People think I'm crazy to switch to coal

I've heard the same thing from friends who shut down their 30000 btu pellets every day to clean them. The same ones bust me for driving my 95 dodge diesel with 213k while they lease for $350- 400 a month. Don't follow the herd. They are usually wrong.

Last night was our weekly poker game and my night to host. There's beer drinking, yelling, tobacco smoke going on so I hold this in my garage workshop to keep in good graces with the wife.

At 6pm I started my Round Oak up. It had a pile of coal partially burned from the previous weekend. What I do is just start a wood fire on top to get things going and then as the coals build up, mix them in and get the coal going.

At 7pm, the garage was warm but not really toasty, as it's drafty and we were going from 25 degrees as a base temp.

At 8pm most people were comfy. The far end guy furthest from the fire still complained but everyone else was good.

At 9pm the coal at the base was a bright yellow orange glowing mass that was cranking out the heat so much most people were down to their tee shirts and commenting how warm and toasty the ol garage was.

At 10pm, everyone had a very good idea why I want to burn coal when I have 5 acres of hardwood out back.

Nice!

Crazy to burn coal? Of course you are crazy, I am just not sure what the point is here....

I am new to this site, but can't resist putting in my 2 cents worth about burning coal. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to use coal in some years now, but in the winter of '91 during the first Gulf War there were stories about oil going to $3 a gallon, which at that time was horrifying, as I used around 1,600 gallons a year to just barely heat a large store building. I decided to start looking into burning coal. The store I had at the time had been in the family since the '20s, and all of the records were still around, so I looked up what kind of coal consumption I could expect. What I found astounded me, so the next step was to see if the old gravity hot water boiler (circa 1942) in the basement could still be fired with coal. After not much hunting, I found the grates, the shaker handle and even the ash pit door that came off when the burner had been installed back in the 50s. The next winter, I decided to start the fire in December. Once I did, and became familiar with keeping the fire going, as well as regulating it so we didn't have the windows open to let out the excess heat, I couldn't get over how little it cost for so much comfort! With oil, I payed through the nose to heat the office, and shivered everywhere else (people would come in the store and ask if our furnace had quit!). With coal, we were warm not only in the office, but throughout both floors, and at a fraction of the cost! Even days when the temperature was below zero, we stayed comfy and warm! I actually enjoyed tending the fire and coming up with more efficient ways to handle it so that it burned less. In the spring, I would put the oil burner back in, as we only needed it mainly in the fall when it would get cold. After that first winter, I converted back to coal each of the next few years we had the place, and never regretted it. It was the most steady, even heat I have ever felt, and would recommend to anyone that coal is the way to go. Obviously, a more modern stove/furnace/boiler would be even more efficient than the hand-fired 1942 #86 International Heater boiler we had, but this serves to illustrate that those who call you crazy for burning coal have never done it themselves and seen the results!

HAHAHAHAHAHA I feel your pain. I started a subject "The sheep are scared of coal" you should read it. NJ is pretty close to coal country so you won't lose. Then if you get sick of the cold you can always afford extra vacations from money saved heating with coal.

Been burning wood for years but a friend has a coal stove so I thought I'd give it a shot too. Seems alot easier than wood.

Welcome bcooper. It is much easier than wood. Let's count the ways. No cutting, splitting or stacking. No chain saws, or splitters to break, fix or fuel. No creosote. No chimney fires. No problems with idling a low fire on warmer days. No termites or carpenter ants. No splinters. While its not preferable to burn wet coal, it will burn. Oh yea, no smoke. Longer burn times. Most of us start a fire in October that burns until spring. That's the one match club.
Anyone think of any more?
Any down side? Lots more ash. No biggie.

coalkirk wrote:Welcome bcooper. It is much easier than wood. Let's count the ways. No cutting, splitting or stacking. No chain saws, or splitters to break, fix or fuel. No creosote. No chimney fires. No problems with idling a low fire on warmer days. No termites or carpenter ants. No splinters. While its not preferable to burn wet coal, it will burn. Oh yea, no smoke. Longer burn times. Most of us start a fire in October that burns until spring. That's the one match club.
Anyone think of any more?
Any down side? Lots more ash. No biggie.

That just about covers it. Here's a funny story though.
One of my buddies that thinks or thought I was nuts to switch to coal came over my house one day. We were outside and he looked up at the chimney and said, "what's the matter the boiler go out on ya"? He thought he was going to zing me! I said, "ya its running, full out"! He couldnt believe how clean it burns! He honestly expected to see smoke bellowing out out the chimney.

The post from mr1precision made me think to a day this last winter when it was about -20 ourside. I was driving up the street and looking at the chimneys of my neighbors. Some of them burn wood and some of them burn oil. It was the strangest thing. Every house was pouring smoke into the air, even the oil burners. When I looked at the chimney on my house attached to my KAA-2 all I could see was heat waves like a mirage.

You can't burn much cleaner than that.