Esse Ironheart burning Coal

[Rigamarol]

I've had my Esse Ironheart just over a year now and have burned exclusively wood up till now. I purchased some bagged Anthracite both nut and pea sized. Since the stove doesn't have a shaker grate everything I've read says it won't be that easy to operate as the ash will build up and raking the coals around to drop ash will end up killing the fire and a lot will drop through the grates.

I've found almost no one posting anything about coal in these stoves so anyone with experience using coal in this stove so any input would be helpful. Burn times, efficient lighting techniques, how much the stove should go through in a weak of regular burning.

I'm a little concerned about controlling the air. While I've loved the stove thus far my experience is that it was manufactured to tolerances that don't really allow you to damp it down enough to really control the burn rate at lower levels. I mean when I closer both primary and secondary air controls a good deal of air still gets in even though all my gaskets look fine.

So does anyone burn coal in an ESSE?

 

[Highbeam]

Very few wood stoves are designed or allowed to burn coal as well as wood. Is your Esse rated/designed for it? I thought you had to have open grates for the underneath air.

 

[Rigamarol]

Yes it has thick slotted cast iron grates a few inches above a removable ash pan. As others on this forum have mentioned the owners manuals on these esse's are disproportionally small compared to their rather large price tags. Below is the entirely of manufacture's info on coal burning. I've yet to find a video/photo, manufactures or otherwise of anyone burning coal in any Esse cooker. Hope this isn't way too long of a text to post. I'd link it but all ESSE's pdfs are only online to download not as a link.

Solid Mineral Fuel

Mineral Fuels


Ordinary bituminous house coal is not recommended and must not be burned in smoke control areas.


Burning bituminous house coal will result in a sooty stove and chimney, and the door glass will require


cleaning regularly. There are numerous natural anthracites and manufactured smokeless fuels that will


burn cleanly and have more reliable burning characteristics. A list of these fuels and their suitability is


produced by HETAS (www.hetas.co.uk). Consult your local fuel merchant to find out what is available in


your area. Petro-coke should not be used as it burns very hot and may damage the cooking stove


castings.



Lighting and Controlling the Fire (for solid mineral fuel)

Before lighting the fire for the first time, ensure that the baffle and the side and back bricks are in position.

Burning without either will result in the stove castings overheating and being damaged.

Open the secondary air control and the primary air control fully. Place some tightly rolled paper on top of

some crumpled paper on the base towards the back of the cooking stove. On top of this, place some

small pieces of wood and on top of that a few small pieces of mineral fuel. Light the crumpled paper and

close the door. Once the fire becomes established and the fuel is burning, more fuel can be added.

When the stove is hot and the fuel is no longer producing smoke, the secondary air control can be

reduced. The burning rate of the fire can now be controlled with the secondary air control. As air from the

primary air control flows up through the grate it will cool the grate bars preventing them from overheating

and becoming damaged. Reducing the primary air control and introducing only secondary air control will

allow the fuel to burn but the grate will not be cooled resulting in possible damage to the grate. When

controlling the fire, the primary air control should be altered gradually. Reducing the primary air dramatically

and all at once on a hot cooking stove will cause the fuel to clinker and will result in a build up of gases

and smoke which could ignite with a bang the moment air is reintroduced.

Extended Burning

Before adding a large amount of fuel, the grate should be de-ashed and the ashpan emptied. Add the

fuel sloping it from the front coal bar up to the back of the stove to the level of the top of the back brick.

Open the primary air control and let the fire burn for a period on high rate in order to get the stove back

up to temperature, reduce the secondary air control and reduce the primary air control to suit the burning

rate. The exact setting of the air controls depends on a number of variables including: the flue draught,

the fuel used and the installation, and so the best setting for your cooking stove can only be learned by

experience.

 

[Jags]

Another consideration with coal burning is the flue being used. Coal lends itself to using the old skool flues made of clay and brick. Burning coal creates some acidic off gassing that will destroy stainless liners as time goes by.

 

[Rigamarol]

My understanding is the corrosive issues with coal are due primarily to the sulfur content in bituminous. I'll only be burning anthracite which is fairly pure carbon. Though anthracite I believe only burns in thick piles fed from air below which means you can't just chuck a couple lumps in to subsidize a wood fire.

My flue is double walled black pipe for about 6ft then transitions to about 22' of stainless flex liner and insulation inside an old 1870s structural brick chimney. I get really good draw as long as long as I'm not just burning for fun in way to warm of weather.

 

[Jags]

I'll only be burning anthracite which is fairly pure carbon.

I believe that you are correct in the fact that anthracite has far less acidic gasses then bituminous coal, but I don't believe it equates to "none". The on-line equivalent of this place for coal is nepacrossroads.com if you really want to bone up on the specifics.

 

[Rigamarol]

I believe that you are correct in the fact that anthracite has far less acidic gasses then bituminous coal, but I don't believe it equates to "none". The on-line equivalent of this place for coal is nepacrossroads.com if you really want to bone up on the specifics.

Thanks for the suggested site. I get the feeling that even though it is advertised as a wood/coal cookstove practically no one burns coal in them. so this experiment may be short lived. I just kinda like the idea of having a backup fuel source that never rots and my wife can handle if I'm ever laid up and can't maintain the wood pile for a season.

 

[bholler]

My flue is double walled black pipe for about 6ft then transitions to about 22' of stainless flex liner and insulation inside an old 1870s structural brick chimney. I get really good draw as long as long as I'm not just burning for fun in way to warm of weather.

WHat alloy steel is it if it is 316 you will be fine if it is 304 it will eat that liner in under 10 years. Ash and exhaust from anthracite are still very corrosive. Not as much as bituminous but still nasty stuff. Beleive me i work on quite a few coal stoves and the wrong alloy will not last. It will eventually eat 316 also but not as quick you can extend the life of the liner by cleaning and spraying it down with wd40 over the summer

 

[Rigamarol]

WHat alloy steel is it if it is 316 you will be fine if it is 304 it will eat that liner in under 10 years. Ash and exhaust from anthracite are still very corrosive. Not as much as bituminous but still nasty stuff. Beleive me i work on quite a few coal stoves and the wrong alloy will not last. It will eventually eat 316 also but not as quick you can extend the life of the liner by cleaning and spraying it down with wd40 over the summer

I'll have to call the installer. I'm guessing since it wasn't given to me as a choice or an upgrade that they used the lesser of the two and at that time I didn't realize I should be asking. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[bholler]

I'll have to call the installer. I'm guessing since it wasn't given to me as a choice or an upgrade that they used the lesser of the two and at that time I didn't realize I should be asking. Thanks for the heads up.

well is it light wall or heavy wall liner. Most light wall liners are 316 but many heavy wall liners that are for wood are 304. There are some companies that make light wall in 304 but most do not.