Thinking of switching to a coal stove...

[BrowningBAR]

I live in Blair Co., PA and burnt coal for about 10 years until this fall. After installing a wood stove 18 months ago, we sold our coal stove and bought a second wood stove. Our coal stove was in our basement and would provide enough heat for the basement and the upstairs bedrooms. We used about one 5 gallon bucket of hard nut coal every day. I built a coal bin out of 4x8 plywood which held almost 3 ton. I punched a hole through the wall of our basement entry way and had a local welder make a steel shoot to fill buckets. The entry way was outside of our living area but protected from the weather. I dumped the ash along the side of our road. We paid over $200 a ton for hard coal and used 3 to 4 ton per year. We filled the stove in the morning and it would burn all day. We would add coal after work and at bedtime. Coal provides nice heat but we got tired of the dust and dirt in the house. We like having a wood stove for the spring and fall when we want a small fire or low heat all day. A coal fire takes longer to get burning and burns best if you load it up. If the coal burns out or the fire dies down, it can take a while to get a hot fire built up. Take a look at the self feeding stokers. On the positive side, if you burn coal, you don't have to cut, split and stack more wood. I paid $550 for a tri axel of logs. The load will last for more than a year but I had to spend time, energy and money to cut, split and stack the wood. For now at least, I'd rather spend time cutting, splitting and stacking wood than dealing with the dirt from coal.

The fact that you had a Vig II coal stove (I'm assuming it was a recent model) helps me. I will probably look further into coal for one of the three stoves, but some of the issues you addressed answered a lot of my questions. Thanks for posting.

 

[vpetersen]

I am very interested in one of the new coal stoves, but my house only has room for one stove. With what everyone has said about the warm up time, it sounds like a wood burner is a better option for those chilly fall/spring days. If I had a basement, I'd seriously look into a coal stoker and take measures to minimize dust/ash. Again, not unhappy with my wood burner, just like the idea of 12-24 hour burn times with out cutting and stacking. Thanks for all the input.

Somerset, Pa; $490/ tri-axle of logs

 

[mhrischuk]

We paid over $200 a ton for hard coal and used 3 to 4 ton per year. I paid $550 for a tri axel of logs. The load will last for more than a year but I had to spend time, energy and money to cut, split and stack the wood. For now at least, I'd rather spend time cutting, splitting and stacking wood than dealing with the dirt from coal.

You paid $600-$800 for coal a year. For that money you can buy 4 or more split cords around here so why bother splitting? You aren't saving much at all unless you use a whole lot more than 4 cords.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

LIke someone said its Hard if not impossible to get COAL for free. Wood on the other hand is relatively easy to scrounge so if you are retired or have the spare time scrounging wood may be more cost effective. I burn 80% demolition lumber so for me i save 2 ways. No disposal fees to get rid of the demo lumber, and no fuel fee.

 

[jjs777_fzr]

the nepa site is down...so I'm on my other favorite site

I burn wood upstairs and coal in the basement in a Chubby coal stove (Larry the guy who designed and built the things in the 80's still sells parts and refurbs them).

I wouldn't do coal in a house with white shag rugs but otherwise if you are careful - as one would be with wood - coal shouldn't be a problem.
From the Boston area..I find it surprising to see folks in PA burning anything but coal given the long burn times and lower costs.
But..there is no replacing the ambiance a good wood stove provides.

With regard to the warm up time ? It may depend on what stove you are using. As I burn wood, pellet and coal I find all three fairly similar in reaching optimum temp times. Even a pellet stove with the quick startup -still- takes time to get the stove to come up to temperature.

Something I doubt any wood burner can say....did you begin your heating season with just a single match ? I havent yet...but coal fired stove owners can honestly say they've done it. As I look in my goody box of firestarter stuff...I got 4 boxes of diamond matches and thinking to myself...I hope I have enough for this winter

I guess if I was limited to a single stove it would be wood only because I am able to scrounge for free wood and costs are important to keep low.
Coal also doesnt require as much tending...and I like to tinker...so +1 for wood.

Going back the other way...in the dead of winter with sub zero temps...constant tending the wood stove is a pain.

 

[spirilis]

The ability to truly "damper" down coal and run at a steady temp for long periods of time is the allure to me IMO... and like a lot of folks say it's probably a good heater for the basement (run at a steady temp all day) to keep the house's thermal envelope at a higher baseline (then you can use pellet/wood/whatever to roast individual rooms as you need)

 

[jjs777_fzr]

The ability to truly "damper" down coal and run at a steady temp for long periods of time is the allure to me IMO... and like a lot of folks say it's probably a good heater for the basement (run at a steady temp all day) to keep the house's thermal envelope at a higher baseline (then you can use pellet/wood/whatever to roast individual rooms as you need)

That's hitting the nail on the head.
When I first started burning coal - I found myself up at 4am trying to get the wood stove going again. Then ventured to the basement to check if the coal stove was really still going...and finding it at the same constant 350F temps was really satisfying. I think it does take some getting used to...and I'm still new at most all of it.
I been burning wood since 2006 and coal for a few years.
It was shocking to see how much heat coal puts out....or if dampered down to see it maintain the same temp 8-12 hours later.
Here's a short video of my Chubby Coal stove - its one of my first ever videos on youtube and figured I'd give it a try.
Be nice....I really am no expert with videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnRXWbs50J8

I also uploaded a few vid's on my Century stove and Upland stoves for fun.

 

[spirilis]

Yeah I think the next best thing to that would be a Cat stove, and a steel jacketed one at that for a basement install.
That Coal Chubby is a cute little stove. I remember hearing about those at the nepa site. I'm also curious about those "Base Heaters" I recently read... are those mainly coal stoves with long downdrafting flue channels or something?

 

[Seasoned Oak]

Just got the bad news for coal , local paper predicts moderate to severe shortages for the next 5-7 years, guess after that they cant tell. I paid record prices for coal this year and had a hard time getting it., and im right in the middle of anthracite country.My Future strategy is leaning more to wood.

 

[jjs777_fzr]

Yeah I think the next best thing to that would be a Cat stove, and a steel jacketed one at that for a basement install.
That Coal Chubby is a cute little stove. I remember hearing about those at the nepa site. I'm also curious about those "Base Heaters" I recently read... are those mainly coal stoves with long downdrafting flue channels or something?

For a short video on a base heater check out this one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uHs4iv1j70

 

[PA Fire Bug]

We paid over $200 a ton for hard coal and used 3 to 4 ton per year. I paid $550 for a tri axel of logs. The load will last for more than a year but I had to spend time, energy and money to cut, split and stack the wood. For now at least, I'd rather spend time cutting, splitting and stacking wood than dealing with the dirt from coal.

You paid $600-$800 for coal a year. For that money you can buy 4 or more split cords around here so why bother splitting? You aren't saving much at all unless you use a whole lot more than 4 cords.

After taking a look at my wood supply, I was pleased to find that the first load of logs that I bought before last winter may last through this winter. I've been able to find several pick up loads and several dump truck loads of other wood. I've been burning the wood that I hauled from a nearby farm along with dead wood that I hauled. I'm trying to save the oak and maple that I bought for the coldest weather. Fire wood sells for $100 or more for a pick up load in the Altoona area. There is listing on Craig's List for $140 plus delivery for "seasoned firewood". This is the lowest price that I have found. I didn't call since I should have enough wood for the next three winters but I'm wondering what the seller means by a cord and what type of wood it is.

http://altoona.craigslist.org/search/sss?query=firewood&srchType=A&minAsk;=&maxAsk;=

The firewood processor from Punxsutawney (yes, where the groundhog lives) looks like fun but they are asking $37,500 for it which is way out of my price range. I also don't own any wooded land. Check it out at http://altoona.craigslist.org/for/2713191986.html .