burn coal in a Pacific Energy super 27?we like to burn coal at night to keep a longer burn

[Ty Grant]

My dealer has said its fine to burn coal in a super 27 as he has done it for many years,is it just a matter of damage to the fire box over time if you run it too hot while using coal, that P,E says not to do it? Also My dealer has been pushing me to get a Super 27 but I would rather get a Summit for the greater output when we are warming up our very cold cabin (cold start up.) that is way up in mountains 8500 ft in Utah, the cabin is 850 sf main with open loft 600sf and 18 ft ceilings. I also want the longer over night burn. We have little hardwood. mostly pine and aspen. The dealer claims we won't be happy as it will roast us out. We now have a 1980's Heritage sequoia Huge! with a 4sft box and it does a fine job but uses a ton of wood and needs a 36" setback from the wall.
Thanks Ty

 

[ansehnlich1]

I don't own this stove, never even seen one, BUT, burning coal in it sounds like a BAD IDEA! I was a coal burner for quite some time and I personally would not even think of burning coal in my Jotul. I know some folk add coal to a wood fire for one reason or other, but this ole boy ain't doin' it.

My coal stove had a glass window in the door, so you could see the fire right, well, it pitted and got coudy in no time due to the caustic nature of coal gasses, I put cast iron in there where the glass was.

I'd contact Pacific Energy and as 'em what burnin' coal in there stoves does for the warranty?, and what it does to the stove?

 

[Corie]

Burning coal will void your warranty, and that is directly stated in the manual.

I'd not even sure how one could get coal to burn that well in a Pacific Energy stove. There's no rotating grate system, and no way of controlling the underfire air the coal will need to burn. Overall, a TERRIBLE idea. I'd highly suggest you don't do it.

 

[Jimbob]

I'd get the Summit and burn wood in it.
Wood can be got foe free, whereas coal can't.
It won't roast you out if you build smaller fires once the cabin is up to temp.
Coal is kind of a yucky stuff to have indoors, anyway.

 

[Ty Grant]

Hi
The Summit looks a lot better to me, but going against what these dealers are saying worries me a little. They have told me that these stoves are designed to work the best at higher rates of burn. Its too bad I don't know someone that has run a Summit using it on the lower setting. I don't mind spending the money as long as I get the right one.

 

[begreen]

Dealer "A" has already struck out by suggesting burning coal in the Super 27.

How much heat is getting trapped up at the ceiling? Is there a ceiling fan running a the peak of the cathedral ceiling or some other method to deal with heat stratification? It could be the big sequoia stove is mainly heating the roof.

 

[webbie]

Soft coal (what is in most of the country) will actually burn if you put a big lump in the stove - I'm not saying to do it, as it will poison a cat converter and put other chemicals in your stove which may shorten the life.

But back in ole West Virginie, the old times did this on a regular basis.

Yes, the dealer may do it, but he may do a bunch of other things which are unsavory or stupid also. Natural wood, even softwoods, are the best fuels for modern woodstoves.

 

[Ty Grant]

We do use a ceiling fan constantly when running the stove, that helps even out the heat tremendously . Since its up at 16ft, I just installed a sweet remote control that adjusts fan speed,light dimmer,temperature on/off and timer for on/off. This thing works great. (Home Depot$35)
I don't know if I'm too late this year, the snow is starting to come and it might not be possible to get my truck to our place to deliver stove, so it will be snowmobiles for a few months.In the mean time this Heritage might have to do
I have rocked the walls and floor leaving air flow gap behind, that has worked out really well but the window trim still gets warmer than I like when its running hard. Can anyone tell me if it would work to weld a piece of sheet metal along each side of the stove connecting to housing on the back that the fan circulates the air through stove and cover the sides with it left open on the front. The housing could be opened up so the fan would circulate past the sides. I would think this would cut down on the radiant heat coming off the sides and cool down window trim.Or should my wife hide all my tools from me IMMEDIATELY !

 

[begreen]

OK, that's good to know that you have a fan working. Usually they are set to reverse in the winter, that is blowing upward. From what you've described, it sounds like the cabin may be losing a fair amount of heat still. But it could be that you are trying to heat the entire mass of a place quickly in just hours. That's why the big stove works in the small space. How long is your average stay at the cabin?

I'm sort of on the fence about this one, but I take it that this is a cabin that you can be trying to heat up from the cold (like 10 degrees cold?) up to living temps. The PE stoves are great. Both the Summit and the Super 27 are known for long burns. I would also consider a larger Quadrafire stove like the 4300 step top with the blower option. The Quad will give you side heat shielding and good convective heat, but with a hot step top for good radiant heat too. And it's a very clean burner. There are 3 Quad dealers within about 35 miles of Ogden.

As to the current heatshielding issue, considering that the stove is being replaced, could you attach (temporarily) metal heat shields with stand offs onto the trim? If you use small, thin screws (#6) the holes could be sanded and plugged when the shields are removed.

 

[Gooserider]

Wife should be hiding tools IMHO... How hot is the trim getting? Is the finish on it breaking down? Can you put your hand on it for more than a few seconds? Do you have one of those new fangled IR surface thermometers that will let you get a reading on it?

Keep in mind that when a stove is UL tested, it is considered OK to have surfaces get to 117*F above ambient, or about 185*. This is considered a safe margin, well below the temperature at which combustion is a problem -

As a rough guide, most people can't touch a surface hotter than about 120* and keep a hand on it for more than a second or two.

Gooserider