Buying Coal For Home Use

I have a wood stove and we use it for heating our home. Does anyone know of a place I can buy coal to burn at night. This whole area used to have coal furnaces and now they are gas. I would like to burn coal at night, so I do not have to get up every few hours to feed the black monster. Call me lazy. Thanks for the help.

Susan from Hamiton, Ontario

Answers:

Buying Coal For Home Use

I'm no expert, but I believe that coal burns much hotter than wood. Because of that, make sure that your wood stove is approved for burning coal, otherwise you could have it burn through the stove in the middle of the night. Some are fine for coal, others are not.

From: http://web1.msue.msu.edu/msue/imp/mod02/01500596.html

"You can burn wood in a coal stove, but you shouldn't
burn coal in a wood stove, unless it is lined and
designed for it. When you add coal to an approved stove,
keep the stove pipe damper open until the fuel is burning
well to avoid a potentially explosive buildup of gases
from the coal. Heavily laden coal buckets can also cause
strains and other mishaps if they are not handled
properly."

Susan from ThriftyFun (10/12/2005)

By ThriftyFun

Buying Coal For Home Use

I've been burning coal in my wood stove for years, however, a conversion kit was available which included shaker grates and magazine to feed the coal. I'm able to get over 12 hours of burn time. Heat output is slightly less than with wood, but more consistent. You should not attempt to burn coal without the proper grates, as it would be difficult if not impossible. You could also damage the stove by doing so.

That said. You should be able to find coal dealers in the Yellow Pages. They've become scarcer over the years, but there should be some in your area. I'm located on Long Island and there are about three sources available.

Good Luck. (12/10/2005)

By Ron Tramontano