help on coal stove

i have been burning wood, and have decided to start burning coal.. what is the best stove to buy, what the best coal to burn, is a stoker stove worth it.. right now i go thru 12to 15 pick up loads of wood a winter, its geting to be to much.. the only thing i know about coal is when i was a boy we burned kentucky, or pocahanas coal.. about how many tons of coaldoes the average person burn a year.. thanks..

Cf1,,

This is my first year burning coal, I live in Ky, but I don't burn local coal. I am running an Alaska Channing Stoker with a coal trol stat, burning Anthracite rice coal. I am very pleased.

Here is what I have gathered so far,

Most folks on this forum are burning hard coal (anthracite). The coal you burned as a child is soft coal(Bituminous), they are both black and the simularities end there. Ky coal or Bituminous is sooty, smokey and dirty. It is genarally sold to power plants. It is difficult to find dealers that handle it, even where I live, very few people use it locally for home heat.

Anthracite is very clean, no smoke and only a little fly ash. It is harder to start than soft coal but is very much worth the effort.

All these stoves are good, what it boils down to is, if you want a stove that runs without electricity get a hand fired or hopper fed stove, most require you shake and load them every 12 hours or so.

Stokers need electricity to run and can be left alone for up to 2-3 days if running on low, if running on high they need to be tended once a day. If you are away from home for exteded periods the stokers are definitly worth the money.

Looks like I will burn about 3 tons this winter, just judging from the amount of wood you burn I think you might be in the 3-4 ton range.

Anthracite is the way to go as far as coal is concerned.

Find a good sorce locally.That should not be a problem, I have 2 as far south as I live.

Look at several stoves, If you choose a hand fired you will have to learn how to light and burn it. That's where this forum is a life saver.

I know that Hitzer is made in Indiana. Fairly close to you.

Stokers are a little easier to master, the Alaska, Reading, Leisure Line and Keystoker are all straight forward and fairly simple. All the motors and controls on my Alaska can be bought at Grainger Supply.

The Harman Stoker is a little more complex in it's control than the others.

Almost forgot! What Type of chimney you have will play a big part in what type of stove you get. If you have burned wood that long I am assuming you have a masonry chimney. If you do the choice is yours. Stokers have direct or power vent options, I don't think anyone uses these with hand fired stoves.

I have heated with Gas, wood, wood pellets and corn, so far coal is the best heat I have found. Less work than wood, pellets or corn.
Much steadier heat than gas and cheaper than all the others unless you cut your own wood.

Read a lot in this forum and save youself from learning the hard way.

Good Luck

BK

thanks for the reply bk.. i have been reading alot on this forum.. i can buy the anthracite localy, $ 80.00 ton.. i live right on the boarder of pa. the lady at the coal yard said they carry alaska, and klondike stoves, i have to go over next week and see them. she said the stoves are about $1200.00.i bought this house 2 years ago it has a fire place with a woodburner attached. its made of brick. its got the clay tile in the chimmneys. my gas budget here is $193.00 month and this wood burner is junk.. we had a pot belly stove when i was a boy and no gas heat, went thru about 10 ton of coal a year.. thanks again..ken

cf1 wrote:about how many tons of coaldoes the average person burn a year.. thanks..

1 ton of anthracite is approx equal to about 1.5 cords of wood, average 2000 Sq. foot home is going to need about 4-5 tons of coal per year. what you'll use really depends on your preferences and other factors like insulation etc.

I can attest to the 4-5 ton per 2000 SQ ft. It looks like I'll be buring 4 tons with 1600 SQ ft.

Double check that is hard anthrice coal for $80 / ton. Guys on the “how much are you paying per ton" thread in Shamokin and Wilkes-Barr / Scranton are paying about $110 per ton. I pay $180 per ton 80-100 miles away from that area in Williamsport, PA.

coal_kid wrote:I can attest to the 4-5 ton per 2000 SQ ft. It looks like I'll be buring 4 tons with 1600 SQ ft.

Double check that is hard anthrice coal for $80 / ton. Guys on the “how much are you paying per ton" thread in Shamokin and Wilkes-Barr / Scranton are paying about $110 per ton. I pay $180 per ton 80-100 miles away from that area in Williamsport, PA.

coal kid.. thanks for the info, mabe i misunderstood her on the anthrice coal price,, kentucky lump is 145.00. ill see when i go look at a stove. im over here by ohio pa line.. where do they mine anthrice? how big is it diameter..

coal_kid wrote:I can attest to the 4-5 ton per 2000 SQ ft. It looks like I'll be buring 4 tons with 1600 SQ ft.

Double check that is hard anthrice coal for $80 / ton. Guys on the “how much are you paying per ton" thread in Shamokin and Wilkes-Barr / Scranton are paying about $110 per ton. I pay $180 per ton 80-100 miles away from that area in Williamsport, PA.

coal kid.. i misunderstood her antharice is 194.00 ton here.. she said chestnut coal was 80.00...