People think I'm crazy to switch to coal

you arent crazy......they are crazy
coal rawks!

Hollyfeld wrote:I have thought about this almost non-stop since I found this site.

Careful...some say that if you dwell and think about something non-stop for a long period of time you will go.....crazy!!!!

I'll help ya out with some peer pressure...

it's coal dude, it's good...just do it...don't think about it...just do it...go for it...you'll like it...trust me...do it...it's hot man!!!

Hollyfeld wrote:There is no way that a truck can deliver the coal directly to this room because its on the other side of the house from the road,....

Depends, as long as you have enough room for the truck they can drive on a lawn. As long as its not wet and/or a really soft lawn a smaller delivery truck won't do any damage to it. Half the deliveries I used to do went across lawns, there's two places you'd never think a coal truck could get in. then again I had a mercedes and that thing turned on a dime.

Richard S. wrote: Half the deliveries I used to do went across lawns, there's two places you'd never think a coal truck could get in. then again I had a mercedes and that thing turned on a dime.

How did you pick or fall into that delivery vehicle - or was it a planned search and destroy? Does it have all the Unimog features - all wheel drive - 60 speeds changes in 4 directions - able to climb tall buildings on a single gallon of fuel.

Actually it was the second one, the first one was a smaller one with no turbo... what a dog. Anyhow my uncle picked it up down in Philadelphia with something like 50,000 on it. It's an 1986 1117 turbo. Runs like clockwork and lots of power, top speed is nearly 70, it's quiet as mouse, great fuel mileage and it doesn't even stink that bad. . It's like driving a car, nothing ever breaks, still has original front brakes... shall I go on? ohhh its got exhaust brake too, not a real jake brake but pretty close. Only trouble with that truck is when something does break the cost is usually about 4X what you would expect to pay normally.

I'd get guys laughing at me because of the way it looks but I get the final laugh. 86 was last year before they switched to square cab.

Richard S. wrote:

Hollyfeld wrote:There is no way that a truck can deliver the coal directly to this room because its on the other side of the house from the road,....

Depends, as long as you have enough room for the truck they can drive on a lawn. As long as its not wet and/or a really soft lawn a smaller delivery truck won't do any damage to it. Half the deliveries I used to do went across lawns, there's two places you'd never think a coal truck could get in. then again I had a mercedes and that thing turned on a dime.

Hmmm... Not sure how i can put it into words. I have a top driveway and lower driveway. The house is down from the top driveway and up from the bottom one. There is no lawn or even an area where the driver would be able to get even close to where I would store the coal inside.

From the driveway to the outdoor shed, however, is a straight shot over a low to the ground wood deck. If the deck wasn't there, then the truck could get a heckuva lot closer. Unless the chute from the truck can turn two 90 degree angles and cover about 50 feet, it looks like I'll be hauling it myself, which is fine by me .

If the mechanical room was on the road side of my house and my finished basement was mirrored, then it would be an easy drop thru a window that is just above grade, but below the top driveway.

Hollyfeld wrote:it looks like I'll be hauling it myself, which is fine by me

When all the geniuses that told you you were crazy switching to coal ask you who the strapping young man in the uniform is with you, just tell them "Oh, thats my coal bearer. I saved so much money switching to coal, I hired myself one".

A guy in my office is struggling with solar-electric, solar-water, windmills, and perpetual motion machines in his fear of next year's oil heat cost. He can find nothing that will replace his oil and that has a payback period less than about twenty years, and he can't come up with the initial investment anyway. I keep telling him quietly about coal, but it doesn't sink in. Even one of the alternative-heat consultants who came to his house suggested coal. He is really in dreamland because he keeps sending me Internet links to machines that put out thirty percent more energy than goes in. In high school he was playing football when he should have been studying the laws of thermodynamics.

There's a big push in Maine now toward pellet heat, and it's competitive with coal on BTUs-per-dollar, in fact pellets may be cheaper because it costs so much to ship the coal here from PA. So before he slits his wrists with worrying, I should push him toward pellets. Maybe he will accept that more than the strange antiquated concept of coal.

I did think the same about coal. Last few years after using the useless fireplace I picked up a wood stove. After seeing the work involved installing it in my cellar I then picked up a Hearthmate wood-coal stove for $200 from craigeslist. It sits in front of the FP with a big block off plate. I then found this forum and learned more about coal. I purchasd a ton of Blaschak bagged coal. This I carried into my cellar and neatly stacked it in a little over an hour. Raised Ranch down 4-5 steps. All the time the wife was saying I don't think I am going to like this. Well after a nice toasty warm winter she and I both love coal. I burned some wood early and late in the season. You get a wood smell when burning wood. With coal no smell or dust. Maybe a little smell when loading just in the area near the stove. When burning wood you walk in the house you can smell it. I only used around 25 gals oil per month this was for hot water for showers , dishes and cloths. At night no matter how cold the boiler would be off. I have access to wood and have a lot cut down behind my shop. It is a lot of work. I may never go get the wood already cut ,just to much to carry it out of the woods ,then it has to be split. I would rather just buy more coal.

rberq wrote:A guy in my office is struggling with solar-electric, solar-water, windmills, and perpetual motion machines in his fear of next year's oil heat cost. He can find nothing that will replace his oil and that has a payback period less than about twenty years, and he can't come up with the initial investment anyway. I keep telling him quietly about coal, but it doesn't sink in. Even one of the alternative-heat consultants who came to his house suggested coal. He is really in dreamland because he keeps sending me Internet links to machines that put out thirty percent more energy than goes in. In high school he was playing football when he should have been studying the laws of thermodynamics.

There's a big push in Maine now toward pellet heat, and it's competitive with coal on BTUs-per-dollar, in fact pellets may be cheaper because it costs so much to ship the coal here from PA. So before he slits his wrists with worrying, I should push him toward pellets. Maybe he will accept that more than the strange antiquated concept of coal.

I think you would be doing him a disservice to recommend Pellets for heat. There are so many disadvantages to Pellets for heating purposes that it's worth doing a little snooping around to find a coal supplier in Maine. At worst, have a large load trucked up every few years.

japar wrote:I have access to wood and have a lot cut down behind my shop. It is a lot of work. I may never go get the wood already cut ,just to much to carry it out of the woods ,then it has to be split. I would rather just buy more coal.

I have a nice access to free firewood via my girlfriend's father. He lives on a farm and has an enormous amount of wood, which of course needs to be split. He and I were going both going to purchase wood burning stoves at the same time, pay cash for a an additional 5% off and try to get a better deal since we were buying 2 stoves at the same time. My girlfriends father is the type of guy that could sell an ice machine to an Eskimo and then turn around and sell him bags of ice. He is one of the people that think I'm nuts about wanting to switch to coal. I told him everything I learned here and he's just picturing black billowing smoke and a finished basement with a coal dust tinge.

I've mentioned to him before that he has so much wood most of it will probably rot before he gets to burn it all.

"I think you would be doing him a disservice to recommend Pellets for heat. There are so many disadvantages to Pellets...."

Well, agreed, coal would be MY choice over pellets, but this guy just can't accept coal for whatever reason and he badly needs an alternative to oil (don't we all?) As I said, pellets are break-even with coal cost here in Maine, and have been readily available for some years, and they DO boost the local economy since we have a lot of wood available here. Pellets may even come down in price as more pellet mills are opening locally and reducing transportation costs. The disadvantages of pellets depend largely on the individual -- if you have a dry place to store them, and enough room, and can manage the dust, then they are a legitimate choice. After all, coal ashes are pretty dusty too. And pellets are "renewable" in the short term, carbon neutral, and don't require stripping away mountain tops to obtain them.

I know I'm sounding like a heretic. I prefer coal, and see pellets as less desirable, but not dramatically less.

I've mentioned to him before that he has so much wood most of it will probably rot before he gets to burn it all.

In the longer view, I considered, realistically, how long I could drop cut split and stack 12 or more cord of wood each year.

I'm 50+ and there are a lot of thing I prefer doing than schlepping wood. Handling each piece 6-8 times before it turned into heat. I considered grapple loads at 400 per, two of those and your at the cost of a years worth of coal and you still have to block it, split it ,stack it and load it.

With my narrow but long house lot I would be stankin the neighbors out for the pleasure of all that work. I'll save my wood cutting skills for the Gun Club, where 16 of us members will put up three years worth in 8 hours.

Rick

buy the coal stove burn the coal, find out for yourself we wouldnt steer you in the wrong direction. get a stove that you can burn wood and coal in, see you can burn both i just got my 5 tons for the winter. heat bought and paid for

Hollyfeld wrote: I could reorganize what I have and most likely toss out a bunch of stuff that I don't need.

Something most of us need to do!

Hollyfeld wrote:I have thought about this almost non-stop since I found this site.

It didn't take long for the "obsession" to take hold, did it?