I have a englander 13nc. I also live close to a railroad. I can walk the railroad for a couple of hundred yards and pick up a 5gal bucket or so of coal. Would it be detremental to throw a hand full of the stuff in with wood? Would i get a lot of oily residue inside the stove and pipe? It is not the cleaner burning kind but the black oily coal. I wasnt sure if it would all burn off or not. thanx all.
Woodstove additive (coal)
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My father used to run a coal stove and I have a good amount left in the basement. I'm not throwing it into my stove. I don't want to take the chance of it eating away at my liner. From what I remember, coal burns better in a deep bed anyway. I'm not so sure a few pieces thrown on top of a load of wood would do a lot.
Matt
Matt
Forgot to add: At my old house I didn't have a metal liner and tried to start the fire with matchlight a few times. It does have compressed coal dust and it didn't work well due to the lack of air coming up from below it.
Matt
Matt
ive trew a piece or two in a camp fire before and i seems to bur for a long time. I was afraid about my stainless flue pipe.
If you have a bunch of free coal you might want to install a dedicated coal stove. Free heat is free heat! :cheese:
Matt
Matt
SteveKG
Minister of Fire
Some years ago, coal was sold near here, by the pound or by pre-measured bags which would fit into a car trunk. Someone brought me a bag when they were moving to a new place with no stove. These were large chunks. I would only put a chunk in the stove when I had a good, deep bed of coals [from wood]. The chunk would go all night.
Then I spoke with rep's from both companies which made my two stoves. Both said that coal burns so hot that it can damage or ruin the stove grates unless they are designed for coal burning. I did not opt to buy the coal grates for either stove and stopped using coal. However, it was pretty nice to get up in the a.m. and find deep orange "coals" waiting for me to drop a piece of wood on them to fire right up.
I don't know what the sulfur and etc. in some coal would do to stainless or other stovepipe, some research would definitely be in order before using much coal. Should be pretty easy to find info' about this..... I have no experience with your "oily" coal, ours is hard and almost crystalline in looks. Some coal has everything from mercury to acids in the exhaust.
By the way, around here [Colorado], the cost of buying coal was pretty comparable to buying firewood. I have woods and chainsaws so I don't buy either, but the long, slow burn of the coal was pretty nice.
And if I had a free source to be snagged while out walking my dogs every morning, you can bet I'd check out whether my stove would handle it. I'd be checking myself before leaving the house for the leashes and the five-gallon bucket for the coal.
Then I spoke with rep's from both companies which made my two stoves. Both said that coal burns so hot that it can damage or ruin the stove grates unless they are designed for coal burning. I did not opt to buy the coal grates for either stove and stopped using coal. However, it was pretty nice to get up in the a.m. and find deep orange "coals" waiting for me to drop a piece of wood on them to fire right up.
I don't know what the sulfur and etc. in some coal would do to stainless or other stovepipe, some research would definitely be in order before using much coal. Should be pretty easy to find info' about this..... I have no experience with your "oily" coal, ours is hard and almost crystalline in looks. Some coal has everything from mercury to acids in the exhaust.
By the way, around here [Colorado], the cost of buying coal was pretty comparable to buying firewood. I have woods and chainsaws so I don't buy either, but the long, slow burn of the coal was pretty nice.
And if I had a free source to be snagged while out walking my dogs every morning, you can bet I'd check out whether my stove would handle it. I'd be checking myself before leaving the house for the leashes and the five-gallon bucket for the coal.
We've had a few people post of success burning coal in their stoves once the stove was hot and a very good coal bed was established. It won't hurt the firebricks in the stove, nor the grate as long as the ashpan door is kept shut. I'd ask Englander tech support if there are concerns for the stove, but I am guessing it would be ok for occasional use. But if you think oil stinks, well coal does too.
One thing I was wondering about, is this coal left over from the days of steam engines or is it currently being used?
One thing I was wondering about, is this coal left over from the days of steam engines or is it currently being used?
this is fresh coal shipped daily. When i said a hand full thats what i mean. I would only put a handfull in at a time and only after i have a bed of ashes on the fire brick. Would secondaries burn off of coal? i might take the time to pick up a couple buckets a year. im more worried about my flue having some sort of reaction from it like premature corrosion.
oilstinks said:
If the flue is all stainless I would worry too much about burning a couple buckets a year. Do you know if this is bituminous or anthracite coal?
Fsappo
Minister of Fire
Ive done it with nut coal in a Pacific Energy stove. 4 or 5 chunks of coal on the coal bed (wood) before bed time. I'm not sure it extended the burn time much more than simply packing the firebox full of wood, but it was fun and different.
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