coal?

[rosko]

I've been using anthracite coal to heat my house boiler for about 8 yrs now; I have heard its been used in pizza ovens in NYC- any one try this in a Forno Bravo oven? How is it done?

[kstronach]

Re: coal?

hi rosko.

not gonna be much help to you sorry as i have never used coal however . . . i'm on the same train of thought as you and hopefully with a little bump on this topic someone with some more knowledge may chip in!! i know in the US there are a lot of coal fired restaurants so someone must have used it! not sure if its more suited to the New York style pizza though rather than the true neapolitan pizza? i'm hoping i can chuck some coal on with my wood fire to boost the heat output as i believe coal burns hotter than wood . . but i may be wrong!!

keith

[shuboyje]

Re: coal?

Coal in a standard wood fired oven doesn't work. Coal needs a constant supply of air. The old fashion coal ovens used draught to pressurized the chamber and force air into the fire like a blast furnace. The most modern coal ovens use a fan and forced air.

As for coal burning hotter, it does in the most technical sense, but in pizza oven terms wood is much hotter. Reason being coal does not provide live flame. In a pizza oven the live flame is needed to provide the top heat for a balanced bake at high temperature. The coal cannot provide this live frame, and therefore the ovens need to run at a lower temperature for a balanced bake.

[TropicalCoasting]

Re: coal?

the fly ash emitted by a power plant—a by-product from burning coal for electricity—carries into the surrounding environment 100 times more radiation than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy.

Coal Ash Is More Radioactive than Nuclear Waste: Scientific American

[kstronach]

Re: coal?

thanks for the replys guys, fairly conclusive then that its a no no for a wfo then!

regards

keith

[jeeppiper]

Re: coal?

I bought a bag of coal thinking I could use it in my oven. I got a good fire started with wood, and threw some coal in....The next day, I was sifting through the ashes and found the coal that I put in, still completely in tact.

So now I have a 50 (well, 49) pound bag of coal that I cant use. Anyone want it?

[Gulf]

Re: coal?

Hang on to it. You could use it to make some great! oven tools

Popular Mechanics Sink Forge

Just sayin' .

[TropicalCoasting]

Re: coal?

how cool is that....