[Bobalu]

When I was a small child we lived in a house in Rockford IL, it had a coal heater in the basement, There was a coal chute where coal was dumped and it fell into a large bin in the corner by the furnace.

Amazingly, I just googled the address and an actual picture of that old house was there!

The tiny window next to the side porch stairs is where the coal chute was.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Dad rented a house in Utica, NY in the mid 50s that had a coal chute and a concrete coal bunker in the basement. It still had chunks of coal and coal dust, even though it had been converted to gas or oil. It was a creepy, dark place to this kid.

[virgil]

We had a coal bin, separated from the furnace by a wall. That old furnace was a huge monster with arms that rose to the ceiling of the basement. It had a hopper and an auger to load and convey the coal into the furnace. It smoked a lot. I didn’t like the smell very much.

[cherry]

we moved into a house when I was about 3 but I distinctly remember the coal chute....it was a little special room to we kids...

[Albion Wilde]

I remember coal chutes. I also remember when my white cat decided to explore the neighbor’s coal chute. Ever hear that noise a cat makes when you give it a bath? Like a samurai warrior.

[norwaypinesavage]

Your picture triggered me to spend an hour looking at the three houses I lived in with coal heat. I lived in one until I was a senior in high school in 1963. That one was torn down, and the other two had garages built where the coal chutes had been. I remember shoveling coal from the "coal bin" into the GM Delco Division "hopper" when I was young. An auger would feed coal from it into the furnace as more was needed. The hopper was sealed from room air so the coal wouldn't burn back into it.

The ash and "clinkers" would have to be removed from the furnace and were placed in a sheet metal pan near the furnace so nothing else might catch fire from them. They made great grit to spread on sidewalks and driveways in the winter, too. I still have such grit in my leg from falling on the high school running track made from the clinkers when I was younger.