Ashley wood/coal stove

Hi, all, nice forum you have here.

I have an Ashley stove that can burn wood or coal. Not sure of the model number, but it has a firebox enclosed with sheet metal. The firebox has two shaker grates just above the ash pan and is lined with firebrick. Combustion air comes in below the grates through a thermostatic flap which can be adjusted to help regulate temperature. Tiny picture, but it looks something like this one:

We have used this stove exclusively to heat our house in central NH for 17 years, almost all of it on wood we've cut, split, and stacked. I remember burning some coal in it many years ago at the end of the season when we ran short of wood but as I recall there was a bit of a learning curve involved, to put it mildly. This year I suspect that I will give coal a try again and I was wondering if anyone else had experience running coal in an Ashley like this. I also need to find a distributor where I can pick up some bagged coal, but I understand that this subject is verboten here, so I won't ask for any sources.
Any other words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

I used a similar model US Stove product - the CAC. It is just about the same as your Ashley, looks the same but has a slightly bigger firebox. I used the CAC for several years burning mostly anthracite coal. I also initialy had difficulty in starting coal fires, but have found with a little experience, it is easy. Here is what I do.

Start a reasonaby sized wood fire with the stove about 1/3 to 1/2 full maximum of wood. Turn the thermostat to about 1/2. At this setting, the wood will burn to produce a good, thick bed of red coals. After an hour or two, check the fire, and when it is mostly a thick and healthy bed of red coals, level it out with a small rake (I use an old golf club). Quickly place about 20 pounds of coal evenly on the coals and then close the loading door, but leave the ash door open. When this coal has started to ignite, fill the stove with coal to the top of the firebricks. Close the loading door and leave the ash door open. Watch the stove carefully and when the coal has started to have flames come through it and blue flames appear when you open the loading door, the coal is lit. Close both doors and enjoy up to about 24-hours of coal burn time.

One thing I found that really did not work was to burn coal and wood together. The coal burns only some and the wood smolders and produces creosote. Another problen with beginners is that they don't put in a good load of coal. A shallow bed of coal burns poorly and for only a short time before extinguishing. A thick bed burns satisfactorily and almost to completion and can be regulated very well. A good be of coal on a mediul draft setting burns more then 24-hours in my stove. Be prepared to take out a full pan of ashes avery day - coal makes tremendously more ashes than wood.

Also, when you are recharging a coal fire that is low, shake it with the shaker grates and also rake through it with a suitable tool to shake all the ashes out. If the fire is low, throw a few small pieces of wood on it and let them burn until they have produced good red coals before reloading with coal. If you don't do this, coal fires can be tempermental and can go out.

Thanks for the info. I suspect that I may not have been loading enough coal in when I tried before. I would get up in the morning and find just a small area of the coal that was lit. I do know my dad warned me of loading too much at once - he told me it produces coal gas, which is not good.

Now, to find someone that distributes it in this area. I don't think coal is too popular, I think most people burn wood or use oil.

Found a place that had some conveniently along the way home and picked up 2, 50# bags of nut anthracite tonight. $7.49/bag, though.
Temps are supposed to be in the low 50s - unheard of for this time of year here in NH. I think I'll wait to try out the coal until this weekend. Sunday the temps are supposed to drop down to the 20s, more in line with what would be considered normal for mid-January.