Industry Trends, 1997

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Other Trends for '97

Woodstoves are certified by independent labs to be in compliance with EPA standards, but coal and pellet stoves, due to low emissions, remain unregulated. Pellet stoves, for instance, entered the market at a highly competitive time, but they continue to make their mark; they are convenient and ecologically sound, and they get you away from the gas company. Along the same lines, clean-burning anthracite coal, though hardly stirring up as big a frenzy as the Pennsylvania coal industry wants to believe, is certainly growing in popularity.

"This is the fuel. It doesn't smoke. It doesn't smell; there's no creosote build up," says Jack Stauffenberg, international sales manager for Blaschak Coal Co, in Mahonoy City, PA.

Anthracite coal is glassy and hard, and referred to as "black marble." It is the oldest coal geologically and is deepest in the ground. Other younger and dirtier types of coal are bituminous coal, also known as acid rain coal, and lignite coal, the brown, young coal used often in power plants. These coals are largely responsible for the unbearable pollution, acid rain, and massive destruction of forests and ecosystems in Eastern Europe, and the reason nuclear power is so popular in that part of the world.

Americans use coal in power plants too, but the American phenomenon of using coal in wood stoves is fairly recent. Now you can buy coal stoves like pellet stoves with hoppers and automatic augers for coal. Direct vent with no chimney, they're called "automatic coal stokers," and they cost slightly less than a pellet stove, ranging from $1,500-$2,300. The Harman DVC-500 Direct Vent Coal Stoker is a basic one, and for a coal stove designed to be maintenancefree, since there are no moving parts in the feed, take a look at the Hitzer E-Z Flo, hand built by Amish Craftsmen.

Anthracite Coal produces twice as much heat as pellets. The advantage of coal is that it will heat a bigger space for a longer time. A disadvantage tage used to be dust, but now distributors' washes and bags damp coal, eliminating dust. According to Blaschak Coal Company, a 501b bag of anthracite sells for $5.50. Supposedly 3 bags a week will heat a medium-sized home. The disadvantage, of course, is dependence on a non-renewable resource. (Blaschak claims that there are reserves of coal in Pennsylvania to last for 150-200 years.) Clean-burning anthracite coal comes only from Pennsylvania. Originally, it was used primarily in the Northeast. But, it is grabbing a hold in the Midwest, and distributors say they are expanding west, especially in the Rocky Mountain region and the Pacific Northwest.

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