Small Coal Stove

ceccil · Post by **ceccil** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 12:39 am

I can't believe I'm going to ask this but here goes.

Have you concidered a pellet stove? I think in the long run, with lighting and letting it die out, a pellet stove may be a better option in this situation. My brother has one and it seems to work well bringing the room up to temp. fairly quickly coupled with the ease of lighting it using the gel. Fire is burning well in just a couple of min. If you keep an eye on craigslist you can get a good price on one for $300-$400 if someone is in a hurry for some $$$$.

Just a thought.

Good luck in your search.

grumpy · Post by **grumpy** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 12:50 am

ceccil wrote:I can't believe I'm going to ask this but here goes. Have you concidered a pellet stove? I think in the long run, with lighting and letting it die out, a pellet stove may be a better option in this situation. My brother has one and it seems to work well bringing the room up to temp. fairly quickly coupled with the ease of lighting it using the gel. Fire is burning well in just a couple of min. If you keep an eye on craigslist you can get a good price on one for $300-$400 if someone is in a hurry for some $$$$.

Just a thought. Good luck in your search.

I can't believe you said that, and here !! Just kidding, You have a good point, getting a coal fire going for a short time is not worth it, maybe a pellet stove might work for her, or just burn wood in a little coal stove. I like to burn coal but will burn wood when I know it's not going to last for more than a day, when I have to travel..

Good point .....

lowfog01 · Post by **lowfog01** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 1:11 am

No, I hadn't thought about a pellet stove... mmm... well maybe... no, I don't think I could do that what with my addiction to coal and all. Fortunately, DK surprised me this afternoon and told me to look for a bigger coal stove - not too big of one but one which we could leave burning on idle - one without the problems outlined by Franco B in his earlier post. He went into a full litany of the virtue of burning coal and why would we give that up with an imperfect stove. Why indeed? So my search is on again...

It may take a while because I still have the same parameters, i.e. a small space, fitting into an existing fireplace which will require a back exit on the stove for the black pipe and a desire not to spend an arm and a leg on this stove or chimney modification. It will be interesting to see what I can find. Thanks for all your input and suggestions on this project. Lisa

eelhc · Post by **eelhc** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 8:37 am

Why not just heat the basement 24x7 with a bigger stove and cut some air grates + returns so the heat can come up to the 1st floor? I see that you have a Harman Mark II... Why not move that stove to the basement and get a chubby for the 1st floor?

It would depend on the layout of your house and might require you to insulate the walls but isn't that the ideal solution?

009to090 · Post by **009to090** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 10:20 am

lowfog01 wrote: Fortunately, DK surprised me this afternoon and told me to look for a bigger coal stove - not too big of one but one which we could leave burning on idle -

I like the looks of the Chubby Jr.

Nice little stove, I may get one for our kitchen.

nortcan · Post by **nortcan** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 11:03 am

009to090 wrote:
lowfog01 wrote: Fortunately, DK surprised me this afternoon and told me to look for a bigger coal stove - not too big of one but one which we could leave burning on idle -
I like the looks of the Chubby Jr. Nice little stove, I may get one for our kitchen.

Plus you can have some wood fires occasionnally for a fast burn. But the Chubby is a fast to warm up stove, even with anthracite, small stoves are faster to get the heat out than bigger ones. I see that with my small Bride and they can idle at lower heat output.

Bear038 · Post by **Bear038** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 11:18 am

Lisa, I sent you a link for a Mark I I found up here. Fair price, but a liitle drive from Sterling.

lowfog01 · Post by **lowfog01** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 1:13 pm

eelhc wrote:Why not just heat the basement 24x7 with a bigger stove and cut some air grates + returns so the heat can come up to the 1st floor? I see that you have a Harman Mark II... Why not move that stove to the basement and get a chubby for the 1st floor?

It would depend on the layout of your house and might require you to insulate the walls but isn't that the ideal solution?

The thing is it's really not a basement. I have a split level - if you come in the front door, there are a 5 steps to your 11 O'clock. Those stairs lead to the main living area; this floor is over a crawl space. From the front door, if you go straight to your 12 o'clock you walk down a 15 ft hallway, over slab. The garage is behind the wall on your right and the laundry room/utility room is on your left. The hallway opens up to DK's man cave and a half bath. It's just about the worst design possible for getting heat from one area of the house to the other. I knew that when I first started looking at stoves so I made the decision to put the Harman on the main living floor where I could at least get heat there and up the stairs to the bedrooms over the garage. Those areas stay at 75*. The man cave is the only part of the house I can't heat with the Harman. I hadn't found the forum at that point or believe me I'd have done things different. Anyway, if I were to cut grates through the common wall, it wouldn't do much because they would lead into uninsulated utility room or the 1/2 bath and I don't think that would go over well with guests.

Even with this issue I am happy because the Harman was initially purchased to "offset" my gas heating bill. I quickly discovered it could heat everything but the man cave. How can I complain? But it does leave me with finding a stove for the man cave now that we know and understand the wonderful world of coal heat. The new stove will heat the man cave and maybe send residual heat to the second floor to help out there. I'm sure the right stove will come along.

Thanks for your ideas and comments, I always learn something new on the forum. Lisa

rberq · Post by **rberq** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 1:23 pm

lowfog01 wrote:I hadn't found the forum at that point or believe me I'd have done things different.

How many times have I said those same words to myself!

fastcat · Post by **fastcat** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 3:58 pm

Coal or Wood Stove - $285 (Lynchburg)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2011-12-03, 7:46AM EST
Reply to: see below [Errors when replying to ads?]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nice small Coal or Wood Stove in great condation. Asking $285.00 Call 434-845-0164 Search using my phone # to see the other neat things I have listed.

• Location: Lynchburg
•it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Are you near lynchburg? there is a stove for 285 on craigs list, nice looking and about the right size that you are talking to keep a fire on idle.

wsherrick · Post by **wsherrick** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 5:17 pm

I just took a quick look at the Virginia Craigslist. I typed in,"antique stove," and found several nice oak stoves for just a few hundred dollars. Just find one you like and run it by us. There are plenty of candidates out there for very reasonable prices.

Smokeyja · Post by **Smokeyja** » Sat. Dec. 03, 2011 5:23 pm

wsherrick wrote:I just took a quick look at the Virginia Craigslist. I typed in,"antique stove," and found several nice oak stoves for just a few hundred dollars. Just find one you like and run it by us. There are plenty of candidates out there for very reasonable prices.

Wsherrik is right. I almost bought this today but didn't feel like driving I Harrisonburg after loading all the coal.
**Broken Link(s) Removed**I spoke with the gentleman today and he said its all restored and ready to burn. How low is your thimble? It must be low I take it considering you want a rear exit?
Also check some of the local salvage yards. You can pick up stoves rather cheap that need some attention.