Cookin' With Coal

Photog200 · Post by **Photog200** » Wed. Feb. 19, 2014 6:57 pm

Sunny Boy wrote:
Sixkids wrote:Yes Paul I do happen to have one. We have my grandmothers copper boiler.
I do love my Bosch front loader with the wool cycle however for doing up the Civil War clothes! I would probably be willing to try doing the clothes that way ...maybe once! I also have a metal piece that was my great grandfather's that fits on the end of a broom stick that you use to push up and down on the clothes to wash them.... and we USE to have a wringer washer also. Sold it one day when I was a lot younger
My grandmother always said that you need to hang your whites out in the winter and to let them freeze as it gets them really white. I would assume that there might be a more scientific reason, if they did turn more white ...perhaps the sun beating down on clothes with frozen drops of water might have magnification of the suns rays? I DO have a Amish clothes line to be attached to one of our buildings or trees to get it up high enough. Just have to convince my 19 year old to climb a tree this summer ..and to remember to hand him the clothesline thingy before he climbs up the tree! It shouldn't be a real probablem since he is an outdoor hunter / trapper kind of guy!
There were a lot of those type things still here when I bought this old place. Including some stove covers from whatever range they had. No other range parts, but the shovel-a-day hot water coal stove is still here. I was going to hook it back up in the basement to keep the pipes from freezing in case of a long power outage, . . . until I read on here it's not good to run them when they aren't hooked to a water supply.

I thought that cone shaped "washer on a stick' was part of a butter churn, until my Father saw it and explained how his grandmother used one. I think it's out in the shed with the clamp-on-the-wash tube hand crank wringer. The wringer is one of the wooden framed ones with white, rubber covered rollers and nickel plated hardware. Even had the galvanized wash tube too, but the kids wore that out using it as a wading pool when they were little.

Paul

They still make those cone things for washing clothes. I just bought one from Lehman's in November. It actually gets the clothes cleaner than my expensive automatic washer. It just takes more time to do it all by hand.

Randy

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Wed. Feb. 19, 2014 8:47 pm

Yup, very much like the one I have - but, not all rusty.

https://www.lehmans.com/p-2643-rapid-laundry-washer.aspx

Paul

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Wed. Feb. 19, 2014 9:02 pm

We were disappointed when we saw all the rust pin holes in the girl friend's mother's galvanized boiler. We had hoped to use it for canning as her mother did.

Turns out the pot we have is a better size for the smaller canning jars we use anyway and the assembly line we use to can. It's a cheapy lobster pot from Wal-Mart, but it fits a dozen jars and it also fits rather well on the back half of the range over the firebox. That leaves the cover plate over the front half of the firebox clear for the pot she uses to cook whatever we're canning.

So, while she's cooking the next batch, I can be boiling full jars and/or pre-heating jars for that next batch.

Paul

Sixkids · Post by **Sixkids** » Wed. Feb. 19, 2014 9:34 pm

Sounds like you have a good system going. The two of you sound like a good team. Nothing like putting-by your own food! And I'll bet having a good wood / coal cookstove comes in mighty handy during that time of year.

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Thu. Feb. 20, 2014 5:29 am

Yes, we're a good team, . . . most days !

However, there's more to it than just a couple who work well together. As I mentioned before, very often, the range becomes a center of kitchen life. As you learn all that it can do, a lot of warm wonderful things happen around it. And especially so when the outside world turns cold and windy for much of the year.

The steady warmth that a good coal range brings to the entire family makes it the "warm heart" of the kitchen and draws family in to it as it keeps them warm, fed, dry, and comfy. It's the kitchen version of, "sitting around the fire" but with more to offer than just a fire.

You'll see.

Paul

Sixkids · Post by **Sixkids** » Thu. Feb. 20, 2014 1:35 pm

I can see that our kitchen swing is in the right place!

... Um, yes, .... we do have a porch swing hanging in our kitchen near where we placed the stove. I can see that it will become an even more sought after place to be!

Just a note .... Do not use a cast-iron pan in your microwave. If you do, you will ruin your pan and also your microwave oven. The fireworks display that will result will not be worth the cleanup and replacement cost.

Best to keep your cast iron pans for wood / coal range cooking!

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2014 7:21 am

Something I've always wondered about.

In some of the literature I've seen, Glenwood recommends using "stove" sized coal in the ranges. Since they have narrow, shallow fireboxes, I've wondered how well they would preform.

My bulk coal dealer doesn't carry stove size so for eight years all I've ever used in the range is nut coal. However, it would help to not have to "push" the stove to have higher heat more quickly, . . and even quicker recovery after a reload when we're doing a lot of water boiling in large pots - such as canning in the Fall.

This year's bulk delivery had larger than average sized nut coal than I've ever had before. A while back, I tried experimenting by picking out a bucket worth of the largest chunks. The range reacted more quickly to heat changes, but it also needed to be refilled more often because of the less fuel density of the large chunks in a smaller firebox. And, the stove did not have to be "pushed", with having the primary open for long times to get the heat up. It was rather more like it needed to be held back because it wanted to heat up faster.

Encouraging results. So, . . .

Saturday I stopped by a new-ish dealer to the area. He carries Blaschak stove coal in bags. I picked up three bags to try some.

Sunday it was in the 40's and the stove was very sluggish with the stove coal. disappointing results, but, then it would be sluggish with the nut coal too.

Yesterday it was down in the 20's and a VERY different story using the stove coal. In indirect mode only, I had to close the primary to it's night time setting of just a sliver of an opening (dime thickness), and the MPD had to be fully closed, just to keep the range at .04. Even at that, the firebox end of the cook top was running mid 700's to over 800 (max reading of my IR gun) all day. Felt like I was trying to hold back a race horse !!

Later in the day I used a mix of nut and stove. That was much more steady and controllable while still giving a lot of heat.

Since the oven was at baking temps (even with the flue doors to the water reservoir still open), the girl friend decided baked breaded pork chops would be our dinner. That, pasta, and green beans from our garden last summer, made for a very good dinner.

And, as Carole brought up, another plus of baking in a coal range, . . . the oven still does not need to be cleaned after eight years of use.

Enjoy

Paul

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2014 7:41 am

Oh, and for dessert, she made marmalade jam in her new Dutch oven to go on pumpernickel toast. Yum !

Paul

Photog200 · Post by **Photog200** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2014 7:45 am

Sunny Boy wrote:Something I've always wondered about.

In some of the literature I've seen, Glenwood recommends using "stove" sized coal in the ranges. Since they have narrow, shallow fireboxes, I've wondered how well they would preform.

My bulk coal dealer doesn't carry stove size so for eight years all I've ever used in the range is nut coal. However, it would help to not have to "push" the stove to have higher heat more quickly, . . and even quicker recovery after a reload when we're doing a lot of water boiling in large pots - such as canning in the Fall.

This year's bulk delivery had larger than average sized nut coal than I've ever had before. A while back, I tried experimenting by picking out a bucket worth of the largest chunks. The range reacted more quickly to heat changes, but it also needed to be refilled more often because of the less fuel density of the large chunks in a smaller firebox. And, the stove did not have to be "pushed", with having the primary open for long times to get the heat up. It was rather more like it needed to be held back because it wanted to heat up faster.

Encouraging results. So, . . .

Saturday I stopped by a new-ish dealer to the area. He carries Blaschak stove coal in bags. I picked up three bags to try some.

Sunday it was in the 40's and the stove was very sluggish with the stove coal. disappointing results, but, then it would be sluggish with the nut coal too.

Yesterday it was down in the 20's and a VERY different story using the stove coal. In indirect mode only, I had to close the primary to it's night time setting of just a sliver of an opening (dime thickness), and the MPD had to be fully closed, just to keep the range at .04. Even at that, the firebox end of the cook top was running mid 700's to over 800 (max reading of my IR gun) all day. Felt like I was trying to hold back a race horse !!

Later in the day I used a mix of nut and stove. That was much more steady and controllable while still giving a lot of heat.

Since the oven was at baking temps (even with the flue doors to the water reservoir still open), the girl friend decided baked breaded pork chops would be our dinner. That, pasta, and green beans from our garden last summer, made for a very good dinner.

And, as Carole brought up, another plus of baking in a coal range, . . . the oven still does not need to be cleaned after eight years of use.

Enjoy

I too have picked out some of the larger pieces of coal if I was going to do a lot of cooking or canning. It does make a big difference in how fast it reacts and how hot it will get. My dealer does not carry stove size either. I would have to drive an hour away (down to Fabius) to get stove size. If I want a fast hot fire, I will throw some wood in it and it gets hot very fast.

Randy

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2014 8:36 am

Yes, mixing some hardwood in with the coal would heat it up very quickly, but the down sides is that the firebox would need reloading even sooner. Just using the wood to "kick it" and then switching over to larger pieces of nut is probably worth trying.

My stove coal test was to see if I could get long burn times with the quicker, higher heat - not quite, but still much longer burning than any time I've used wood.

And, having used bagged nut coal the first two years I had the range, I wanted to see what bagged Blaschak was like. It reminded me why I don't like using bagged coal anymore. VERY dusty inside and outside the bags, with a lot of fines compared to the washed, bulk coal I get. Pouring the last of the coal out of the bag into the coal scuttle made a cloud of dust !!!!

And some of the pieces of stove coal are so large that they almost span the width of the firebox.

Before I get the Modern Oak 118 in use, I have to make an addition to my coal bin. It's likely the 118, with it's very large firepot, will work well on stove coal, or a nut/stove mix ???? The addition will be part of the bin I have now, but separated by a low wall , so two bins side-by-side but still connected in a sense. That's to work from one side and be able to run it empty for cleaning out fines build up while having coal in the other side. It would also allow me to get two different sizes of coal too. This test gave me some idea of what stove coal acts like.

But there's no way I'm going back to using bagged coal after this !!!!

Paul

Photog200 · Post by **Photog200** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2014 8:48 am

Sunny Boy wrote:Yes, mixing some hardwood in with the coal would heat it up very quickly, but the down sides is that the firebox would need reloading even sooner. Just using the wood to "kick it" and then switching over to larger pieces of nut is probably worth trying.

My stove coal test was to see if I could get long burn times with the quicker, higher heat - not quite, but still much longer burning than any time I've used wood.

And, having used bagged nut coal the first two years I had the range, I wanted to see what bagged Blaschak was like. It reminded me why I don't like using bagged coal anymore. VERY dusty inside and outside the bags, with a lot of fines compared to the washed, bulk coal I get. Pouring the last of the coal out of the bag into the coal scuttle made a cloud of dust !!!!

And some of the pieces of stove coal are so large that they almost span the width of the firebox.

Before I get the Modern Oak 118 in use, I have to make an addition to my coal bin. It's likely the 118, with it's very large firepot, will work well on stove coal, or a nut/stove mix ???? This test gave me some idea of what stove coal acts like.

But there's no way I'm going back to using bagged coal after this !!!!

Paul

The bagged stove coal I got from from Reading was very dusty as well. I am having issues with fines in my bulk coal this year and I plan on complaining about it. I burnt a lot of them this fall, but just ran into another big spot in the bin with even more fines. I have had to screen them out because there was so much it was clogging the airways. I already have 2 - 5 gallon buckets of them and lots more to screen yet. I ordered 5 tons this year and will probably go through that because I have been burning it in the cook stove a lot more than I planned. This year, I think I will order 6 tons. Hopefully, the firewood will be almost gone this year! Back to burning as much of that as I can just to get rid of it. I may take some of it over to my Mom for her to burn in their stove.

I love roasting whole chickens in the cook stove oven...made another one two nights ago. Slow cooked and moist (as long as you keep it covered with foil for most of the cooking).

Randy

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2014 9:25 am

Yeah, sounds like you've got quite a lot of fines. Does your bulk dealer say that the coal is washed ?

I used to worry about fines but not anymore.

As part of the daily bucket load my range uses, I throw in and burn whatever fines end up in the bottom of the coal scuttle as I dig down through the pile in the bin. I don't get more than a couple of tea spoons worth in the bottom of the coal scuttle. I learned that either I can deal with it in small amounts everyday, or large amounts later. Small amounts daily aren't even noticeable to how the stove works.

Even if you need to burn more than that, using no more than about 1/3 of a small coal shovel worth placed on top of a well burning coal bed, your range will burn the fines without problem and the have just as much heat energy as the chunks of coal.

Sometimes I'll put a 1/2 shovel worth in each cover hole over the firebox and then ten minutes, later give the grates a good shake to help distribute the fines so they will burn a bit faster and let the coal bed breath a bit more. And, as I mentioned before, other times they are good for slowing a too hot fire.

But after about 6 years I figured I better let the bin level go down and finally get to clean it out. I was surprised to only screen out about a coal scuttle worth as I neared the bin floor. There was so little I gave up and placed my order for this year. If I'd kept going right down to the bin fully cleaned out, I think I may have gotten another bucket worth.

I know from being down in the basement with the bin door open and watching as the coal comes down the shute, that my dealer does a good job of washing the coal. No visible dust in the air, even when I had my bin's max of six tons in one delivery. But after that clean out, it's even better than I expected.

Paul

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2014 9:38 am

Yeah, your oven not having vents, it should help keep it moist too.

That roasting a whole chicken should work out well with this new Dutch oven. The lid fits tight and with my oven being vented to the stove pipe it should keep it from drying out.

One thing I've added to the list when I get to restoring this range is to make a shut-off and lever for those vents in the upper back right corner of the oven. Then I have a choice of baking with, or without the vents.

We miss the wonderful smells of baking because those vent holes work so well to pull the smells up the chimney. But it also has to act like a check damper to some extent too.

One thing I was glad it was vented for, . .
I tried Carole's recommendation of seasoning a small cast iron pan I have with flex seed oil. Started it on the stove top and it made the kitchen reek like someone was washing out varnish brushes with linseed oil.

Instant flash-backs to my old days of working in a boat yard in the days of oil paints and varnishes !

I put the pan in the oven to finish and those vents work so well, not one more whiff of old boat shop.

Paul

Photog200 · Post by **Photog200** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2014 2:59 pm

[quote="Sunny Boy"]Yeah, sounds like you've got quite a lot of fines. Does your bulk dealer say that the coal is washed ?

Said oiled but did not say washed, however he said after setting there for 4 months the oil soaked in...yeah, right.

As part of the daily bucket load my range uses, I throw in and burn whatever fines end up in the bottom of the coal scuttle as I dig down through the pile in the bin. I don't get more than a couple of tea spoons worth in the bottom of the coal scuttle. I learned that either I can deal with it in small amounts everyday, or large amounts later. Small amounts daily aren't even noticeable to how the stove works.

Until I started screening out the fines, I could not get much heat out of the stove as they were clogging up the air ways.

But after about 6 years I figured I better let the bin level go down and finally get to clean it out. I was surprised to only screen out about a coal scuttle worth as I neared the bin floor. There was so little I gave up and placed my order for this year. If I'd kept going right down to the bin fully cleaned out, I think I may have gotten another bucket worth.

This is the first year I used this bin, I just built it last summer...all the fines came from this year.

I know from being down in the basement with the bin door open and watching as the coal comes down the shute, that my dealer does a good job of washing the coal. No visible dust in the air, even when I had my bin's max of six tons in one delivery. But after that clean out, it's even better than I expected.

When we were done with unloading my coal, I was literally black from head to toe. My bin is inside my woodshed and he conveyor-ed it into my bin but I had to shovel it to the other end of the bin. Going to make some changes to the bin this year to make that process easier. I did not know what to expect with equipment how it was going to be done.

Randy

Sunny Boy · Post by **Sunny Boy** » Tue. Feb. 25, 2014 3:52 pm

Randy,

Can you "push" the coal from outside the bin rather than shovel from inside ? I use a long-handled steel garden rake. Reaching in through the bin door to push and pull the coal into the bin's four corners whenever I get a delivery of more than three tons.

Maybe a board mounted on the end of a pole, . . . like the push version of the boards they use to pull snow off roofs ?

I know that living in Fulton, you've seen plenty of those being used !

Paul

Cookin' With Coal

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