Storing Coal Outside

Does coal that is stored outside have to be brought up to inside temperatures or will it burn just the same being frozen?

Coal burns wet or dry frozen or warm,IMO it burns better when it's wet....

Coal being outside is no big deal. I keep a tarp over my bulk pile just to keep snow and ice out of it. Putting cold coal on a robust fire never gave me any trouble but if you let the fire's core temp drop too low, a hod of cold cold coal might just put it out. (Reviving a very low fire is another topic.) After I empty my coal hod I refill it and bring it in. By the time the stove needs more coal it has warmed up some. Every stove is a little different but mine works best if I give it at least 3 partial fills a day. If I wait to long between tendings it gets tempermental. Stay Warm, Jonathan

If you have Rice delivered in the winter, it may freeze solid.
If you use Rice, the cats will use it for kitty litter, keep it covered or you will be shoveling $hit.

xackley wrote:If you have Rice delivered in the winter, it may freeze solid.
If you use Rice, the cats will use it for kitty litter, keep it covered or you will be shoveling $hit.

But how does it burn??? Kitty clinkers???

Vermonter wrote:Does coal that is stored outside have to be brought up to inside temperatures or will it burn just the same being frozen?

You mean like this?

Vermonter wrote:Does coal that is stored outside have to be brought up to inside temperatures or will it burn just the same being frozen?

I've always kept my coal (Nut...bagged) outside & just fill the coal hod outside. It burns just fine no matter how cold it gets.
Can only speak for hand fired stoves.

If you have Rice delivered in the winter, it may freeze solid.
If you use Rice, the cats will use it for kitty litter, keep it covered or you will be shoveling $hit.

Ain't that the truth!!!

My new bin sits outside the back porch. It took 2 loads (2 tons in July, 3.5 in January) of rice coal to get me through the season and the winter delivery required a good chop with the scoop shovel once in awhile. I usually filled my buckets as soon as they were empty and set them behind the stove to thaw until needed.

As for the damn cats, at least they're good mousers around the farm, otherwise . Seriously, a tarp across the front of the bin kept them out. Mostly.

Frozen coal in a hand fired stove won't hurt anything but, in a stoker that's another story. it won't feed till it thaws out. the smaller the coal,like rice, the more it freezes together. I store my wet rice coal (bulk) outside in .5 ton plastic containers. if I know it is going below 15* I load up 5 gal. buckets and set them in the garage, then bring one at a time in the house to thaw out.