[PMD1969]

Originally Posted by klunker

I just want a place to warm myself after enjoying a day in the great out of doors, I don't want to live in the oven!!

Meh, two months in the hundreds is nothing compared to two months at ZERO WITH SNOW !

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by PMD1969

Meh, two months in the hundreds is nothing compared to two months at ZERO WITH SNOW !

I disagree.

When it's cold out, you can still go outside and be active - you just need to dress appropriately.

When it's hot outside, you can take off all your clothes - but it's still too hot to be active.

Back when I used to compete in cross country skiing, I loved zero degree days. The perfect weather for a race.

[Rugratman]

Can you put a few pieces of coal in a wood stove?

[Doug]

Anthracite coal burns with a great deal of heat. It is known for burning the grates out of fireplaces, stoves which are not made for burning anthracite.

[Sirrotica]

If you line a wood stove efficiently with firebrick it will save the stove from the higher heat of coal. My dad told me that years ago when everyone heated with wood and coal, they definitely used to throw some coal in with the wood fire to sustain a fire overnight.

I've seen some old cast iron stoves that were were designed to burn wood used to burn coal and they have sagged down the cast parts due to overheating/overfiring and lack of firebrick where it was needed.

In the early days of steel making anthracite blast furnaces were used to melt, pour and forge steel with so the capacity to melt steel is definitely there with coal.