Does anyone here burn coal in their Blaze King?

[craigs]

There are a couple reasons I'd like to burn coal some of the time in my older Blaze King stove. First, I work for a coal company and can easily get it anytime I want. Second, I don't have a supply of (larger pieces) seasoned wood. These two things combined make me really want to try burning coal for the rest of this season. The owners manual for the stove says that either wood or coal can be used so my only holdup is absolutely no experience whatsoever with burning it!

Some things I would like advice with are:

How much of a wood fire do I need to get the coal going?
How much coal do I put in to get it started?
How much coal do I burn at a time once it's going?
Is it going to act like wood?
Should I try to keep it at the same temps?

Any other advice for me?

Thanks!!

 

[mbutts]

I'd try here first. They have a forum there.
http://nepacrossroads.com/
Quite a bit of interesting info. I ruled out going back to coal since transportation is so high today.

We used to burn coal and wood when I was a kid. Its a lil different animal. We had a stoker and wood-coal-electric cook stove. Coal stoves have cast iron grates. Not sure how fire brick would hold up, plus not having shaker grates. We always got a good bed of wood coals going then put some lump coal in.

 

[ecocavalier02]

from what ive heard from other people that have burned it is that it gets really really hot!. dont know much about it but i'd think its a little different than burn wood.

 

[craigs]

As far as the firebrick goes, the manual says to use a "coal basket" which I can't seem to find. A couple guys at work say they just throw the coal in on the wood coals but I'd like to try this according to the instructions if at all possible.

 

[BrotherBart]

I would call Blaze King before I did it. My 1985 stove was supposed to burn coal or wood but when I talked to the manufacturer back then they had started advising against it because it was wrecking the stoves. But then it wasn't a magical Blaze King. Just a 1/4" body, 3/8" top plate tank.

 

[berlin]

you'll have no problem with the firebrick. Coal produces much more ash than wood so without an effective ashpan and grate system it can be a bit of a pain to shovel ash everyday, but for the cost savings it can be more than worth it. Most of the people I deal with use coal to hold a fire overnight, although some do burn just coal in their woodstove. The key is to use large pieces of coal- don't use mine run or stoker, use the large lumps- at least 5x5". To get a coal fire started, get a good wood fire started and let it burn down to small flames and coals, then start placing the large lumps of coal randomly throughout the firebox in a pile then close the door, leave the damper open for about 5 minuites, then start slowly closing down the air. . The coal will produce a lot of smoke for the first 10 minuites (don't worry about the smoke- there is NO creosote produced only light powdery soot) then it will begin to settle down and the secondaries will kick in, at this point you may have to reduce the draft further, and then let it go for up to 12 hours (depending on amount of coal and amount of draft obviously). If you have any questions post back. BTW, there is no need to worry about a coal-basket etc. your stove will be just fine. if possible try to get low FSI (coke button) coal from your company if they process or mine more than one coal.

 

[RedNecker]

My new Princess Ultra manual says never burn coal.

 

[Highbeam]

Modern BKs have cats that are likely very sensitive to anything except wood. If I lived in coal country, even more if I had cheap/free coal I would try and find one of the many purpose built coal burners.

 

[SolarAndWood]

A guy that works for me burns coal in a stove. He pays $300/ton in bags but only has to load the stove once a day in the coldest part of the winter.

 

[summit]

you really need a sifter style grate to burn coal: and given the corrosive effect of coal I would not run it in your stove unless the cat was removed, to avoid damaging it... Also, if your stove isn't specifically made to burn coal, I wouldn't advise it: the air flow required to burn coal is different from wood.

But, to operate an effective coal fire, you must first get a good wood fire established, let it burn down to hot coals, then put a layer of coal on top. Give it a good 20-30 mins before adding any more coal or trying to damp it down. And get ready for lots of nasty ash. It does not give off alot of flame like wood, and you must get it really hot before you try to cut her back. It will burn longer, and get really hot. Also, and this is why a sifter is important: you gotta shake down the ash, open the draft, and give it a minute b4 you open the door: the gasses building up can get a little explosive if you just wing the door open.

 

[RedNecker]

I would like to be able to find someone that would pay me $300 per ton of coal. That is a X10 markup.