coal burning

[James02]

Just wondering...not that I'm planning on it, but what would happen if I burned coal in my Summit?

 

[Danno77]

I serpose you could do it, but you'd have to elevate the coals, methinks, on some sort of a grate.

Just curious, you have easier access to coal than wood or something? I totally get the allure of coal, I'm STILL rebuilding a potbelly stove that I plan on burning coal in, but wood is so much more rewarding to use, IMO. You'd still be paying "The Man" if you use coal, just a different man, that's all.

 

[tcassavaugh]

i didn't think it was a good idea go burn coal in those stoves that weren't designed for it or a combination of both wood and coal. think it burns hotter but don't quote me on it. i've thought about it awhile ago, but got a pe summit instead and just burn the wood.

cass

 

[ScotO]

Coal burns very hot for sustained amounts of time, and also contains a lot of sulphur, which is really hard on metal. Something else to consider. I wouldn't burn coal in a stove that was not designed for it.

 

[AKSHADOW]

You could burn coal in your stove - what you will find though is that you won't be getting enough "under fire air" to get the coal hot enough to burn when reloading, and you will never get the stove up to a desirable temp. You won't be able to "bank" the coals adequately either. It's not necessarily the coal that is hard on stoves - but the ash. It's acidic so eventually grates tend to corrode. Go buy yourself a DS Machines coal stove and have the flexibility of both fuels. Their stoves are relatively cheap and extremely well made.

 

[James02]

I'm not ever planning on it, I dont have a coal guy....thanks everybody

 

[velvetfoot]

Around here coal isn't that cheap...I called around the other day.

 

[geoxman]

Around here bit is stupid cheap and I keep about a ton in the garage. My stoves can handle both wood and coal. When really cold I will use some coal for looong burns. It is a PITA because I have to remove the cat, but it is not that difficult

 

[ScotO]

geoxman brings up another good point. If you have a CAT stove, you do NOT want to burn coal in it without first taking the cat out. That stuff would be really hard on a catalytic converter.