Burning coal

[BackBlast]

Has anyone used a coal furnace or stove to burn coal to heat their house? This looks like the only realistic heating fuel for mass storage at our place.

Rock that comes from the ground, that you can also store in the ground with no issues that I can see... And it's cheap to boot.

Also, does anyone have opinions or experience on what kinds of stoves or furnaces work well with coal?

[phylm]

Never burned coal ourselves. We had a wood furnace. I know that, back in the dark ages of my youth, carbon monoxide poisoning by faulty coal stoves was sometimes a problem. Also it can be a concern in western valleys where severe winter air inversion might occur.

I'm sure you can research what you need to safely burn coal. It is handy, as it is a steady heat, and doesn't need stoking nearly as often as the older wood-burning stoves.

[LEVE]

I used to burn coal when I lived on the west side of the State. It was a good source of fuel and I heated an 1800 sqft house. I had also buried 2 tons of coal in the back yard as fuel storage for a year. It's the best way to store the stuff.

My stove was a large wood stove with a good grate and brick lined. It worked wonderfully.

[Justme]

Don't know if this will help as you are probably thinking of an emergency situation without electricity but when we first moved here the house we rented was heated by a coal furnace with an electric stoker. It was inexpensive heat and I loved how warm and cozy it was, much more steady, comfortable heat than any other I have used. The cons: walls and furniture get dirtier faster than with other heat, very dirty in actual furnace room, would have to stoke the stove every couple of hours if you didn't have electricity, it takes a very big area to store the coal for a whole winter, and finally our stoker malfunctioned one night, fed too much coal into the fire, we awoke in the morning to smoke, soot in our nostrils and a house that had to be cleaned as if we had had a fire. We had to move out for a week or so, many things ruined.

[BackBlast]

Don't know if this will help as you are probably thinking of an emergency situation without electricity but when we first moved here the house we rented was heated by a coal furnace with an electric stoker. It was inexpensive heat and I loved how warm and cozy it was, much more steady, comfortable heat than any other I have used. The cons: walls and furniture get dirtier faster than with other heat, very dirty in actual furnace room, would have to stoke the stove every couple of hours if you didn't have electricity,

Yeah, the dirtyness is one thing that causes me to hesitate a bit. A bit of cursory research shows that there are outside coal furnaces, bit more expensive but you can keep the coal and coal burning outside your house.


it takes a very big area to store the coal for a whole winter,A years worth of heating fuel is large no matter what you use. It's just that coal is the only thing I can legally and manage ably store and also be able to heat my house without utilities.


and finally our stoker malfunctioned one night, fed too much coal into the fire, we awoke in the morning to smoke, soot in our nostrils and a house that had to be cleaned as if we had had a fire. We had to move out for a week or so, many things ruined.ick...

[BackBlast]

I had also buried 2 tons of coal in the back yard as fuel storage for a year. It's the best way to store the stuff.


That's what I was thinking of doing, bury a bunch in the back yard.. Do you know how much a ton ran when you used it?

Utah spot price is $41 a ton, but I'm not sure what kind of processing and delivery fees are involved to get it to my door, maybe triple that? 3 tons to heat a house for a winter, at spot that's only a $123 heating bill. Assuming triple is $369 a season, even that's not bad at all...

[LEVE]

Do you know how much a ton ran when you used it?That was so long ago... I got it straight from the mine.. and IIRC, it was about $25 a ton. I just had 'em load up the pick up and made a few trips.

For daily storage I simply make a plywood box, 4'X4'X4' on a skid and filled it first. Then filled a trench in the back forty and covered it over. When the box got low... the pickup make another trip to the mine.

Yes, coal is dirty, and the fumes can be somewhat noxious on an cold/foggy night. But the neighbors never complained. I never had a problem with soot inside the house. The stove was air-tight and I kept the flue clean so it would draft well.

[Earthling]

We are installing a wood/coal cook stove. It is like the old-fashioned ones except this one is new. There are about 5 manufacturers in Canada that still make them using the same pattern from over 100 years ago but now are UL approved. Lehman's and other places sell them. You can buy the newer ones used - we got ours on KSL but saw them on Craig's List, etc.

[Justme]

Good for you, Earthling. I've been interested in your stove since you mentioned it was a goal of yours. I looked on Craig's list this weekend but didn't find any. What brand is yours. Let us know how the installation goes. Are you going to use it to heat your house now?

[BackBlast]

We are installing a wood/coal cook stove. It is like the old-fashioned ones except this one is new. There are about 5 manufacturers in Canada that still make them using the same pattern from over 100 years ago but now are UL approved. Lehman's and other places sell them. You can buy the newer ones used - we got ours on KSL but saw them on Craig's List, etc.

Do you plan on installing this in your house? Is your house already prepped for that or do you need to modify it? I've heard that the requirements for making stoves insurance-approved these days are obnoxious and lengthy...

[Earthling]

What brand is yours. Let us know how the installation goes. Are you going to use it to heat your house now?

Ours is a Monarch. Other good brands are Heartland and Elmira sold by Lehman's and others. Google wood cook stove. There are several companies (one in Wyoming, another back east, and one in the midwest that specialize in reselling the old & new ones. They also rejuvenate old ones. Here is one I talked to: http://www.goodtimestove.com/kitchen_ranges/victorian_cooking_ranges.html

I liked the Wyoming place because we could pick it up. The delivery is about $500. When you search Craig's list you have to search nationally - not just locally.

We are going to use it for backup heat - it doesn't have the capacity to heat my whole house. We are also going to cook with it for fun at times and to keep our ability/skills at a useful level.

[Earthling]

Backblast:
We took out the fireplace in our family room corner (weird spot for a fireplace) and are modifying the area to meet code. It has taken my engineer husband some time to figure out what needs to be done for code and safety. These stoves have become rare so few know how to install them.

The insurance company will come and check it but just said if it met code it would pass their inspection and not cost extra on our insurance. It didn't sound like they would give us a hard time.

This stove is really pretty so it will be a "decoration" and useful. The lady we bought it from used it only as a decoration in an old Victorian home - never used it. It is about 12 years old.

So the answer is yes - installation is a pain. Not in the actual installation but in figuring out what to do. If someone gets one, PM me for my phone number and talk to my husband. It will save you the many hours he has spent researching this. Since he is an engineer - he is pretty thorough.

We took out the gas fireplace insert that was in the fireplace that would heat that room but will reinstall it on the other side of the house in the master bedroom fireplace. That will give us heat on both sides of the house - one gas and one wood/coal - two options or both in an emergency.

[waif69]

We have talked about getting a coal stove when we move out west. It seems that you can get quite a bit of bang for the buck, and stowage of the fuel isn't an issue if you have space. The only downside is that it takes actual periodic labor. As a partially retired couple that shouldn't be a problem.