Country Hearth 24A, Owner'S Manual

18 

OPERATION

Burning Coal

Your furnace is capable of burning both Bituminous and 
Anthracite coal.  Anthracite is perhaps the best coal fuel 
because its long even burn time, high heat output, and 
cleanliness make it a good choice for the home.  However, 
keep in mind it is a much more dif

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 cult fuel to use, requires 

more care and patience, is not so widely available, and is 
usually much more expensive than bituminous.

Size Of Coal

Most sizes of Bituminous Coal will work in your New 
Furnace, for best results we recommend large nut coal 
to small egg coal (1-3/4” dia. to 4” dia.).  When burning 
Anthracite, use egg or broken with sizes between 2-5/16” 
thru 4-3/8”.  Note that it is important to the long life of your 
furnace to buy coal which has been sized and cleaned.  
Cleaning insures removal of rocks and other materials.  
Never use coal smaller than 1” or larger than 5” in diam-
eter.  Small sized coal will smother the 

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 re.  Too large a 

size of coal will not burn well.

Stove Operation

All coal 

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 res should be started with wood which will allow 

the 

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 re to get hot enough to ignite the coal.  The best 

ignition 

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 res utilize dry pine or other resinous soft woods 

as kindling, with hard wood (oak, hickory, ash) added to 
increase the heat prior to addition of the coal.

Burning Bituminous

 Once your kindling and wood 

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 re has produced a bed of 

well established coals, start adding coal in layers allow-
ing each to ignite before adding more.  Bituminous has 
a high volatile content and, as a result, should be 

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 red 

with the “conical method” - with the highest portion of your 

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 rebed in the center of the 

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 rebox.  The 

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 rst 

fl

 ames will be 

long and generally orange or yellow and produce quite a 
bit of smoke.  As the gases burn off the 

fl

 ames become 

shorter, change colorand produce less smoke.  Once the 

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 re is WELL ESTABLISHED add coal to the center of the 

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 rebox forming the cone.  Burning in this fashion allows 

heat to drive off the volatile gases, and turbulence created 
increases the burn ef

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 ciency.  You will have to experiment 

with your particular setup as no two chimney’s or installa-
tions are going to be the same.  Just remember to allow 
enough secondary air to enter the 

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 rebox and keep your 

stove pipe damper open so that volatiles are properly 
burned.  Before refueling, take the time to break up the 
cone a little with a poker, especially if it has caked over or 
formed a crust.  But, be careful not to mix the coal as this 
increases the chances of forming clinkers.  When shaking 
the grate(s) be gentle.  Just a few short movements is 
better than a lot of agitation.  The objective is to remove 
a small amount of the ashes without disturbing the 

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 re.  

Stop when you see a glow in the ashes or the 

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 rst red 

coals fall into the ash pan.  Excessive shaking wastes fuel 

and can expose the grate(s) to very high temperatures 
which can cause warpage or burnout.

For overnight operation (long duration burn time) shake 
the 

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 re and add coal, retaining your center cone.  Once 

the volatiles are burned off, close the feed door and adjust 
your stove pipe damper.  Then adjust your thermostat to 
the desired heat level.
You will have more MAINTENANCE with bituminous than 
with anthracite coal as more soot will collect on heating 
surfaces and in pipes, requiring more frequent cleaning.

Anthracite

 Before starting the 

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 re open - the stove pipe damper, open 

the ash pit door and feed door, place newspaper, 

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 nely 

split kindling on the grate, and light the paper.  Add larger 
hard wood after kindling is burning brightly. 

 CAUTION:  

Never use gasoline, lantern fuel, kerosene, charcoal 
lighter 

fl

 uid, or other 

fl

 ammable liquids to start or 

freshen up a 

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 re in this heater. 

 Place the larger pieces 

of wood on the 

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 re so that they are slightly separated and 

form a level for the addition of coal.  It will take 10 to 20 
minutes before this wood is thoroughly ignited.  Adding 
coal too soon will cut the air supply and smother the 

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 re.

Add a thin layer of coal (preferably smaller chunks) to the 
wood 

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 re, being careful not to disturb it too much or cut 

off the draft.  Then, add a second heavier layer after the 
coal is ignited and burning well.  If necessary, add a third 
layer to bring the coal up to the top of the front liner (not 
above!).  Be sure you have closed your ash door.
Before adding further fuel, be sure you leave a red spot of 
glowing coals in the center of the 

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 rebox to insure that you 

have not smothered the 

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 re and to help ignite thegases 

given off by the new charge.  A deep charge will give a 
more even heat and a longer 

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 re, but it may take one to 

two hours before the whole bed is fully ignited.
When the 

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 re is well established and the room is becom-

ing warm, partially close the dampers.  You will have to 
experiment with your particular setting of the damper and 
controls as your chimney provides the draft necessary to 
not only exhaust the smoke, but to pull combustion air 
into the heater as well - and no two chimney’s perform the 
same.  Leave the ash pit damper at least partially open 
to prevent the 

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 re from going out.  Adjust the stove pipe 

damper to reduce the draft on the 

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 re.  With anthracite you 

will see short blue 

fl

 ames above the coal, except when 

the 

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 re is started or a new charge is added.  If, however, 

there is no 

fl

 ame then the 

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 re needs more air from the 

bottom (unless it is near the end of its burn cycle and 
needs to be recharged).
Only when the coal is burned down to half its original 
depth is it time to add fresh coal.  When doing so, open 
your stove pipe damper, which will allow the 

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 re to burn 

off any accumulated gases.  Open the feed door, and with 
a small rake, hoe or hooked poker pull the glowing coals