Drying clothes with coal

I just started up the Hitzer this morning since its got cold again, and then started washing a load of my sweatpants and shirts. I was remembering my dad telling me my granddad would have to undress outside after a days work down in the PA mines and

I went out and picked up a folding clothes drying rack. I put the rack a few feet away from the fireplace insert with the clothes hanging on it. Within an hour the house was "downy fresh" smelling, and after 6 hours the heavy sweats were completely dry. So besides saving oil and now I can save a some kwatt hours during the winter months and add some moisture into the air. I got an idea my dad and granddad would be saying "what took ya so long to figure this one out?"

lol, yeah I did that last year, it works great, a little moisture in the air and no load on the gas bill, or whatever you have.. see your being green...

I havn't used my clothes dryer in 2 years since my boiler has been running.Hang the clothes on the lines attached to the basement floor joist and the next morning dry. Oh yea,the basement does smell downy fresh.

Basement, did you say basement..

Just curious, you don't have a cloths line outside? That's where mine ended up today--trust me when I tell you, we deal with different wardrobes. But yes, that's the way to do it in the winter months.

Yes ,I have a basement and so will you soon. Iv'e seen the "THE BIG DIG". Dont forget the footer for the chimney.

freetown fred wrote:Just curious, you don't have a cloths line outside?

I have my other line hanging under the deck joists of the walk out basement,since I cut every tree off my property.

That works. I go from the back deck to a power pole in the upper pasture--God bless the man that invented the wheel & cloths pins.

freetown fred wrote: go from the back deck to a power pole

So,in a way you are using a form of electric to dry your clothes.

Dennis wrote:Yes ,I have a basement and so will you soon. Iv'e seen the "THE BIG DIG". Dont forget the footer for the chimney.

Don't tempt me just yet, I have enough to do... but later on...

i know for a fact that my work boots dry real good. After working on fence posts sunday feet were pretty wet. so got home boot boots on top of coal boiler.

Nothing like a cool, overcast drizzly day for pounding in locust fence posts with a 14# maul and a bar for starting holes. Was down to just a T shirt top, in not time at all, and weather was NICE!!!

Yep - used to have my workboots in front if the stove every single night in the winter months. Dry as a bone every morning - and real warm too.

Slogging around in slush for 12 hours out on my recycling route in that hellhole of a city we have here. Wasn't a boot on the planet that didn't leak after a few hours on that job. Waterproof .... my ass!

with a coal boiler it would be doable. some plumbing, a circulator, a small air/water heat exchanger and you could have a cloths dryer use your coal boiler for a heat source.

Berlin wrote:with a coal boiler it would be doable. some plumbing, a circulator, a small air/water heat exchanger and you could have a cloths dryer use your coal boiler for a heat source.

this could be a dump zone for the summer months. nice idea but, the space needed for this contraption would be one hell of a foot print.

windago wrote:

Berlin wrote:with a coal boiler it would be doable. some plumbing, a circulator, a small air/water heat exchanger and you could have a cloths dryer use your coal boiler for a heat source.

this could be a dump zone for the summer months. nice idea but, the space needed for this contraption would be one hell of a foot print.

I think a compact kick space hydronic heater would fit nicely inside a modified clothes dryer. The footprint would be no larger than the stock dryer except for the supply and return boiler water lines.