Seems like I am buring a lot of coal

Hi Guys

I fired up my stoker in January, so far since the 19th I have used about 2200lbs of rice coal. I have the stoker in my detached garage and keep the temp set at around 50 degrees. The garage is 40 by 40 with 8ft ceilings. My walls are insulated and I have P2000 styrofoam insulation on the ceilings.

It seems like that is a lot of coal to use so far. How can I be sure that I am completely burning the coal? The ash looks like it is burned but I am new at this and not sure I know the difference of when the coal is exhausted.

My stove is a Reading with coal-trol...my min is set to 4 and my max is set to 40 if that matters. Are there things I can do to improve the efficiency?

Thanks
Pat

is the cement slab insulated? That will suck a lot of heat and cause a lot of coal to burn if it isn't insulated.

Unfortunately, no my floor is not insulated...

How can you tell that your coal is completely burned? Is it possible for the coal to pass by the grate and still have some heat left in it?

crumble up the ash granola (AFTER IT COOLS !!) and see if it is all gray ash or if you get down to some unburned coal.

So, in 6 weeks you've burned a little over a ton? That seems a bit high, but, what's the R-value of the walls & ceiling? Most heat goes up..... if the ceiling are less than R-40 I'd say that's where most of your heat is going. How many windows? Are they double pane? What's it got for doors? If you've got automobile size doors that are less than 2" of foam insulation, they can suck a lot of heat.

Have you heated this space before? How much fuel did it take?

Air stratifies...the warmest air in that open 40 x40 building is stagnant up above...re-circulate it gently downward for all around improvements.

Paddle fans are a great solution, and runnig them year round in a storage bldg. prevent metals from rusting.

Have you ever taken draft readings and stack temperatures to know if you are loosing extra up the chimney? A hand held electronic temperature scanner can be a wonderful aid to find cold zones in these type situations. Everything matters when chasing dollars. Mike

What kind of heat did you replace with coal heat, and how much oil, propane, NG, or electricity were you using in the winter before the switch?

I've compiled nearly 2 years worth of data that indicate that for me each lb. of anthracite burned is displacing just about 2.45 KW of electricity.