Coal Vs Pellet

[Pete Zahria]

As I said before in my first response (post #8), I use both today.
Pellets in the shop, coal in the house...

PITA factor...
Many people that burn coal, belong to what they refer to as the
"One match club".
What that means, is that you start the coal stove, with ONE match,
and that is the only match you use for the winter..
I am still on the same fire that I started in the fall.
I have not cleaned my stove, at all, I have not done a thing to it.
Except for, as mentioned, empty the ash once a day.
I shake it twice a day, when I get up, and when I go to bed..
and add coal at the same time.
I do this in aprx 4-5 minutes. The ash goes outside into a metal garbage
can. Once a week, I bag it, and it goes out with the trash. 10 minutes tops.

You do not have to shut your stove down and let it cool to clean it,
and then wait for it to come back up to temp.

Dirt factor...
You learn how to do these operations with a minimum of dust.
It's not really hospital clean, no, but it's not "horrible" either,
if you do it right..

Heat factor...
No comparison. Period.
Plus, when our power goes out, the stove doesn't..

Fuel...
I get bags. Just like pellets. 40#..
If you don't have access to coal either bulk or bags,
then obviously it's not a good option!

As for the EPA...
Right now there are things in the works for pellet stoves too.
Coal for power plants, is bituminous coal.
For home stoves, it's anthracite. Not the same.
Let's face it. The way things seem to be going,
nothing in the future will be safe, except wind and solar...


Wrap up...
If you want a lot of heat, and want something with a thermostat,
then a stoker is a lot like a pellet stove..
The coal is even like pellets.. (rice coal)
Yes I am new to pellets, not with coal.
I love the pellet stove, it has lot's of pluses..
Especially if you like turning it off and on.
You just don't have to do that with a coal stove.
It just depends on what you expect from your heat source..
I suspect, that those that use one exclusively, will love theirs...
Nothing wrong with that..

Dan

 

[tjnamtiw]

As I said before in my first response (post #8), I use both today.
Pellets in the shop, coal in the house...

Heat factor...
No comparison. Period.
Plus, when our power goes out, the stove doesn't..



Wrap up...
If you want a lot of heat, and want something with a thermostat,
then a stoker is a lot like a pellet stove..
The coal is even like pellets.. (rice coal)
Yes I am new to pellets, not with coal.
I love the pellet stove, it has lot's of pluses..
Especially if you like turning it off and on.
You just don't have to do that with a coal stove.
It just depends on what you expect from your heat source..
I suspect, that those that use one exclusively, will love theirs...
Nothing wrong with that..

Dan

Excellent response!

 

[Bowhunter1]

As I said before in my first response (post #8), I use both today.
Pellets in the shop, coal in the house...

PITA factor...
Many people that burn coal, belong to what they refer to as the
"One match club".
What that means, is that you start the coal stove, with ONE match,
and that is the only match you use for the winter..
I am still on the same fire that I started in the fall.
I have not cleaned my stove, at all, I have not done a thing to it.
Except for, as mentioned, empty the ash once a day.
I shake it twice a day, when I get up, and when I go to bed..
and add coal at the same time.
I do this in aprx 4-5 minutes. The ash goes outside into a metal garbage
can. Once a week, I bag it, and it goes out with the trash. 10 minutes tops.

You do not have to shut your stove down and let it cool to clean it,
and then wait for it to come back up to temp.

Dirt factor...
You learn how to do these operations with a minimum of dust.
It's not really hospital clean, no, but it's not "horrible" either,
if you do it right..

Heat factor...
No comparison. Period.
Plus, when our power goes out, the stove doesn't..

Fuel...
I get bags. Just like pellets. 40#..
If you don't have access to coal either bulk or bags,
then obviously it's not a good option!

As for the EPA...
Right now there are things in the works for pellet stoves too.
Coal for power plants, is bituminous coal.
For home stoves, it's anthracite. Not the same.
Let's face it. The way things seem to be going,
nothing in the future will be safe, except wind and solar...


Wrap up...
If you want a lot of heat, and want something with a thermostat,
then a stoker is a lot like a pellet stove..
The coal is even like pellets.. (rice coal)
Yes I am new to pellets, not with coal.
I love the pellet stove, it has lot's of pluses..
Especially if you like turning it off and on.
You just don't have to do that with a coal stove.
It just depends on what you expect from your heat source..
I suspect, that those that use one exclusively, will love theirs...
Nothing wrong with that..

Dan

great info there too! thanks Dan and all who chimed in....now I have some decisions, Coal is available
where I am, i dont know what the future holds for coal or pellets for that matter, seems things we think are good, the gubmint takes away!

 

[latichever]

My Father was a boiler engineer for the UofM Morris.

My son considered Morris. Minnesota, Mesabi range iron mining roots on his mother's side. I like to look at the temps there as he is about to graduate from elsewhere. That's cold. My mother-in-law said they didn't bother to shovel the snow, just stamped down each new layer, like crushing grapes.

My neighbors use a coal stove original to their 19th century Victorian. In my house, an 1895 four-square--often mistaken for a Victorian when it was actually a simpler reaction to the "too much is not enough excess"of the Victorian--there is the living room fireplace into which we put a pellet insert. It was hard to find an insert since many of the 19th century fireplaces--at least around here--are very shallow. On the second floor, there is a cast iron stove that's built in several feet above the floor. It's an unused gas device, but I wonder if it is a converted coal stove. Very decorative. If I figure out how, I'll post a photo. Curious to see what others might think it is.