Tell me about your coal stove

[love2read]

Yesterday we were talking to our neighbor who has a coal stove and now we are thinking about replacing an old wood stove that serves as a heat source for some back rooms. Our neighbor tells us the new ones are extremely efficient. Last year he was spending $400 a month on oil and it averaged out to $100 a month for coal. Do you like yours? How far does the heat travel on the first floor?

 

Any of you with allergies have a coal stove? One dd has some problems with asthma when we light the wood stove. Since our wood stove is old and not air tight, I'm hoping the new air tight coal stove won't create that problem. I know the allergiest discouraged the use of stoves and I'm wondering if there is any information out there on allergy related problems with the new stoves that just came out a year or two ago.

[love2read]

Anyone?

[hillfarm]

Hi,

 

Just saw this thread. Our stove can burn wood or coal. Coal may not trigger certain allergies, but it is a very dusty, some would say dirty, form of heating. Are you sure that it is the wood smoke that is causing the problem? Could the extremely dry air or the way the fast moving heat currents stir up and carry so much household dust be the main culprit? (Not that I'm saying you are dusty--I just know that I am!)

 

I usually try to boost our immune and respiratory systems as much as possible a few weeks prior to time to start burning. And also check your chimney. The better it draws, the more smoke will be evacuated from your home and the less that will remain in the stove to possibly escape from the stove. Also be sure to open the damper wide for a few seconds before you open the stove to add wood. That will clear some of the smoke and not let as much seep out into your home while you have the door open.

 

And if you are considering a new stove, think long and hard before choosing a pellet stove. I know several people who have tried them and are not happy. Apparently pellets can go up in price quite rapidly, especially in a prolonged winter situation, and also they are hard to store due to being bulky and also being very suseptible to absorbing moisture and then not burning very well.

[Shenan]

Yesterday we were talking to our neighbor who has a coal stove and now we are thinking about replacing an old wood stove that serves as a heat source for some back rooms. Our neighbor tells us the new ones are extremely efficient. Last year he was spending $400 a month on oil and it averaged out to $100 a month for coal. Do you like yours? How far does the heat travel on the first floor?

 

Any of you with allergies have a coal stove? One dd has some problems with asthma when we light the wood stove. Since our wood stove is old and not air tight, I'm hoping the new air tight coal stove won't create that problem. I know the allergiest discouraged the use of stoves and I'm wondering if there is any information out there on allergy related problems with the new stoves that just came out a year or two ago.

 

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE our coalstove!!! It cost us $450 to heat our entire 3000 sq. ft house last year. We go through 2 tons of coal to heat our 'new to us' 2 story house. Our last house was 2100 sq. ft on one level. We would go through 1 ton a yr unless it was a colder winter at that house. Our one level house (2100 sq. ft), the fartherst bedroom from the stove would stay a little chilly but not chilly enough to require another form of heat in that room. Our two story house (3000 sq. ft), we have not had any problems with chilly rooms.

 

The coal stove has a hopper/storage bucket on the back and we top that off every two or three days. We do have to remove and dump the ash bin every other day. FAR less work than a wood stove!!!;)

 

The coal stove has a blower on it which probably kicks up the extra dust. At our old house we had a set of windows right next to the coal stove (less than 3 feet away) and my white curtains would need to be washed once a month. Again, still, FAR less work than a wood stove. :D

 

As far as allergies are concerned....The coal stove is a closed system so the only time you are exposed to allergens is when you take the ashes out.

 

Dh is a master HVAC technician. The coal stoves are the most efficient stoves around. If you have more questions along the heat and efficiency line (you know all that math stuff about sq. footage and most bang for your buck, etc., sort of stuff), I am sure dh would be more than happy to answer them. Just drop me an email.

 

HTH,

Shenan

[Shenan]

I forgot to mention...

 

You don't have to have your chimney cleaned every year with a coal stove. Matter of fact, you never have to clean the chimney because the coal burns clean. Dh could explain it better than I could. Something about a cleaner burning fuel.:confused:

 

Also, be sure to shop around for the best coal prices. When we first started burning coal over 10 years ago, we would borrow a pick-up truck and drive 1-1/2 hours to pick it up in bulk ourselves. (A once a year event) Eventually that company started doing deliveries and we would pay them $45 to deliver to us. Since we moved to our new location (in coal country) we have been able to locate coal in conventiently packaged bags for less than we were paying for bulk. Dh has been trying locate that company's bulk distributor to see if its even cheaper through them.:D We'll see when next season comes around.

 

I would also like to mention that in the ten years we have been using the coal stove, we have had to replace the smoke stack's thermostat twice. The unit is very low in maintanance.

 

We own a Keystoker.

 

Oh, and we thoroughly vacuum out the inside of the stove every summer to be ready for next winter. Still...far less work than a wood stove.