Can I burn coal in stove with a twin skinned flue?

Moanin

I have a stanley Tara which is fitted to an external twin skinned flue. I am currently burning calcoal and wooden blocks and am thinking about replacing the calcoal with coal.The calcoal is costing me €17 per bag while I can get coal for €13 a bag. Somebody told me not to burn coal in the stove or flue as it creates alot of soot in the flue and I would have to get it cleaned more often. Is this true as I normally clean the flue once a year?

Thanks

paddy147

Moanin wrote: »

I have a stanley Tara which is fitted to an external twin skinned flue. I am currently burning calcoal and wooden blocks and am thinking about replacing the calcoal with coal.The calcoal is costing me €17 per bag while I can get coal for €13 a bag. Somebody told me not to burn coal in the stove or flue as it creates alot of soot in the flue and I would have to get it cleaned more often. Is this true as I normally clean the flue once a year?

Thanks

If you burn coal then you should get the flue swept twice or 3 teimes a year,as it does give off more soot.

Oh and yes,its ok to burn coal in the stove with twin walled stainless flue.

Moanin

Thanks Paddy!

pegasus1

paddy147 wrote: »

If you burn coal then you should get the flue swept twice or 3 teimes a year,as it does give off more soot.

Oh and yes,its ok to burn coal in the stove with twin walled stainless flue.

if you burn smokeless coal then there is no problem with soot

polish coal is the coal to avoid as it is very wet stuff, though you can get premium polish coal which is dryer and that seems to be ok..

another thing to look out for with coal is to make sure the coal is bone dry when burning it...

Antiquo

Hiya moanin I had a stove in the last house and manf said no bitumous coal only the smokeless either natural, i.e. Anthracite or manf smokeless, e.g. ecobrite, etc.

Not saying anyone is wrong or right just what I've experienced and Charnwood don't seem to have a problem as long as you clean the throat plate daily to remove soot.

Couple o bits cut from paperwork I have on the computer:

Stovax Manual

3.2 Solid fuel:
Burn only anthracite or manufactured briquette smokeless fuels listed as suitable for use with closed heating
appliances.

Do not burn bituminous coal, ‘petro-coke’ or other petroleum based fuels as this will invalidate the product guarantee.

The Open Fire Centre – Lancashire - Suppliers of Top Brand Stoves
Can I Burn Coal in My Stove?
The short answer is NO; multi-fuel stoves are not designed for it.:
Bituminous Coal, commonly called "Lump Coal" or "House Coal" is not suitable for multi-fuel stoves and it's use would probably invalidate the stove's warranty.
There are two main problems:
Bituminous coal burns with long flames which pass around the throat plate and play directly on the unprotected top of the stove with the likely result of a burned out throat plate and/or cracked top plate. Correct smokeless fuel burns with short flames which are contained within the protected firebox where they belong.
Bituminous coal also creates high volumes of soot which can block the throat plate and flue, causing fumes to be emitted into the room with potentially fatal results.
The only solid fuel suitable for multi-fuel stoves, is smokeless fuel. Your Stove Specialist will advise on the best fuel for a particular appliance. A good coal merchant should be able to advise but we do get reports of incorrect advice being given. There is an "Approved Coal Merchants Scheme" where you find your local qualified merchant.
Or better still, Burn Wood! Cleaner, Carbon-neutral, Sustainable & much more environmentally friendly!

pegasus1

here are some tips on using coal in a multifuel stove...its from an american site and they call them coal stoves..but are the same as our multifuel ones.

it is alright to use ordinary coal in a stove as long as you regularly clean the flue and chimney and don't overfill the stove with coal!

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/choose_coal/

Moanin

Thanks all.Stanley say it's ok to burn coal.It was the flue I was more concerned about. I find coal gives better heat than calcoal or eco bright.The stove isn't lit every day and some days not until late afternoon.I will see what it's like when I give it its first cleaning.

Seamus1964

So...what it's like ?

I found by using only slack ( either wet or not) it makes boiler/chimney very dusty.
Using bone dry polish coal is better for heat and last a lot longer but creates huge amount of glassy soot ..I think I'll prefer slack over doubles as its easier to clean dust than scrape "glass" off from the flue.And its a lot cheaper to buy..
Tried blue-stone but not much effect.