Switching to Coal After 20+ Years of Wood Burning

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Mon. Aug. 18, 2014 7:14 pm

Pancho wrote:I'm skeered but giddy. Best of luck to ya.
I can relate :lol: Before my first season with coal, I read this forum for collectively amounting to DAYS maybe even weeks, from March all thru summer..

It was late October.. I was terrified my dreams of burning coal would blow up in my face. The pressure was on.. I told the family we would be burning coal and I had already sold the propane furnace.. I rounded up about half a cord of wood (pine hahaha) that I had laying around outside. For a few days I burned the pine. I was so afraid of failure that I couldn't bring myself to go get some coal.. Then it was either *censored* or get off the pot. I went downtown and bought 300 pounds of nut size coal. Thru it on the wood fire and to my amazement it started to burn.. I was wide eyed and smiling!! My joy was short lived after I couldn't manage to keep it burning.. More research on the coal forum.. FILL THE BOX!! So I did, and managed to keep a fire for 3 days straight.. I couldn't believe it! What an achievement I thought, I was so proud.. :lol: Then I did some mods to my furnace and was able to keep a fire even longer. I'll never forget how proud I was to keep a fire for a month straight.. OK now I know you guys are laughing :lol: Last year I only lit my fire twice, and that was because I purposely let it go out in January for a fly ash pipe cleaning...


 
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Post by top top » Mon. Aug. 18, 2014 8:19 pm

Lightning wrote:
Pancho wrote:I'm skeered but giddy. Best of luck to ya.
I can relate :lol: Before my first season with coal, I read this forum for collectively amounting to DAYS maybe even weeks, from March all thru summer..

It was late October.. I was terrified my dreams of burning coal would blow up in my face. The pressure was on...
I know how you guys felt. I grew up in a family of loggers and sawyers, wood was king. Easy access to "free" wood meant it was used for everything. On a hot July day people stopped in the middle of the road and stared in amazement at the wood smoke curling out the chimney. Hey, we wanted a hot shower even if it was triple digit temps. So between age, arthritis, and losing the easy access to wood, I made the jump last year. The faithful woodburner came out, the new stove is not even capable of burning wood. I spent the money to build a coal bin and fill it with 24 tons of black rocks. Talk about commitment! Nothing like jumping in with both feet! The good folks on this site offered immeasurable assistance, even if they didn't know it. Lots of good folks and good knowledge to be gleaned here.

 
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Post by coaledsweat » Mon. Aug. 18, 2014 8:21 pm

The biggest problem you'll face switching from wood to coal is what to do with all your free time. :)

 
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Post by whistlenut » Mon. Aug. 18, 2014 8:36 pm

One other very important fact you can use to sell your system with is that no electricity is needed. That is a big factor for anyone who needs power to keep a stoker going...or a pellet stove....or a boiler, well pump....sewer pump. You can cook, make hot water for coffee......AND stay warm. Of course, you could buy a big generator and fire it, suck down some propane, gasoline or diesel. Either way, you back will thank you and all related joints. Better late than never.......ENJOY!! :D :!:

 
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Post by Pancho » Mon. Aug. 18, 2014 10:07 pm

top top wrote: I know how you guys felt. I grew up in a family of loggers and sawyers, wood was king. Easy access to "free" wood meant it was used for everything. On a hot July day people stopped in the middle of the road and stared in amazement at the wood smoke curling out the chimney. Hey, we wanted a hot shower even if it was triple digit temps. So between age, arthritis, and losing the easy access to wood, I made the jump last year. The faithful woodburner came out, the new stove is not even capable of burning wood. I spent the money to build a coal bin and fill it with 24 tons of black rocks. Talk about commitment! Nothing like jumping in with both feet! The good folks on this site offered immeasurable assistance, even if they didn't know it. Lots of good folks and good knowledge to be gleaned here.
Welp...........................................I cheated....on two fronts.
I got a stove that will burn wood and I have some 'extra stuff stacked' just in case.

I like cutting/splitting/stacking wood. It's a good workout and I really like gettin' after it on the hot summer days. Unfortunately last winter depleted my supply and we are just about out of good ash wood around here sooooo......I couldn't season what I needed in a summer.

It was coming sooner or later but it's official now....and I am looking forward to it.

 
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rstrawsburg
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Post by rstrawsburg » Tue. Aug. 19, 2014 3:56 pm

rstrawsburg wrote:Well the decision has been made! Dealer is coming this week to check us out before taking a deposit and ordering our Hitzer 50-93. I've been feeding a Consolated Dutchwest Large wood burner for way too long. We burned coal in it for about a month last year and decided the conversion kit for coal isn't for long term use. I'm a little apprehensive about making the switch but after reading this forum a bit, I feel a little more confident. Wish me luck!

Ron
Everything is set! The Hitzer 50-93 has been ordered. The stove with fan, installed with a barometric damper and new stove pipe to the thimble for $2700. I'm not too thrilled about the price, but I think it's a pretty fair deal. I would normally work my ass off to save a few bucks but handling a 480 pound stove is more work than I want to get into on a weekend. I only have to think about getting the coal lined up now. I'm not sure what to do with the old stove. It's still in great shape and burns coal too. I proved that last season. I need to get it moved out in the next 3 weeks to make room for the new Hitzer. I called a few coal dealers today and here the rundown.
Dealer A
330 per ton bagged - blackshack
397 per pallet - blackshack

Dealer B
250 per ton bulk delivered
300 per ton bagged and 70 delivery fee

Dealer C
220 per ton delivered free with 3 ton purchase
265 bagged

I'm trying to work out where to put it and how to get it there. I want it behind the house under the deck with the firewood. I don't know if the delivery guys can get it back there. I live in a typical development and don't have much room on either side of the house. The one guy suggested blue barrels, he said they could be moved around with a dolly. I have to build a coal bin of some sort.

-Ron

 
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Post by ddahlgren » Tue. Aug. 19, 2014 4:44 pm

So who is dealer C and where sounds like a great price!.


 
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rstrawsburg
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Post by rstrawsburg » Tue. Aug. 19, 2014 5:20 pm

ddahlgren wrote:So who is dealer C and where sounds like a great price!.
Dealer C is in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He was advertising on craigslist. The ad says it is Reading Coal. I've only emailed him so far. I guess I need to give him a call.

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Tue. Aug. 19, 2014 5:42 pm

rstrawsburg wrote:
ddahlgren wrote:So who is dealer C and where sounds like a great price!.
Dealer C is in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He was advertising on craigslist. The ad says it is Reading Coal. I've only emailed him so far. I guess I need to give him a call.
Reading may have some pieces of wood mixed in ... but I just burn that too ! Good coal IMO.

 
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Post by ddahlgren » Tue. Aug. 19, 2014 11:52 pm

To far to drive to CT but your good luck! I am thinking the cost of coal is all about trucking it to where it needs to go.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Aug. 20, 2014 6:22 am

rstrawsburg wrote:Everything is set! The Hitzer 50-93 has been ordered.
That is a very nice stove, we heat our shop with one. The only problem I've had with ours is the hinge pins on the hopper door broke after about a week, and the gasket fell off the hopper door. I replaced the gasket and pins, and it ran great the rest of the winter.

Always make sure the hopper door is closed and that there are no pieces of coal between the stove body and hopper door that could cause air leaks.

 
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Post by Pancho » Wed. Aug. 20, 2014 7:50 am

whistlenut wrote:One other very important fact you can use to sell your system with is that no electricity is needed. That is a big factor for anyone who needs power to keep a stoker going...or a pellet stove....or a boiler, well pump....sewer pump. You can cook, make hot water for coffee......AND stay warm. Of course, you could buy a big generator and fire it, suck down some propane, gasoline or diesel. Either way, you back will thank you and all related joints. Better late than never.......ENJOY!! :D :!:
I don't know about everyone else but this is HUGE to me. We don't lose power that often but it happens....and it seems to happen when outdoor temps are less than ideal for staying warm.

I see neighbors with outdoor wood boilers frequently being S.O.L. when they lose power. Seems nuts to me to have a $10k -$15k burner with a bazillion cords of wood on hand and not be able to do anything with it.

 
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Post by rstrawsburg » Wed. Aug. 20, 2014 5:03 pm

michaelanthony wrote:Welcome rstrawsburg god knows you got here just in time! :D I live in woodburning central and burning coal is one of the best decisions I've made. Have you ordered your manometer yet? and if the topic of S.S. chimney liner comes up hold'em off until you can post some pic's of your stove's location.
I haven't ordered the manometer just yet but I will. I'll see if I can get some pictures uploaded. I need to cleanup the Dutchwest a little before taking photos. :)

 
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rstrawsburg
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Post by rstrawsburg » Wed. Aug. 20, 2014 5:06 pm

JohnB wrote:I made the same change last year after heating with wood for close to 3 decades when we replaced our Jotul 600 with a 50-93. Install a Manometer like the Dywer #25 ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009PAN3C8/ref=p ... NF4Q0HHJ6E so you can monitor your draft & determine if a barometric damper is required. Unregulated my draft can hit -.27 on a cold day so I installed a barometric damper along with the MPD I already had & use both when the temps drop. Ideally the Hitzer likes to run in the .03 -.06 range although I sometimes run mine a little higher after loading to reduce puff backs (singed eyebrows!).

As already mentioned you can easily idle down the Hitzer to control the heat output if it gets too toasty. I had small, low output coal fires into June this past season just to knock the chill off of the house.
Thanks for the manometer link. That's much less expensive than I had imagined.
-Ron

 
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Post by steamshovel » Thu. Aug. 21, 2014 5:21 am

coal heat is the best kept secret in home heating. always was except for the short period from 1945 to 1973 when oil was cheap.

when I see people busting their arse cutting up big trees, hauling, splitting, stacking wood, then feeding the fire every few hours, I just wonder why ? they never learned about coal.

for some reason coal got a bad name, when in reality it's CLEANER than wood, and now it's actually less expensive than wood.

the only reason to burn wood, is when you can't get coal cost effectively.

oil, propane are fake heat. who can afford it ? may as well be a Rolls Royce Bentley.

nat gas is affordable but lately it's climbing, and coal still heats way better.

but our love affair with coal may be coming to an end in our lifetime, if the guys in Washington and the banking cartels have their way. they don't like local geographies being able to self sustain and heat themselves, that's a "SIN" to them. they want you on the oil-gas heroin they sell.

John D. Rockefeller said, competition is a sin. He founded Standard Oil.

so they are hell bent in putting our strip mines out of business. it may happen. beware and have a back up plan.


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