fired my hitzer with coal this morning for the first time. so far i am impressed. used coal a little bit in an old franklin that wasn't made for it years ago so i am trying to remember how to tend this. i went to TSC and bought a couple bags of antracite to try and it is keeping my 24x40, half insulated shop nice and toasty. 75 on one end and 55 on the other. took about 2-3 hours. using seasoned cherry for a starter. i can heat this place nice with cherry but it uses it on a day like today in the 20's and lower.

this stove is rated for either soft or hard coal and local coal yards just have the local bituminous. i think i am going to get a nice big ugly pile dumped out back here one of these days. save on firewood.

Always cover the grates evenly with coal.
Airflow is key, any spots not covered allow the air an easier path.
Anthracite is more air sensitive to air issues than bitumious.

The standards comparison is A produces 150% of the heat from B.
At twice the price.

Not sure if the price holds true now or not, it's been awhile.

Either way is cheap if you can get a tonnage price. Keep rain off of it. Edk

ya i got a nice even bed of coal about 3-4 inches deep and glowing orange so i think its working good.

ya ed i am currently figuring out how to keep the rain and mud off of it. i can scratch out a little coal bin with pallets and tarps. that will add to the ambiance.

love the smell of coal burning. reminds me of my childhood

We burn coal at the cabin in a Warm Morning 523. We were buying it by the ton then we stopped, really didn’t have a good place to store it. Started buying it by the bag from a local feed store. They would bag it in the 50lb feed sacks and sell it for $8/bag. Easier to haul and maintain. We keep it stored under the cabin for now.

Building a woodshed this spring to move all the wood and coal into it. Then we are replacing the underpinning around the cabin to totally enclose it. Have a small access door on one end.