Bit coal in a D.S. 1600???

Okay I recently bought a D.S. 1600 circulator. My question is can I burn bit coal in this stove or is it srictly for anthracite coal? If I can use bit what kind of things should I know to get good burn times and heat? Thank You in advance. Matt

Yes,you can burn bit coal in your stove.I've got the 1400 d.s stove,and burn bit coal in mine.I ordered my stove with the knobs on the feed door,too give it air over the fire.Did your stove come with those on the feed door?I burn Ky.bit coal in mine.I get anywhere betwen 10-20 hour burn times.Bigger the coal the better,softball size and up.

Hello hman. My stove has the secondary air coming in from 2 small openings in the sides and they are not adjustable. Do you still use the hopper with bit like you would use with anthracite?

Yes, my stove has the secondary air on the sides, plus knobs on the feed door that are adjustable.My stove doesn't have a hopper.

I wonder if I should order a door with the secondary air knobs on it? I also see that we are not too far apart. Where do you get your coal in Ohio?

If you are going to burn bit coal in your stove,i would get the door with the knobs on it.I spent about a year reading all the info here on this forum before i decided to buy a coal stove.I go over into Ky. to get my coal,and their is a place around Wellston,Ohio you can get Ohio coal.Their is several places in Ohio too get coal most are east and northeast of us.One place is called Thompson Brothers.

Others will know far more on this subject, but I believe that you can not use a hopper feed with bituminous coal. The entire hopper load would probably begin burning if bit coal is in it. Something to do with anthracite needing air from underneath and bituminous needing air from above in order to burn properly.

Okay next question. If I cant use the hopper then how deep should I fill up the stove with coal, to the top of the firebricks?

don't use the hopper. use the biggest coal you can find, softball size lumps or bigger is ideal, Eastern KY white ash lump coal will be about the best you can get. Once the coalbed is established fill it to the top of the firebrick; in the fall and spring when you want a cooler fire, leaving more ash in the stove and not shaking down as often will insulate the fuelbed so the fire doesn't go out on low burn.