best stove to survive the upcoming depression

I'm convinced the U.S. is going to go through a bad recession and, most likely, a short depression. I'm looking to buy a good coal stove for my family to survive the cold mountain winters here in southwest Virginia during the hard economic times. When I was a kid we had a Warm Morning and it was a great stove, but we replaced that with a heat pump back in '92. Since Warm Morning stoves are no longer in production, and since it's virtually impossible to find one within driving distance, I've had to research other brands, but can't seem to find the right stove.

I'm looking for a stove that can handle the sooty and messy bituminous coal that is mined here where I live. Everything I've looked at so far seems to be made to burn anthracite or they don't specify one way or the other what they are designed to burn. Which brands and models should I be looking at?

http://www.vermontcastings.com/content/ ... y=16&sc=47

I've only been burning mine for two days so I won't comment on it's quality but it comes from the factory bit ready.

Harman TLC2000 can burn wood, bit & anthracite

I burn bit. and anthracite in my Harmon mark III. It burns bit. pretty well. There is a slit in the bottom of the window area to allow air into the top of the firebox. however if you burn bit, the window will dissapear and turn black in less than two hours. it can sure put out the heat.

Thanks for the recommendations. The coal we have here is lump, so does this make a difference when considering a Harman? I looked at the Vermont Castings model that SAU recommended and it specified pea or nut size.

Also, I've been reading other posts here and came across the Hitzer line ... their website says the model 254 burns bituminous. Is the Harman line better than the Hitzer line?

swva wrote:Is the Harman line better than the Hitzer line?

I don't think you'll be making a mistake on either line. (Buy the one your wife likes better! )

For comparison Pea is roughly the size of quarter, (chest)nut about the size of golf ball at its smallest. Hand fired stoves will burn a larger size called "stove" which is about as big as baseball or larger but it's not easily found and generally more expensive.

swva wrote:Thanks for the recommendations. The coal we have here is lump, so does this make a difference when considering a Harman? I looked at the Vermont Castings model that SAU recommended and it specified pea or nut size.

Also, I've been reading other posts here and came across the Hitzer line ... their website says the model 254 burns bituminous. Is the Harman line better than the Hitzer line?

Just for the record. I've been burning nut in my Vigilant, but there is a guy at work that burns run of mine in his. He told be that hardhat sized lumps work just fine for him, and he has been using his stove for many years.

Devil505 wrote:

swva wrote:Is the Harman line better than the Hitzer line?

I don't think you'll be making a mistake on either line. (Buy the one your wife likes better! )

Good advice, Devil! A body can't go wrong in letting the wife decide.

swva wrote: Also, I've been reading other posts here and came across the Hitzer line ... their website says the model 254 burns bituminous. Is the Harman line better than the Hitzer line?

My Hitzer stove has a secondary burn chamber intended to reduce the soot/smoke from burning bituminous coal, I'm not sure if the other models have this feature, but it would be worth looking into.

Ok, after researching more I've ruled out the Hitzer because no one has them in stock (February '09 at the earliest). The Harmans are looking good and I've come across Buck Stoves model 24. Is Buck stoves good quality?

Harmans are backordered longer [later in 2009] than the Hitzers..

I'd call around to Hitzer dealers.. there may be one or two with some stoves in stock

Keystoker and Alsaka can provide a hand feed withing 4-6 weeks.. [last info I had]

Greg L

My dealer sells both Buck And Vermont. The Buck is very basic where as the Vermont has a thermostatically controlled air intake. The Vermont was a couple hundred more, but I don't want to tinker with the stove all day trying to get it to do what I want. That was why I went with the Vermont. Granted, had the other manufacturers provided a dealer in my area I might have chosen something other than the Vermont. My take on it was that the Buck was the bottom of the line in coal stoves offered today. Have you checked graigslist?

swva wrote:I'm convinced the U.S. is going to go through a bad recession and, most likely, a short depression. I'm looking to buy a good coal stove for my family to survive the cold mountain winters here in southwest Virginia during the hard economic times. When I was a kid we had a Warm Morning and it was a great stove, but we replaced that with a heat pump back in '92. Since Warm Morning stoves are no longer in production, and since it's virtually impossible to find one within driving distance, I've had to research other brands, but can't seem to find the right stove.

I'm looking for a stove that can handle the sooty and messy bituminous coal that is mined here where I live. Everything I've looked at so far seems to be made to burn anthracite or they don't specify one way or the other what they are designed to burn. Which brands and models should I be looking at?

Have you considered trying to find a Warm Morning on E-Bay? I see them from time to time, and replacement parts are still available from various places. I really appreciate your comments about your old Warm Morning. As you can see I have one myself (Model 400), and I got it primarily because of its ability to burn bit. I thought I was going to have access to a large quantity of bit locally, but it looks like that may not pan out. So I am burning anthracite. In any case, the Warm Morning is a great stove. Good luck!

P.S. - What model did you have as a kid?

envisage wrote:Have you considered trying to find a Warm Morning on E-Bay?

Good idea! The only problem with ebay and a heavy item like a stove is that most sellers wouldn't ship it. They'd want you to come pick it up, so I'd have to get lucky and find one on there that's only 2-3 hours drive away, at the most.

envisage wrote:I really appreciate your comments about your old Warm Morning. As you can see I have one myself (Model 400), and I got it primarily because of its ability to burn bit.

People who've never owned one wouldn't know just how good they are ... it's nice to run into someone else on this forum who knows! It's a shame the Locke company went under.

envisage wrote:P.S. - What model did you have as a kid?

I'm not sure of the model ... it looked a lot like the one on your avatar. I just remember that it was tall and square, and the inside had so much room that you could burn good sized wood logs end on end instead of burning them flat.