Heating with coal in 2017

Just a brief explanation of the reason I choose to heat my home with coal. It is the least expensive and easiest way for me. And either the electric company or myself are going to ultimately use coal to heat my home. I am all for technology and one day perhaps solar or wind will do the job. But we are not ready for that yet!

[@woodchucktinman9893]

I have done some research and calculations and my burning the coal myself for heat actually only uses about 30% of the actual tonnage of coal that the electric companies would burn. I am actually doing the environment and the world a favor in burning coal to heat my home!

[@jimsonbrown9768]

Charles Wilke : with the abundance of natural gas I think most power company's will be converting over. Nuclear is not feasible in today's political climate.

[@mikemcgrew65]

Charles Wilke where do you get you coal from?

[@mrfingers4737]

brown natural gas sounds great but they are going to destroy most of the freshwater supplies with all the fracking required to get it out of the ground.

[@mikec4616]

My newmac stove is 35 years old the last guy who serviced it told me never ever get rid of it

[@thermionic1234567]

Charles Wilke And pissing off all the right people!

[@stanleycoop7204]

“If I use electric, I’m just paying the electric company to burn the coal.” That’s so true.

[@mgn5667]

and you dont need a shovel..! ..chuckle

[@Patrick-tf1ri]

2020-2021, I just installed a new coal furnace to our home. I built a hopper, to deliver coal into the furnace automatically. I’m going to save so much money! Heating oil is just so damn expensive!

[@thecurious6721]

👍 what is the make and model of the furnace?

[@fredericmaloof8597]

If it isn't broke don't fix it. Coal works, right? A gift from God I say.

[@jacksin3323]

Agreed. It truly is.

[@jacksin3323]

Its 2022 and im about to adapt an old school coal stove and build a heat exchanger to suppliment heat this winter. I have a coal vein in my yard, so ive already boxed up maybe 350lbs from finding it. You can also forge with it. Thats always key. True gift from god.

[@joequillun7790]

Power Cos burn bit coal, which is dirty, but cheap. Anthracite is the cleanest solid fuel out there, and blows wood away for that, and burn times. I heat with an antique coal stove, and love it. But your furnace is the best for efficiency. Keep at it, and thanks for sharing.

[@iaindennis3321]

Looking in from England - I have two open fires in my Victorian home that have been working since when the house was built in 1852 - love the heat from coal.

[@matthewrussell8590]

same here, house coal is a brilliant fuel and despite what the log burning lobby say, in the right fire place alot of heat had be thrown into the room (and elsewhere) Usually if i have my fire burning all day or through the night i will close the air down (i have an all night burner grate) let the fire start to slumber then chuck house coal on top. This way is burns very slowly for many hours and heats the room and saves a fortune in coal. Its not pretty to look out but works very well

[@hanbrent8463]

Wow, that's amazing! But the only reason why it is possible for you to be able to burn coal is that you can look at it every few hours, to add more coal. Most people can only look at their furnace once a month. My sister only has to order more heating oil for her furnace every 2 months and she can't seem to do that, so she has them automatically deliver the fuel on their own schedule.

[@skejtowski6588]

This video is kind of funny. Judging by the content and the comments it must be weird to use coal for heating in the US. Over here where I live - in Poland - everybody is using coal. I dont know a single person who is using something else than coal for heating the house.

[@woodchucktinman9893]

Most of the Democrats would like to totally ban coal. The environmentalists would think I should be in prison for burning in. Greetings to Poland! Thank you.

[@jakubroezner5144]

@@woodchucktinman9893 it is changing in Poland some cities based coal and in the future coal will be banned I whole countries. in my neibourhood only one house burns coal (not me)

[@GoldenGrenadier]

That thing needs a pizza rack!

[@kellyh4035]

That is the most amazing, true and most overlooked point! Either you burn the coal, or the electric company does! And how much energy is lost to transmission?

[@OwenC1]

You also have the option of home heating oil, which is just diesel.

[@ethan12313]

It's expensive, a touch over $1200 to fill a 900 liter tank in my area we ran wood and oil. Always kept the wood burning, and still sucked up that tank on the really cold nights -35 to -40c

[@SerialKiller1911]

Love the video. I have a wood stove an I run thought wood like crazy. No my house isn't air tight but any means. But I have looked into changing over to a coal stove/furnace. Thanks for the info.

[@rppiii6737]

There are methods of nuclear that are safe. You should look at the death's per kwh for nuclear vs all other forms of electrical generaton. I was very against nuclear before I understood buried small scale nuclear power.

[@DanielBelzil]

Can you zoom out so we can see the whole setup? Thanks!

[@tomhopkins6758]

Smart man. Well put

[@LarsonChristopher]

I like the vid, good info on coal. Nuclear: check out the Gen 4 pebble nuclear design. Very safe and similar to coal. Its the future and doesn't have the meltdown problem of the Gen 1 & 2 rod designs. 70 years of scientific improvements are paying off.

[@menguardingtheirownwallets6791]

The biggest problem with burning wood = creosote chimney fires. The biggest problem with propane = the risk of gas explosions blowing up your entire house should a leak occur, even the slightest leak. I burn heating oil, and if I run low before the truck arrives to refill the tank I can always go to the local gas station and fill up a few containers with diesel fuel and put that into the tank for a quick bit extra. That coal fire looks pretty much perfect as far as I can see.

[@tibork3845]

Just one comment: wood might burn with a smoke but if you have the stove with the secondary burner that re-burns the smoke (most newer stoves have those) then you get very little or no smoke coming out the chimney at all. Most times smoke only comes when you first build fire in the morning and everything is still cold yet but during the day no smoke.

[@putheflamesou]

seen a China stove and coal on YT. They make round chunks with holes in them which slides into a round thing in a square stove. The claimed two tricycle load deliveries paying $50 will heat the season....?

[@johnhosler6636]

Im only 34 and i remember gathering driftwood and coal for my buddies gram, about a half hour 2 ten year old kids could gather enough stuff for a day i mean they burned everything . We would hustle somebody a few bucks or food stamps to get rid of something unwanted drag it down the street bust it up with a meat clever and in the furnace it went ,chairs floor model tvs , lumber scraps couches whatever. Coal furnace is a true multifuel

[@thermionic1234567]

John Hosler Where did you find coal on the beach?

[@Firebird_876]

I’m with you on coal power, nuclear isn’t safe and there is nuclear wasted that doesn’t decay and they just put it in the ground. With coal there is no waste involved except for some ashes. Me being from the southeast I didn’t even know that people heated with coal or fuel oil till I started watching TOH.

[@KieraCameron514]

Coal waste is more harmful than nuclear waste as it contains mercury, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and even radioactive metals like uranium, thorium, and radium. As far as electricity generation goes, coal kills the most people per kwh and nuclear kills the fewest. So, what you said is the opposite of true. And 96% of so-called nuclear waste can be reused and as it's used, it disappears because matters converts to energy in a nuclear reaction. The same cannot be said of a chemical reaction.

[@KabutoRyu]

back to basic ... way of survival...

[@kellyh4035]

If you don't have a Hank Hill, selling propane and propane accessories, servicing you, the yes coal is the answer!

[@odom2142]

I use a homemade fusion reactor in my basement for my heating and power needs. :)

[@paradisebreeze1705]

I have anti matter

[@johnbumgardner7090]

I put my phaser on stun and point it to the basement floor and my floor turns red hot the giving radiant heat. I only have to do this every 3 days

[@BlessednFree]

@@johnbumgardner7090what ? I’m confused can you explain

[@aidenp265]

Very True! Coal has and will be the superior fuel for residential heat

[@hg2.]

Looks good. Just asking: I bet you're burning "top shelf" anthracite coal -- clean & hot. I don't think the power utilities can afford anthracite, so they burn "2nd class" bituminous coal.

[@cristianlifetimenyc7250]

hello I have wood stove is a lot maintenance and feed all the time ,,, question iam new in this ... is any recomendation on your experience to know thanks nice video....

[@trentonspence4122]

Old skool is the best

[@putheflamesou]

$50 a month!! nice! I have a monitor 41 burning diesel this year figure maybe $150 at $3 a gallon no1 ulsd. Hate those Lp tanks as are dangerous and supposed to change out regulators every ten years and valves whenever they leak. I am waiting for picky insurance companies gig LP tank owners for liability reasons. Crap, didn't know anything about fuel oil heat now I want to learn coal.

[@david39348]

Have you thought about using an automatic stocker to keep your furnace running?

[@thefeedback4998]

Im with you man. Why do people think nucular power is better for the environment ? One mishap and its disaster. people die and the enviroment they were trying to save dies as well And the effects last for decades.

[@mbox314]

Outside of Chernobyl nuclear power has never killed anyone.

[@thefeedback4998]

fukushima

[@mbox314]

No one died because of the meltdown at fukushima, the earthquake and tsunami killed over 30,000 people but the nuclear meltdown that resulted killed no one

[@thefeedback4998]

im sure

[@Jemalacane0]

@@thefeedback4998 Onagawa.

[@consideringorthodoxy5495]

Personally, I love both coal and nuclear, keep in mind that every time something goes wrong in an industry, it gets a little bit safer, coal has had its fair share of problems in the past, grant it most of them probably didn't occur while making electricity but there have been many boiler explosions in the past, not that many occur anymore because we got better at making and using them. If you ever have any free time, you should look up LFTR reactors which are astronomically safer and more efficient than current reactors, meltdown can't occur because the thorium,( these reactors run off thorium) are already in a liquid state and can easily be siphoned off into a holding tank to cool down in case of an emergency.

[@jimphillips8774]

Coal is the way to go ,heat my shop with 40 lbs of coal in 24 hours

[@AndiYagudayevalt]

I sometimes find coal washing up on the beach in New York City, of all places. Most of the coal I find is the best kind of coal, anthracite, as it burns the cleanest with almost no ash emissions. Despite all the nuclear accidents that happened, Fukashima, Three mile Island, Chernobyl, only 10,000 died from all these three accidents, yet in Southeast Asia, every year close to two million die every year because of lung and heart issues and cancer because of coal fired power plants. That's 1,000X times as deadly as nuclear. However, burning coal at home isn't as bad for the planet as burning it in huge power plants. Even anthracite coal produces lots of soot and CO2 and Sulfur. My type of Nuclear is not the meltdown prone Light Water reactors, but meltdown proof Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors which don't even need pressurization or coolant as it is self sustaining and is incapable of a meltdown.

[@jeromesmith1662]

I'm not a disagreeable sort but you say wood fires smoke constantly.....woa!!!! Not through the entire cycle of fire. I grew up with a combo wood and coal hand fired furnace....get a wood fire good and hot....the right amount of fuel and air you WILL have no smoke!!!!!!!! I agree with coal you will not have to tend as much....more btu per firing. Coal the same right fuel-air mix ratio...no smoke. Well that's my 2 cents.

[@brikkijim]

you are absolutely correct!! I am burning locust and ash and only at the start of a fire can I see smoke otherwise you just see nothing up top.

[@woodchucktinman9893]

As long as it is seasoned well I agree mostly, but you can still smell it a little bit more than the coal. I purposely add a scoop of fresh coal when going outside to do chores so I can smell it. Crazy I know. Reminds me in the 1980s when a teenager working at a greenhouse that used coal to run a giant boiler that heated the whole place. It was as bigger than a tanker truck. Thank you for watching!

[@justinfoley4954]

Awesome, honest video

[@kenadams3951]

I'm looking to use coal I'm using wood and that a lot of work plus have some cool stoves

[@dustincheckley7313]

Hey great video and advice , out of total curiosity ,I am up in Canada and just wondering where to source coal and what is approx cost per tonn

[@woodchucktinman9893]

Dustin Checkley thank you for the comment. A Google search would be your best answer to get a local source and price for you.

[@rejm1161]

I buy it in large 50 pounds bags in Québec , Anthracite , about $12.00 a bag , rather expensive, there are some specialized place that sell them for $10 cdn for a 20 kilos bag ( 50 pounds) . I don't know of any bulk delivery. My 1955 BIG cast iron monster ( l'Islet brand) can burn anything that we throw at it.

[@CoalCrackerCummins]

Anthracite coal is by far the best I just so happen to live in North Eastern, PA where we mine it all over the place so I'm fortunate 😀

[@bifulus]

I installed a Penn coal stove in my living room it heats the first floor which is 1000 sqft. I have a pellet stove that worked flawlessly until about 3 years ago. One part after another. I got tired and did some research. Coal stoves are the best bang for your buck.

[@anthonyrussomano7015]

I have a question I have a coal boile with DHW and a hot water heater piped to it I was told to keep the boiler burning during the summer that it better for the boiler and suggestions should I should it down or keep it going

[@woodchucktinman9893]

I am not sure on your system as a boiler. Years ago I worked at a greenhouse that used a coal fired boiler to send steam through pipes for heat and we always shut it down in the summer. Sorry I am not sure.

[@DocBrewskie]

I switch over to coal from wood / heating oil last winter.im just too busy to go and cut wood all the time & heating oil has and will always suck.i just wish I could find the coal in bulk rather than buying bags.

[@woodchucktinman9893]

Hopefully you can find a place to buy in bulk. I am lucky to have a place about 50 miles away that I get about 10 tons delivered that lasts about 5 years.

[@scaf_007vs3]

I do not agree with your statement that wood smokes the ENTIRE time it burns, because it literally does not. Once the gasses have burnt off, wood burns the same as any other carbon fuel, SMOKELESS! Having said that, obviously coal burns longer than wood because it is much more dense

[@masonmaceachern1858]

What province are u in

[@mikes.1946]

$50 a month? How much do you buy at a time? And what state is this?

[@woodchucktinman9893]

I get it at a place along the Ohio river literally 2 miles from downtown Cincinnati. $120 per ton. Last time 2 years ago I hired a private trucking company that hauled about 12 tons. I still have over half of it left. Thanks for watching!

[@mikes.1946]

Charles Wilke Of course! And the coal won’t go bad for any reason under any conditions?

[@woodchucktinman9893]

@@mikes.1946 it will not go bad. It will break up a little from freezing and thawing over years, but if you keep it covered and dry, my guess it would last in original size chunks for decades. Even if it is dripping wet, it will start burning within minutes and dry the water right away. Not like soaked wood that takes hours to dry and burn on top of hot coals.

[@keith3761]

I have seen vidoes of outdoor central wood boilers, is there any ones that can burn both wood and coal?

[@woodchucktinman9893]

You just have to check each manufacturer or model and verify if it is made to take the extra heat from burning coal.

[@rejm1161]

Coal is great because of the slow constant burning but Wood can be better than coal for a quick heat output . We use maple trees in Québec and when it's minus 20*c ...-4 *f we use some big chunks of wood in a big cast iron stove. I use coal for the night and it's ready to start with wood again in the morning. No fan drive.google.com/file/d/1pn9rwwM3gYONTI4tXy_iAqKOt05gV1gp/view?usp=sharing

[@Cawa9475]

80000 BTU, 1800 sqf? as AMERICAN I wonder how much is that BBQ grills and football fields

[@jregamey]

Where can I get coal?! I have a coal fire place and using wood. Sucks big time. Can I buy it at the nearest mine in BC Canada?

[@woodchucktinman9893]

I think it will depend on your area and country. I am lucky that I am still allowed to buy it and use it. Check around your area maybe try even sand and gravel companies might be able to direct you where to get it. Best regards!

[@sigglass2183]

What if you burn horse or cow manure?

[@woodchucktinman9893]

I raise grass fed angus cows and my guess is if the "patties" were dried out they would burn about like peat moss, very fast and leave a lot of ashes.

[@briankatzmarek7542]

Can you burn wood in that stove if you wished? Looking for a multi fuel furnace.

[@woodchucktinman9893]

Yes! Just check the rating on any individual stove. It will help you know. The main thing to watch is some are rated for only wood, as coal can burn considerably hotter.

[@briankatzmarek7542]

@@woodchucktinman9893 I didn’t know if the grating in the bottom was different to let the ash through

[@woodchucktinman9893]

Each manufacturer should have their own design. The Newmac has a steel plate that covers about 1/2 of the shaker grates when you burn wood. I leave it in all the time and it still works just fine.

[@loendsti]

well, why dont they plant trees if they care about environment.

[@putheflamesou]

What kind of coal do you use exactly?? Thanks

[@woodchucktinman9893]

putheflamesou The coal I am burning is anthracite coal which comes down the Ohio River on barges from West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

[@woodchucktinman9893]

@Trucker Who the dollar amount is based on an average. In the midwest USA 2 days ago, January 30, we had a high temperature of 3 degrees F. In 2 days, on February 3, it is supposed to be 58 degrees F. So some days I need almost none. Thank you for watching!

[@jamesshanks2614]

Just as an FYI you forgot Three Mile Island.

[@user-cu7ii5qc1m]

When three mile Island melted down it was the first run to produce power

[@larryg7109]

I burned coal and it cost more than propane. I set it up in my basement and had an intake into my stove and outtake going right through my vents already existing in my house. It was supposed to produce 170,000 BTU and it could not even heat my house on a cold day. I might try again if I can get the stove on the first floor. Most the heat it produced was from the stove itself and it was wasted in my basement where we don't live.

[@antonioeduardo617]

This is because, I suppose, you did not install a Puffer (or Buffer, better in English Language) container of Hot-heating water tank.Most burning solid fuels Furnaces, do need a Buffer Tank in order to keep most of the heat. Still, they "do heat" the basement, far more than any Gas-Fuel furnaces (for the Intrinsic nature of Gas Fuels), but the dynamic heating (hot air fan-coils) is not the best system to be run on a solid-fuel system. Metal-cast radiators indeed are, because basically they disperse the heat coming from furnace and Buffer (usually electrical valves do allow or not the buffer to get full, when the system is on radiators running) around all the house. Dynamic system work better with gas-fuel or Electricity-based (heat pump fan). When equipped with radiators (both on walls or inside floors or stories pavements) solid-fuels furnaces are the best, and, among them (including as well Diesel and Wood), Coal is the cheapest fuel still available.

[@daniellong2543]

Chernobyl isn’t in Russia. It is in the Ukraine, which at the time was part of the Soviet Union.

[@ethanhunt1928]

2:30, yes, no smoke but still that smokeless burn generate CO2. Plenty!

[@johnbumgardner7090]

Cry me a river

[@magnushederstjerna5975]

Great idiea! :D

[@bearbon2]

Nice!

[@ann2155]

What’s your coal cost today?

[@woodchucktinman9893]

2 years ago I bought it from Eastern Kentucky for $80 per ton straight from a mine. Nice big pieces average the size of footballs. Not sure current prices.

[@ann2155]

@@woodchucktinman9893 today’s prices are absurd. I’m in upstate New York a Ton cost us almost 500 bucks.

[@user-lw6dm1ns3b]

What country do you live in? I also deal with coal-fired boilers. I invent new technologies with clean emissions.

[@woodchucktinman9893]

USA

[@user-zz3tt7xq9s]

@@woodchucktinman9893Excuse me. I am writing from someone else's page :-))

[@timboltz7421]

I like wood its free free heat

[@mbox314]

I like the idea of heating a house with coal but you are wrong on nuclear, nuclear has killed fewer people in 70 years than coal has in one year. In fact outside of chernobyl no one has died from radiation at a nuclear power plant. The areas affected are all still habitable, chernobyl units 1,2 and 4 were operation until the early 2000's, three mile island unit 1 is still in operation. If I could have a nuclear reactor to heat my home instead of a coal stove I would do that in a heartbeat. 24 hours on a bucket of coal is good but a bucket of uranium could heat a city for years, gigantic aircraft carries sail for decades on reactor full of fuel, what other fuel can do that?!?!

[@1nm1]

At least one person has already died (and more will die) from radiation exposure from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster which also is a nuclear power plant.

[@XxProRider]

How about nuclear waste , lasts 10,000 years , in rusty steel containers

[@mbox314]

@@XxProRider I have seen technical drawings of spent fuel casks, designs vary but typically they are made of layers of lead, stainless steel and concrete. Also after 100 years the radioactivity is 1% as intense as it was when it was initially placed in the container. After 1000 years it would be only slightly more radioactive than natural uranium (which can be handled with latex gloves)

[@IDF1987]

It's a clinnnnnnnnnnnker!

[@woodchucktinman9893]

A Christmas Story is one of my favorite movies of all time! I even have a life size replica of the leg lamp.

[@truthspeaks3147]

coal is radioactive too of thats something you actually worry about

[@guyparham575]

Coal and soot can cause creosote chimney fire wood burns clean than coal. Why good wood is hard as burns longer and hotter

[@Jemalacane0]

Coal kills a lot more people than nuclear does. Chernobyl was caused by a poor reactor design and dangerous experiment. That being said, ~56 people died from ARS and the W.H.O. expects ~4,000 cases of thyroid cancer (which is very easily treatable). The other Fukushima nuclear power plant (Fukushima Daini) was hit by the earthquake and tsunami and survived. No one has died from radiation from Fukushima, but from fear. Of course, Ohio is too far inland and in some places too high to be hit by a tsunami. Coal-fired plants emit more radiation than nuclear power plants because coal contains uranium, thorium, and radium. Coal plants also emit lead, arsenic, chromium, mercury, formaldehyde, xylene, toluene, benzene, particulates, and acid gases. The particulates cause hundreds of thousands of cardiorespiratory ailments per year. By comparison, the biggest emission from a nuclear plant is water vapor. It's said nuclear kills when things go wrong and coal kills when things go right. Coal comes with other lovely things like coal mine fires, collapses, and explosions. Strip mining for coal worsens erosion and flooding as well. At 2% extraction, Ohio's enhanced geothermal power resource equals 16,538 megawatts. At 20% extraction, it equals 165,376 megawatts.

[@JeremyRobertWalker]

are you a paid operative because that is some bull shit

[@JeremyRobertWalker]

"coal-fired plants emit more radiation " radiation is just heat, and the ocean and the atmosphere is an invincible heatsink, so what is your point

[@JeremyRobertWalker]

pyrolysis is 100% efficient, your argument is for dumb people

[@Jemalacane0]

@@JeremyRobertWalker It's absolutely not bullshit! You sound an incredibly stupid person!