Earth Stove

Hackberry is good wood to burn. Sometimes it splits like stringy steel. Other times straight and easy. I shyed away from it until I got a log splitter. Now, I will take it anytime. Chief

 

Picked up a good looking Earth stove the other day, if I use a grate, can I burn coal in it?

 

looks nice when i bought my earth stove stove the guy i bought it from said he sometimes burned coal don't much more then that
the stove had no cracked bricks or any sign of damage i would not put a large amount if it were me
Rich,

 

Well I planned to start off small since I have never burned coal.

Now getting it is another story, I can order it from lehmans.com which counting shipping would run almost $700, or I can drive about 600 miles round trip for $155 a ton.

Wood for now it seems.

 

I have burned coal in wood stoves not designed for it, but it never worked well.

Coal is a lot different than wood. With coal the amount of heat (burn) is controlled by how much air is entered UNDERNEATH the coal bed. In fact if you introduce air on top of the coal bed, the fire will go out. But once coal starts burning, as long as it gets air, and has fuel, it will never go out. That just means a person will have to shake down the ashes (but not too much) and add fresh coal now and then. Now I say all this in regards to anthracite coal, also known as hard coal and found in PA's North East. Other coal is bituminous coal, or soft coal, and burns a little differently. In that case you need air both under the coal bed, as well as above the coal bed. This is to burn off the gasses.

The best thing about hard coal is that you cannot have a chimney fire. All you get is a dusting of black soot inside the pipe. But forget about black plumes of smoke coming off the chimney. When I started burning coal, my grandmother (now deceased) asked why it was 20 below and I was not burning coal.I was, it is just that with hard coal, all you get is a heat haze. The only real danger of coal is when a person burns both wood and coal. If you burn coal after weeks of burning wood, the coal will dry up the creosote and it can fall down into the elbows and block draft. If a person goes back to burning wood, then it could cause a chimney fire.

There is such a thing as coal gas explosion, but in 23 years of burning coal, I have only had that once because I was being stupid!

In Maine coal burners like me are like lamb lovers. I call us out-of-the-closet-lamb-eaters, and out-of-the-closet-coal-burners because we are not all that common. Still I can buy coal at a lot of places. Most hardware stores here carry it by the bag, and I can get it in bulk. Over the years the bulk suppliers have dwindled, but the places to buy bagged coal have increased. In that respect it is a lot like pellets. The people that burn it primarily buy it by the ton and in bulk well in advance, where as others just buy it by the bag. This is what I do because my farm has tons of firewood and no seam of coal. So I burn wood fall and Spring, but when it is really cold,I burn coal. It is hotter and burns all night. In my home the difference is about 10 degrees. With wood my home will simmer at 80 degrees and with coal it will simmer at 90.

My recommendation (for what it is worth) is to try a few bags of it if you can get it.In a wood stove try the Stove Coal which is really big chunks. This works best, but Nut and Pea Coal sized will also work, just not as good. BUT if you cannot buy it by the bag, and have to go with a big order, do not bother. Coal takes a bit to get used to burning as it is so vastly different then wood, and I would feel I misguided you if I gushed on about coal, and then you bought a ton of it (literally) and had diappointing results.

The rue in my home is to never buy a stove that cannot burn both wood and coal. I use wood, coal and propane as a backup, so I always have options for something as critical as heat here in Maine.

 

Thanks for your response, that info helps.

My back is not that great so that's why I am looking at Coal, plus it's not going to attract bugs or rot.

Looks like I either drive 600 miles to get it or burn bituminous I can get local.

 

I’ve read thru this thread a couple times over the last year. I live in Central Nebraska and about 20 miles away is a small town called Waco, NE. There was a manufacturing plant there called even temp that was most recently owned by Johnson gas appliance. They used to make Earth Stoves there and that’s why ES’s are so popular around here also. I’m wondering what info anyone may know about that? When the plant closed in the NW, did production move here?


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That's interesting jtstromsburg. I had thought they were only made in Pacific NW. I live in Fairbanks Alaska and there are tons of them up here. People are and have been shedding them like fleas for newer HE stoves over the past 10 years or so. I inherited one in the house I bought then later bought a slightly newer one. It is now in my garage. But anyway, can't offer insight into your question but hope someone else can.

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Does anyone know what the wattage of the blower motor on a 705ES is? My new rental has one and I really love it so far.
Matt

 

Welcome to the club, matt felix!
Glad you found us!




You've come to the right place. You can post a new thread to find more help of you don't get what you need.
Using the search up at the top right of the page might turn up more info also.

Pics are also helpful

Thanks for joining up, help is on the way.

 

Hi Matt i have a Colony Hearth insert and the current draw is probably under 500w not high at all
but just a guess if you see your lights dim when you turn it on then you may have worn motor and look to change it

 

Hi, all. Love the thread. Im a PA and know a little about this. There is no danger in incidental amounts of asbestos such as that. Its still used in some apps like clutches etc. People who get asbestosis have long term exposure over years or decades almost always via workplace exposure (shipbuilding, autoparts manufacturing etc). It is a secondary carcinogen in that the fibers lodge in lungs and cause inflammed lesions which can eventually cause cancer from cell mutation if large amounts are inspirated. But the mineral itself is chemically inert. Nothing to worry about especially if its actually fiberglass
Matt

 

I just bought this stove and was wondering if anyone could tell me what model it was?

Thanks

 

A good quesrion. I have an identical one to yours except the flue pipe is on top. I am not sure if mine even still has its model number attached.

 

Mine has no numbers any place. I’m thinking it is maybe a 600???

 

I’m looking for replacement door. Vandals stole it. Got any suggestions?