Coal and the Elements

bsilver · Post by **bsilver** » Mon. Dec. 14, 2009 6:24 am

Does coal absorb water?

I have been having trouble getting coal in my Hitzer to burn with a high temp. Several hours after shakedown and adding more coal, the top of the cabinet seems to be just hovering at the 200 degree mark. The room just isn't getting a lot of heat off of it.

I don't know if I'm missing a step or what it is...but I wondered if coal left exposed to the elements absorbs water and then keeps it from burning well or very hot? The dealer at the time I was looking to buy a coal stove said that coal came from the ground, so it doesn't matter really how it's stored. Dirt and elements won't hurt it after a few million years, so it'll last in a pile of backyard without any trouble.

My wife speculated that the trouble could be something with the coal itself, and I'm considering supplementing our coal from the outdoor pile (First season of a hastily purchased and installed stove and chimney for this Winter) with some bagged coal to see if it will change how much heat we're getting from the stove.

Is there a variation in coal quality that affects heat output?

WNY · Post by **WNY** » Mon. Dec. 14, 2009 7:13 am

There is very little differences in the coal, and leaving it exposed shoudln't hurt, it doesn NOT absorb water or moisture.

Check your draft, vents, Baro Damper (if you have one), etc....have you clean you pipe and grates out before the season?

bsilver · Post by **bsilver** » Mon. Dec. 14, 2009 7:32 am

WNY wrote:There is very little differences in the coal, and leaving it exposed shoudln't hurt, it doesn NOT absorb water or moisture.

Check your draft, vents, Baro Damper (if you have one), etc....have you clean you pipe and grates out before the season?

Draft seems fine, the manual dial on the back is set to full warm (so it's fully open), first time it was fired (And brand new chimney) so it's all cleaned out.

No baro damper is installed.