# I'm switching to Coal.



## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

I've been burning wood for heat for 7 years. As long as we had a house of our own. We have been cutting wood, stacking wood, moving wood to the wood shed, knocking snow off wood, bringing it in, loading it into the stove, and waking up to a cool house. 

We have decided that Coal will be an answer for us. It burns clean and hot. The fires can last 24 hours easy. The weight to heat ratio is about half that of wood without any water to boil off. In our area it's pretty cheap. In most areas it's about 1/5 the cost of propane and 1/3 the cost of oil. If your willing to get a truck load (several years worth). You can get it cheaper by half. So the cost can be very low.


The other reasons we decided to switch to coal...
1 The fact that we will clear our wood lot of trees in 10 years or so if we keep going like we are. 
2. Coal is mined "local" It's coming out of the ground less than 40 miles away.
3. It isn't sending the money over seas.
4. It's a fine fuel to stockpile. I can store 10 years worth on the farm with no issue. I can leave it in the rain, out in the weather, the sun what ever (try that with wood.) It really won't even cost that much. In fact I bet I can get 5 years worth for the price of what some will pay for oil this winter.


The price break down for those that care about such things...
1 ton of coal purchased in most of the country can be had for around $350 a ton in 40 pound bags delivered.(This is the most expensive way to get it. But even this is cheaper than 2 dollar heating oil, and $1.50 propane.)
1 ton delivered in bulk can be had for 270 or so a ton.
24 ton of coal trucked into the Midwest and points east can be had for around 180 bucks a ton.
The closer you are to the mines the cheaper it can be. But really it isn't that different. I can get it here in NEPA for about 160 a ton delivered. 

1 ton of Coal = about 1 cord of hardwood in heat content.
1 ton of Coal = about 200 gallons of fuel oil.
1 ton of Coal = about 273 gallons of propane
1 ton of Coal = about 260 therms.

Coal stove efficiency is about the same as an average oil or propane furnace. 80% or so. So You can do the figures for yourself and see what the fuel cost will be for a year.



P.S. This is Hard Coal, no soot or junk when it's burnt. In fact it burns cleaner than heating oil, and is close to Natural gas in it's emissions.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Will it be too hot for your stove? Never used it here, don't even know if i could find it. I do know it's what burns out the grates in wood cookstoves. well ,along with leaveing ash in them and tossing them in the back forty.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

7thswan said:


> Will it be too hot for your stove? Never used it here, don't even know if i could find it. I do know it's what burns out the grates in wood cookstoves. well ,along with leaveing ash in them and tossing them in the back forty.


Well, I generally do things by the book. I have three small children and won't risk fire for a few hundred bucks.

I bought a coal stove. It is designed for coal not wood. In fact you shouldn't burn wood at all in it.

You can find coal stoves in Ohio. You just have to ask around. If you are interested you can check out this forum

http://nepacrossroads.com/forum-74.html 

This will teach you more than you ever really wanted to know.


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## ChristyACB (Apr 10, 2008)

How does that fit with long term should you lack refuel capability. Isn't most clean coal also deep coal?

I also like coal as a natural fuel. How does cooking over it work? I know reading old novels and stuff that a poor coal can be tasted. But maybe that was a function of the kind of stoves the poor could afford?


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

ChristyACB said:


> How does that fit with long term should you lack refuel capability. Isn't most clean coal also deep coal?
> 
> I also like coal as a natural fuel. How does cooking over it work? I know reading old novels and stuff that a poor coal can be tasted. But maybe that was a function of the kind of stoves the poor could afford?


Well, long term I should be fine. They mined the coal here before here was here. 

As far as cooking. It wasn't the type of stove it was the type of coal. I'll be using Anthracite, This type of coal burns very clean. Bituminous coal is what you see burning when the old steam trains are running. The two types of coal are very different. Now if your close to other coal deposits you can burn Bituminous even more cheaply than hard coal. But you will have some smoke and soot. But if you spend the cash for the right stove you can be very successful. For instance even today bituminous coal can be had for 80-90 a ton and it contains 25-30% more BTU's per pound. So it would be less than half the prices noted above. But it is dirty as far as emissions. But a bunch of people still burn it. It's the poor mans fuel of years past but still viable in the right conditions.



P.S. I'm putting my wood stove in the garage for storage. I'm not getting rid of it in case the zombies come. They are afraid of wood smoke. As I'm sure you know.


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## Stephen in SOKY (Jun 6, 2006)

I'm 99% convinced I'm switching as well. I've settled on a Hitzer stove that will allow me to burn wood spring & fall, and coal during the real winter. Getting enough wood up has gotten to be almost more than I can handle now, in a few years it will be completely beyond me, so I think the switch makes since. Although there are Bit mines nearby, I'll be using Anthracite shipped in at least for now.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

Stephen in SOKY said:


> I'm 99% convinced I'm switching as well. I've settled on a Hitzer stove that will allow me to burn wood spring & fall, and coal during the real winter. Getting enough wood up has gotten to be almost more than I can handle now, in a few years it will be completely beyond me, so I think the switch makes since. Although there are Bit mines nearby, I'll be using Anthracite shipped in at least for now.


A few cautions on using wood... It's not the stove that will be fine. If it can burn coal it can burn any wood. It's the chimney. 

Basically it's like this. With coal you want a Barometric damper. This keeps the stove from overfiring. But if you use one with wood and you get a chimney fire it will feed it an unlimited amount of air to burn hotter. What has been said on the forum noted above. Sell the wood and use the money to buy good coal. You will be happier. Did you know that you can damp a coal fire back to a stove temp of 120-130F and run it for a few days on a single load like that. This can keep the house comfy even into the 60's. I was shocked to read that. 


P.S.
I have a Harman Mark II on order. I got it for a good price but driving was needed.


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## Stephen in SOKY (Jun 6, 2006)

I'll have to either block my baro off with a cap, or simply switch the baro out with a section of pipe when using wood. Given there's no creosote issue with coal, I plan to remove the section of straight pipe, clean the chimney (Class A already in place) insert the baro, set with a manometer, and relax. I gave up on switching back & forth between the 2, rather, I'll switch to coal for the winter & may or may not switch back to wood in the spring. No chimney fires, 12 hr minimum burns, zero fuel storage issues, very reasonable fuel price, what's not to love?


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## snakeshooter1 (Mar 8, 2009)

what is the price range of the coal stoves compared to wood stoves?


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## beaglady (Oct 7, 2002)

A good coal stove is around $2000-3000, depending on the features. We've burned coal for years and love the way it seems to warm you to the bone when you've come in from the cold. 

We have an Alaska stoker, but are not overly happy with it, because it doesn't seem to be as airtight as it could be, and it doesn't bank down as much as we'd like. We live in the town where Harman stoves are made, so we know lots of people who have them. Everyone seems pleased. 

We burn about 2 tons a winter, which runs just a bit over $300, picked up at the breaker.


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## manygoatsnmore (Feb 12, 2005)

We have coal in the next county over, but I'm pretty sure it's bituminous. When I was very little, my folks burned coal - most folks had a coal stove back then. I'm putting in my wood stove now as I have an almost unlimited supply available, but some of the points you make about coal appeal to me. Getting in a wood supply is work, any way you look at it. As I get older, that may become too hard to handle. The idea of being able to store the coal outside in any weather, rather than needing covered storage for wood and only having to get in enough each day to fire the stove and bank it down sounds good, too. Thank you for your post - it's making me think.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

beaglady said:


> A good coal stove is around $2000-3000, depending on the features. We've burned coal for years and love the way it seems to warm you to the bone when you've come in from the cold.
> 
> We have an Alaska stoker, but are not overly happy with it, because it doesn't seem to be as airtight as it could be, and it doesn't bank down as much as we'd like. We live in the town where Harman stoves are made, so we know lots of people who have them. Everyone seems pleased.
> 
> We burn about 2 tons a winter, which runs just a bit over $300, picked up at the breaker.


Where are you paying that much at the breaker? At Hudson it's 130 a ton, Down UAE it's 150 and Reading it's 160 or so.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

I'm not doing it because I'm too old to do wood. 

The reasons are It takes about 7 cord of wood to heat the house. That's about 4 weekends worth of cutting. Also, on this damp mountain top it takes forever for wood to dry right. So even after two years in the wood shed the wood sizzles when it burns. So the btu's I'm getting is very low for all the effort put forth. The other reason mentioned above coupled with the fact that the trees I have are hard maple (sugar and black) and cherry. Both worth more left standing and harvested for timber. What I was gonna do is buy loads of logs. But the cost is rather high now because all the people bought those outside wood furnaces... They are lawn ornament of choice. They use mountains of wood. Some people have piles near half the size of their house. So where the rubber meets the road, Coal will cost the same to less than the wood I'd have had delivered.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

snakeshooter1 said:


> what is the price range of the coal stoves compared to wood stoves?


You can pay from 1200 or so for a cheaper brand hand fed. To what you wish. For instance you can get a EFM automatic boiler with auger and large ash pan and your only involvement in the process is removing ash once or twice a week and ordering coal. However Efm's aren't cheap and will cost in excess of 6 grand with another 3 or 4 to have it set up.

I got a Harman Mark series, Considered top of the line for hand fed. I didn't get the gold accessory package(yeah, it can come gold plated), and we got the stove in black. We will paint it before it goes into service and the DW will be putting a design on the side to personalize it. It cost us 1500 and figure another 30 bucks for the stove paint.



The real difference you will find with the coal stoves is the designs aren't updated like the wood stoves are. They are for the most part just big metal boxes. Where the wood stoves are all cute and modern looking.

Here google these names and you will see what I mean..

Hitzer
Harman
Keystoker
Leisure Line
Alaska


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## beaglady (Oct 7, 2002)

stanb999 said:


> Where are you paying that much at the breaker? At Hudson it's 130 a ton, Down UAE it's 150 and Reading it's 160 or so.



We go to Pine Creek near Hegins. We're way south of you, off the Tower City exit. Actually, $140 sounds about right. It was late last night when I posted, but I meant $300 total, not per ton.


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## Stephen in SOKY (Jun 6, 2006)

Perhaps the most significant factor in my decision to go with coal is that I'm unaware of any other fuel source that allows me to lock in my heating costs for 10 years or beyond. Wood simply won't be an option as I'll eventually be incapable of processing it regardless of availability. With a coal range, one could easily ensure the ability to cook for a similar number of years should the worst happen. As a hedge against inflation or TEOTWAWKI, several piles of coal seem the best available option to me at this time.


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## stanb999 (Jan 30, 2005)

beaglady said:


> We go to Pine Creek near Hegins. We're way south of you, off the Tower City exit. Actually, $140 sounds about right. It was late last night when I posted, but I meant $300 total, not per ton.


I know where your at we used to live in Tamaqua. I've got family in the Shenandoah or "Shendo" . In fact may great grand parents had two farms down that way, one just north of Brandonville and the other just west of Ringtown. 

What's interesting for me is my mother moved to Shenandoah, With her last name they asked if she was related to those with the same last name from Danville. Then they ask if she new my father's family and grandpa. That used to bring eggs and milk to town twice a week and how nanna would sell cloth in the center of town. Yep, what's real funny is my mother moved from Jersey to NEPA and ended up two doors down from second cousins. The coal regions are a small place. 


Maybe, just maybe, It's in my blood to burn coal?


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## beaglady (Oct 7, 2002)

stanb999 said:


> I
> Maybe, just maybe, It's in my blood to burn coal?


Heh heh. Us too. I grew up in your direction, in the Back Mountain (Dallas). DH's family is originally from Shamokin & his Pap had worked the breaker at the Glen Burn from around age 10 til he retired.


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## cast iron (Oct 4, 2004)

Seems like a good plan to me, just hang on to those woodstoves as you say. Some time will allow the wood lot to recover, and there is no saying you cannot return to wood heat in the future if it makes more sense at that time. Options are good.


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