you may want to consider if you will need electric to operate the thing.With my wood stove I dont sweat power outages in winter.I just figured if I need electric its not really a back up system.
thats why i'm looking at coal cause some of the ones i've looked at say they can run for up to 12 hours on a fill without the screw auger and i'm never gone over 10 hours, so i could fill it twice a day and be good to go. i also have an overhead fan that does a fine job of circulation
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.