I spent a ton of time on there before I bought my Hitzer. I think it would be nice if Hearth.com had some more coal enthusiasts that are active. People are still burning coal contrary to popular belief... When I tell people around here that we started heating with coal they are in shock, unaware that anyone still uses coal these days. Yup! Even your electric car uses coal!
Yes, please. I anticipate ditching one of my wood stoves in the next few years, this 10 cords per year habit is not jibing with my other priorities and obligations, and coal is currently near or at the top of the list as a replacement for one stove.
Whose politics? I'm not sure why choice of heating fuel needs to be tied to your politics.
That is an extremely naive and uninformed viewpoint. Yes, there are adverse health effects tied to coal, most acutely for those who mined it. But there are also countless masses over those same decades and centuries with lives improved or saved by the technology, electricity, and transportation provided by the same coal, when there were not economically or technologically viable alternatives. Extending arguments in either direction to today or the future, in the context of the amount of fuel burned by a small fraction of the population operating coal stoves in their own homes, is an absurd extension of an argument with already limited merit and no positive outcome for this forum.
I get some help from a sun porch that really performs on sunny days. But we always keep this ol barn about 76-77 degrees. When you get old yur bones need heat to unthaw.
It would be easy if you were dealing with a hot water system. You cold put one coal boiler in the garage or the basement.
in memory of Kobe. Life's too short to be angry, or to burn coal.The Other Reason to Shift away from Coal: Air Pollution That Kills Thousands Every Year
Shifting coal-fired power plants in the U.S. to natural gas would have tremendous positive effects on human health in Americawww.scientificamerican.com
I totally agree, I thought exactly the same thing.
No. It leaves a whitish dust like powder from fly ash. Nothing on the roof.
I was given a Surdiac (or Efel type) from a customer I changed out to a LP gas stove. That was my first coal stove. They don't have moveable grates, you use a slicer knife through little slots across the grate to clean. It works ok, but the dust from the slots even having little doors on them became airborne in the house. The thermostat is an oil filled capillary tube type that is much more accurate and did use less fuel. (Pea)
Yes it puts tons of flyash into the chimney.
To me it has nothing to do with politics. I have burnt coal I work on lots of coal burners and I also see what the ecological impact of coal mining and coal.ash disposal has done. Yes it helped advance our civilization greatly. But that advancement came with huge costs as well.
No one has complained about discussing coal here. But if you want input from other coal burners you will get more of that on sites more geared towards coal.
I think on a home heating level, especially with so few people using, anthracite coal is pretty benign. Using coal on an national industrial level is definitely a large cause of environmental change. Like you said, the ash is so difficult to deal with. At least they are finally finding a use for it, although it seems to be cheaper to seal it into the earth. Much worse than burning coal is the rapid global deforestation by fire happening right now. At least coal exhaust from a home heating stove or boiler is very clean.
Does that harm a masonry chimney?
I agree with you there. Home heating especially at the current levels of useage doesn't contribute much.
Coal will eat clay liners as well yes. But if left in the chimney it absorbs moisture and gets hard like cement. That can cause several problems. One it will build up over time eventually restricting the chimney. It can also come off the walls of the chimney in sheets once you start burning again causing an instant and possibly full blockage.
