How to Build the Perfect Bituminous Stove

Since I keep hearing all these threads for people having issues or wishing to burn candle coal and with unknown volatiles, I can at least provide the attributes that may help achieve this in a hand fired manual stove...

#1 round or oval firebox is best
#2 tall stove that has plenty of hight and space between the top of the firebed and the flu
#3 an interior baffle that is angled outward that covers the majority of the flu pipe
#4 install an adjustable air inlet about 6 inches over the top of the firebed and on the opposite side as the flu
#5 get a half inch thick tempered small glass view and sandwich the glass with safty screen
#6 secondary channels built in the firebox (cast iron "ribbed" firebox as seen on some antiques would be ideal)

Im sure plenty of people here can add to this list of building the perfect candle coal burner or argue its a waste of time... but these are the basics of how its done and I wanted a thread with this title for the 100's of future people wishing to burn this stuff because of its "like free" price!

Its cool that you started a thread like this.. I have 300 pounds or so of bitty coal. I tried it last year and didn't get the hang of it. Seemed I babysat it most of the time, at least until it calmed down and acted like anth coal. I only tried a few days. On the last day I had a mammoth puff back that spewed dark, burnt tire smelling sooty smoke into the basement that made its way into the house and it took a while to air the house out. I'd like to burn the rest of it, maybe I'll try again on day that I plan to be home all day so I can observe and learn. I understand the technique is to not completely cover the existing hot coal bed, add in small amounts at a time and to cut primary air almost completely, and to feed it mainly with secondary air.

It's been done. Here is perhaps the best stove designed for Bituminous ever made. They sold in the tens of thousands and were made over a 30 year period so there are lots of them still available.
This is a Florence Hot Blast.

Thats a #153, I have one just like it, anyone want it?

grumpy wrote:Thats a #153, I have one just like it, anyone want it?

Why do you want to sell it? I thought you were going to swap it out with No 77.

wsherrick wrote:

grumpy wrote:Thats a #153, I have one just like it, anyone want it?

Why do you want to sell it? I thought you were going to swap it out with No 77.

I was, but changed my mind, my 77 is better for my house/hearth, plus I was not happy with how it came out, some of the nickel still needs more work and I'm just not interested any longer, too much else going on.

Hey Will, ever see this one..?

**Broken Link(s) Removed**

grumpy wrote:Hey Will, ever see this one..?

**Broken Link(s) Removed**

I have never seen one with that damper configuration. It is very interesting.

dcrane wrote:Since I keep hearing all these threads for people having issues or wishing to burn candle coal and with unknown volatiles, I can at least provide the attributes that may help achieve this in a hand fired manual stove...

#1 round or oval firebox is best
#2 tall stove that has plenty of hight and space between the top of the firebed and the flu
#3 an interior baffle that is angled outward that covers the majority of the flu pipe
#4 install an adjustable air inlet about 6 inches over the top of the firebed and on the opposite side as the flu
#5 get a half inch thick tempered small glass view and sandwich the glass with safty screen
#6 secondary channels built in the firebox (cast iron "ribbed" firebox as seen on some antiques would be ideal)

Im sure plenty of people here can add to this list of building the perfect candle coal burner or argue its a waste of time... but these are the basics of how its done and I wanted a thread with this title for the 100's of future people wishing to burn this stuff because of its "like free" price!

If by "candle coal" you mean Cannel coal, then that's not really bituminous coal as we know it, but more like an oil shale. True cannel coal won't burn well in any confined stove. True cannel coal is around 60% vol, Bit high vol is 30-35.

Keep it simple: square firebox, aggressive shaker grate system, tall stove, baffles, heated secondary air, ample ash pan, overfire heat reflectance - lots of firebrick, 8" flue size min., top and front loading.

Canal coal was burned in open fireplaces mostly in city areas is my understanding. They did have special grates for them to set in the fireplaces. I don't know if it can even be had nowdays? I think some setups has enclosed shells with large vewing areas that dst in front of the fireplace opening.

Kevin

Berlin wrote:

dcrane wrote:Since I keep hearing all these threads for people having issues or wishing to burn candle coal and with unknown volatiles, I can at least provide the attributes that may help achieve this in a hand fired manual stove...

#1 round or oval firebox is best
#2 tall stove that has plenty of hight and space between the top of the firebed and the flu
#3 an interior baffle that is angled outward that covers the majority of the flu pipe
#4 install an adjustable air inlet about 6 inches over the top of the firebed and on the opposite side as the flu
#5 get a half inch thick tempered small glass view and sandwich the glass with safty screen
#6 secondary channels built in the firebox (cast iron "ribbed" firebox as seen on some antiques would be ideal)

Im sure plenty of people here can add to this list of building the perfect candle coal burner or argue its a waste of time... but these are the basics of how its done and I wanted a thread with this title for the 100's of future people wishing to burn this stuff because of its "like free" price!

If by "candle coal" you mean Cannel coal, then that's not really bituminous coal as we know it, but more like an oil shale. True cannel coal won't burn well in any confined stove. True cannel coal is around 60% vol, Bit high vol is 30-35.

Keep it simple: square firebox, aggressive shaker grate system, tall stove, baffles, heated secondary air, ample ash pan, overfire heat reflectance - lots of firebrick, 8" flue size min., top and front loading.

Like I said, the optimal designs already exist; have existed for over a Century. Learn from them.

Man, that's one sharp lookin' stove! Matches my truck. I'd have to cruise the 'hood with it in the back before I installed it.

grumpy wrote:

wsherrick wrote: Why do you want to sell it? I thought you were going to swap it out with No 77.

I was, but changed my mind, my 77 is better for my house/hearth, plus I was not happy with how it came out, some of the nickel still needs more work and I'm just not interested any longer, too much else going on.

well, in the words of Fred... if you would complete your profile id know if im close enough to pick it up
Id be interested in firing up one of these hood ornaments to see how they do I cant be paying Glenwood prices though

Like I said, the optimal designs already exist; have existed for over a Century. Learn from them.[/quote]

Those B@stards.... they stole my stove plans!

I agree that there's little (if any) that could be done to beat existing stove designs.
Having said that, if you know what you're doing, you can successfully burn soft coal in the most basic stove if it has decent grates and proper draft controls.

As air tight as possible is a must...you must be able to completely control the air to a soft coal fire otherwise you will have wild stove temperature fluctuations and waste coal.

I do prefer circulator type stoves like some of the warm morning models, some heatrola models and even certain stoves that were sold by sears.
They're not pretty stoves to look at but work great for bituminous coal and because circulators don't require heavy duty wall and floor heat shields like radiant stoves do, they can be installed almost anywhere.

I've never seen cannel coal let alone burn it....still waiting for someone to post video of a raging cannel coal fire