What Does the Statement "Coal Burns Hot" Actually Mean?

When someone states that a certain coal "burns hot", do they mean that it is higher in volatiles and during the early stages of the burn it is thereby harder to control, but at the same time it is also burning hotter (driving the gauge on the stove to a higher temp) than a less volatile coal when at similar air inlet settings? Or does burning hot mean something else altogether. Perhaps it means different things to different people? What does it mean to you?

To me, it would imply that a particular coal makes the stove run hotter at the same combustion air setting as compared to a different coal.

To coincide with what franco b said, maybe for whatever reason, it's able to use more of the available oxygen it's given..

I assumed quicker to ignite. The Kimmell coal does seem to have that property. Sunny boy with his cook stove has more difficulty controlling the burn, but with a tighter stove no problem.

I never really thought about it, but my knee-jerk reaction is that it has a higher ignition point and therefore need more heat - and probably air - to get burning and keep burning.

Lightning wrote:To me, it would imply that a particular coal makes the stove run hotter at the same combustion air setting as compared to a different coal.

This is what I've always thought. More BTU's per lb

To me "coal burns hot" is relative to some other combustible, such as wood. In comparison, the same quantity (mass) of hot anthracite coals throws off a heckuva lot more heat than an equivalent mass of wood coals. When I have a full firebox of hot anthracite my house can get REALLY hot, even on the coldest nights, whereas with a firebox full of wood coals it's warm but nowhere near the same heat value as the coal.

Good point DennisH..
The statement "coal burns hot" is subjective to coal burns hot, as compared to what exactly..

I had always perceived that it was a term used when comparing one coal to another. Interesting to read of other perceptions.

Whenever I've heard discussions about "coal burns hot", it was in regard to coal stayed hot more evenly and longer then other fuels.

Unlike the highs and lows of wood, coal can produce a steady high heat that easily keeps the bottom half of potbelly stoves glowing cherry red for hour after hour.

Whenever I burned wood in those same potbelly stoves they might start to glow dull red at some points,.... if you were willing to stay near by and feed wood steadily into them. But, a lot of the heat wood produced to get to that point went up the chimney. Wood did not keep the same heat volume down in the stove to get the entire bottom half of the stove glowing cherry red. And that transferred more heat to the room.

Paul

potbelly stoves glowing cherry red! I had a vogelzang and it would occasionally go "Chernyobl" and glow so red it almost became transparent. Those were some scary times. That Vogelzang potbelly had a rating of 200,000 BTU! and went ir went red zone it prolly put out a lot more than that.

Coal definitely burns hot.

Sunny Boy wrote:Whenever I've heard discussions about "coal burns hot", it was in regard to coal stayed hot more evenly and longer then other fuels.

Unlike the highs and lows of wood, coal can produce a steady high heat that easily keeps the bottom half of potbelly stoves glowing cherry red for hour after hour.

Whenever I burned wood in those same potbelly stoves they might start to glow dull red at some points,.... if you were willing to stay near by and feed wood steadily into them. But, a lot of the heat wood produced to get to that point went up the chimney. Wood did not keep the same heat volume down in the stove to get the entire bottom half of the stove glowing cherry red. And that transferred more heat to the room.

Paul

I take it as burning quickly ... like difference between pea and nut coal

Most people are familiar with wood fires, they run about 3000* tops. Coal can go another 1500*+. I think that is where it comes from.

Depends on the context.

If comparing coal to coal, one coal burns (or appears to burn) hotter than the other. Just different characteristics of the coal.

In comparing coal to other sources, the temperatures achievable and how long they maintain is how I take it.