Burning a Lot of Coal - Why?

 
HanSoSlow
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Post by HanSoSlow » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 9:36 am

OK. I bought 10 bags of coal last week - 400#'s 8 bags of nut and 2 stove.

1 week later I'm out of coal - seems like a lot of burning and its not really cold yet. The stove was on average 375-400 and the stack 200 - room temp in the room that the stove is in 73.

Doesn't that seem like a lot of coal already? Am I burning too hot?

I was able to get 12 hours or so out of it.

Burning in an SF-150.


 
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Sting
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Post by Sting » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 9:43 am

an SF150

Wow that's a lot of coffee roasting

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.co ... CEIQ9QEwCQ

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 9:53 am

57 lbs per day in a big stove running 400 degrees doesn't sound "crazy" to me. I could never get my Hitzer 82 below 45 lbs per day, it is simply too large of a firebox.

One thing worth checking is the draft. Do you have a barometric damper installed?

 
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Post by CoalHeat » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 9:58 am

As I recall in the other thread about this stove (First Burn and I Need HELP) we were talking about measuring the chimney draft and installing a baro damper. Too much draft will burn up your coal fast.
That said yes, it is a big stove and that amount of coal is not unusual for cold weather, with the moderate temperatures it seems a little suspect.

 
HanSoSlow
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Post by HanSoSlow » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 10:04 am

Sting wrote:an SF150

Wow that's a lot of coffee roasting

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.co ... CEIQ9QEwCQ
And I don't even drink coffee

 
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Post by CapeCoaler » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 10:06 am

Seems high for this time of year...
My DSM does 130k btu/hr but I keep the stove down at 180* spring and fall...
Eats maybe 15-20# per day...
Stack 130*...
Can you cut the air back and lower the stove and stack temps...
Maybe toss some Pea Coal on top of that Nut and slow the burn...

 
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Post by HanSoSlow » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 10:07 am

Wood'nCoal wrote:As I recall in the other thread about this stove (First Burn and I Need HELP) we were talking about measuring the chimney draft and installing a baro damper. Too much draft will burn up your coal fast.
That said yes, it is a big stove and that amount of coal is not unusual for cold weather, with the moderate temperatures it seems a little suspect.
I am going to get a baro and ordered a mano to test it. It just seemed like a lot in 1 week for this time of year.


 
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Post by lobsterman » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 11:34 am

You may want to compare to your previous energy usage from your old oil or gas bills. For example, I burned during this period last year 14k BTU per day natural gas to heat a poorly insulated 2000 square foot house in a windy location. You are burning 24k BTU per day of coal. You must be heating a lot of house, doing it very inefficiently, or it is very cold where you live!

 
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Post by SMITTY » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 11:42 am

Sting wrote:an SF150

Wow that's a lot of coffee roasting

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.co ... CEIQ9QEwCQ
:funny: That was a good one Sting. :D

Another thing to look at in addition to the draft would be coal quality. I used to burn Kimmels bagged nut in my old Mark I ... never had a problem in that. But when I bought the Mark III, the coal consumption jumped quite a bit more than I had expected. More ash & less heat it seemed. Could have been a bad batch of coal at the same time too .... because when I switched to Blaschak bagged nut all those problems went away. I had more heat, less ash, & longer burn times (24 hours - which was impossible before). This years Blaschak seems to be just as good as the last 2 seasons. Just another thing to look into. Maybe try 10 bags of another brand to see how it works. I would definitely see what she's pulling for draft first though.

Edited for spelling: I finally found the correct way to spell BLASCHAK ... :lol:
Last edited by SMITTY on Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 2:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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Post by AA130FIREMAN » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 12:12 pm

Like capecoaler said, try some pea size, cut down in the draft and add a baro. Is this a Harman sf150? They can burn wood too, try some when it warm outside.

 
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Post by HanSoSlow » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 1:12 pm

lobsterman wrote:You may want to compare to your previous energy usage from your old oil or gas bills. For example, I burned during this period last year 14k BTU per day natural gas to heat a poorly insulated 2000 square foot house in a windy location. You are burning 24k BTU per day of coal. You must be heating a lot of house, doing it very inefficiently, or it is very cold where you live!
I'm heating 4100 sq. ft of farm house built in 1876. Insulation is getting better with each month I work on it.

I burned 6 cord of wood each year for the last couple years. What do you think I will need in coal? The dealer told me 4 ton?

I just had 3 ton of stove coal from Blashack (sp).

I have 1 cord of wood left and was going to use that, but I just cleaned the chimney and hate the thought of doing it again - leaning a latter against a brick chimney with my fat A$$ on it is not what I look forward to :D

 
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Post by freetown fred » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 3:04 pm

I'm heating a 2500 sq old 1800's farm house with as much insul. as you can do considering post & beam--I went trhrough 3 Ton of Blaschak NUT in a Hitzer 50=93 last season & that is what I'm going into this season with--3 Ton--I like it 70--72*---used to go through 6 cord of wood W/ 2 big wood stoves per season--I'd say your dealer is pretty close---better more then not enough :)

 
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Post by HanSoSlow » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 3:20 pm

freetown fred wrote:I'm heating a 2500 sq old 1800's farm house with as much insul. as you can do considering post & beam--I went trhrough 3 Ton of Blaschak NUT in a Hitzer 50=93 last season & that is what I'm going into this season with--3 Ton--I like it 70--72*---used to go through 6 cord of wood W/ 2 big wood stoves per season--I'd say your dealer is pretty close---better more then not enough :)
At the rate I'm going 400 lbs per week that works out to 20 weeks of heat and its not cold yet, I imagine it will increase as the weather gets colder. What's another ton to get me through though right ;) It's only $285 per ton and unlike wood doesn't need to be seasoned, so I guess I can buy it later in the season when if I run out.

 
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Post by Razzler » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 4:02 pm

HanSoSlow wrote:I am going to get a baro and ordered a mano to test it. It just seemed like a lot in 1 week for this time of year.
I think you have the answer right there... ;) Hook up the manometer first and see what your draft is then shut down and install the barometric damper. I think you are sending a lot of heat up the chimney. I would think around 40 lb a day for this time of year would be more realistic.

 
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Post by lobsterman » Mon. Oct. 25, 2010 4:41 pm

You can also estimate how much coal you will need based on the temp difference (inside minus out) you are maintaining now burning 60 lbs per day and what temperature difference is headed your way. In Southern New England, this temperature difference is going to double for 3 months in the winter and I can estimate my consumption to also double. It is hard for me to see how you won't also roughly double your usage in the coldest months. If you get by on 4 tons, you must have improved your efficiency by 50% over wood (not unfeasible) but also not heat your houser warmer than it was with wood. After all, a ton of coal is roughly a cord of wood in energy content.

I know when I burned wood, I used a lot more BTUs then when I was paying for gas because it was "novel" and cheap (free). I am sure the same will be true of coal.


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