Do I Need a Damper?

[StihlMS360]

I'm wanting to install a coal furnace in my shop. I've tried propane and electric, but then are both very expensive and I was able to pick up an old wood/coal stove for free. It needs refurbished, but other wise it's in good shape.

Anyway, my question is: do I need a damper?
What are your experiences?

I did a search on the internet and I find conflicting information. Some say you don't need, since coal puts off more carbon monoxide, and you don't want to restrict its flow up the chimney. Others say you want it depending on what the outside temperatures are.

What do you guys think?

 

[Lee192233]

Might want to try Coalpail.com

They're very helpful.

 

[Del_]

I can't help you with your question concerning coal but I can say I've had a few employees over the years that looked like they were digging for coal with their Stihl MS360's. (well it was actually Stihl 036's.)

 

[Mad Professor]

I don't burn coal but grew up in a family of wood burners. I think all the stoves had dampers.

Not many got used but were handy if you ever got a chimney fire to cut off the draft.

 

[StihlMS360]

Thank you all for the replies.
@Lee192233, I found some threads on coalpail.com and it reads like I will need to find specific information for my stove. This may be hard to do since it is old, but I will see what I can find. It reads like depending on the stove or may not have one.

 

[Sidecarflip]

Heated the house with coal back in Ohio (Iron Fireman coal furnace) and the flue for it had a damper on it. Heating with coal is a whole different ballgame compared to heating with wood or nat gas or propane, entirely different and there is a definite learning curve involved. Had my coal delivered and dumped down the coal chute into the coal bin in the basement btw. Up here in southern Michigan, coal is pretty hard to obtain so no more coal heat. Besides the Iron Fireman i the Ohio house stayed with the house when I sold it.

Have fun.

 

[Whitespider]

A damper is cheap and easy to install.
Personally I'd install one.
If you never need to use it... so be it.
However, it's better have it and never need it, than it is to need it and not have it.
*

 

[StihlMS360]

A damper is cheap and easy to install.
Personally I'd install one.
If you never need to use it... so be it.
However, it's better have it and never need it, than it is to need it and not have it.
*

Yeah, this it what I was thinking. If I don't need it, I can always run it fully open.

 

[Del_]

I don't use a damper but I agree that they can be a good thing.

An exception could be in a case of a chimney that is on the border of not producing enough draft. Dampers do inhibit draft a small amount due to the fact that they are in the middle of what is usually laminar air flow.

 

[StihlMS360]

I don't use a damper but I agree that they can be a good thing.

An exception could be in a case of a chimney that is on the border of not producing enough draft. Dampers do inhibit draft a small amount due to the fact that they are in the middle of what is usually laminar air flow.

I will be going straight through the roof, so I don't think draft will be an issue.

 

[ErnieG]

I heat my house with two coal stoves and neither have a damper on them.
If your stove has a good door gasket and you CAN control the air intake you won't need a damper because the stove will be the damper .
One of my stoves is a Harman MarkIII that outlets into a conventional block and flue chimney and i usually only have to have the regulator knob open one turn and the other is a MarkI that outlets into a stainless double wall and its draft is open maybe a turn and a half .
I would say no damper at first and if your having problems with excessive draft then you may need a damper.
What model stove are you installing?

Ernie

 

[StihlMS360]

I heat my house with two coal stoves and neither have a damper on them.
If your stove has a good door gasket and you CAN control the air intake you won't need a damper because the stove will be the damper .
One of my stoves is a Harman MarkIII that outlets into a conventional block and flue chimney and i usually only have to have the regulator knob open one turn and the other is a MarkI that outlets into a stainless double wall and its draft is open maybe a turn and a half .
I would say no damper at first and if your having problems with excessive draft then you may need a damper.
What model stove are you installing?

Ernie

It's an older cylinder stove similar to this one. I'm having mine refurbished, so I can't post pics of exactly what it is.

 

[ErnieG]

It's an older potbelly stove similar to this one. I'm having mine refurbished, so I can't post pics of exactly what it is.
View attachment 1234188

Ahh got ya !
I'm not very familiar with that style or how they burn ..like I said I'd try it without the damper and if your having a hard time controlling your burn they you maybe need the damper to slow it down some .
Keep us posted when you get it up and running.


Ernie

 

[StihlMS360]

Ahh got ya !
I'm not very familiar with that style or how they burn ..like I said I'd try it without the damper and if your having a hard time controlling your burn they you maybe need the damper to slow it down some .
Keep us posted when you get it up and running.


Ernie

Sorry, Ernie I wrote and posted the wrong stove. I had a major brain fart, I actually meant to write cylinder stove. I edited and corrected the post. Don't know why I was thinking potbellied stove.
Hopefully I didn't cause too much confusion.

I did some research on the cylinder stoves and they are usually used in hunting cabins and tents. You're supposed to be able to burn coal in then as long as they have a coal grate, which mine does.

The guy that's redoing mine thinks it will heat a 800-900ft² area. My shop is 500ft², so I see no reason why it shouldn't work.

 

[montana59]

It's an older cylinder stove similar to this one. I'm having mine refurbished, so I can't post pics of exactly what it is.

View attachment 1234201

Better hope you have good grates in there. Coal burns extremely hot. Good thing about stoke before bed and get draft set right, it will burn all night

 

[Sidecarflip]

One thing about burning coal and that is, you need real grates in the stove, preferably shaker grates and without grates, the coal will burn through the bottom of the stove pretty quickly. Coal combusts very hot and produces a lot of ash which is why shaker grates are necessary. Far as igniting it, I always used my O/A torch and kindling to get it going, if I let it go out but then I was combusting hard coal (Anthracite) not Bituminous.

Shaker grates or not, they need to be replaced on a regular basis as well because the coals from the coal will eat them up as well.

In Ohio where getting coal delivered was never an issue, it was good. Up here in Michigan, coal is an issue so no coal roasting now. I can get bagged nuggets of Pa hard coal but it's pretty expensive, more expensive than just running propane or processed wood pellets. We have 2 biomass (pellet) stoves as backup for the HF propane furnace, but just for supplemental heat as pellets aren't cheap either. Processed wood pellets here are just a tad higher than propane is presently. I own 3, 500 gallon propane bottles and I get them all filled in the summer, when propane is typically less expensive and 3 bottles last the entire winter both heating the house as well as the shop.

 

[StihlMS360]

Hmm, I know that I'm supposed to be able to burn coal in it. I never thought about it burning through the bottom of the stove. Mostly because I found someone online that has burned coal in his for seven years and never had a problem.
Do you guys think I'll have issues burning anthracite coal in the cylinder stove?

 

[montana59]

Hmm, I know that I'm supposed to be able to burn coal in it. I never thought about it burning through the bottom of the stove. Mostly because I found someone online that has burned coal in his for seven years and never had a problem.
Do you guys think I'll have issues burning anthracite coal in the cylinder stove?

As sidecarflip said shaker grates are the best, coal get hot and grates will get ate sooner or later

 

[Sidecarflip]

Hmm, I know that I'm supposed to be able to burn coal in it. I never thought about it burning through the bottom of the stove. Mostly because I found someone online that has burned coal in his for seven years and never had a problem.
Do you guys think I'll have issues burning anthracite coal in the cylinder stove?

Keep in mind that hard (Anthracite) coal burns hotter than soft (Bituminous) coal does and hard coal combusted in any appliance with no grates (shaker or otherwise) will eventually destroy the metal floor. All has to do with combustion temperatures and oxidation of the metal under high heat conditions.

Stove manufacturers will tell consumers anything but did that actually test them, themselves?

Other thing about coal in general is it produces a ton of ash, even more so than softwood so you need to keep up on cleaning it and why shaker grates are nice because you literally 'shake' the ashes into the ash pan to be removed easily. You really cannot dispose of coal ash easily either. Unlike wood ash, you cannot spread it in your garden simply because it won't grown anything. if you have a gravel driveway, put it there, in the gravel.

 

[StihlMS360]

Keep in mind that hard (Anthracite) coal burns hotter than soft (Bituminous) coal does and hard coal combusted in any appliance with no grates (shaker or otherwise) will eventually destroy the metal floor. All has to do with combustion temperatures and oxidation of the metal under high heat conditions.

Stove manufacturers will tell consumers anything but did that actually test them, themselves?

Other thing about coal in general is it produces a ton of ash, even more so than softwood so you need to keep up on cleaning it and why shaker grates are nice because you literally 'shake' the ashes into the ash pan to be removed easily. You really cannot dispose of coal ash easily either. Unlike wood ash, you cannot spread it in your garden simply because it won't grown anything. if you have a gravel driveway, put it there, in the gravel.

Here is a picture of what my grate looks like, I might be able to fab some sort of shaker grate for it.




Maybe I should consider wood pellets?