Wood/Coal Combo Stove Recommendation?

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Sep 27, 2012
34
New York
I'm investigating stoves that can burn both wood and coal. The stove would be stand-alone and located in a basement. The entire home is about 3200 SQ FT. I've had a few people try to talk me out of wood/coal combo stoves because of certain stack requirements, but nobody was very specific on what the draw backs were .... Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions on this ?

I'm also curious about peoples thoughts on lining the stack?

Thanks
 
That's a lot of space to heat with a stove. And heating from a basement can be a mixed bag depending on the house design. Are the basement walls insulated? If not this will be like heating a 4000 sq ft house. Have you considered a furnace instead or moving the stove to the first floor?

The technology to burn wood is different than to burn coal. You can get dual burners, but like a Swiss Army knife, being used as a screwdriver, a good screwdriver is going to do a better job, especially if you have hundreds of screws to screw in. A wood fire gets air directed at the base of the flame. If the stove (or furnace) is a modern clean burner then it is going to have reburn technology to burn up waste wood gas efficiently. This is extraneous on a coal stove and these parts will be more vulnerable to corrosion from the hot coal gases. A coal stove needs air under the coal bed for continuous combustion. And it needs a riddling grate system to keep up with the ash. Some dedicated coal stoves are self feeding which is really nice for hands off operation.

The stack does not seem to be the main issue here. An all fuel, 304 stainless stack designed for a coal should handle wood smoke ok. Draft requirements might be different though.

For better coal information I would also check out the coal forums at www.nepacrossroads.com.
 
I appreciate the response. I should clarify that this stove is to supply supplemental heat to this home. The primary heating source is oil and I'm hoping some passive vents above the stove my help alleviate some of the high energy bills. My reasoning for investigating wood/coal combination stoves was just to increase my fuel options. Based upon your response and other comments I've received, I'll probably stick with a wood only stove. Thanks again.
 
Look at the DS Machine energy max stoves.They have a 110,000btu and a160,000btu.
 
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