Hitzer NUT or PEA???

I recently was trying to decide between a Hitzer and Harman MK II. I ended up making a decision to purchase the Hitzer 50-93.
One question, I have though. Much of what I have read in this forum, says that Hitzer uses a 'pea' size coal. (Which I am familiar with because it is the coal we used in our old monster.)
The Hitzer website states the stove can use either 'pea' or 'nut'.
The hand out I rec'd at the dealer's showroom, has a notation that Hitzer recommends "nut" coal.
So, do I stick with the pea coal as I originally had planned...or do I opt for nut?
What's the difference?
What results have others had?
Thanks for the help.

Hi tammysue Congratulations on you new Purchase with the Hitzer I think you will be very happy with this stove if you take care of it It will last a life

time and then some anyway back to your questioned chestnut is one size larger then Pea coal Most people with Hand - Fed stoves use nut including myself I find in My stove it works better for me however there are lots of

People that use Pea The differents is that Pea is smaller in size then nut so therefore less air Passes threw Pea size so in theory Pea should burn slower and longer Then nut I also know People that will use a mix of both they

will burn Nut in the daytime and Pea at night time because it will burn slower therefore there is less chance it will be out in the morning when

you wake up But every stove works different so what works for one my not work for the other I would try both and see what works best for you

If you can get a few Bags of each and try them to see which one you like better and Burns better in your stove either one will work for you just try

both to see Good luck and Happy Coal Burning Take care

Good topic, I was about to ask a similar question.

When I bought coal the other day the guy at the breaker recommended that I use pea coal instead of nut to start. He said pea is easier to control for a newbie to hand fed stoves. He also said it burns better when it's not as cold out.
Thoughts?

I plan to give it a try, and grab a couple of bags of nut when it gets colder to decide what to buy next.

Steve

Hi Steve. Pea may be a little easier to light, since the pieces are smaller, kind of like lighting kindling instead of big pieces of wood.

Each stove, Chimney, house location and coal quality is different. So the only way to really know is to experiment.

The best way is to buy 500# of each and try them out. I used a combination of stove size and nut in my big boiler when I was hand feeding it.. I'd get it crank'n on stove size, then cover the fire with 6-8" of nut coal for the long cold nights. The Nut burned slower, so I had a good fire to work with in the morning.

Most hand feed stoves are designed around burning nut, so you may not get quite as much heat with the smaller pea size coal.

Let us know what you learn when you try both.

Greg L

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Hi mastiffman where are you at in Schuylkill county if you are not doing anything tomorrow morning meet us for the coal breaker / coal mine tour

If you are interested PM me and I will fill you in By the way DiRenzo coal real is not that good it is all
Stripping mine coal very dirty when you need more coal Pm Me I can take you to get good deep mine coal or if

you come with us tomorrow you will see where to go also stick with nut
coal it will work better for you and your Vermont stove P.S. if you live
in Schuylkill county there is no way that you should have waited 5 weeks
for a coal delivery Not even 5 days PM Me I will give you some info on
good coal Delivery men

tammysue,

My buddy George has that stove and has had great sucsess with it. He has it in his basement and heats the whole house without a problem. He burns only nut. He tried the pea when first got he stove and had problems. But he was new to burning at the time. I would say try both and go with the one that works the best. I've a Hitzer furnace and am very happy with it. I think you will very pleased with the way the stove burns. Good luck.

Don