Weird - I never considered that coal supply would be a regional thing. I've got two Amish guys within 20 minutes of here that store it in bulk. I can drive up with the 3/4 ton, and put about 40 pounds of rice coal in each bag, throw in truck, throw in garage, carry up about 1.7 bags a day, so far. 250 a ton right now. It's been very cold around here.
Regarding the comment about "setting the stroke" or whatever, no clue what you mean. The 608 came with a coal trol. I started the fire on day 1, set the coal trol to the temps I wanted, and the 608 did the rest. It matches the combustion fan speed to the coal feed rate to get a complete burn at the rate you want. When 5 am comes, it goes full bore and about 45 minutes later it's putting out so much heat you literally cannot hold your hand in the air stream next to the stove because it's so hot. When the house gets up to temp, the coal trol turns the stove down. I literally set the Coal Trol once and set it down. Wife manually overrides on occasion when her ass is cold.
Regarding the vent, what is your question? The power vent I got came in one piece. I cut a hole in the wall, cut out the siding, and mounted the vent to the exterior side of the house. you put a cover plate on the inside, and you're looking at a 4" vent pipe (maybe 3", hard to tell), a small pipe that you connect to the vacuum switch that ensures the fan is running, and a bx wire that runs power out to the fan.
Regarding ash emptying, for me, I just shut off the blower, open the lower door, pull out the bin, which has a handle, walk it outside, and dump it. Literally no dust at all in the house. Not sure if that's because it's rice coal or if it's the 608.
Really love the stove, and highly recommend, with the understanding that I've only owned it a week. The Amish around here swear by the non-electric Hitzers.
