Wow what a great video. I learned more in this one than the majority of the others I have watched. If TH-cam isn't boosting this then they are out of their minds
Thank you for a very informative video. I have my late grandparents 1920-30 Atlanta pot belly stove that they used to heat their kitchen in the morning for many years. It's in excellent condition considering it's age. I'm getting the chimney sections, fire proof wall material and base to install it in a 10 x 20 cabin. You answered the questions I had about stoking the stove with coal. Thank you again for your video. :)
I heat with rice. Have a Harman Magnum Stoker stove and other that it being a project to get going and dusty, its great. I can get 2-3 days out of one load most of the time. it gets lit around thanksgiving and then run it into march non stop
That is a neat looking stove. I've been burning a stoker for the past 4 years now. If you want to be able to leave the house for over a day then invest in a good stoker. I have a new hand fed in the barn that I'm waiting to install in the house next season.
Please advise; what for brand is your beautiful vintage coal appliance? She's a real work horse! Obviously NOT a cosmetic "restoration " you put on display. Love it. Thanks for taking the time to put this video together. Many of us appreciate your efforts 😊
You're making this process a lot more complicated than it needs to be. Get yourself a bag of Matchlight charcoal or use the map gas torch to get a few briquets of regular charcoal going in the bottom. Once that's going add two or three scoops of the nut coal. That'll fire up pretty fast. Then add your stove coal up to the top of the pot, close the flue, and close the intake until it's 1/8th open or less. Then don't fool with it and you'll be good to go. *When an experienced wood stove user switches to coal there is a tendency to "over work" the stove. Wood stoves require a lot of fiddling with over the course of the day. Coal stoves do not. Get it set and leave it alone. Nice video.
Hi I'm rick just bought a stove like yours. Watched your video and love the coal burning idea. I never thought of it. I'm missing my shaker grate so I wanted to ask what size is yours and if its similar to mine because I have to make my own im thinking because I can't find one online. My stove grate hole is 11" diameter give or take a little. Just wanted to know if you have a similar size
This was helpful. Thank you. I fought qith this yesterday and dumped a whole bucket too early in amd was like pretty mad. LOL. Dont you need a barometric damper for safety on there in case it gets windy and runs away?
Cool information I've been looking for I got a potbelly in my garage here in Havana Arkansas I just need to put more pipe on it to vent outside. I have run it in here on coal and it didn't stink or kill me... Bobby
Help, bought a new old style potbelly stove caboose type, my issue is that it's scary seeing the bottom glowing red. I don't care to see it glowing red, seems unsafe what is your opinion on this?
thanks, I think I am going to burn wood, it seems easier. I bought a OLD pot belly, but it's kinda of big. Has the air vent wheel and door on top, and a cover for the shaker grate (much more primitive than yours for sure) - the seller said it was dirty so ok for a garage which is my plan
It’s up 5$ to 395 a ton this year (2024) , I am in Monroe county PA and buying from local yards in town here…….the coal is in the ground less than an hour away maybe the trucking is making it more expensive?
Sounds as though you are waiting to long to shake and floss your grates when it goes out with coal still in the firebox. Everything that I've seen says that shaking and flossing your grates every 12 hours is key.
I'll give my advice on starting a coal stove.. Clean stove good Put coal in firebox. I use corn cobs soaked in kerosene, then leave them drip out. Put corncobs in ashbox, under grating, add some pallet wood onto of cobs. Light cobs and walk away,come back in 5-7 minutes. Coal will be crackling(burning). Set draft,walk away.. This way is much,much quicker and easier,flames from cobs and pallets go up thru grate,under and through coal and ignite it easily..fire always burns up,not down.your way goes against that fact by lighting onto of coal,my way goes with the fact by lighting underneath the coal. The cobs and pallet wood under create a draft up which takes flame with it.. The cobs/wood turn to ash anyways,just as they should.. Think about it for a minute and try it. Also I clean my chimney without climbing on the roof,most use a "t" shaped cleanout,which let's brush only go 1 way,vertical or horizontal. I made a stainless "+" shaped joint with 2 caps,rear and bottom.i let my fire go almost out the ladt night of the month,then in the morning pop both caps off,run brush up chimney,then from outside into stove,takes roughly 2 minutes,then add coal and open bottom draft,got heat back in 10 minutes. I tried to get my + made by chimney companies,but they all said it would close the cleaning side of thier business..
Oh,bituminous coal,nut size,which looks like your stove coal,is 160 per ton here.its very very clean,no slag,slack,or non coal particles,and run thru a screener to ensure size
Really enjoy our enthusiasm with using coal heat..on my messy ash removal my solution ended up being.i use a metal lawn cart outside. I made a metal box with bottom and 4 sides with provisions to slide a lid onto it,has 1 one inch nut welded on front rear. Open ash door ,slide lid in onto of box,hook front nut with a hook,pull box out ,hook rear nut with 2nd hook,carry outside and dump in cart,return box to furnace ,takes 3 minutes.this way eliminates ash spew into house,clean in morning when ash is coolest,hotter air rises,which carries ash.when ashes are cooler,they carry less..I've tried many many ways to eliminate ash travel,this works best,by keeping all ash in stove
That bituminous coal you have lights totally different than this hard coal, it needs direct contact from hot wood coals to get going, I have tried a fire in the ash pan it will not light this kind of coal.
I have used charcoal to light to coal this year, I’ll make a follow up to this video this year with another seasons experience to add. So yes it would def burn it, but I never tried a whole pot full of charcoal.
I personally hate wood, lots of friends of mine burn wood, everyone of them spends huge amounts of time burning out their spines, tools and gas to get "free wood". it's great if you own trees on the same lot as your home but I do not. Once you add in handling it another time to haul the wood home it's meh for me.
I personally love finding and burning wood, got 20 cord stacked outside right now, love the different types, Apple, Pear, Oak, Hickory, Osage Orange, Sugar Maple, Ash, but when it gets really cold out the constant chore of moving the wood in and keeping the fire hot gets to be a pain.. I'd like to have a coal stove but only got 1 chimney and this year I can't even find any sellers of coal (very unusual year) even though I live in PA it seems that some big business or gov entity has gotten exclusive rights to the mines and hasn't been any coal available in a 50mi radius since last year.. so there, firewood wins
Wow what a great video. I learned more in this one than the majority of the others I have watched. If TH-cam isn't boosting this then they are out of their minds
Best vid on lighting old stoves I've found
Thanks! I appreciate that!
Thank you for a very informative video. I have my late grandparents 1920-30 Atlanta pot belly stove that they used to heat their kitchen in the morning for many years. It's in excellent condition considering it's age. I'm getting the chimney sections, fire proof wall material and base to install it in a 10 x 20 cabin. You answered the questions I had about stoking the stove with coal. Thank you again for your video. :)
You're very welcome! I love hearing that this helped others
I heat with rice. Have a Harman Magnum Stoker stove and other that it being a project to get going and dusty, its great. I can get 2-3 days out of one load most of the time. it gets lit around thanksgiving and then run it into march non stop
Nice! I got to check out a stoker one day, id like to eventually make hot water/hydronic heat with coal, but thats down the road.
The air intake in the door at the fire box is for cooling fire if stove get too hot
That is a neat looking stove. I've been burning a stoker for the past 4 years now. If you want to be able to leave the house for over a day then invest in a good stoker. I have a new hand fed in the barn that I'm waiting to install in the house next season.
28:12 Clothes are done!🤣 Very informative! Thank you so much for sharing!
Very informative. Thank you for taking the time to share this process.
Great tips! I was struggling keeping it going. No more! Thanks
I am really glad to hear this was helpful!
Please advise; what for brand is your beautiful vintage coal appliance? She's a real work horse! Obviously NOT a cosmetic "restoration " you put on display. Love it. Thanks for taking the time to put this video together. Many of us appreciate your efforts 😊
“Victory 14”
You're making this process a lot more complicated than it needs to be. Get yourself a bag of Matchlight charcoal or use the map gas torch to get a few briquets of regular charcoal going in the bottom. Once that's going add two or three scoops of the nut coal. That'll fire up pretty fast. Then add your stove coal up to the top of the pot, close the flue, and close the intake until it's 1/8th open or less. Then don't fool with it and you'll be good to go.
*When an experienced wood stove user switches to coal there is a tendency to "over work" the stove. Wood stoves require a lot of fiddling with over the course of the day. Coal stoves do not. Get it set and leave it alone.
Nice video.
Thanks for the tip, I tried matchlight charcoal the other night and it saved the labor of cutting wood and the time to let the wood burn to coals.
Hi I'm rick just bought a stove like yours. Watched your video and love the coal burning idea. I never thought of it. I'm missing my shaker grate so I wanted to ask what size is yours and if its similar to mine because I have to make my own im thinking because I can't find one online. My stove grate hole is 11" diameter give or take a little. Just wanted to know if you have a similar size
I’d guess it’s about 11” around but I hopefully won’t have a cold stove that I could measure until spring time!
Thanks for the great video!!
This was helpful. Thank you. I fought qith this yesterday and dumped a whole bucket too early in amd was like pretty mad. LOL. Dont you need a barometric damper for safety on there in case it gets windy and runs away?
Cool information I've been looking for I got a potbelly in my garage here in Havana Arkansas I just need to put more pipe on it to vent outside. I have run it in here on coal and it didn't stink or kill me... Bobby
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experiences; very helpful.😊
Great video, thanks for sharing ! Thumbs up !
Great video! Greetings from the Netherlands 👍🏻
Thanks! Glad to share my experience with you!
Close the top door and open the bottom to get the coal going a lot faster.
Help, bought a new old style potbelly stove caboose type, my issue is that it's scary seeing the bottom glowing red. I don't care to see it glowing red, seems unsafe what is your opinion on this?
My stove runs a cherry red hot all the time, it no problem, keep the combustibles, kids, animals, and fools well away from it!
@@ArtBarn591 thank you
@@ArtBarn591 I lined the inside with firebrick and it's good now!
@@colbolt54you re losing heat with brick
thanks, I think I am going to burn wood, it seems easier. I bought a OLD pot belly, but it's kinda of big. Has the air vent wheel and door on top, and a cover for the shaker grate (much more primitive than yours for sure) - the seller said it was dirty so ok for a garage which is my plan
Damn 390 a ton? Where? Sorry um I know it's quite a bit later but I'm up in New York paying 500 per ton. Did it change down there too?
It’s up 5$ to 395 a ton this year (2024) , I am in Monroe county PA and buying from local yards in town here…….the coal is in the ground less than an hour away maybe the trucking is making it more expensive?
Here in Minnesota and North Dakota you can buut for 150 a ton anthracite lump for 275$ a ton.
Sounds as though you are waiting to long to shake and floss your grates when it goes out with coal still in the firebox. Everything that I've seen says that shaking and flossing your grates every 12 hours is key.
I'll give my advice on starting a coal stove..
Clean stove good
Put coal in firebox.
I use corn cobs soaked in kerosene, then leave them drip out.
Put corncobs in ashbox, under grating, add some pallet wood onto of cobs.
Light cobs and walk away,come back in 5-7 minutes.
Coal will be crackling(burning).
Set draft,walk away..
This way is much,much quicker and easier,flames from cobs and pallets go up thru grate,under and through coal and ignite it easily..fire always burns up,not down.your way goes against that fact by lighting onto of coal,my way goes with the fact by lighting underneath the coal.
The cobs and pallet wood under create a draft up which takes flame with it..
The cobs/wood turn to ash anyways,just as they should..
Think about it for a minute and try it.
Also I clean my chimney without climbing on the roof,most use a "t" shaped cleanout,which let's brush only go 1 way,vertical or horizontal. I made a stainless "+" shaped joint with 2 caps,rear and bottom.i let my fire go almost out the ladt night of the month,then in the morning pop both caps off,run brush up chimney,then from outside into stove,takes roughly 2 minutes,then add coal and open bottom draft,got heat back in 10 minutes. I tried to get my + made by chimney companies,but they all said it would close the cleaning side of thier business..
Oh,bituminous coal,nut size,which looks like your stove coal,is 160 per ton here.its very very clean,no slag,slack,or non coal particles,and run thru a screener to ensure size
Really enjoy our enthusiasm with using coal heat..on my messy ash removal my solution ended up being.i use a metal lawn cart outside.
I made a metal box with bottom and 4 sides with provisions to slide a lid onto it,has 1 one inch nut welded on front rear.
Open ash door ,slide lid in onto of box,hook front nut with a hook,pull box out ,hook rear nut with 2nd hook,carry outside and dump in cart,return box to furnace ,takes 3 minutes.this way eliminates ash spew into house,clean in morning when ash is coolest,hotter air rises,which carries ash.when ashes are cooler,they carry less..I've tried many many ways to eliminate ash travel,this works best,by keeping all ash in stove
That bituminous coal you have lights totally different than this hard coal, it needs direct contact from hot wood coals to get going, I have tried a fire in the ash pan it will not light this kind of coal.
Can you burn charcoal in it? Im assuming it wouldn't last long at all but its a curiosity that nobody has answered for me
I have used charcoal to light to coal this year, I’ll make a follow up to this video this year with another seasons experience to add. So yes it would def burn it, but I never tried a whole pot full of charcoal.
I want to know if you have any company in your area that sales anthracite coal and deliver to Ga, 5 minutes from Chattanooga TN. Tim S.
I don’t know of any. I’d think it’d be fairly costly to deliver if not locally available.
Gotta same one nice..
You sound like Sean Strickland
this one goees to eleven🤣
can you put the whole bag coal in your pot belly stove
I am not much familiar with bags of coal, I have only seen the smaller sizes of coal come in bags which will fall right thru this stove.
wow you fill it up to the top with coal
on cold nights when I have the air wide open ill even heap it a bit in there!
i like wood its free just your time
I personally hate wood, lots of friends of mine burn wood, everyone of them spends huge amounts of time burning out their spines, tools and gas to get "free wood". it's great if you own trees on the same lot as your home but I do not. Once you add in handling it another time to haul the wood home it's meh for me.
I personally love finding and burning wood, got 20 cord stacked outside right now, love the different types, Apple, Pear, Oak, Hickory, Osage Orange, Sugar Maple, Ash, but when it gets really cold out the constant chore of moving the wood in and keeping the fire hot gets to be a pain.. I'd like to have a coal stove but only got 1 chimney and this year I can't even find any sellers of coal (very unusual year) even though I live in PA it seems that some big business or gov entity has gotten exclusive rights to the mines and hasn't been any coal available in a 50mi radius since last year.. so there, firewood wins