Coalpail.com Forum

New to the coal game and am considering a Harman DVC-500 for my 1900 sq ft home. Will be set up as my primary heat source with oil as back up. One of my many questions is what do I do with the ash? The dealer estimated from my home layout and others in my area usage rates that I would burn around 3 tons a year. How much ash will this create?

Eric
Central Ohio

wally4232 wrote:New to the coal game and am considering a Harman DVC-500 for my 1900 sq ft home. Will be set up as my primary heat source with oil as back up. One of my many questions is what do I do with the ash? The dealer estimated from my home layout and others in my area usage rates that I would burn around 3 tons a year. How much ash will this create?

Eric
Central Ohio

There are many people here who have found a use for coal ash......I never have! (even using it on the driveway instead of rocksalt just means you'll drag it into the house on your shoes) I just dump it in the woods.

Depending on where you get your coal, you can expect 400 - 600 lbs of ash from 3 tons. That is assuming 8-10% ash content.

I scatter mine across the corn field behind my house.

Is the ash harmful to the corn? I have corn fields all around me but they are not mine.

Ash is mostly dirt, sand, iron oxide, all inert substances... so, no, it won't hurt the corn fields... It probably won't support growing corn, so scatter it,, don't make a pile in one spot.

Greg L

In my childhood home, built in 1928 and heated with coal, all the ash was dumped in the back field or used in lieu of stone in concrete for all the walls around the property, which are still holding up today. It was also used in foundation walls for houses.

I guess I`m lucky in that I have about 300FT. of gravel driveway. (not so lucky when it snows alot). I figure about the time I make it to the end I`ll need to start all over. Then too the gamelands are right next door & pine trees love ashes.
Good luck with yours.

The wife calls me from the driveway the other morning, "honey I'm stuck" I throw a few cups of ash under her tires and she if off without me having to push the car. I will dump two ash bins into a plastic bag and then put it out for garbage.

I use ashes to fill low spots and potholes in the driveway myself, the neighbors up the road put them for the garbage. Each fall we get a reminder from the trash-man to make sure ashes are cold out if we put them out for him..