it's compressed saw dust or something? also how bout creosote???
Posted on 05/03/2008 4:09:21 PM PDT by Chode
i'm buying a coal stove to heat a 600sqft house... need input.
thx.
Chode
it's compressed saw dust or something? also how bout creosote???
Glad to help. Anthracite coal burns better than the softer coal with less smoke.
Dad said gramps used to buy something called canel coal “back in the day” and was kind of pricey but burned a long time or something.
To the OP question be sure to look up Lehmans catalog, they have a website and all kinds of info on that type of thing.
Almost none, clean the pipe and stove once a year. Firebox ever couple days (5 minutes tops) ash bin once a month (or less)
We've had ours 7 years now.
http://www.quadrafire.com/Products/Pellet_Burning/Pellet_Model.asp?f=santa-fe
Our unit is bigger since we heat almost 2,000 sq ft. $660.00 a year, a bag lasts us 18 hrs on the coldest of days. You should be able to get away with a ton rather than the 3 tons we use.
but, We would....unless, its snappleface. 
Be prepaired for all that black ash and soot that runs down your roof and onto your facia board. The stack will turn black as well as anything around.
Blacksmith coal which is larger in chunks has lots of clinkers in it. Then, when you fire, it sometimes backfires which results in some of that nice black smoke venting into your house.
It is cheap, burns hot and long, and is extremely dirty. Coal needs lots of air to burn.
It is, compressed and kiln dried to a 7% moisture content. The wood is usually leftover from furniture manufactures.
First, talk to your coal broker. Coal should be priced by the BTUs, so ask about the BTUs per pound, combustion temperature, ash content, ash fusion temperature, washed or not, and moisture content. An ash fusion temperature above the combustion temperature leaves ash, while the other case leaves clinkers. A coal fired utility might like a high ash fusion temperature - so they can blow the ash out of the boiler - but you might prefer to deal with clinkers and minimize the fly ash. Also, there are multiple sizes to deal with: mine run, steam, stoker, nut, or lump, to name a few. Steam or mine run would likely freeze in the winter from the moisture content. For handling with a Mexican Backhoe, stoker or nut would be your choice. Stoker, sized from about 3/8" to 5/8", is designed to feed via an auger (run by an electric motor) from a bunker into the stove. For your needs, that is probably overkill, but you may find a Stoker-matic free for the taking somewhere. Lump, say from baseball to basketball size, lends itself to hand picking, but is easy to load in some stoves. From the same seam, a ton of mine run would have more ash and moisture, and consequently less BTUs, than a ton of washed nut coal.
Locally, a couple thousand miles from upstate NY, I can find coal varying from about 10.5k BTU to over 12k BTU per pound. The temperatures the higher BTU coal reach make anything but cast iron go limp. Unless you can ensure your supply will remain consistent "forever" you should only consider cast iron for the stove and the grate. If you plan to use the stove with wood for extended periods talk to somebody about how to address the stove pipe installation. Most coal fires are started on top of a wood fire and the higher temperature of the coal takes care of the creosote precipitating out of the cooler wood smoke. How you tinker with your damper also can impact creosote formation. If you burn wood regularly for a few months and then switch to coal the resulting high temperatures of the exhaust could ignite the built-up creosote. This would not be good.
Been there did that ......albeit not during the depression era.......:o)
Suggestions? Move to Tampa.
Thanks you. I do the same and even as I’m typing there is a load of good Pennsylvania anthracite burning in my Massachusetts home. It’s also good to know that when the power goes out in the area I won’t be without long burning heat.
Where would this be?
thx again all...
West, young man
You need a bigger house.
Glad I could be of service.
-ccm
Here's a coal fired oven that can only be used to bake the greatness known as Lombardi's pizza (Little Italy district, New York City):
if you will need electric to operate the thing
Amen. Just finished what is we hope the last blizzard of the spring, and didn’t lose power for more than a few seconds, but many lost power for extended periods, and though they had gas furnaces, the fan runs on electricity, so they were without heat. My wood stove is the backup heat source. Don’t use it much because we both work away from home.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.