Which Stove can handle -40 F ?

So, I bought an old house in North Dakota last September, which only has an electrical heating (baseboards).
I don't have to be a genius to figure out that there's no way those things would heat the large open plan (who on earth does these things in such climate ?!?) of the bottom floor - basically four rooms with arches and no doors you can close (or at least easily install without demolishing half of the house in the process)!

While researching locally available stoves, and being super busy with work, within few weeks, the Blizzard of October 02 happened, and with it the constant snow cover. It's March 03, and it's snowing today, of course.

On the other hand, I had 6 months to experience first-hand the legendary American Siberia, so I think it's actually for the better that I didn't have time to buy and install a stove last September. I have the full experience of the winter.

Solar, up here, 15 minutes from Canadian Border is a pure Californian nonsense. Someone nearby has measured that we had almost 60 days without a single shiny day - nonstop grey and clouds. It would be a ridiculously naive claim to say we get 3 days of sunshine per month. That doesn't even cover the snow. While it's obviously absurd to even consider solar panels on the roof, it'd still be insane amount of work to clear them of snow constantly even on the ground, as I don't think we went for 10-14 days without fresh snow. Just in case someone would feel the need to "advise" being green up here.


I have a Siberian Husky, that I walk 4-5x a day (regardless of blizzards or other fancy local hospitality offerings), so it's critical I warm up quickly when coming inside.

From the last six months, it appears that about 6-8 weeks are spent in a below -30C windchill, About 2-3 weeks are below -40C. The rest is a very comfortable , balmy, -20 range.

We had two days of -47. My tea froze in the living room and I had to defrost the meat in the fridge, as it simply wouldn't defrost outside on the kitchen counter. While my Husky was happy, that wouldn't exactly cover my feelings, given that the electric bill for that month was $250. I'm pretty reasonably sure that for such money, I could have used coal and have, certainly, above freezing temps inside. But, hey - at least it was warmer than outside !



So, with the information above, which kind of stove would you recommend ? Ideally:
- cannot be dependant on electricity to start up due to very frequent power outages - so this rules out pellet stoves
- it would handle heating water - I work from home and don't shower daily. My water heater however runs nonstop. I would certainly not mind turning heater only on demand prior to the shower.
- I work from home so certainly have time to play with it (proper burning). It would sit in my living room along with me working from there.
- must be high BTU due to climate
- allows combination of wood+coal, maybe some more things to burn ?
- If needed, I would spend $2,000, but the less the better obviously. I found a "Summers Heat" stove for $1,100 in Lowes that even shows the inside - not sure if such feature is a detriment to the BTU output, though.
- local sourcing of wood/coal (I'm on the ND/MN border)

The highest heat "rating" I can see is around 2,400 square feet, but that doesn't say if they used it when it was +40 outside (not -40 for sure).

If it helps, as a kid, I grew up in a house where we chopped wood and carried coal, every day, to the stove. I think I prefer chopping wood to freezing.

Thanks for your input.

Nice post.

First step is to determine what coal is available in your location.

If your on the MN border your quite a ways from the lignite mines but that will still be your cheapest heat source. Its about $41/ton picked up and they will arrange delivery. You need to keep lignite under cover and by under cover probably in a building with a tarp over it as it deteriates exposed to weather conditions. Theres an anthracite source in Isanti which is further away and I think $350/ton. TSC anthracite is $450/ton west of the Mississippi.

So unless theres another anthracite source (contact Blaschak coal for closest), lignite is probably the cheapest. If you can find a cheaper used Hitzer 82 that will work, or a Riteway 37. Big fireboxes on them. You might find the Riteway but doubtful on the other. After that, living in the real world, the most likely used one you will be able to find is a Warm Morning brand stove.

new stoves in box stores most likely will not work well other than with wood.

A propane space heater would be an improvement over electric too. Some new models do not require electric. It would cost more to heat with than lignite but probably less than with anthracite. Cutting wood sucks but would be better than using your dog as a major heat source if its a lap dog.

Not many wood lovers here. propane either. We live on the dark side with coal.

If anthracite--my HITZER 50-93 would do well in an OPEN plan area--it has done well in my broke up old farm house when temps reach those sub zero temps for a week or longer--depends whether ya want a hand fed or one of them thar girly stoves!! PS--welcome to the FORUM.

Thanks.Looks like this: https://www.centercoal.com/pricing/

$38.50 / ton : treated Stoker
$41 : Lump Coal

Delivery / Freight is separate. It's 240 miles away.

warminmn wrote: ↑

Tue. Mar. 03, 2020 9:01 am

If your on the MN border your quite a ways from the lignite mines but that will still be your cheapest heat source. Its about $41/ton picked up and they will arrange delivery. You need to keep lignite under cover and by under cover probably in a building with a tarp over it as it deteriates exposed to weather conditions. Theres an anthracite source in Isanti which is further away and I think $350/ton. TSC anthracite is $450/ton west of the Mississippi.

So unless theres another anthracite source (contact Blaschak coal for closest), lignite is probably the cheapest. If you can find a cheaper used Hitzer 82 that will work, or a Riteway 37. Big fireboxes on them. You might find the Riteway but doubtful on the other. After that, living in the real world, the most likely used one you will be able to find is a Warm Morning brand stove.

new stoves in box stores most likely will not work well other than with wood.

A propane space heater would be an improvement over electric too. Some new models do not require electric. It would cost more to heat with than lignite but probably less than with anthracite. Cutting wood sucks but would be better than using your dog as a major heat source if its a lap dog.

Not many wood lovers here. propane either. We live on the dark side with coal.

Why is Anthracite order of magnitude more expensive ? It isn't 10x more efficient, is it ?

I didn't know about keeping it under cover. But, that's a one-time investment (I do have space in the backyard for it and could probably construct some shed myself).
But, regardless of the cozy accommodation for the coal, it would still be exposed to the temperature. Is -40 bad for coal ?

I am also having troubles finding stoves that do both, so need to expand my search, somehow.

My point is that this is an investment that should last 2-3 decades. Situation with coal/wood may and will change. Alternative would be to have 2 stoves, but that seems ridiculous (though, from a prepper perspective, redundancy is good to have, especially if it's life support, which - at -40, it certainly could be qualified as a life support system).

So, Maybe I don't spend $2,000 on a single stove, but buy a $1000 coal stove and a $1000 wood stove ?


My Grandma used to cook on one such stove. I cook every day, so this might be useful - but can't seem to find such stoves in stores (it's all fully automated, electronics BS).
Some youtubers have them, but it looks like they were manually manufactured.


Well, I already use my Husky as a heat source in bed. It's highly preferable to the human heat. The fur instantly warmes me up. But, during day, when I work, it's impossible.

The baseboard heater are ridiculous. They barely radiate any heat 10 inches from it. As a kid, we used to have those large, 7' x 5' x 5' wood mini stoves in rooms. Those, once heated up, radiated heat for half night.

Fred's suggestion is valid if anthracite is your main fuel source. Its pretty hard to find them used but new they are under your $2000. If you go that route there is an Amish dealer near me that is reasonably priced and he sells coal too. But Im 400 miles away in the SE MN

I tried to suggest used stoves that there is a chance you might find in your area and could burn anything you want to throw in them. New stoves you have more options for brand.

Anthracite is so nice to burn, real steady heat, twice a day stove tending even where your at. It doesnt have that tire smell, no smoke. Its kind of considered the best by most people. But with lignite close by thats hard to beat. They could tell you at Center how to store it, I would think, but I'd be leary of using just a tarp cuz they leak. The person I bought some from stored his on a semi trailer with the door closed as an example.

A propane space heater (vented model) and a solid fuel stove combo would serve you well if you go that route. You wouldnt need the coal 2 or 3 days out of the year that its warm, lol. Seriously, in the shoulder seasons or on real cold days you could use both. I did it that way when I burned wood so my house had a minimum temp if i was gone and it worked well.

Facebook marketplace and Craigslist are the best sources for used stoves. New, stay away from any box store that calls a stove a coal stove. As for a propane stove that doesnt use electric you might find a used one too. 60+ K BTU minimum as a guess just to use as a backup, maybe 80K. That may not be enough if its the sole heat source. Williams still sells new ones. There are likely others. Get one you can mount a thermostat to a wall to control the heat setting. They are not as eficient as furnaces but require zero electric.

Go on facebook and craigslist and search just using word coal and you might find a stove that will work. There are old cookstoves on there too but Im not sure I'd want to use one with lignite.

Anthracite only comes from a small handful of counties in Eastern PA. You can pick it up at the source(s) for about $150 per ton. Perhaps twice the BTU's per pound of Lignite. I have no idea what it would cost to have a TL of 22-23 tons of anthracite delivered to ND.

We need to know how many sq-ft you are heating, and ceiling height(s). And the nearest city to you (or your zip code) so we can guess your local HDD's (heating degree days). And when the house was built, and a fair guess as to its insulation level. And what home temperature you are shooting for.

A certified "Manual J" heat loss assessment would set you back $70 to $100, and that will pretty much nail your BTUH (BTU's per hour as output) heating needs.

Whatever stove you purchase, divide its Mfg. claimed BTUH output rating by 2 to 2.5 (call it 2.25) for a better indication of what it might really do if maxed out and burning anthracite in the "real world". The ratings are amazingly overboard.

TenderFrost wrote: ↑

Tue. Mar. 03, 2020 9:32 am

Why is Anthracite order of magnitude more expensive ? It isn't 10x more efficient, is it ?

It's more per BTU than the lignite but going to be about the same compared to most bituminous coal.

The reason for the higher cost, mining it is generally more costly and it's more desirable product for home heating and other purposes. For your specific case shipping costs are going to almost double the cost. Anthracite is "smokeless" and more importantly doesn't clinker (for the most part). A clinker is caused by impurities in the coal, it forms into rock like substance which will jam grates and certainly doesn't work very well in automated stoker.

I didn't know about keeping it under cover.

I can't speak for other coals than anthracite but the water itself is really not the issue. It will melt down into the coal and freeze the coal together. The dirtier the coal is the harder it is to bust it up. Minimally tarp the ground, this will keep ground debris out of it and makes for really easy cleanup. Tarp over the top to keep the moisture out.

I am also having troubles finding stoves that do both, so need to expand my search, somehow.

Some of the Harman stoves , now rebranded Legacy were labeled dual fuel in the past. They are now labeled <ahem> strictly for burning coal. There are other makers, I think Hitzer used to have some labeled dual fuel.

My advice about this is if you intend on burning coal you need a coal stove. You can burn wood in a coal stove, you can't burn coal in a wood stove.

My point is that this is an investment that should last 2-3 decades.

Stoves built for anthracite are built like tanks, 20 years on Legacy or Hitzer is just breaking it in.

Something to note, many of the hand fired stoves have air distribution fans that require power. They will continue to operate without power but you obviously will not be able to push the heat around as easily.

DS Machine told me that burning Bituminous (and that may also include Lignite?) in my ComfortMax stove would void its warranty. It would be Anthracite only for that stove if a warranty means anything to you.

How many chimneys do you have. You may need more than one stove.

Ya mean cut it In half Larry?? Damn I wish you people would speak English!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

A stove burning Anthracite and delivering a maximum honest output of a continuous 45,000 BTUH into your home will burn ~126 Lbs. per day in doing so. A similar output stove burning Lignite would perhaps burn twice that amount each day that it requires being maxed out.

Wind chill is meaningless to a house. What matters is the actual outside temperature.

Oh, oh, the windchill argument! That doesnt work on the prairie where I and the OP also (I think) live. The wind never stops. It means more than the temp does here with 100 year old homes. We arent in the mostly mild temps of Ohio (mild to me). Those formulas work in towns better too with wind protection but yes, we can use them as guidelines, just not as fact, but thats a whole another post and we will never agree on it.

For the record, the stoves I mentioned looking for are ones I think the OP may find used in their area that can burn any wood or any coal. If buying new there are many more choices. Unless Blaschak has close dealers of anthracite the price just isnt going to come close to the lignite, but the stoves will burn either one. $350-400/ton for anthracite vs $41/ton would be an easy decision for me.

warminmn wrote: ↑

Tue. Mar. 03, 2020 10:55 am

Oh, oh, the windchill argument! That doesnt work on the prairie where I and the OP also (I think) live. The wind never stops. It means more than the temp does here with 100 year old homes.

Wind Chill only affects living tissue.

lsayre wrote: ↑

Tue. Mar. 03, 2020 10:56 am

Wind Chill only affects living tissue.

That's exactly what I thought before I moved from Montana to North Dakota.

Swear to God, it's significantly colder in the house if the windchill is -30 than zero wind, but -10.

The wind here is relentless and I'm actually lucky, because I am two blocks from the boundary with the farm fields. When I take my Husky there, it's often extremely hard to even walk. I can't even imagine those houses that are the first to catch the wind.
I recall the neighbor snowbirding to Cali around third week of September - when I asked why, she said - there's storm coming in less than two weeks.

I fully understood when the snowdrifts around her house almost fully covered the traffic signs ~next week.


As far as I can tell, this house is only little bit older than 100 years and had two additions built in over the years.