Wrong Coal Size

I got a Harmon wood/coal stove around 8 years ago. It's an insert but I am using it free standing. I have the stove damper and manual pipe damper installed. The stove is installed in the basement of my house with no ducting. I had been burning wood but switched to coal because it's less work. (burning coal for 4 years) I had been experimenting with coal sizes and found that pea coal worked the best for me because I can control the heat better, turning it down at night for better sleeping.

The last time my son-in-law got me coal he got me rice coal. Does anyone have any tips on how I can burn this stuff rather than try to haul it out? I try to keep a good bed under it so the coal doesn't fall through by using a poker to make air voids and shake it down very lightly so I don't lose my fire. Yesterday I had it so hot that I had to open doors but most of the time I struggle to get good heat out of it. Anyone have any ideas how I can burn this batch? I have 3/4 ton of it to burn with no room to get other coal to mix with it. Right now I am keeping the pipe damper wide open as well as the stove damper and have trouble making heat. I can't wait to get past this batch of coal and back to the pea coal where I only have to check the fire twice a day. If I could at least burn half of this so I can mix it I'd be happy.

Can't you store some on tarp outside or something. Without having something bigger to burn it with I don't know what else to suggest other than try and sell it cheap.

I had one or two customers that would get like 4 ton of nut and one of rice. They would use the rice at night to dampen the fire off.

Post your general location. Somebody close might buy the rice.

tsb wrote:Post your general location. Somebody close might buy the rice.

What he said.

Thanks for the quick answers, I live in Elizabethville very close to the coal yards. I'd have to almost give it away for someone to bother picking it up. I really can;t do much of the work as I'm disabled. The tarp idea gave me an idea, I have a set of poured concrete steps going into my basement so I'm going to shovel it all out onto the steps then get a load of pea and mix with it. I figure if I mix it half and half I can deal with it.

If it's me I'm putting the nut coal on the steps.

I think you are going to have a hard time burning a rice/pea mix in a hand-fed appliance. Perhaps you can sprinkle the rice on top of nut coal, but I have never tried that.

You might want to put an ad in the classifieds section on this forum and see if someone is interested in buying it. Maybe someone with teenage labor will be interested in the coal or willing to help you out.

Rob R. wrote:I think you are going to have a hard time burning a rice/pea mix in a hand-fed appliance. Perhaps you can sprinkle the rice on top of nut coal, but I have never tried that.

Like I said rob I had one or two old timers that did that. They would use it to dampen the fire for overnight. My cousin picked up a few tons of rice once for free and was successfully burning it by itself in a Franco Belge but that has really small grates.

I had some pea in the bottom of the bin I fill beside the stove. I mixed some of the rice coal with it and test burned it before deciding to do this. It's not the best burning I've had but it will get me past this booboo. I also have to keep the size of my burn down so it doesn't snuff out. It's the the perfect scenario but at least I won't be losing any money off the deal. As I mentioned, I'm disabled and don't have the money to burn.

Rob R. wrote:I think you are going to have a hard time burning a rice/pea mix in a hand-fed appliance. Perhaps you can sprinkle the rice on top of nut coal, but I have never tried that.

You might want to put an ad in the classifieds section on this forum and see if someone is interested in buying it. Maybe someone with teenage labor will be interested in the coal or willing to help you out.

I've poured buckwheat on top of nut. Worked good. I agree that mixing is not the way I'd go. Oliver

I've had good results burning fines by first putting in two scoops of just nut, then adding two scoops of nut thats saturated with fines gently on top. I think the trick to not disturb it after the fines are on top. By keeping the fines on top, the nut coal underneath it can continue to burn like it should while the fines burn on top. Seems like rice would be similar....

I have it pretty well figured out now. It's a fine line between having enough ash under the fire and too much that it can't breath. I also have to pay attention to how much new coal I put on so it don't smother it. I have to check it more often but I have it burning pretty well now. I'll still be glad to get back to straight pea. I like the pea because our house is very well insulated and I can control the fire better with the smaller coal. Rice is a little too small though. I had to get another 1/2 of pea to mix with the rice, that will be all I need for the season. I only burn about a ton and a half a year. With the pea coal I only have to tend to the fire twice a day.