Sub-Bituminous Coal

He is some older info from 1981 on coal in Alaska still a good read .

http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF4/492.html

ValleyTrash - I live up the road from you toward Willow and have been burning coal in a Flameking boiler for the past 3yrs. I go get the coal directly from the Usibelli Mine and bring it south. I pay $65/ton at the screening plant in Healy. If you have access to a large trailer or perhaps a buddy with a dump-truck you can give a call to North Pole Coal in Fairbanks (they now own the Healy screening plant) http://www.northpolecoal.net/ and they will meet you on a Saturday to load you. I see no reason to pay $125/ton to have it brought down to Big Lake when it doesn't cost me anywhere close to that to go get it.

flynfish do you get much smoke and soot

I get very little smoke or soot out the stack. The only time I really see either is when I'm lighting the boiler, after that it's pretty much clean burning. Last winter a neighbor was surprised I was burning coal and really surprised that I'd been burning it for a while and he hadn't noticed.

I just fired up the Romax for the first time last night and man was I amazed at how well it worked. Even though it was my first time burning coal I managed to get a 12 hr burn out of it. Good god was it hot though, 80 degrees, for at least nine hours, probably because I got a little ancy and just kept loading the stove up with coal those first few hours. Needless to say I am now a true beliver in coal. If anyone here has any handy tips on burning sub-bit in a hand fire stove id greatly appreciate the help.

Hey, Valley Trash...

I live in Valdez and burn coal. I posted the following earlier today, and I wish I had posted it in this section... I noticed you pay more for coal than I do. Do you know you can get it for $125 a ton from North Pole Gravel? You have to go pick it up. Also, if you can get to Healy, you can meet the North Pole Gravel guys and get it for $65 a ton. Usabelli only sells to North Pole Gravel. Everyone else in the State gets coal from them -- at least that's my understanding. North Pole Gravel has a branch business called North Pole Coal. So here's what I posted earlier today. I really want to get a stoker set-up working.

Short Story: I live in Alaska and I burn coal to heat my house with a hand loading Harman stove. I could use some advise on setting up an automatic stoker. The coal available here is "chestnut" or "lump." Is there a way to automate stoking? Getting a different stove may be an option. Any ideas?

Long Story: I have a Harman TLC 2000 and hand load it from the top. I love the heat, but I feel I can't be away for long and heat the house with coal. I have read about some older bituminous stoker stoves. Do they work with "chestnut" sized coal? Are there any available? Can I make a stoker for the Harman I have? Really, I'm kind of handy, and I am considering boring a hole in the side of the Harman and running in an auger that drops coal on top of the fire, activated by a thermostat. Is that crazy? Is there a better way?

Other info: Even though Alaska has more than half (I am told) of U.S. coal deposits, there is just a single operating coal mine in the State. Again, the coal here is sub-bituminous/bituminous (I am told). They sell bulk coal to just one distributor, who in turn sells to everyone else. The coal here is sub-bituminous/bituminous, and is available in bulk for $125 a ton if I travel the 350 miles to North Pole, AK to get it. If I go to Healy, AK, I can get it for $60 a ton. That's another 100 miles or so. They also sell 40 lb. bags for $7 each. I go to North Pole and get it a couple tons at a time, if I happen to be up that way with my pick-up and trailer. It is still much more affordable to burn coal than heating oil, currently just over $3 a gallon.

Hey Hunky Dory, this isnt the first time ive heard of the lower prices up there. After doing some math with fuel and vehicle wear and tear and how small my operation is it just really wasnt worth it to go up to healy and cash in on the lower price. I don't understand why more people up here don't burn coal since at the moment its the cheapest way to heat right now. I figured for this winter id try a 50/50 of toyostove and coal, whenever either is most convenient. Is there anything in particular you have noticed about burning this coal? Do you have any pics of your coal bin, if you have one, and your set up, I like your idea of customizing your Harman, good idea. Anyways im quickly falling in love with coal, even the smell of it burning, and all it does.

Hey, Valley Trash,

I use fish totes for coal bins. They hold about 1500 lbs. each. What I do is put them on a car trailer whenever I get up to North Pole. Then I have a friend of mine use his fork-lift attachment on a skid steer to off load and move them to my garage. They are slick enough that two men can slide them around the cement floor easily enough, once they are in the garage. I just use a couple coffee cans to dump coal into the stove. Like you, I like burning coal, and I can't understand why more folks don't use it. I know of just one other fellow in Valdez that tosses some coal onto his wood fire in a wood stove, but that's it.

Hey Hunky,
I don't know how common coal stokers are in AK but I would watch craigslist, local ads etc. and look for a used stoker.
Here in Utah I saw about half a dozen stokers (residential size and a couple big ones) come up for sale this summer and one was free and in good shape... it was still in someones house, not rusting away out in a barn somewhere. Most advertise for $500.00 or less. There's an old Lennox stoker for sale now for $500 but I don't know the condition.
Sub-bit would be fine for one of these stokers.
These stokers have fans to circulate heated air and can be used as a space heater or connected to ductwork in a home. They can run a few days without tending (in most cases).
What size is this chestnut coal? Soft coal stokers use stoker coal about 1¼ to ¾ inches in size.
Never heard of someone building their own stoker before and I think I would be afraid to leave the house with a homemade stoker running
If you're patient I'll bet you could find a used stoker.

Hunky-Dory,

I live just north of Wasilla and heat with coal from Usibelli. I use the Flameking stoker boiler and I have been really happy with it. I get no ash around the house and when it's up an burning I get no smoke and odor. I'm heating a 2800sq-ft home on about $150/mo. Since you're in Valdez you can talk to the Flameking distributor in Fairbanks who I bought my unit through, you can visit their website and get the contact info here: http://www.coalandheat.com/ There are photos of my Flameking installation on his website. As an alternative, Alaska Hydronics in Seward also markets the Portage and Main outdoor coal stoker boilers, info on those can be found here: http://www.portageandmainboilers.com/ another coal stoker boiler that I've read up on but not seen in operation is the Coalman boiler, you can read some info on it here: http://www.heatinnovations.com/coalman.html. If you are planning on heating with coal from Healy I'd really recommend a stoker boiler if you can swing it. A buddy of my just up the road in Willow heats most of his 4000sq-ft place with a coal stove. His biggest gripe is not being able to get far away from it in the winter. I can leave the house all day or even overnight at -30F and come home to a warm house.

sorry just felt the need to show my as*