Neighbors

jrn8265 · Post by **jrn8265** » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 8:42 am

I'll be burning Anthracite in a stoker this winter. I have a 26' chimney. Neighbors are about 25 feet away on both sides. Will they see smoke coming out of my chimney or smell sulfur or have any clue I am burning Anthracite? At least one of them is a tree hugger so you know how that goes. Thanks

Devil505 · Post by **Devil505** » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 8:44 am

They wont even know your stove is lit.

jrn8265 · Post by **jrn8265** » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 8:45 am

I sneak the coal in under cover of night....

U235a4 · Post by **U235a4** » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 9:29 am

you won't get any smoke since it burns like natural gas (nice blue flame), and the only time you would get a sulfur smell is if the stars come into alignment meaning damp morning, wind blowing the right direction.

Peasefamily · Post by **Peasefamily** » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 9:44 am

Does this also hold true for us "direct venters"? My husband's afraid that the neighbor who comes out to sit on his front porch to smoke will get some added fumes!

LsFarm · Post by **LsFarm** » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 10:30 am

If he is a smoker,, his sense of smell is destroyed anyway,, so unless he puts his chair 3' away from your DV vent,, I doubt that he will notice anything..
The smell from burning anthracite is about like the smell from lighting a match or a few small firecrackers going off.. not unpleasant at all.

When I was up on the roof of my new coal bin, nailing down shingles, I was often downwind from my chimney... When the AA260 boiler would run for a minute or so on the timer,, I'd get a momentary puff of 'lit match' smell, not unpleasant at all.

Greg L

WNY · Post by **WNY** » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 11:14 am

My neighbor wondered what happen to our furnance, he would always notice the steam coming out of the chimney whenever it was on, now with coal, you don't see anything, not even heat waves (Very tall chimney!). I told him I was using coal, he was interested, but not that interested.

Machinist · Post by **Machinist** » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 12:47 pm

I started burning coal in my boiler Oct 1 and I also have the same concerns. I've walked around the neighborhood trying to smell my boiler and could not. I do have trouble with the ash though. Initially I put my ash barrels in back of the house. When I dumped ash into the barrel dust would go right to my neighbors porch. So I've moved them to the front. Now the ash dust goes to another neighbors front porch.

Qball · Post by **Qball** » Mon. Nov. 03, 2008 4:06 pm

I say the hell with the neighbors. It is none of their business. On a similar note, I was blowing leaves yesterday and put them in a very big pile on my property. I even blew all the leaves away from the neighbor's deck and shed. The old lady came out, I assumed to thank me, but proceeded to yell at me for piling the leaves. She said that "I better move them because they may blow on her property." I nicely informed her that they are my leaves, on my property, and I would be happy to blow the ones from her property back to her deck. I hate people!

Horace · Post by **Horace** » Tue. Nov. 04, 2008 9:35 am

Qball wrote:I say the hell with the neighbors. It is none of their business.

I gotta agree with Qball. Unless they are using solar and wind then whatever they are doing is just as bad as burning coal - if not worse. In my neighborhood, I am the only one burning coal. A few of the guys have asked me about switching because they are either getting bankrupted by gas/oil or broken-backed by wood. I can smell woodsmoke all winter and my kids have seen a few snakes slithering around the woodpile that borders my yard.

Qball wrote:The old lady came out, I assumed to thank me, but proceeded to yell at me for piling the leaves. She said that "I better move them because they may blow on her property."

I have one thing to say: Dead of night. Skunk under the porch.

Post by **Rob R.** » Tue. Nov. 04, 2008 10:35 am

If the weather conditions are right, I can get a wiff of sulfur if I walk around my house shortly after reloading the stove. Usually the only thing I can smell is wood smoke from the neighbor who lives about 500' away. I don't say anything about the wood smoke and he doesn't say anything about my massive dust cloud that blows around his house after I dump my ash cans in the corn field.

traderfjp · Post by **traderfjp** » Tue. Nov. 04, 2008 1:00 pm

I certainly wouldn't call the smell of burning Anthracite "not unpleasnat at all." I think it's a sickening smell but we all have our opinions. I never, ever talk about coal or that I'm burning it with neighbors. It's none of their business and they don't understand that Anthracite burns smoke free. I don't need the headaches.

lincolnmania · Post by **lincolnmania** » Tue. Nov. 04, 2008 1:40 pm

thank goodness my neighbors burn coal too

Machinist · Post by **Machinist** » Tue. Nov. 04, 2008 1:47 pm

I've been trying to get my neighbors to burn coal!

BIG BEAM · Post by **BIG BEAM** » Tue. Nov. 04, 2008 3:47 pm

In my town there is a driveway between me and my neighbors and they never new I burned coal.When one of the neighbors was over for dinner one night he noticed how warm it was in the house and asked about our heating system.I took him in the cellar and told him how much we spend on coal a year.One month latter I got a call from him(I just bought an Alaska channing III with a ADV,when can you install it?)I can walk down my driveway and not smell anything and his vent vents in my driveway.
DON