Thinking of Coal

Hello everyone,
I have been burning Wood At my home(1700 sq ft gambrel)with a Vermont casting Dutchwest oven stove 55,000 BTU for 11 years and I am all done this year.I hated dealing with the wood because the only way to save money around here is to buy a half a load of wood at log lenghth which is about 5 cord ,and cut and split it myself.Well I am tired of all the work and frankly I just don't have the time.
I just sold the stove and I am in the market for a new stove but I want to go with a differant more convienient fuel.I am interested in a coal -wood burning combo but I am confused on which to buy.I am looking at the Harman TLC 2000 right now.
Here are some of my questions.1)What the hell do you do with all that ash?I here that you have to empty the pan every day.That must be alot of ash.With the wood all I did was put it in a metal can and after when it cooled I just spread it around my yard and garden.What do I do with coal ash????
2)How do I figure out how much coal I would need? With the wood stove I burned 6 cord of wood a season.This cost me about 450.00.I cut and split the wood myself.I am guessing if I burn a coal and wood combo ,that I would be burning about one cord in the late fall when the weather is starting to get cold and one cord in the late winter when the weather is warming up again.That would leave 4 ords left that I would have to convert to caol.Would that be about 2 tons???Its about $280 a ton around here at the stove place in Shrewsbury Ma.
Need advice
Marc

Coal stoves have an ash pan at the bottom, empty every 1 to 2 days.
I have about the same size house & with a stoker stove I burn about 3 tons a year.

jedc43 wrote:1)What the hell do you do with all that ash?I here that you have to empty the pan every day.That must be alot of ash.

Guess that depends on where you live. If you in the country it makes good fill. You could inquire with your garbage man if he'll take them. Where I live the borough picks them up, all the garbage cpmapnies take them too. Usually for small yearly fee. Think my Grandmother pays $125 a year.

2)How do I figure out how much coal I would need? With the wood stove I burned 6 cord of wood a season.This cost me about 450.00.I cut and split the wood myself.I am guessing if I burn a coal and wood combo ,that I would be burning about one cord in the late fall when the weather is starting to get cold and one cord in the late winter when the weather is warming up again.That would leave 4 ords left that I would have to convert to caol.Would that be about 2 tons???Its about $280 a ton around here at the stove place in Shrewsbury Ma.

Get 3 ton to be sure, One season with coal and you will probably never purchase wood again.

This is my 3rd heating season with the TLC-2000 & I love it. It's easy to control, even at low temps when it's just cool outside, has a huge ashpan, is double-wall constructed so it can be installed close to combustible walls & even looks good! As to what to do with coal ash, I initialy dump into a metal garbage can out back & then dump in the woods when the can needs emptying. I have never tried to spread the ashes on my lawn as I've always heard coal ash was not good for this purpose. Some people spread I on the driveway like rockslat I guess. I just dump it.I use about 2 tons to heat my 2200 SF home & you'll find it much easier than burning wood. I usually will light my stove in late October & keep it running straight through into March. (This year I tried some bad coal & have had to cleanout/restart a few times, but that is unusual & strictly caused by the bad coal with clinkers)