Is This Logic Flawed

I'm just curious if this logic (or lack of) works. It's 50 degress outside now and my inside temp 4' from the stove is 80 and I have a 2" band of coal burning on my grate. THere is a 30 degree difference in temps. Not lets say temps go to 20 and I still keep the room at 80. Now I have a 60 degree difference. Can I make the leap and say that I would have a 4" band of coal burning on my grate or are there too many factors to figure it out like this?

Maybe, the difference in output temps will be how much coal goes through the burning band in an hour/day, not necessarily how wide the band is itself.

traderfjp wrote:Not lets say temps go to 20 and I still keep the room at 80. Now I have a 60 degree difference. Can I make the leap and say that I would have a 4" band of coal burning on my grate or are there too many factors to figure it out like this?

Aside from the differences between stokers & hand-fired stoves, I think you'll find heat output vs outside temp does not progress as uniformly as that. I have always found that once the colder weather really hits, you're coal usage goes up drastically. In other words, I might do fine burning about 20-30 lbs of coal a day through....say mid December in my TLC, but then a drop of maybe only 10-15* outside will force me to double the amount I burn. So I guess what I'm saying is your stove's heat output has to increase exponentially to keep the same inside temp with a small drop in outdoor temp.
(Not being familiar with stokers,I don't know if that would equate to a wider band of burning coal or just more coal moving through the stove, but you will use allot more coal to make up for small outside temp differences)
You really need to go through a complete winter to be able to accurately judge how much coal you'll burn, per year.

& when it hits 25 below zero, you'll need a 3 foot grate!

Your logic is flawed!

Go get a Beer and enjoy the stove!

BK

OK.

A more useful analysis would use degree days, building heat loss and coal appliance BTU production capability. Degree days would account for the changing weather. Building heat loss would account for the amount of heat flow out from the building to the colder outside. Appliance BTU production capability would make up what gets lost. The appliance's fuel consumption would be determined by it's operating efficiency. All is possible but rarely done. Just make each part as effective a possible and enjoy the beer.

Yanche wrote:A more useful analysis would use degree days, building heat loss and coal appliance BTU production capability...........

Err......Right!!........(what he said)

You guys should copyright some of these threads!

-Len