Rising oil and natural gas prices have led to people reconsidering the use of coal-burning stoves within the home. Advances in appliance design leading to higher heat output and the increased availability of better burning types of fuel has resulted in a 75% increase in sales of both small coal stoves and the larger coal stoker stoves. There are even designs of wood coal stoves from manufacturers such as Harmon coal stoves and rice coal stoves that are multi-fuel designs able to burn both wood and coal, and even more modern fuels like wood-pellets. As with other stoves these coal stoves from makers such as Alaska wood stoves, are traditional design stoves made out of cast iron and soapstone, whilst more contemporary styled stoves using stainless-steel and high gloss finishes are available from Gibraltar wood stoves and Harman stoves.
So what should potential coal consumers consider when switching to using a coal stove? Firstly how much storage space do you need for your coal? Most people install bins, the size of which is determined by the coal being used - different coal has different particle size and density (e.g. small coal such as Rice takes up slightly more space than the larger Chestnut), and the actual space available. A general rule of thumb is that 35-40 cubic feet is enough for one ton, so an 8'x4'x4' bin will hold just over 3 tons.
Most coal stoves are designed to burn anthracite, One ton of anthracite can yield up to 28,000,000 BTU's and to match this would need 200 gallons of fuel oil (no.2), or 8206 kWh's of electricity, or 27000 cu feet of natural gas, or 306 gallons of propane, or 1.4 cords of air dried wood or finally 1.7 tons of wood pellets. Given the relative cheapness of coal it becomes clear that a switch makes good economic sense. However, anthracite costs rise the further you get from the main source of production in Pennsylvania and use has to be made of slightly inferior coals. However, manufacturers such as Chappel wood stoves have developed coal pellet stoves that efficiently burn pellets of these inferior coals.
There are basically two types of coal stoves - hand-fired models or coal stoker stoves - but which is the best choice?
The biggest advantage of hand-fired coal stoves from makers like Harman coal stoves is that they require no electricity in their operation and so offer security of heating to guard against any extended period of power cuts. However the biggest disadvantage of hand-stoked coal stoves is that they require attention every 12 to 24 hours.
This brings us to the main advantage of coal stoker stoves that is their automation - you only need to fill the hopper with coal and empty the ash pan; the regularity of which is determined by how fast the stove is running. The amount of heat produced can be controlled by using the thermostat and as a result large stoker furnaces can be used like oil or gas appliances to heat whole houses. This automation does need electricity and as coal stoker stoves burn smaller coal like rice that need a forced air draft to burn efficiently they are more costly to run and susceptible to power cuts. Possibly the best way to go is to heat your home with a mix of both types, so that full advantage
