Why Do You Have a Hand Fired Coal Stove/Furnace?

1. Nat gas increase 10.2% last year, another 10% this year
2. Electric rates going up and up and up.
3. Propane just too expensive per BTU.
Run efficiently, you can extract a whole lot more heat from a coal stove than any other heater for the $$ of fuel burned.

To have a nice warm steady heat all winter long. To me, old man winter becomes bearable when I fire up the hand fired stove. You can say burning coal is my winter hobby. She does a nice job helping with the heating cost and keeps us warm and cozy. I like a hand fired stove because I am in control of the unit. How much coal to feed it along with adjusting the draft and damper and that's all she wrote The mechanics of my hand fired stove are nice and simple. The Buck Model 24 stove has been doing a real fine job here so I guess I'll keep her.

First was a wood stove to save money on heat but has draw backs.
I am too old physically to cut and spit wood so have to but firewood bought is never seasoned and half of it way too large a split for a small stove with lots of rounds that take forever to season. To make it worse neighbors complain about looking at the large piles of it waiting to be ready for use.
After the second year the blush wore off the tending schedule and realized I had become a slave to the stove that needed attention every 4 hours due to a small fire box and large house. This was to the point of changing sleep patterns to nothing more than 4 hours at a time so I could wake up and feed the demanding stove then baby sit it for 45 minutes until settled down after a reload.
I have become more off grid aware as well but to be truly off grid is nearly impossible as even coal has to get here some how. I think if that electromagnetic pulse ever comes that someone would be smart enough to use remaining resources to pull the old coal and wood fired locomotives out of mothballs to be used to haul coal for power plants that burn it is any left by then to generate the power to rebuild? Is there such a thing as a steam shovel even left to use?
So taking a try at coal in the quest for more time for me and a more reliable fuel source. If I can get 8 to 12 hours between tending means getting a full nights sleep and something to be relearned in my case.

I've been lucky here with power outages only lasting hours. Many in the area wind up going days without power.

In searching for a wood stove to use as back up heat only, I stumbled on the coal range. My fiancée, having grown up learning to cook on a coal range, insisted on buying it for me (so she could use it ).

We use the coal range so much that the oil furnace became the "back up".

And, as you can tell, she's the brains of this relationship !

Paul

Paul you are a lucky man to have found her!

Heat pump has not come on all month and best guess is the cost of heating the house this month is about $75.00. What is not to like?
Cracker.

In addition to all the reasons already posted,

I love the fact I am supporting Pennsylvania coal miners.

My 150 year old house was originally heated by coal, and by tearing out the non original stone monster of an ugly open fire place. I now have something much more historically correct.

Its fun!

After burning firewood for 15 years, I was fortunate to own a combo-wood-coal furnace, so this has become my first Winter of burning coal.

My FREE firewood sources dried up, my AGE (70), like fuel oil prices, went up! But...... without the physical labor/exercise, so did my weight!! lol

Anybody wanna buy 2 good Stihl chainsaws, log splitter, wedges, maul, etc?? lol..... I don't plan on using them no more!

Tom S.

Short answer. I like it and the simplicity of hand fed. The previous posts pretty much sum up all the benefits and I don't think I need to repeat. I will add that my house also originally heated and cooked with coal. Granted the stoves are not original, but the coal part is. It's my way of preserving history and staying warm while doing it. Wish the original coal boiler was still in the cellar. I also enjoy the mining and railroad history that goes with coal. Everyone that comes over always comments how nice the stoves look and then when I tell them I actually burn coal in them it just blows them away. I also enjoy being able to have tons (literally) on hand. Others have commented it's nice "seeing" your heat source. Other than the mortgage and property taxes my heating bill is the next biggest. It's nice knowing the seasons heat can be bought and paid for sometimes years in advance. I still want a boiler and the knowledge I gained just in plumbing is amazing. Mostly with help from this site and Dan Holohans books. Sometimes I feel like selling my cars and buying more stoves. Lately I enjoy coal related topics more than automotive. This coming from someone who lived and breathed Small Block Chevys and Camaros since age 13. Keep joking with the wife we need to buy another house. I'm out of chimneys. Getting into burning coal also renewed some other interest such as Live Steam and home shop machining. Been researching casting and mold making lately. Oh well time to tend the stoves before work. Nice knowing the house will be warm for the next fourteen hours. LONG LIVE COAL.
Matt

To run the stove when the electicity is ON or out.
Seriously, I just got "contaminated" to the antique hand fired stoves from............and hope to stay that way for ever.

Contained in the secret document below is a total explanation of POH heating. If you need further elaboration seek help.

Orrrrr, by one's number of hand-fired stoves, you get get an idea of just how severely the OCD has gotten in to the gene pool!!

freetown fred wrote:Orrrrr, by one's number of hand-fired stoves, you get get an idea of just how severely the OCD has gotten in to the gene pool!!

yeah, there's that too

by the way, who's the smiley nazi that counts the smilies in FF's post as in mine cause they're in mine second hand ? shouldn't be no limit on smiles

It ain't easy bein easy KC

KC , you noticed that too ? I guess that means that we can never quote FF or we have to edit his post so we can insert our own smilies as needed to make our own point. I guess I mentioned it b4 but the constant bone warming radiant heat that so silently sneaks up to me and holds me in it's warm embrace is more than enough of a reason to have the hand-fed sitting nearby.