fire.

 
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Hambden Bob
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Post by Hambden Bob » Mon. Nov. 22, 2021 7:03 am

Read On And Welcome,Butterbean! A hand fed with excellent gaskets and control features would be your best friend. Help us to help you! Please refocus and tell us the size,floor plan set up and chimney details of your home. Ya' know,stuff like is it a ranch with an open floor plan,two story jigsaw puzzle,does it have a basement? Regarding that chimney,is it masonry,stainless section double wall,flue and thimble size??....


 
Butterbean
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Other Heating: Wood stove

Post by Butterbean » Mon. Nov. 22, 2021 7:17 am

I guess that info could help. It is as follows-
2 story house.
Well insulated.
About 2500 sq ft.
6 " double wall metal chimney going straight up from the living room in the 1st floor.
Chimney is 3 years old.
2 bedrooms on 1st floor with a bathroom and 2 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.

 
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exwoodburner
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Location: Southwest Pennsylvania
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Mark I
Coal Size/Type: Reading Chestnut
Other Heating: Natural Gas Forced Air Furnace

Post by exwoodburner » Mon. Nov. 22, 2021 11:18 am

I am a coal newbie as well and can offer you what I have learned so far. As my username suggests I have burned lots of wood in the past. I live in Western Pennsylvania where the winters from January 1st to mid March get fairly brutal. My house is smaller, fairly well insulated, and has a natural gas forced air furnace for primary heat. I had a wood stove (now a coal stove) for emergency backup, weekend burning, nostalgia, and supplementary heating for when it gets frigid outside. I used old air tight stoves from the 70s as they are robust, reliable, and cheap to buy as everyone is getting rid of them. They are not remotely efficient like todays modern catalytic or secondary air stoves and tend to eat wood like a 70s muscle car would drink gas. So during a season with casual burning primarily on the weekends I would go though about a cord or possibly two of season hardwood firewood, which I cut and split myself. I got tired of the cutting, splitting, stacking, carrying, mess, and constant feeding of the stove when I burned. I found a cheap used coal stove that needed a little work, made the necessary repairs, and installed it this fall. I have used it several times and let me tell you the advantages to burning coal vs wood are tremendous. There is no back breaking labor involved in obtaining fuel, there is just about zero mess in the house, the heat is much more uniform and even, and the burn times are unreal. I can easily get 18 hours or more out of a single load of coal and never have to mess with the stove once. It is a real game changer for me. However, anthracite and bituminous coal are readily available from numerous sources around me, and the winters are much more severe than down your way. If you only need the stove for emergency purposes and do not use it as a primary source of heat it is probably not worth the initial investment and hassle of trying to locate a reasonable source of coal down there. If you do make the switch you I will guarantee you will find everything I have said to be true. Living in "coal country" I honestly can't believe so few people actually burn coal and so many burn wood. All my wood burning friends think I'm nuts for switching because coal "costs money" and "wood is free". I laugh when I hear either of those statements now more so than ever. The only way I would ever go back to burning wood is if I became destitute and had nothing but time on my hands, or if it became impossible to buy coal for whatever reason. If your goal is to have a fire all the time then coal is the easy answer, however it sounds like you burn on rare occasions. Also, your geographic location makes getting a reliable source of coal problematic.

 
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exwoodburner
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Post by exwoodburner » Mon. Nov. 22, 2021 11:36 am

Butterbean wrote:
Mon. Nov. 22, 2021 3:19 am
That's an interesting observation. As the cold season comes in, we may have a fire in the morning to knock the chill out of the air. It may have 30° nights and 55° days and be too warm for a fire. During Dec through March it's a constant fire.
I'm an idiot. I just reread this now and realize you burn constantly through the winter. Yes I would definitely take a hard look at making the switch if you value your time and energy it takes to obtain that much firewood year in and year out. For what coal costs its a no brainer for me. Before you make a total commitment you could try and find an inexpensive hand fired coal stove and install it. Buy like 20 or so 40 pound bags of anthracite from TSC and see how it goes. If you determine it is for you, there are options for getting a load of coal delivered to you. I know some of the anthracite miners and breakers have arrangements with owner operator truckers who will truck 20-25 tons anywhere you want to pay to have it delivered. Assuming you have a means to store that much coal you could go that route. Plus that much coal would last you several if not many heating seasons down there. I imagine any coal stove would be just idling along to keep up with the temps you get down there. If it doesn't work out, remove the coal stove and hook your wood burner back up. No harm done. I guess at the end of the day you wont know until you try. I know in my case I read this forum for several years and was on the fence for those years too. I was not 100% convinced until I tried it myself.

 
Shaun643
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Posts: 158
Joined: Sat. Nov. 03, 2018 11:44 am
Location: Peck Mi" in the thumb"
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93
Coal Size/Type: Nut and pea

Post by Shaun643 » Mon. Nov. 22, 2021 9:00 pm

If you have 4 months of constant burning I would definitely think hard about switching to burning coal. I burn 7-8 months non stop out of the year. As far as stoves as I said I have a Hitzer 50-93 I have a 1300ish sqft house single story with a basement all the living area is main floor very broken up and poor insulation I have a 6" stainless chimney straight up and out. The stove is more then enough to heat my house even when we get -40s Fahrenheit. As for coal I can only get bagged as well but have never had a problem although I don't get TSC coal. I would say go for it make the switch

 
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warminmn
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Coal Size/Type: nut and stove anthracite, lignite
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Post by warminmn » Mon. Nov. 22, 2021 9:26 pm

How many cords of wood do you use in a year Butterbean? And what variety of wood? (oak, ash, etc)

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