Coal

I won't try that in this stove, although the sweep said the stove pipe we installed is certified for coal heat if we ever switched to that type of stove.

Well I just don't think my stove would give coal nearly enough air to burn well without leaving the ash pan door ajar so air could be sucked in from underneath in great quantities and if wood was in the stove as well that is an almost guaranteed recipe for fire getting sucked into the pipe.

I've tried ONE shovel of nut coal in some epa certified stoves. I would just toss 4 or 5 egg sized chunks in there for fun and to try to extend the burn time. I would not reccomend this for folks to try in EPA stoves as a steady thing or long term. If it's an older pre epa stove, a few chunks shouldnt hurt ya.

If your appliance has underfire air, bituminous burns great as a mix with wood. I load with bit at bedtime and awake to a warm house in the morning.

Check with the stove manufacturer...some can take it, some can't (coal apparently burns MUCH hotter than wood).

Hard coal simply won't do anything in this situation. Not worth it.

When I lived down south, we occasionally threw a piece of soft coal in.....and that did help slightly.

Soft bituminous coal will burn well in a wood stoves bed of coals but, the hard anthracite will not. Anthracite needs air flow from below and would not burn in a conventional wood stove. I did not get on good with coal and tried using it because I thought it was easier to deal with initially. After two seasons and too many episodes of trouble we, my wife decided to go back to burning wood like any other sensible person up here in Northern Michigan. If you must try bituminous coal beware, it can do some dangerous things and can kill you if all is not well with your set up. Read about it. Is is hard on your equipment also-corrosion, stains & tarnish.

Bushman