Taking the leap

It should be filled to the top at every tending... It's not the amount of coal that determines the heat, it's the amount of air feeding under the coal! You'll need to throw out all your wood burning knowledge. Coal is way different and once you learn the techniques for your stove, it's a much steadier source of heat...

Be careful opening the load door when there is fresh coal in it. You want to avoid puffbacks which are a common occurrence for new coal burners. A good practice is to just crack the door for a few seconds. Don't yank it wide open... I singed my eyebrows a few times when I started burning coal in my handfed boiler...

Thanks nepacoal, I am accustomed to my wife bitching at me if she smells wood smoke in the house so I always crack the door to let the stove draft through the door before opening. As for the depth I filled it to the bricks at the door. The bed is probably 5 inches deep at that point.

You got good coal from the seller. And cheap. Hopefully nut sized. If your using metal coal pails fill 2 of them. Set one on top of the other close to the stove... how close maybe 10 inches away. Close enough so the pail gets quite warm. When you reload use the top pail, then refill that pail and put it under the other one after you reload. That way the pail you load has had 24 hrs to dry before using it. Anthracite will not catch fire that close to the stove but wood chunks in it could if the stove got super super hot, red hot.

This has worked well for me the times I had wet coal. Your results may vary. After you get thru the learning stage you will wish you had never seen wood.

Fill to top of back bricks, will be sloped. I don't remember capacity on Mark III but I bet it's a bag plus.

warminmn wrote: ↑

Sat. Feb. 20, 2021 10:04 pm

You got good coal from the seller. And cheap. Hopefully nut sized. If your using metal coal pails fill 2 of them. Set one on top of the other close to the stove... how close maybe 10 inches away. Close enough so the pail gets quite warm. When you reload use the top pail, then refill that pail and put it under the other one after you reload. That way the pail you load has had 24 hrs to dry before using it. Anthracite will not catch fire that close to the stove but wood chunks in it could if the stove got super super hot, red hot.

This has worked well for me the times I had wet coal. Your results may vary. After you get thru the learning stage you will wish you had never seen wood.

Dang, that's a great idea! My newly learned thing for the day.

I've got her loaded proper now I think.

Looking great B, but you can still fit a little more in there. If you can see the sides of the bricks after a reload, there's room for more. Pile it in there and enjoy the 12+ hours tending schedule of coal!

Looking good B. You've received good advice from others here. I've been burning coal in my MII for 4 1/2 years now after being a wood burner all of my life. You seem to be on the right road. Just remember any adjustments you make with coal will take time to see the results. So to dial it in just do little tweaks at a time and wait 3 or 4 hours to see the results. I see you have a baro draft control. Get a manometer and put the tube in the flue pipe between the back of the stove and the baro draft control. The Harmon/legacy Mark series like a draft not to exceed -.06. In the upper right corner of this forum's page is a search box. Type manometer in there and plenty of threads will come up about them. On the spinner knob on the ash door for your under fire air control my stove likes it about 3/4 to 1 turn open for 350-400 deg. on the upper right corner above the load door. I paint a white stripe on the fully closed position at 12 o'clook so that gives me an index that is easy to see what your setting is when making adjustments. And yes fill that firebox all the way up sloping from the front all the way to the back and sides to the top of the firebricks. Good luck.

I live in Shepherdstown and have been burning coal for 8 years. The best option I've found in this area is Elligson Trucking, https://elligsontrucking.com. They deliver to the eastern panhandle. Give Bill a call at 410-357-5720. I'll get 6-8 tons of bulk nut and it'll be around $250/ton delivered.

Thanks Homesteader I have it running about 400 right now and stayed steady at that all night. I have a manometer but haven't hooked it up yet. It was windy yesterday and that baro would open up when the wind would blow so I need to get it installed and running.


Jsmlesotho, that's not bad delivered. I had been planning to drive out to direnzo in Pottsville, mostly as an excuse to get out of the house. I just need a dump trailer . I can carry 3k# in my truck bed but would rather get 4 ton and just be done with it.

Bigje1981 wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 21, 2021 9:39 am

I just need a dump trailer . I can carry 3k# in my truck bed but would rather get 4 ton and just be done with it.

A trailer would be a wise investment. They make life much easier.

It's the best decision I ever made
I bought a Hitzer model 55ul stove
I took the leap 3 years ago
Every year I get more experienced to where I can take care of it once a day and only use 1 40lb bag a day
And you definitely came to the right place
The community here helped me immensely when I first started burning coal
Good luck

nepacoal wrote: ↑

Sun. Feb. 21, 2021 5:35 am

Looking great B, but you can still fit a little more in there. If you can see the sides of the bricks after a reload, there's room for more. Pile it in there and enjoy the 12+ hours tending schedule of coal!

I agree
Fill it right to the top
Bore a few air holes down into the burning coal and let it go