I feel like a smoker who is trying to give up and who has fallen off the wagon. Although our range isn’t really suited to wood, and is 50+ years old, a few alterations and it has burned pretty well, with one slight snag – the quantities that it consumes. Admittedly we’ve had to manage with whatever we could, so it’s not great firewood, but by any standards it has been a lot. This makes cookery into an art form, as you juggle pots and pans with the need to constantly feed the hungry fire below.
After a couple of frosty mornings, and with the words of the Esse man ringing in my ears I cracked and bought 2 bags of coal. Immediately our oven is hotter than we’ve seen it, and even the radiators are hot. Five whole hours went by without having to load more fuel.
“Never mind the smell, I said, Think of the heat”. Having loaded more fuel and taken a couple of good lungfuls of coal smoke, I wasn’t so sure. Then the dust, which although you can’t see it, seems to get everywhere.
Did I mention the smell? So far, our house has been surrounded by the gentle smell of woodsmoke, now replaced by something altogether more ‘industrial revolution’. We are in danger of being dragged into the nineteenth century. I am torn – the environmental impact of using coal, both in terms of it being a non renewable, and in terms of it making us cough, goes against everything we stand for, but then I wonder whether if that is worth it until we have enough wood seasoned to give us a supply that will burn well. I’m starting to think not, and that I’ll just have to carry on spending my days gathering fallen timber from the woods, until the day when we can find (and afford) a more economical wood fired range.
Postscript – We hooted with laughter, watching Ruth on Wartime Farm, saying how desperate folk combed the woods for any sticks they could find. Welcome to our world Ruth.
We use ‘Eco-Brite’ in our Stanley Range Steve. I know exactly what you mean about coal. It’s full of heavy metals. Our fuel costs seventeen Euros and it’s smokeless. I would rather pay a couple of Euros/Pounds for clean solid fuel. It’s also a lot warmer than coal.
I am really enjoying watch the Wartime Farm. Could do with a Furze machine for the Shetland pony.
Haven’t come across eco-brite, but will investigate. The price is pretty scary though. Strangely coal doesn’t seem to have changed in price much over the last few years, maybe because less people use it?
What’s a furze machine? I must have missed that bit. The farm we lived on in the truck had a lot of the kit that turns up on these shows, and I especially covet their belt driven grain crusher.
http://milkwood.net/tag/rocket-stove/
Check out Milkwood’s rockets stove heater, I experienced how efficient it was with little wood, something to consider.
The price is pretty scary for eco-brite. However the heat it generates is incredible. I have heard that a lot of coal is full of impurities and its not good for you. How much do you pay for a bag of coal Steve? It’s thirteen Euros down here in West Cork.
Furze is obviously Gorse. A Furze machine was for crushing the Gorse to feed to the horse. Rather like a turnip chopper with a large handle to turn. The horse drawn grain crusher on Wartime Farm reminded me of the Furze machine.
According to old Irish folklore. A bachelor would always check for any missing fingers on a spinster milkmaids hand, because she wouldn’t be able to milk the cow if she had a finger missing. My grandparents and uncle used to also grow Mangels for the cattle and carthorse.
Coal is warmer but I would try a smokeless fuel, seasoned wood lasts much longer too. I hope you have it all figured out soon and keep warm this winter.
Been reading up about Furze (Gorse) in between my farmyard chores. You can use Gorse for firewood. They used to grow fields of it the West Of Ireland and sell it for kindling and firewood in Galway city centre. You can use Gorse for feeding the cattle and horse if you hit it with a wooden mallet and crush the spike, then hang it up for them,they will eat it.
I have some to clear, so I’ll save it up for the fire. Am getting very good at spotting standing dead wood in the woods, which is usually nice and dry, and can be burned immediately.
Ultimately, we want smokeless fuels to take over. Its efficient and cost effective for us in the long run. It burns 40% longer than regular coal. I hope word is getting out about this.
After 2 days we went back to wood, and haven’t looked back. It just takes a bit more management. I suppose most people don’t use coal fired cookers these days, but even so, just using it in the burner is messier and smellier than wood. Never again.