New Mac Multifuel Furnaces

jes · Post by **jes** » Mon. Jan. 26, 2009 5:41 am

Is any one successfully burning caol in their Newmac wood/ coal combination units?If so send me some pointers.

gerard · Post by **gerard** » Sat. Jan. 31, 2009 9:44 pm

Not sure if I can help but I went to the website and it looks very similar to my yukon multi fuel furnace that burns oil and wood/coal. I'm burning nut coal very sucessfully. What kind of problems are you having? (I assume you have the shaker grates?? - they are a must for coal)..

jes · Post by **jes** » Sun. Feb. 01, 2009 9:41 am

We are not trying to burn it ourselves. We have an S130 coal boiler and its great!!! However some people have heard we are heating our 4000 square foot home for a fraction of a price compared to fuel oil and those people have these new mac wood oil coal combination units and they too want to enjoy the savings.We have given several bags of chestnut coal away but no one has really come back for more. Is it that tricky to burn coal in a unit like theirs or are they just not putting enough coal in?One lady said they couldn't get any heat out of it. I found this unbelieveable seeing as how it should be melting the skin of her face when she peeks in.Any pointers to help convince these people that it really works?

Post by **coaledsweat** » Sun. Feb. 01, 2009 11:03 am

I recall the New Mac name, I'm sure there was a thread or two about them, you might try the search function. It isn't tricky if you educate yourself about burning coal and start by forgetting everything you learned about wood. Yes, the number one mistake is not enough fuel, the deeper the bed is the less trouble you will have. Wood burns fine anywhere in its range, coal will only cooperate when it is happy, you will want to see to that.

whistlenut · Post by **whistlenut** » Sun. Feb. 01, 2009 1:01 pm

**Broken Link(s) Removed**
Newmac is a Canadian company (Nova Scotia I think) and here is the link to their website where manuals, specs, etc can be found. Lots of their equipment around.

mills4135 · Post by **mills4135** » Sun. Jan. 20, 2013 9:32 am

I would agree with the near necessity of needing a shaker grate,although if you are an old pro you probably can get by without it.Coal really needs a source of forced draft that puts at least a portion of air over the top of the bed of coal to burn right,unlike wood that wants its draft from underneath the grate.also as stated in one of the other posts,once its going it likes a good thick bed of live coals to throw heat and don"t forget to give the grate a shake until you see a few live coals going down in the ash pan when you refuel. Regards mills4135

Larobpra · Post by **Larobpra** » Wed. Dec. 02, 2015 1:47 pm

Hi, new to the forum. I had a Newmac wood/coal/oil combo installed 2 years ago to replace a very similar (but larger) DM Olsen combo unit. I had always burned wood, but getting tired of all the work and mess. My brother-in-law was given a coal stove and coal in exchange for some construction work, and we became interested in coal after hearing about his experience with it, and inquiring at a new coal business that opened up about 30 miles away. Then when I got a flyer from Tractor Supply (6 miles away) with coal prices $60/ton less than the other guy, I bought 3 tons.

Just built my first coal fire Sunday. Followed the directions in my owner's manual and advice I found on this and other forums, (although there isn't much out there on these furnaces), and have fell in love with coal heat! Temps were in the low twenties Sunday and Monday night and yesterday it warmed into the mid forties and was still there last night. I had a good cal bed when I went to bed and only added a little and closed the draft down to minimum. When I got up this morning, only had a small spot glowing in the corner, and since it was still mid forties, I let it go out. Looking forward though to seeing how it will work for us in the long run.

ddahlgren · Post by **ddahlgren** » Wed. Dec. 02, 2015 2:21 pm

mills4135 wrote:I would agree with the near necessity of needing a shaker grate,although if you are an old pro you probably can get by without it.Coal really needs a source of forced draft that puts at least a portion of air over the top of the bed of coal to burn right,unlike wood that wants its draft from underneath the grate.also as stated in one of the other posts,once its going it likes a good thick bed of live coals to throw heat and don"t forget to give the grate a shake until you see a few live coals going down in the ash pan when you refuel. Regards mills4135

My woodstove had nothing under the fire and have had some epic burns. Coal needs most air under grates wood needs zero. I must have landed on a different planet.

SWPaDon · Post by **SWPaDon** » Wed. Dec. 02, 2015 2:41 pm

Larobpra wrote:Hi, new to the forum. I had a Newmac wood/coal/oil combo installed 2 years ago to replace a very similar (but larger) DM Olsen combo unit. I had always burned wood, but getting tired of all the work and mess. My brother-in-law was given a coal stove and coal in exchange for some construction work, and we became interested in coal after hearing about his experience with it, and inquiring at a new coal business that opened up about 30 miles away. Then when I got a flyer from Tractor Supply (6 miles away) with coal prices $60/ton less than the other guy, I bought 3 tons.

Just built my first coal fire Sunday. Followed the directions in my owner's manual and advice I found on this and other forums, (although there isn't much out there on these furnaces), and have fell in love with coal heat! Temps were in the low twenties Sunday and Monday night and yesterday it warmed into the mid forties and was still there last night. I had a good cal bed when I went to bed and only added a little and closed the draft down to minimum. When I got up this morning, only had a small spot glowing in the corner, and since it was still mid forties, I let it go out. Looking forward though to seeing how it will work for us in the long run.

Welcome to the forum. If you have any questions, feel free to start a new thread and ask away, someone will be more than happy to help you.

Larobpra · Post by **Larobpra** » Sat. Dec. 19, 2015 10:21 am

SWPaDon wrote: Welcome to the forum. If you have any questions, feel free to start a new thread and ask away, someone will be more than happy to help you.

Thanks! 3 weeks into coal burning and I LOVE it! Nice even steady heat without the up and down temperature fluctuations of wood, a lot less work tending the fire, etc. The only thing I don't like is the amount of ash. Much more than burning wood. But the pros far out weigh this one con.

Post by **coaledsweat** » Sat. Dec. 19, 2015 1:44 pm

Larobpra wrote:The only thing I don't like is the amount of ash. Much more than burning wood. But the pros far out weigh this one con.

Get a chair and sit in front of the fire after you take out the ash and remember all the trips you made for wood.