How to Burn Coal in a Fireplace
Coal creates less smoke than a wood-burning fire and it can burn untended for several hours. Burning coal releases carbon monoxide, which means that burning coal inside your home can create a risk for carbon monoxide poisoning. It is possible to burn coal safely inside your home if you take the right precautions, but due to the risk, it is still a good idea to use coal as an alternative to wood only temporarily and not as a long-term replacement. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Make sure your fireplace is coal-burning. Coal burns hotter than wood, so if your fireplace isn't built for it, it can be a major fire hazard.
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Get a cast iron grate that has small enough openings that coal won't fall through. Coal needs a constant supply of air underneath it in order to keep burning.
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Use Lignite coal. Lignite is a brown coal that is easier to burn than Anthracite coal, which is the black coal that is traditionally used in coal stoves.
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Use dry wood and paper to get the fire started. Keep adding pieces of hardwood pieces one at a time. When you have a whole grate of red embers burning, you can start adding coal.
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Add only a few pieces of coal at a time. You will need to keep the air flowing in order to ignite the coal. If you put too much coal on the fire at once, it will smother the flame.
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Comments
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Isabel, you need to burn woods first then add the coal on top of the fire..
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We've tried to burn coal inside our build in braai, but it doenst want to work, maybe our fire isn't correct, some help will be appreciated.
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Need help please! We've got a build in braai, and my husband bought black coal and it doesn't want to work.
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bdh459
Jul 18, 2010
There is a mistake in this article. Coal does not burn hotter than wood. In my combination stove, when burning wood the stove thermometer is 550 to 650 degrees. When burning coal it is 250 to 350. Wood burns with more intensity, coal burns more evenly.
