How Much Coal Should I Be Using??

 
bigjoe35
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Post by bigjoe35 » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 9:48 am

Hi there im new to the site but have found it very helpfull and I have a question about coal cunsumption.
I have a 30-95 with blower and anthracite nut coal, I am using a 6" pipe from vents in scranton pa. Im heating a 1900 square ft doublewide the stove is located in thge living room and the floor plan is very open. How much coal roughly should I be using?
And also should I buy a timer for the blower or just run it all the time with the dial a temp?
Thanks for any help


 
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GoodProphets
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Post by GoodProphets » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 10:25 am

Welcome to the forum!

Someone should and could give you a rough estimate, but the only way to be
somewhat accurate is to convert your current or previous heating bill to coal.

correct me if I am wrong but I think with heating oil,
you divide the number of gallons by 180 and it will give you tonnage in coal

 
bigjoe35
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Post by bigjoe35 » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 10:34 am

yes that all I was looking for is a rough estimate example bag a day or bucket a day??

 
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 10:36 am

If you know what your fuel consumption for heat was before I can give you a estimate on coal usage.

Generally speaking the average home that is 2000 sq. ft. is going to use 4 to 5 ton but there is lot of variable there. Wall thickness for example can play a huge role. You could use as little as half that with 2*6 vs. 2*4.

 
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 10:37 am

bigjoe35 wrote:yes that all I was looking for is a rough estimate example bag a day or bucket a day??
That depends too, are you trying to heat the whole 1900 sq. ft and have it wide open? etc.

 
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Post by chester » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 10:54 am

Welcome to the forum BigJoe! I have a Hitzer 50-93 heating a 1495 Sq ft home with a full basement.Stove is downstairs and I leave the blower on 24 hrs. Iam burning about a bag to a bag and a quarter a day. So I think you are close to where you should be.You will get a ton of help on this site. I know I sure did.So don't be afraid to ask any questions and what ever freetown fred says about me only believe half! :angel: :rambo2:

 
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Post by I'm On Fire » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 11:10 am

How much coal you burn is dependent on how warm you'd like to be. My house is very drafty so I tend to run my stove much hotter to get the temps up near 80* during the day. Because when the sun goes down, I will lose 10-15* degrees. I've nearly gone through my first ton of coal already this season. Hear that Bob? ;)

I generally will go through two coal hods a day. I think that's about 15 pounds of coal each time so 30 pounds. But on those real cold days where I'm running the stove 600* I'll go through 1.5 hods every twelve hours. So, what....60 pounds? Math and I aren't friends.


 
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Post by Sunny Boy » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 11:48 am

I'm On Fire wrote:How much coal you burn is dependent on how warm you'd like to be. My house is very drafty so I tend to run my stove much hotter to get the temps up near 80* during the day. Because when the sun goes down, I will lose 10-15* degrees. I've nearly gone through my first ton of coal already this season. Hear that Bob? ;)

I generally will go through two coal hods a day. I think that's about 15 pounds of coal each time so 30 pounds. But on those real cold days where I'm running the stove 600* I'll go through 1.5 hods every twelve hours. So, what....60 pounds? Math and I aren't friends.
FWIW to help with figuring.

Yeah, two would be just about 60 pounds unless you really over fill them, or have the new smaller ones.

If it's the old galvanized, average sized hods (usually a #16) like I have, both my old hods hold 28-30 pounds of nut coal when loaded level with the top edges.

Paul

 
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Post by bigjoe35 » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 11:55 am

Ok great response! I have 2x6 walls in the home its 66x28 or 1848 sq feet, the walls are insulated and have the thermal board thin layer, but no OSB. I have plans in the spring to add OSB and its on a crawl space but sitting on masonary blocks instead of skirting. The ceiling are cathedrel about 9 ft at center. Im keeping my dial on 10 now and it keeps the house 73-75 with the blower on the lowest setting. Im shaking it 3 times a day morn afternoon and before bed, it seems to need it every 8-10 hrs.

Also is there anyway to queit down the flapper from pigging? lol it keeps my kids up!

I just bought the house but its a 1992 home and the windows are good. Just some ideas on coal use estimates of what people
are using so I know what to expect out of the 30-95.

Love Hitzer stoves!!

 
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Post by lowfog01 » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 12:04 pm

"How much coal you burn is dependent on how warm you'd like to be."

Good Answer! Lisa
Last edited by lowfog01 on Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 12:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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Post by coalcracker » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 12:08 pm

bigjoe35 wrote:Hi there im new to the site but have found it very helpfull and I have a question about coal cunsumption.
I have a 30-95 with blower and anthracite nut coal, I am using a 6" pipe from vents in scranton pa. Im heating a 1900 square ft doublewide the stove is located in thge living room and the floor plan is very open. How much coal roughly should I be using?
And also should I buy a timer for the blower or just run it all the time with the dial a temp?
Thanks for any help


A good rule of thumb for a hand fired smaller unit is one 5-gallon plastic bucket per day, average. That is being a real coal miser. For a less efficient setup, or older stove, or a stove with lots of air leaks, the high end would be 2 buckets a day.

A bucket is 40 lb. average, so 2 buckets a day is 80 lbs. That would be worst case. If I was burning 2 buckets a day, I'd be looking to see why, and trying to cut it back- because in 4 months at 2 buckets a day, it'll burn 6 tons. That's $1200 in coal and a bit high historically. I've never burned more than 2.5 tons/year on the worst years, for past 20 years- and never burned a full 3 tons even with my old, leaky inefficient stove back in 1995, in a real hard winter.

If you're using more than 80 lb. per day, or 1.5 tons/month- there's something wrong. The coal heating systems I've seen with the most voracious appetite never burned more than 6 tons a year, if the stove was half decent and not leaky. My grandmother used to run 2 stoves at the same time, a boiler used as free standing basement heat, circulators disconnected- and a combo coal/gas cook stove in kitchen, all winter and never burned more than 6 tons- in an old house with no insulation.

In your case I'd be looking for a target of 3-4 tons per year maximum, preferably less.

 
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Post by I'm On Fire » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 12:09 pm

Sunny Boy wrote:
I'm On Fire wrote:How much coal you burn is dependent on how warm you'd like to be. My house is very drafty so I tend to run my stove much hotter to get the temps up near 80* during the day. Because when the sun goes down, I will lose 10-15* degrees. I've nearly gone through my first ton of coal already this season. Hear that Bob? ;)

I generally will go through two coal hods a day. I think that's about 15 pounds of coal each time so 30 pounds. But on those real cold days where I'm running the stove 600* I'll go through 1.5 hods every twelve hours. So, what....60 pounds? Math and I aren't friends.
FWIW to help with figuring.

Yeah, two would be just about 60 pounds unless you really over fill them, or have the new smaller ones.

If it's the old galvanized, average sized hods (usually a #16) like I have, both my old hods hold 28-30 pounds of nut coal when loaded level with the top edges.

Paul
I did buy the hod in 2010. But it had a "MADE IN USA" sticker on it. Not sure if it's the heavy gauge steel or not. Probably not.

 
bigjoe35
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Post by bigjoe35 » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 12:18 pm

So generally a hod holds 28-30 level?
If so I am using about 35-40 a day now and it has been cold!

 
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Post by bigjoe35 » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 12:20 pm

Also anything on running the blower with or without a timer?
And should I leave the bi metal t stat on 10 all day or not?
Thanks a lot

 
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Post by Sunny Boy » Tue. Dec. 10, 2013 12:43 pm

I'm On Fire wrote:
Sunny Boy wrote: FWIW to help with figuring.

Yeah, two would be just about 60 pounds unless you really over fill them, or have the new smaller ones.

If it's the old galvanized, average sized hods (usually a #16) like I have, both my old hods hold 28-30 pounds of nut coal when loaded level with the top edges.

Paul
I did buy the hod in 2010. But it had a "MADE IN USA" sticker on it. Not sure if it's the heavy gauge steel or not. Probably not.
I only threw that out there just in case people might hear things like old timers saying, "a bucket a day", or if they have an old hod and they don't know that many of the newer ones might be smaller. The modern coal hods I'm seeing being sold in hardware stores, Lowes, stove shops, etc., are smaller than the antique ones I have - that were more the usual size back when coal stoves were more common.

It just happens that recently I got a more accurate scale and have re-weighed my coal hods (2-1/5 lbs), and what they hold (30 lbs), as part of my testing my old stoves results. I have been weighing how much coal in, verses how much ashes out, by weight to see how it compares on percent of ash.

So far, the numbers are pointing toward that I've been getting some of Pennsylvania's finest ! ;)

Paul


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