Coalpail.com Forum

Bit coal in an open burn is always awesome...

Wow! That's pretty cool man!

That is awesome!!!

Looks good, wonder about efficiency ...

Just as efficient as burning wood. No more, no less.

Funny you ask... (About efficiency)

I'm sure it's not efficient at all compared to a stove but what it is good for is warm day cold night burning. I let my furnace burn out Friday during the day and I started that fire last Friday night after work...around 6:30pm. It burned through the weekend. Stoked it good Sunday night around 9:00pm and it burned through the night.
During the day temps outside on Saturday and Sunday were in the upper 50s and 30ish at night. To warm for my Hot Blast furnace. That fireplace and chimney are in the center of the house. After several hours of burning in the fireplace the coal radiates a buch of heat. We can add fuel late in the day and warm it up for night temps and then just let it burn back during the day. It kept the majority of the house between 72 and 74 all weekend. The upstairs bedrooms cool off at night but that's no problem.
As I said, I know it's not very efficient, but it does produce heat and it's beautiful to sit around and watch. It holds those big orange flames for 3 or 4 hours without doing a thing to it.

Hi , Before I got bitten by the antique stove bug I installed a cast iron fireplace in the lounge , my wife loved it , really took some convincing that a stove would look and heat the room better . A open fireplace is beautiful and burning coal and logs together you get plenty of heat , but on the flip side as another member has pointed out the majority of heat travels up the chimney . But for looks alone it’s hard to beat . Here’s my fireplace before and after I fitted my circa 1860 parlor stove .

I burn almost 4 ton a year in two fireplaces. It burns great.

I have wondered how badly does bit coal soot the chimney when burned in a fireplace like that?

not at all really, the high volume of fast moving air in a fireplace flue keeps it really clean. the only place you get any buildup is on the fireback itself. Most of the UK heated with bit in open fireplaces until the 50s.

Hi there! I’m trying to find some bit coal that I can burn in my open fireplace. I’m located in Central Illinois. You’d think it’d be easy to find. Alas, not. I don’t have an actual coal grate but one I think should work well. Wood is expensive and coal can be had for cheap. I tried anthracite and I can’t get it to stay lit. No dancing blue ladies for me. Just trying to heat the room a little and the looks of coal are second to none. I really think I’d need only around 100lbs or so. Just for a few fires here and there. Thanks all!

How bout some pix of the fireplace, hearth. Welcome to the FORUM I.

freetown fred wrote: ↑

Sun. Nov. 01, 2020 11:44 am

How bout some pix of the fireplace, hearth. Welcome to the FORUM I.

The one pic is a log fire, the other is my second or 3rd failed attempt at using Ant. Coal.

There is also an ash pit below that as well. I’ve tried opening the ash door and removing the cover to the pit in the fire box hoping it would draft air from the basement underneath the coals. I don’t think it helped at all