New to Coal, a few questions

Hi all,

I'm new to coal heating, I was given an old Glacier Bay model CFI stove mfg. in 1980 per the nameplate. I think this is the same as the Gibraltar line of stoves. It's a nice solid unit, has all the original parts except the shaker handle (anyone know where I can get a 5/8 inch square drive socket so I can "make" one, or recommend a cheap generic 5/8 drive shaker handle- the Gibraltar Co. one is $44 !)

I have an exterior masonry chimney, terra cota lined, which was built a couple years ago. I have the stove in the basement of a 2 story house that's about 1200 sq. feet, old windows and no insulation (house built circa 1920). I hooked it up with 72 inches of eight inch stovepipe stovepipe running from top of stove to the thimble thru the basement wall, and put an in-line damper about 18 inches off the first elbow coming out of the stove.

Had my first coal fire yesterday- I had no problems getting it fired up on my first try! I had a nice bed of coals going up to the top of the fire brick, but unf. I only had three 50 lb bags of nut that I overpaid for from a fuel oil dealer who "dabbles" in coal on the side. But I wanted to "test drive" burning coal before buying a truckload.

I seem to be getting good draft, but do you think 72 inches of stovepipe with 3/4 in. per foot rise is too much from stove to thimble? I worry the outside flue might not be getting hot enough, as I do get kind of an oily smell coming off the stove (or is that normal for coal?) I don't want to end up with carbon monoxide issues.

Also, I live in Milford NJ 08848. Any recommendations for delivery options/prices?

Also, how much will I need per season to heat an unisulated 1200 sq foot house with stove in basement and just letting heat rise via gravity? Any estimates?

Thanks all

I'll snap some photos of my set-up tomorrow. Honestly I think it's OK, I burned it for 12 hours yesterday and it seems to be working fine, but I do have a slight "oily" smell which may be normal (I have no experience with coal whatsoever). I don't see any smoke escaping from my stovepipe joints or around the thimble, etc. I am going to get a carbon monoxide deterctor though just to be safe.

I do want to get a good price on some nut anthracite delivered to milford nj 08848. I'm hoping two tons will take me thru the season?

Depending on how efficient your set up is, and how good you get at burning coal, I suspect that 2 tons will only get through part of the winter. If you want to get efficient you need to know what your fire is doing and this will take a pair of thermometers, one for the stove and one for the flue pipe. A momometer will really help you keep track of the actual draw of the fire and find the good burns for your stove and keep it there.

Sears should have the 5/8 8 point socket that you can do something with.

I agree with fred on the CO alarms. They are a very important part for the coal burners safety. New stovepipe will give off an oily smell along with the paint curing smell. 1/4" per foot min. on the horizontal run to the thimble for the stovepipe. If you can post some pictures of your set up that would be a big help. Lots of knowledgeable members on this site that will help you and answer your questions.

There might be a dealer that fits your needs in this thread in the New Jersey section:

New Jersey (north) COAL DEALER

You are pretty close to this guy, he delivers:

I will Deliver UAE Harmony within 100 miles!

I don't know him, but have heard good things about him. Did send him a note not long ago and he was real professional in answering...

dj

scottybk wrote:Also, how much will I need per season to heat an unisulated 1200 sq foot house with stove in basement and just letting heat rise via gravity? Any estimates?
Thanks all

Nobody can really answer this - it depends on how you run your stove, how warm you keep your place etc etc. But a guess would be in the 4 to 6 ton range...

dj

Austin is a great kid he is very realible he dropped off my 3 ton of UAE he was there when he said he would be,I will use him again for my coal needs

dlj wrote:You are pretty close to this guy, he delivers:

I will Deliver UAE Harmony within 100 miles!

I don't know him, but have heard good things about him. Did send him a note not long ago and he was real professional in answering...

dj

The oily smell is probably the stove and pipe burning off. Coal does have a unique smell but I can't describe it, I just know when I'm around it burning unless it's mixed with the sulfur smell.

You will never see any smoke leaking through the smoke pipe seams or anywhere else with anthracite coal, it doesn't smoke really.

You got the stove for free, show it a little love and buy the shaker handle

Welcome to the addiction that is coal burning.

Here are the photos of my coal stove and chimney:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56606543@N04/


What do you think of this setup? There is 7 feet of pipe from thimble thru basement wall to the stove outlet/riser. You can see my inline damper on the first run of horizontal pipe coming out of the stove.

Any tips/advice will be much appreciated since I'm very new to all of this, thanks.

There should be an additional pitch to the stove pipe someone mentioned .5 inch per foot..? or better yet move the Stove closer to the thimble /chimney exit. Also you should replace the Manual Damper with a Barometric Damper.

Your elbows are adjustable in angle, from 0 degrees to 90 degrees. You just have to twist the various sections to get the angle you want. I would but the elbow at the outlet of the stove, and pitch your pipes up from there.

Do you guys really think the stovepipe needs more pitch? Code in NJ is 1/4 inch per foot rise from stove to thimble, and I'm over 3/4 inch per foot (maybe photos are deceiving?) Will additional pitch result in better draft?

Also understand that I would've gone with steeper pitch from stove to thimble, but my buddy said you need minimum 16" vertical rise from stove to first elbow. Right now I'm about 20" from stove to elbow. Will cutting that down another 4" make a huge difference in performace?

Also, do you think the in-line manual damper is in a good position? I have carbon monxide detector on first floor and haven't set it off yet.

This setup seems to work fine as is but if it can work/burn better I am of course open to suggestions!

Thanks,

scotty

That's the same stove I have. Only on my second year so others will have more information then I do. My stove is heating a 2200sqft brick house built in 1901. The stove works very well. It is an insert that I have set up similar to yours. I use a barometric damper, set with the meter. I would feel better with a detector on each floor, one near the stove. As was said, why not move the stove closer to the chimney? I used about 3.5 tons last year.