How do you light a coal fire as you're quite cold?

Answer 1

Before lighting (firing) a coal furnace, have a reputable furnace man go over your ducts, flue, and chimney. If you've never fired a coal furnace or never used one, ask the furnace repairman lots of questions and what each part (levers) do. You might ask the repairman to SHOW you how to load and fire the furnace for the first time. That would be very worth paying extra for the service call.

Do some research about what can and CANNOT be burned in a coal furnace! Some materials can let off poisonous gases and should never be put in a coal furnace. Plain precut wood can be burned, but avoid treated, painted, or varnished wood. Also, a furnace is NOT a "wood stove" so don't use cord logs. And, I assume you intend to burn bituminous (soft) coal, not anthracite which (a) doesn't burn well and (b) is generally not recommended to use for home heating.

There are two main parts to a coal furnace, the top door where you put coal and other items to burn, and a lower door where coal refuse ("clinkers") and ash falls. There is a lever (should be near the top door) that when moved "shakes" the grate on the floor of the top chamber.

Make sure you have a set of tools used for coal furnaces. I don't remember, now, all the names, but for example, one metal tool is like a hoe with holes that you use to pull material forward in the furnace and to stoke the fire.

Bring a wheelbarrow filled with coal over to the furnace. Make sure you have a "coal shovel" which is uniquely much wider and flatter that a regular shovel. It's a good safety measure to have a METAL bucket of water near the furnace-- remember everything you will need must be off to your left side so you can access it quickly. An open furnace door will block the right.

ALWAYS, AND BEFORE EACH TIME YOU BUILD A FIRE, YOU MUST make sure the lower door is CLOSED and clear the upper grate, eg. "shake" it using the lever. This removes ash and coal "clunkers" (hard, brittle, non-fireable coal refuse) and drops it into the lower chamber. Note: If you have the bottom door open, you'll get a cloud of coal ash dust in the air, eyes, face-- not good! Wait 30 minutes after "shaking" the grate, to let the dust in the lower chamber settle. Open the door and shovel out as much refuse as you can-- put into a wheelbarrow to take outside to a designated area you will use for that purpose. Example: Most people dumped it near a "burn barrell" but most local ordinances now forbid burning, so you might not have an area like that. Just pick a spot out of the way to use to dump it. Dumping it out also causes a dust cloud, so wear a protective mask.

Now, you are almost ready to build a coal fire.

The key to a coal fire is how you "build" it and where you make it. Never, ever build your mound of materials at the front of the furnace because when you open the door, materials on fire could fall out. Very dangerous. Instead, near the far back wall place a couple medium lumps of coal. Crumple up single full sheets of newspaper-- the non-slippery paper, black and white print. Crumple these loosely, not in tight balls or wads. Place 4 or 5 of these crumpled pages on top of the two pieces of coal. Like in a camp fire, you next place cardboard, like in an upside down V over that pile so you have a little "tent". Use regular cardboard, not the slippery kind that has been "treated". You could also use small pieces of scrap wood first to make the upside down V. Add another piece of crumpled paper to the front, mostly put under that upside down V, but with a little sticking out. Make sure the flue is set properly to draw smoke up through the chimney-- you will likely need to adjust this again after you start the fire.

Use a tool that holds paper at one end (sorry, I forget the name of the tool), or use long furnace matches. Light the paper being held by the tool and insert the tool into the chamber-- gently hold it near or against the crumpled paper under the V tent until it catches. Once it has "caught", remove the tool -- you can douse it in the bucket of water. As the fire catches on, close the door, check the flue. You should not have smoke coming out through the open or closed furnace door! If you do, don't add more material until you adjust the flue!

Once you are sure the furnace and flue is operating properly, smoke escaping up the back of the furnace to the chimney, and the mound burning, you can begin shoveling coal. BUT you cannot just pile it in... the weight can initially suffocate the fire. So add a shovel-full, as close to the mid-line and on the mound, and close the door. As that pile catches, you can add more coal.

You must ask questions of a reputable repairman. Though the upper chamber looks huge inside, you cannot build a mound that is too high or add "too much" material or coal-- e.g. the goal is NOT to fill up the furnace. The pile or mound should NOT be even half as high as you might think, and should NOT extend across to both sides or walls of the furnace. If you overload the furnace like that, you can cause the furnace to overheat, cause a chimney or house fire, especially because once the coal catches, it will burn for many hours!

Once you have a knack for building a basic fire, AND you are knowledgeable about what to burn or NOT burn in a furnace, you can add to your burning materials things like household papers/bills, toilet roll or paper towel cardboard inserts, etc. Keep these away from the furnace-- at least 5 feet away. Once you know how to build and maintain a fire, it is basically a constant, round-the-clock task of checking the fire every couple hours, stoking the fire (moving the fuel to give it air), and SLOWLY adding SMALL amounts of new materials to keep the fire burning at an "even" rate.

NOTE: Coal Furnaces throughout history have caused chimney and house fires-- fires at houses, businesses, churches, etc., with high property damages, loss of lives, or serious burns. PLEASE do not rely only on advice from the internet. Consult a reputable furnace company! The description above relies on my memories of coal furnace maintenance and firing a coal furnace in the 1960s through 1970s. Memories can never substitute for in-person instruction from experts!

Answer 2

PLEASE answer, we're FREEZING!