Coal Burners?

[ablumny]

Im curious if any riders are also coal burners? I'm going on season two with a coal fired stove that heats my house. On the Anthracite Coal forum I belong to there's enough rider members that I think there's some sort of coal-riding connection Just wondering....

 

here's my stoker stove on first burn last year!

 

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_9EMyKcng_yA/SNegHs2W7SI/AAAAAAAABJY/v9TjKe_Pe6Y/s640/P9210007.JPG

 

and the whole project:

http://picasaweb.google.com/ablumny/CoalProject#

[eagleeye]

Hey blummy,

 

Very cool. looked at all of the pics and videos.

I didn't know that they made a stove like that. I have a similar looking stove, but it's a wood stove. And I heat my house with it.

I'm going to check out the forum.

Thanks for the info.

Steve

[bull463]

Ive been burning coal for the last 15 yrs love it. I heat for about 1000 bucks a yr. Ive got a keystoker harth .

Bull463

[ablumny]

eagleeye:

The forum is http://nepacrossroads.com/ (Hope that was ok to post)

 

The DVC500 I have is specialize in that it will only burn coal and only one size, Rice because it feeds itself from a large hopper. There's a TLC2000 from Harman that looks identical fro the front, burns wood or normal size coal as it's a manual stove for those with more time and patience.

 

bull463:

I get away with 3 tons for my house, under a grand in coal but I still heat hot water (for showers, etc) through my oil burner but Im down to one tank of oil or the winter instead of four. I've been researcing a hot water coil for my coal stove to get me off of oil someday!

 

Anyone else?

[Monty]

Yes, I can guarantee you that I burn way more coal than anyone here...lol

 

Actually, I work in a coal-fired power plant, and we burn many tons of coal a day.

[ablumny]

Yes, I can guarantee you that I burn way more coal than anyone here...lol

 

Actually, I work in a coal-fired power plant, and we burn many tons of coal a day.

 

Thats a good one:) thx

[ablumny]

Well i thought id take a shot here...... Resurect an old thread i started and reach out to the group......

 

My 4th year with this stove hasnt started off well. Im looking for anyone with Harman Stove experiance (or connections) specifically this DVC500....

 

Either the draft motor or the combustion motor or both is shot..... Or the electronics that control them are....or the sensors that tell the electronics whats going on are shot. Both motors turn freely but under normal settings they arent running as expected. I can force the unit into TEST mode and all motors spin up to full speed so im leaning towards electronics or sensors.

 

Dealer reminds me im 2 mths out of warranty, $110/hour plus parts and Harman refers me back to the dealer......meanwhile its 37degrees, bikes in the garage and im burning oil which is not good!

 

Any input appreciated of course.

[etcswjoe]

We burned coal in our garage when I was growing up, however it seems like coal heat has come along way in the last 40 years.

[dacheedah]

Is that ventless or do you vent it outside??

[CrazyHorse]

Where the heck do you buy coal?

[etcswjoe]

Where the heck do you buy coal?

 

I head an ad on the radio for a store called coals, maybe that's where you get it from?\

 

 

Seems like firepalce dealers here in Charleston sale coal.

Edited November 7, 2011 by etcswjoe

[Condor]

Boy this brings back old memories. While a kid in East Amherst NY... suburb of Buffalo... that's all we used was coal. The house had a furnace in the basement with floor vents to each of the rooms upstairs.. I guess pretty fancy for the times. The one room school house.. Dodge Road School.. Kindergarden and 1/2 of 1stgrade... had a big coal burning furnace at the back of the room, and out door plumbing... It was a big deal to get to stoke the furnace during school hours. There's a lot to be said about central heat and air on natural gas...

[ablumny]

Yep burning coal has gotten high tech with a unit like this but can still be low tech manual hand fed stoves as well. Those guys use larger size coal and rely on chimneys with proper draft, radiated heat from the stove but some have fans that push heat out.

 

My unit is almost 100% automated and controlled burning. Short of loading a hopper and emptying an ash pan, its "set and go" operation......when it works ! Lighting is cake, I drop a pre packaged "coal mouse" on the grate surrounded by coal. This thing is like a highly concentrated roadflare. Lights in minutes. The problem with such technology is all that could go wrong. I finally got the manufacturer to help diagnose my problem and it may be a $50 temperature probe. On order, I'll see.

 

This unit directly vents to the outside behind the unit, no chimney and is completely sealed. It pulls outside air in for combustion and before it pushes exhaust out it captures all the heat it can and distributes out via controller fans. What come out the exhaust isn’t nearly as hot nor toxic as you'd might imagine. I have a 2K aq ft 2 story colonial house. The unit it centrally located on the first floor and heats the whole place evenly. You can stand on my stairs and at your head your feeling heat rushing up stairs and at your feet, cooler air coming back. Amazing

 

On Long Island there are two main coal dealers. I have to buy a size called Rice which is coal broken down to real small pcs. We only burn Anthracite coal around here. Old timers may remember Bituminous coal. Much softer and dirtier burn. North and West of me, coal is everywhere it seems. I belong to a forum and all the way to Ohio and up into all N. East states theres a lot of “us”.

 

Anyway… Ill drop a note if the probe fixes it up. Thx

[Sailor]

When I was a kid we started out with a wood furnace in the basement. It was my job to get up early and fire it up. Then we went to a sawdust stove with a hopper. I still had to get up and fire it up and fill the hopper. Then after I moved out they went to oil. Years later they went back to wood.

I have a wood stove in my house (2400 sq ft) and I burn about 2 or 3 cords a year. Wood here costs about $150 to $200 per cord depending on type. Fortunately I have never had to buy any. My friend has a wood pellet stove. It is automatic and is fed by a hopper.He burns about one ton per year but I don't know what the cost is.

[etcswjoe]

We use to have a stove you could burn wood or coal in that was used to heat the wash water. It was a warm morning laundry stove had a coil on the inside with pipe fittings at the top and bottom.

 

http://image66.webshots.com/566/1/89/47/2122189470104673048egKSXD_ph.jpghttp://infoark.org/InfoArk/Sustainability/Mother%20Earth%20News/70/MEN_CD/mendemo/menarch/archive/issues/025/025_images/025-072-01dwg1.gif

[Flyinfool]

Ah yes the good old days.....

It was always my job to keep the coal hopper filled. the hopper was big enough to last a couple of days unless it was really cold out.

I was pretty young so my dad handled getting the hot ashes out of the furnace.

We had a room in the basement that was about 10x10 that was the coal bin.

I remember the coal truck coming to fill the basement. The coal man had to bring it one wheel barrow full at a time to fill that room up. He had a flight of stairs to contend with.

I was around 13 or so when we switched to natural gas.

 

When I bought my house there was a wood burner in the basement, I burned wood to assist the oil till the first time I had the chimney cleaned and found out it was NOT an appropriate flue for burning wood and the chimney dude said he could feel some holes in the chimney.

WAY back in the 1800s when the house was built there were 5 wood stoves scattered around the house. He could feel the holes where each of those stoves connected to the chimney.

 

Ah yes the good old days.....

[Rick Haywood]

WOW this brings back memories. We had a fireplace that was in a wall between the living room and dining room when I was a kid that we burned coal in to heat the house. Didn't have heat in the rest of the house but did have feather beds and quilts. We also cooked on an old cast iron coal stove in the kitchen and had a hand pump at the sink for cold water. Had to heat water on the coal stove if we wanted it warm. Man I miss eastern kentucky

[flb_78]

I don't burn coal, but Im burning wood with an old type stove. I'd like to get one with the fans and auto temp control. Those are supposed to be great.

[CaptainJoe]

With the high cost of electricty and coal, a lot of people here in WV have turned to burning wood. Very cheap, especially if you have a few acres and a chainsaw....

 

I really love the smell.

 

Not a valley in WV that you can go into on a cold winter morn and not smell it...LOL

 

Guess it's catch 22 as far as the EPA is concerned though...

[Mickey]

Hey ablumny,

Funny thing, a week or so ago I was on You Tube looking at RSV Muffler clips, when I came across your muffler, then your rice coal starter videos !!!! From there I guess I followed a link to the coal site, and found you on there too !!! I burn rice coal also. I've had my stove for 10 years and love it. My stove isn't as fancy as yours, it's an Alaska Stoker II. It's more of a basement model, to which I've placed a jacket around and have ducted forced air heat from the stove to the main floor of my ranch home. I'm close to Pa. and pick up my bulk coal with my pick-up and then shovel it onto a coal shoot I've constructed into my basement. See attached picture of my stove set up and coal shoot.

Mike

[Trevor Heath]

Coal burning?

 

Sure do...at least I do when I get the chance

 

http://www.trevorheath.com/livesteaming/uploads/Europe07/Trevor_WHR_K1.jpg

[ablumny]

Well I may have the fix identified. At the end of last season I recall bending an exhaust port probe with a cleaning brush. Didnt think much of it. Bent it back. BAD! I got a guy at Harman to talk to me (not as easy as you'd expect) and he determined that the probe is my problem most likely. I have a new probe comeing tomorrow.

 

Meanwhile, Im digging the coal (and wood) burning stories. Very cool....

 

Mickey,

Im big on posting weird things Aside from wife and kids, my bike is my passion and my coal stove a fun and functional hobby....although not so far this year !

 

anyone intrested in my whole coal story:

https://picasaweb.google.com/116811512302801092027/CoalProject#

[dray]

I head an ad on the radio for a store called coals, maybe that's where you get it from?\

 

 

Seems like firepalce dealers here in Charleston sale coal.

 

think that would be Kohl's store and nope they dont have coal

[ablumny]

new Temperature Control Probe arrived, no change to the situation.

[ragtop69gs]

Is there a difference between a coal and wood burning stove? I have an air tight wood stove in my Heatilator fireplace. The stove is firebrick lined.