Anyone burning coal in a Biasi 3 Wood/Coal

I am committed. My 4 tons are being delivered tomorrow. Bring it on!

Hi guys I'm getting hooked up with burning coal,,burns all night with temp's staying between 180 and 212 ---- a little more experimenting and I should have this down soon ...and all to the help of everyone one this site..
Thanks everyone
Tim

PS guys;
I bought coal from U Call We Hall in Honesdale 2 weeks ago $280 a ton in 100 lbs bags. Very nice people and the coal burns nice.
And after I bought this load I found out Woodbourne Lanscaping Supply in Woodbourne NY (15 miles from me ) has Cornwalls coal for $15
more for 2400 lbs in 40 lbs bags -------------OH WELL ---live and learn

Bob--- where did you order coal from? Bulk,,or bagged?

I just got my first 4 ton bulk delivery today from Cornwall Coal. It was $254/ton delivered. They were very nice. When I ordered it last week, the lady on the phone looked up the price based on my location, so I am assuming that the price varies according to how far the delivery point is. With the 4 tons there was no additional delivery charge, but if you order less than 4 tons and additional delivery charge was added. That's why I went for the 4 tons right off the bat. I think (don't quote me call them if you want their actual charges) it was an extra $40 for 3 tons and an extra $60 for 2 or less. That may also vary depending on the delivery point. I am about roughly 30 miles from them. I think that you can also pick up bulk or bagged coal directly from their location at a cheaper price.
If you can get 2400lbs for $295 that works out to $245 a ton if my math is right. Pretty good compared to the prices I have seen.

Hello all,
I have been looking around this site for information on how much coal people are burning per day. The only problem is that most of this site"s users do not use boilers like the Biasi. They use auger fed or cast stoves, so it's like comparing apples and onions.
So I would like to ask all us "Biasis" , How much coal do you use a day?
I know that there are a lot of variables involved (thermostat setting, insulation, outside temperature, etc.), but I would like to get an idea of how we are doing and how to improve on it.

I keep my downstairs thermostat at a steady 71°. Downstairs is 1800 sqft.
We do not use the bedrooms upstairs so I keep the doors closed and the thermostat at 60°. Upstairs is 625 sqft.
The Biasi also makes our domestic hot water with an indirect tank hooked up to the boilers.
I am guestimating that I am burning between 60lbs and 80 lbs a day.( maybe more once I really figure it out)
What say you?

Typically when it is in the 20s outside I will burn 60-80 lbs a day
2200 ft2 well insulated built in 2000 all domestic hot water for 4 adults about 70-72 inside t stat set

I'm using the small Biasi to heat 1650 sq foot,heat and domestic water. keeping the t/stats @70-72.
I'm going thru 50-to-70 lbs a day.
Getting use to using coal and I'm liking it!!

Im heating about 1300 sq ft single story ranch. I get domestic hot water and heat. i burn about 1 bag in 24 hrs. When i startup it takes about a bag to fill the stove, after i fill the stove i burn about 1/2 a bag every 12 hrs.

Well, it's been a pretty mild winter for me. Mostly in the 30's and 40's with a few dips into the teens at night. I'm still on my first match which I think is extremely good (aka lucky) for my first attempt at heating with anything other than gas. I first lit the stove up on Jan 2 and it has been burning 24/7 since then.

My question is: Can I just keep it lit for rest of the winter or do I have to shut it down to clean it out or anything? Is it okay for the stove to be burning for months?

If you have a manometer hooked up, so you can tell if the chimney flue's horizontal runs and lower elbows get clogged with flyash, then burn untill you have to clean out the flue pipes..
If you don't have a way to monitor your draft, then after a month, I'd clean the pipes, and note the amount of flyash. if it's minimal, go two months the next time.. soon you will figure out a cleaning schedule.

the stove itself only needs the ash pan and the grates kept clear of excess ash.

If you have 'TEEs' for elbows with the unused part capped, you can usually remove the cap, run a shop vac up the flue and reinstall the cap in just about the time to read this sentence.


Greg L.

I noticed in mine the top section does get alot of ash build up, as well as an elbow i have off the back of the unit. I just orderd a stove vac. all metal so i dont have to worry about heat. I have shut mine down once to do a cleanout of the top section and the chimney pipe as well as around the damper. For some reason ash seems to collect in these areas. I'm hoping with the stove vac. i can do this in 5-10 minutes of cleaning without shutting down. I have noticed if i burn over a month it tends to not want to come back as well after reloading.

I took a look in the upper chamber and found a small mound of ashes up there. A small "drift" at the front end, maybe 2" high and 6" long. Doesn't look like it is bothering anything yet but cleaning is in order soon. The stove vac sounds like an excellent idea for cleaning the upper chamber. I think I'll go that way also. Here's picture of what it looks like.

Now while I was in there, I noticed that I am missing the partition plate that slides into the slots up there. Can someone give me an idea of what the partition looks like? Is it cast iron, or a sheet of steel? What are the dimensions? A picture would be great. Maybe I can fabricate something if I knew what it is.

Gonna look right now for you. Bob, are you burning anything besides coal in that boiler? Mine has never looked that nasty, and I've played with it for 3 seasons now. Wood will sure make a mess of it quickly, but coal will burn off the creosote quickly, soooooo what are you burning? By the way, the little munchkin that cast this rig with the lower water tubes must have just been released from a soviet prison, and if he wasn't he needs to be locked up, RIGHT NOW!!! As I recall, it is steel and merely a deflection plate. Have a great day!

I agree, you need to clean out that heat exchanger part of your boiler.. all that crud is insulating the hot exhaust gasses from the water jacket, so your heat is going up the chimney, instead of into the water.

Wire brushed and scrapers !!

Greg L