I recently came into a large amount of coal... 3, 10' long dump trailer loads. It came out of a basement in Boston. I have a insert in my living room fireplace that will burn coal or wood. It was designed primarily for coal. There is some large lumps but the majority is very small. I can get some pictures if it helps. My question is does it go bad so to speak? Will moisture hurt it? Right now I have a large pile of it in my back yard. I am trying to figure out what to do with it from there, if its still good. Maybe put a bunch in trash barrels with lids. If it is bad I am just going to use it as fill and bury it. What do you guys think? I primarily burn wood but this might be something to save for Future use. Didn't know where else to put this.
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Anyone burn coal? I have some questions
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Jason Flare
NES Member
Burn it. It doesn't go bad. We used to buy coal in WV and the pile was out in the weather and open air. I suggest covering it 'though like you would your firewood. You'll love the heat yo get out of coal and it'll be hard to go back to wood.
knoxy
NES Member
I found coal to be a big pain in the ass. I burnt it for a year since my house came with a coal stove, but went back to wood.
Although if I had a metric shit ton of coal laying in the back yard, I'd use it.
Although if I had a metric shit ton of coal laying in the back yard, I'd use it.
JayMcB
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The smaller chunks are just going to burn faster. It's NICE heat. We burned it when I was a kid. I distinctly remember there being a cold snap in Febriary, and the top of our old stove used to glow when it was dark in the room. Free heat.
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Congratulations. You should save a lot of money with this. ![[grin]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/041.gif "Grin [grin]")
Burning coal would get me nostalgic for the old steam engine trains.
Burning coal would get me nostalgic for the old steam engine trains.
Fixxah
NES Member
We burned primarily coal qhen I was young. Shenandoah made the boiler and it could do wood, coal, oil, and kerosine. Efficiency sucked as it had a tankless coil. Mostly mase for Canada.
I have coal from Titanic I may burn just to do it. I bet the wife goes ballistic.
-Proud to be dad every day, a licensed plumber most days, and wish I was a shoemaker on others.
I have coal from Titanic I may burn just to do it. I bet the wife goes ballistic.
-Proud to be dad every day, a licensed plumber most days, and wish I was a shoemaker on others.
This post intrigued me... I hadn't thought of coal as a viable solution.
For those interested, here's an intro to coal heating article I found:
Heating with Coal, is it for Me?- A Beginners Guide (hardwood, how much) - remodeling, decorating, construction, energy use, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, building, rooms - City-Data Forum
For those interested, here's an intro to coal heating article I found:
Heating with Coal, is it for Me?- A Beginners Guide (hardwood, how much) - remodeling, decorating, construction, energy use, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, building, rooms - City-Data Forum
In addition to your stove, make sure your venting is coal-compatible. I know my Duravent pipe specifically said it can do both coal and wood. So I'd imagine that there's some venting options that are exclusively for wood.
Not sure though.
I don't know many people that burn coal. Personally I think wood's a better alternative namely because it's super-abundant up here.
Not sure though.
I don't know many people that burn coal. Personally I think wood's a better alternative namely because it's super-abundant up here.
Coal is very easy to store. If you have a good bed of it going in your stove you can through more in wet with snow on it and have no issues. I used it when I was young and with the right stove it's by far the best heat I've had. The house was 75 to 80 all winter on less than 4 ton.
If you have rice coal make sure your grate it small enough to use it. The larger stove coal works in most things that aren't stoker stove.
If you have rice coal make sure your grate it small enough to use it. The larger stove coal works in most things that aren't stoker stove.
I put a small coal stove in my kitchen last year. I only went through a good sized wheelbarrow or so , experimenting and learning. I have two woodstoves as well.
I learned there are different kinds of coal. There's the stuff that gave coal a bed reputation , dirty and smelly and polluting. There's also anthracite coal , which is odorless and cleaner burning than wood.
I learned there are different kinds of coal. There's the stuff that gave coal a bed reputation , dirty and smelly and polluting. There's also anthracite coal , which is odorless and cleaner burning than wood.
JayMcB
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Since this is in the survival forum, I will note that anthracite has far less of a smell at the stack than wood smoke if you were looking for stealthy heat.
It also is relatively stable to store, doesn't rot, and has a very high BTU per ton as opposed to wood, and you don't need gas for a chainsaw and splitter to get it ready to be a heat supply.
It also is relatively stable to store, doesn't rot, and has a very high BTU per ton as opposed to wood, and you don't need gas for a chainsaw and splitter to get it ready to be a heat supply.
BattleSnail
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yep, coal burns hot. hotter than wood. over stoke the stove and it will drive you out of the room.
it's filthy though. We used to have a coal bin in our garage for our coal burning stoves and my parents used to get pissed bc me and my brother used it as a fort and used to come out covered in black.
mark2215
NES Member
I heat my house with coal. I have a Harman Mark II coal stove in the basement. The stove has air passages/ducts and blowers that blow hot air upstairs. Coal will last forever even left outside but you want to cover it because it will get water/snow/ice in the pile and become much harder to shovel. The coal itself isn't very dirty at all but you will get a fine coating of gray ash/dust on everything in the area. I don't care because it's my basement and i just vacuum it every spring. It is very nice because I can load up the stove and it'll burn 24 hours running low and 12 hours wide open. Also, once I start burning in the fall I don't have to restart the fire til spring unless I purposefully let it go out. I like it because it's cheaper than buying cordwood and it's much easier to store/transport.
I burned coal for a few seasons years ago because like you I got it for free for carting it out of a basement. It is nice even long lasting heat. It was great, both me and my wife were working. I could load the stove in the early am and it was still pumping when we got home from work. It was about the same amount of work as burning pellets. I personally think it was cleaner than wood and less ash. The ash is very fine but no bugs.
The one thing that is a must is a Carbon Monoxide detector.
Don't dump the ash in your garden, unlike wood ash it is not good for the soil.
The one thing that is a must is a Carbon Monoxide detector.
Don't dump the ash in your garden, unlike wood ash it is not good for the soil.
my dad burned coal, we had a stoker and a blower which would put the ash in
5 gallon pails. it was in the cellar and the room it was in had white dust all over the
place. 6 tons each winter would do it. the only complaint he had was occasionally
a rock would get stuck in the stoker pipe.
5 gallon pails. it was in the cellar and the room it was in had white dust all over the
place. 6 tons each winter would do it. the only complaint he had was occasionally
a rock would get stuck in the stoker pipe.
Thanks for all the info, I guess I am gonna try to burn it and see how it goes. I usually burn around 3 cords of wood a year as supplement heat in a fireplace insert with dual blowers in my living room. We usually burn it from about 3pm through the night till it goes out early morning. We are at work all day so there isn't much point in relighting it in the morning. There are usually enough coals to do it but no point wasting the wood with no one home but 2 stupid dogs. A lot of it is small so I don't know how well its going to work as far as falling through the grate but I probably have about 3 tons of it maybe more so it worth a shot. Thanks again or the info. If it doesn't work out there may be some kind of coal karma. I will update here and give a heads up if I can't use it.
I remember my grandmother having a coal furnace many winters ago. They had a coal chute into the basement that filled up a stall. Shovel the from there right into the furnace. There were grates above the furnace on each floor and we used to stick close to those grates in the wintertime. They'd have a mean fire going in a big fireplace in the living room to heat that up. Pats game on the monster sized cabinet TV with the tiny screen. Big old farmhouse. Parts weren't heated at all.
FormerlyIndifferent
NES Member
OP: thanks for starting this thread. Do you have any update(s)?
Group: we're looking at getting a coal stove for home heat. Mostly as a nostalgic thing; we burned coal when I was a kid and I have always wanted to do it once again. I remember the big coal pile outside at our 1st house, I used to play in it; and it was dumped into our cellar into the "coal bin" at our next house.....the truck would put the chute right in our cellar window. We had a potbelly stove in the cellar at house #1, and a "Suburban" wood/coal stove in our basement at house #2. At house #2, the potbelly stove from house #1 was used to heat the garage. Lots of memories.
I am looking at small/medium stoves as our place is really small......about 1000 sq. feet......and hand fired is OK but we are open to the stoker type as well. We'll be looking at some in dealer showrooms over the next weeks and months. A model that I always liked is the Vermont Castings "Vigilant". Does anyone here own one?
I'll mention that the dirt/the cleanup/the dust/the ash/ & the coal smell, do not bother us. Thanks.
Group: we're looking at getting a coal stove for home heat. Mostly as a nostalgic thing; we burned coal when I was a kid and I have always wanted to do it once again. I remember the big coal pile outside at our 1st house, I used to play in it; and it was dumped into our cellar into the "coal bin" at our next house.....the truck would put the chute right in our cellar window. We had a potbelly stove in the cellar at house #1, and a "Suburban" wood/coal stove in our basement at house #2. At house #2, the potbelly stove from house #1 was used to heat the garage. Lots of memories.
I am looking at small/medium stoves as our place is really small......about 1000 sq. feet......and hand fired is OK but we are open to the stoker type as well. We'll be looking at some in dealer showrooms over the next weeks and months. A model that I always liked is the Vermont Castings "Vigilant". Does anyone here own one?
I'll mention that the dirt/the cleanup/the dust/the ash/ & the coal smell, do not bother us. Thanks.
I have the vigilant multi-fuel. I love it. People will tell you that it is neither a great wood burner nor a great coal burner and I agree. If you do get a vigilant for coal, then either get a Vigilant 2 or the multifuel model. All the other models were wood stoves that have added coal conversion kits. It is not the way to go if you want to burn coal. The vigilant and multifuel have the grates incorporated into the stove and the shaker handle already in place. It is very important to make sure the firebox is airtight so that all the intake air comes is below the firebox, it is the only way coal will burn properly.
I leave my multifuel as a coal stove and just burn wood on top of the grates. It is not ideal for wood burning but it does a good enough job for me, although the firebox is very small when in the coal mode. The downside to this is much shorter burn times.I get all of my firewood for free so the inefficiency compared to the newer epa stoves does not bother me. I think I do pretty good for efficiency though as my griddle temp runs about 650 and my stack temp is like 250.
My wife loves the stove. She likes the heat and the looks of it. Cast iron is great for aestetics but all the joints need to be sealed up if you burn coal. Just be careful because an older vigilant may have a lot of non visable air leaks. I love the flexibility of multi fuel. I get a lot of free firewood and I buy about a to n of coal for the dead of winter.
I leave my multifuel as a coal stove and just burn wood on top of the grates. It is not ideal for wood burning but it does a good enough job for me, although the firebox is very small when in the coal mode. The downside to this is much shorter burn times.I get all of my firewood for free so the inefficiency compared to the newer epa stoves does not bother me. I think I do pretty good for efficiency though as my griddle temp runs about 650 and my stack temp is like 250.
My wife loves the stove. She likes the heat and the looks of it. Cast iron is great for aestetics but all the joints need to be sealed up if you burn coal. Just be careful because an older vigilant may have a lot of non visable air leaks. I love the flexibility of multi fuel. I get a lot of free firewood and I buy about a to n of coal for the dead of winter.
yanici
NES Member
I remember from grammar school days that we were told that, with pressure, the next step for coal is to become a diamond. So, why not put some in a vise and keep adding pressure to it? You'll be very wealthy some day.
Sorry, I couldn't help it.
Sorry, I couldn't help it.
we bought a house with one of the Vigilante coal stoves in it. I can honestly say I've never hated anything as much as that stove in my life!! It's a major PIA to get coal going and then keep it going. It also produces a ton of ash. On the plus side when you finally do get it working it burns VERY hot. I would never recommend one of these to anyone!!
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Coal doesn't burn dirty and once you learn how to light and maintain it it's awesome. Even heat all the time. No bugs, no dirt ,no bark mess. I love my coal stove. I have a Nestor Martin coal stove for sale if anyone is interested
I have 3 coal stoves and love them all. One triple fuel that does oil, wood and coal. One Alaska that burns rice, and a little railroad stove in the garage for reloading.
The rice works just like pellets except I get twice the BTUs. The other two use nut. If this is your stuff, put it into paper grocery sacks, about 10-12 lbs a bag. Wrap it twice with paper tape and stack like cordwood in the basement. Toss it in the stove, bag and all.
The rice works just like pellets except I get twice the BTUs. The other two use nut. If this is your stuff, put it into paper grocery sacks, about 10-12 lbs a bag. Wrap it twice with paper tape and stack like cordwood in the basement. Toss it in the stove, bag and all.
