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I can't specifically comment on soft coal but the burning characteristic are similar to hard coal. It's more like in between wood and hard coal.
As far as hard coal the ideal hand fired coal stove has a deep bed with vertical walls and all the air from underneath. You need a deep bed of coal and the energy density is 5 or 6 times that of wood. Once lit you're going to fill it completely and use the air to control the heat. This is where people that have burned wood usually make their mistake because they think more fuel is equal to more heat but that is only the case if you have the air up high. Since they don't have enough fuel on the fire it goes out, once you get that large bed of coal going you're good for at least 6 to 40 hours depending on how big your stove is and how much air you have on it. It's very controllable in the sense you can have a wide range of heat output but it's a slow process adjusting it. If you get a really hot fire going it's like taking a hit of acid. There is no turning back and it's going to be a while before it slows down, vice versa it takes while to ramp up.
For short term cooking needs it's really not suitable, if anything the stove in the OP may have some potential since it has a fan and you can use smaller sized coal in smaller quantities.
For long term cooking ans heating needs that's a whole other ball game.
Last edited by thecoalman; 05-31-2014 at 08:20 PM..
if anything the stove in the OP may have some potential since it has a fan and you can use smaller sized coal in smaller quantities.
Just one thing to clarify here. I'm sure something could be made but due to the way you need to burn it any of these smaller devices are not going to last that long as in perhaps once. In any coal stove anything in direct contact with the coal is a heavy cast iron and/or fire brick.
This from a really large hand fed boiler. Note the deep box, vertical sides and air from underneath. It's designed to be filled completely with coal.
It seems that the best way to use coal would be to use the same dimensions as shown but simply scaled down. Firebrick would be the easiest and it would be simple enough to arrange an airflow from below. It would be best to break the coal into small chunks.
Books on steam locomotive design provide the right proportions for fireboxes. It's fortunate that a rocket stove is similar in firebox size to a small miniature steam locomotive. Some of them are coal fired.
I saw a very small coal furnace, really a parlor stove, that put out an immense amount of heat. The homeowners were very pleased with it.
For anthracite it's primarily used for home heating followed closely by industrial purposes. It' already comes in variety of sizes. For residential heating there is 4 main sizes from chestnut coal which is about the size of baseball too rice which is about the size of a pencil eraser.
Chestnut and pea which is about the size of a quarter are used in hand fired stoves. The larger the size you have the more heat it will make because of higher air flows, it burns faster though. The smaller sizes like rice are used in stoker stoves which are automated, they use forced combustion air and will go out without it.
I think the problem you are going to encounter with a really small stove is not getting the right combination of fuel and air flow. That's why I said the one in the OP would be more suitable because it has a fan for combustion air.
As far as regular sized coal stoves and stokers there is a unit to fit any imaginable need. There is small hand fired units, inserts, hot air stokers, boilers.... the list is really endless.
EFM makes a coal boiler, here it is in operation with hard coal:
If you're interested they have a dealer in Jackson Wyoming and you can inquire there. If you speak to Emily tell her that her web guy sent you. Just be sitting down when you ask the price.
I wonder what the operations cost different is between the coal fired one and the electric boiler. Of course I know a lot of it depends on the cost of power and the cost per ton of coal. And which one is more volatile in your area too.
I ran across this video a few days ago. I had everything on hand except the posts and they were cheap. Even if you need to buy everything including Altoids it's very cheap and you'll gain experience building it.. Besides, Altoids are very tasty. You shouldn't buy them just for the tin.
I used a lighter with Vaseline soaked cotton to start the fire, then added wood shavings and some other assorted debris. Using a one quart covered Cuisinart Triple Clad Pro I boiled 24 ounces of water in just a few minutes. Be sure too cover the pot to keep the heat in.
This is a great addition to your kit for a day hike as well as EDC or a backup survival stove. It would really be fine as a primary home survival stove.
The issue with the coal is anthracite is only mined in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it can be used in urban environment. Soft coal available almost anywhere has issues like soot, strong sulfur smell and it clinkers easy. A clinker is a mass of fused volatiles and can be huge problem especially in automated systems. Anthracite doesn't do this becsue the carbon content is so high. The other problem with soft coal is that it's not sized precisely in the smaller sizes like anthracite that are used in automated systems.
Locally I can have coal delivered into my coal bin for about $200 per ton, it can go as high as $350/ton is some of the furthest away places like Maine. In Wyoming they might be paying $60/ton for the soft coal.
Coal $200/ton @85% eff. = $9.80 per million BTU
Coal $350/ton @85% eff. = $17.16 per million BTU
Coal $65/ton @85% eff. = $2.94 per million BTU
Electric $0.12/kWh @100% eff. = $35.17
*assumes 24 million BTU per ton of coal. Anthracite hovers between 24 and 25 but can be as high as 28. Soft coal in the eastern US has similar BTU contents. Coal in Wyoming might be closer to 18 to 19 million BTU but does have a lower sulfur content unlike the eastern soft coal.
You could probably have the coal delivered by Fedex and still get away cheaper. What a lot of these people are doing in further away places is having tractor loads delivered if they have the room. Might be $250/ton in the areas they are paying $350. I have post here in this forum because as survivalist fuel you can't go wrong. You can store it forever and the anthracite is smokeless if you are concerned about attracting other people.
One thing to note, the EFM boilers I've posted about are expensive. They are about $9k on a pallet in my area however you only buy it once. There is 50 and 60 year old units still in service and when they get to that age with a little bit of work might be good for another 20 years. It wouldn't suprise me if 30 years from now there is EFM's 100 years old still working. Time will tell.
That's the Cadillac of coal burning, keep in mind it has a ground level auger fed system that makes life a whole lot easier. There is cheaper models, small 90K BTU hot air units start around $2K.
Last edited by thecoalman; 06-04-2014 at 12:54 AM..
This is a great addition to your kit for a day hike as well as EDC or a backup survival stove. It would really be fine as a primary home survival stove.
I can see where that might be useful in damp/snowy environments or perhaps under the rain fly in your tent but where I live getting a fire going is never an issue no matter what the conditions. KISS.
I was just looking at John D. McCann's website and clicked on stoves. He's carrying several interesting items; he tests and evaluates everything before he offers them for sale. Be sure to link to his youtube material while you're there.
The current thread on rocket stoves reminded me of this thread. It deserves a prominent place on this forum. I hope that it may draw back some of these posters. There's a cornucopia of information here, not likely to be repeated again.
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There is no turning back and it's going to be a while before it slows down, vice versa it takes while to ramp up. 
What a lot of these people are doing in further away places is having tractor loads delivered if they have the room. Might be $250/ton in the areas they are paying $350. I have post here in this forum because as survivalist fuel you can't go wrong. You can store it forever and the anthracite is smokeless if you are concerned about attracting other people. 
