New Vogelzang Norseman 2500 wood/coal

New to burning coal and was wondering if anyone else has the same stove. I've burned nut size coal twice so far in my new furnace. I covered my wood fire with 3 to 4 inches of coal while leaving the ash pan door open (I beleive this is called charging the fire) and in about three minute I had a beatiful blue flame spread across the coal, then I close the ash pan door. I have a 3400 sq ft ranch, with a fininshed basement. I recently added a 715 sq ft in-law apartment in the attic and ran two ducts to heat that space as well. My house has been averaging 74 for two weeks now, and my tenant closes the wall registers half way to stay comfortable. I'm only burning coal at night to get the longer burn time. This unit has an optional induction blower for $250, haven't spent the money yet. This manufacturer recommends bituminous coal not due to heat restrictions but because anthracite is to hard and won't stay burning. I haven't had an issue and was wondering if anyone else has or can offer some helpful advise on coal burning/heating, thanks.

mythreesons wrote:This manufacturer recommends bituminous coal not due to heat restrictions but because anthracite is to hard and won't stay burning.

That would be due to the design of the unit not because of the coal. If anything a lot of people have trouble keeping it under control in a stove designed for burning anthracite. You can literally melt the grates and other internal parts if left unchecked..

Moving this to the bituminous section.

So, are you saying I shouldn't be burning anthracite? When I spoke to the manufacturer he stated burning anthracite was fine as long as you could keep it going, I had no problem. He strongly recommended getting the draft induction fan/blower to help aid the firing process. If I keep a good ash bed on top of my grates which I believe is the proper procedure anyways, my grates should be fine, is this true?

mythreesons wrote:So, are you saying I shouldn't be burning anthracite?

I'm not saying that at all. My point is if the manufacturer told you it won't be able to keep anthracite going it's because of the stove not the coal.

He strongly recommended getting the draft induction fan/blower to help aid the firing process.

Hand fired stoves designed for anthracite do not need this. You put the coal in and set the draft... done. The air feeds from the bottom, I'll assume you do not have a draft below the grates on this unit?

If I keep a good ash bed on top of my grates which I believe is the proper procedure anyways, my grates should be fine, is this true?

If they told you you can burn anthracite I'd go with whatever they have said. I'd imagine since you can burn bitumnous in it anthacite would make no difference. My reference to melting the grates could be applied to any fuel if left unchecked, I was just trying to point out if the stove can't keep anthracite going then it's not because of the anthracite..

One thing to note though in case anyone with a stove that srtictly burns wood.... most wood stoves cannot accomodate coal and you will destroy the grates.

Moving it back to anthracite.... Sorry, by your post I thought you were using bituminous.

Thanks for replying your info is really helping me. I've tried to paste a pic from the vogelzang website but can't, a pic is worth a thousand words right. I have a spin style damper in my ash pan door that's it. The draft inducer opening is located in the back of the stove in the center of the fire box. I think I have some more coal burning to do... practice, practice, pratice, thanks.

I have the same furnace, mines a US Stove 1500. You need the shaker grates, and you want to load it to the top of the firebrick. I found that I wasnt burning enough coal to produce the heat I needed. I have the optional blower its a forced draft which pushes air into the firebox, not from under the firebox. I havent tried the anthracite coal with the forced draft yet, maybe soon here. If I do i'll let you know what happens. When I burned coal I opened my ash pan drawer damper around 3 turns after the fire was well established. You can adjust this where you need it. I have had anthracite burning for 3 days, but not being all familiar with hard coal it has gone out. I need to get the system of shaking it down and when reloading. BTW, I went through around 50 to 75 pounds a day in mine. It will take the heat of the coal. Whats your limit control set at? The forced draft works well with burning wood.

Thanks for the info. My limit is set at 150 to come on and then 100 to shut off. Listening to teh coal supplier I covered a wood fire with about 3 inches of coal and left my ash pan door open until blue flame appeared. This seemed to work well and burned for about 10 hours. I shook the grates and rolled the none ignited coal from the sides but it never really took off again. I just started adding wood from that point on, it's the only coal I've burned so far. Any additional info would be appreciated. I'm trying to determine which fuel source is going to work the best for me.

My furnace is set to come on at about 140 and off around 90. The air comes out a little cooler, but the furnace runs almost all of the time. You need more than 3 inches of coal. Sounds like at the 10 hour mark, the coals pretty much about burned up. Try loading it with 3 inches more for a total around 6 inches, seems like alot but it has worked for me. Then burn it around 10 to 12 hours, shake maybe once or twice inbetween fills. Try that ane let me know. A deep bed of coals is what you want. I do remember filling the furnace and going to bed, it was probably 10 degrees out and windy. I filled the furnace about 7pm and when I woke up around 6:30 am the house was over 80 degrees! It will pump out the heat with coal only if its got enough of a coal bed in it. With just a couple of inches I couldnt get enough heat to kick on the controls.

Here's my new furnace. I should close the damper on the feed door (red door) and open the ash pan damper when burning coal, correct?

Here's another pic that shows the two 8" supply's, cold air return with filter box and the chimney run going to my stainless chimney that enters through a window.

Yes, thats correct. Its the same thing as what I have. All air should come from underneath.

Great looking job with the ductwork! I also have a add/on to my existing oil fired hot air furnace.( maze of piping..but it works)
The hot water heat guys get all the breaks dont they...just connect a pipe or two and a circulator....
Still waiting for a cold snap so I can try a coal fire and give it a fair test against the wood.I think the coal will win because of controlability. tjv

I've been reading differant topics throughout forum and see conversation about hand and baro dampers. Do I need either one of these, I have neither right now?

I have both on my setup. I used to use my hand damper, just to find out I dont need it. I do have a barometric damper which I have due to a strong chimney. If you cant regulate your draft, then I would recommend one. Actually I think its mentioned in the manual. A hand damper could help hold in heat, But like I said I no longer use mine. I can load up nice hardwood, and get a good 8 hour burn from my furnace. The other night it was 20 degrees, and I kept the house at 77. I also burn hard coal.

Thank you for your reply. I have neither damper and haven't had a problem burning anthracite or wood. I hate sounding dumb but...what does a barometric damper do? where is it installed? Thank you.