Residential coal heat

[junkhound]

Was in Scotland recently the smell of burning coal brought back memories of the old coal furnace when I was a kid. Apparently some (Or more than some?) residences still use coal (Lothians area). One pub I was in had the coal brazier going, could smell the SO2 from burning coal in the pub.

So, was wondering, has anyone run across an operating residential coal heating plant in the US or Canada in the last few years?? Or an operating gravity furnace? Are there any left?

Grandma died in '74 and had the old gravity furnace with the gas conversion burner, pop used the house for storage for 30 years. '74 was the last year that unit operated as heat. Installed a HP there in 2005 as brother wanted to use it for an office and tore out the big ol' gravity furnace - happily pop had gotten rid of all the asbestos in '74 as he'd heard at work there were big regulations coming in '75, he heated the house when needed with a wood stove in the basement.

[NewportNic]

My wife's cousin in Central Pennsylvania uses an 1950's American Standard coal fired boiler, with indirect hot water. I'm sure he's not the only one doing that in coal country.

Klaus
Walbridge FM
"I'm one of those regular weird people." Janis Joplin born January 19, 1943

[mbarson]

Check this coal boiler out...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--juG-gudxA

My brother in law put one in 2 years ago and really likes it. It heats a large out building and the house and hot water during the winter. The coal is anthracite and burns with almost no smoke, the waste after burning looks like slag, no mess to clean up. The coal is shipped in 40# sacks like salt pellets. An interesting system. He compared this to wood and corn boilers and decided on coal. I would say the only down side is it is kind of noisy with the feeder running all the time, I wouldn't want it in the basement.

[hvacvegas]

I pulled a converted to natural gas, gravity furnace last year. Old part of town. Thing was a beast.

Guy I worked with told me exactly how to take it apart, because he used to install them when he was 14.

[SJProwler]

Sault St. Marie Michigan still has lots of homes with coal heat. Most older units with the "stoker". First time I visited my cousins that lived there I wondered why they had a dishwasher hooked to the furnace... Stoker looked like one of the old top load dishwashers.

[martyinlincoln]

Dad put in a NEW coal furnace two years ago when propane prices went crazy high. He's in Ohio.