Cost Savings ??

boiler

But, correct me if I am wrong with a boiler I would not need my oil furnance or do they sell small supplemental boilers.

If you are in the market to buy a new furnace, boiler, or heat pump, you need to know the differences so you make the right decision for your home and needs.
What is a Furnace?
A furnace is an enclosed heating unit that heats air by transferring heat in a metal combustion chamber to the air and circulating it throughout heating ducts in the house. Furnaces can run on electricity, natural gas, propane or fuel oil.

What is a Boiler?
A boiler is a heating system that consists of a sealed chamber that converts water to steam or heats water for circulation in a hydronic heating system. If you have radiators distributed throughout your home you have a boiler. (Although some boilers distribute heat through baseboard heaters or even radiant pipes embedded in your floors!)

What Is a Heat Pump?
A heat pump is an electric air conditioning and heating system that captures existing outdoor heat and transfers the heat into the home. Like a warm-air furnace a heat pump distributes heat through the air ducts in your home.

Your Current Heating System: What You Need to Know
Before purchasing a new heating system, you need to know what type of heating system you currently have. (If you have a boiler and your want to install a warm-air furnace you would need to go through the expensive process of installing new ductwork!) Three things to consider when purchasing a new or upgrading your heating system:

Choosing an appropriately sized system;

Selecting an energy efficient heating system;

Buying the most cost-effective heating solution for your home

Got a Furnace?
If you're looking to replace your furnace the following article offers more detail on buying a furnace.

Got a Boiler?
If you need to replace your boiler, it’s best to replace it with another boiler. Because there are oil-filled boilers and electric boilers, it is vital that you consider the size of your home and your family’s needs. This article offers more information on buying a boiler.

Got a Heat Pump?
The main determining factor in choosing a heat pump is climate. A heat pump is not the best choice in areas that get extremely cold, since it requires transferring cold air from outside the home and warming it up for distribution inside the home—the colder the air outside of the home, the harder the heat pump would have to work to warm up the inside of the home, making this an inefficient heating system for colder climates.

Copyright 2007 DoItYourself.com

I have the KA-2. Most handy guys will have little trouble with installation (except strength). Feel free to look at my post concerning my install. Realistically coal is about saving money and energy independence. This is not about convenience. Propane, Gas, Oil: man, they are sweet! No lugging, lifting, dust and fully automatic. But you pay for it. With coal the choice is clear, the trade-off is your freedom (time, labor, waste). The benefit is cost. You will save at least 50%.

I'm an odd-ball on the forum. Like many members, I can't get natural gas. (This leaves me with propane, oil, or some kind of solid fuel choice.) But, unlike many of our friends and neighbors, the financial cost of the "convenient" options wouldn't affect me much. I simply opted out of the "game". I refuse to play along with the schemes, pricing, contracts and political implications of energy dependency of oil and propane.

I'm a user, not a lover, of coal. If cost is a major concern, then you've come to the right place. The savings are real. It's not like your pellet experience. Believe me, from a long term environmental impact point of view, I really wanted to love pellets. The pellet boilers offer more convenience, better (ie: updated) design, and superior automation. They will also be exempt from whatever Federal Fossil Energy BTU tax that will eventually be unleashed on us. However, in the present, those pellet boilers cost thousands more than their coal equivalents, there are significant difficulties meeting demand, and thus, the cost of heat delivered is much greater than what you will see with coal.

Thanks to everyones help and opinon. I will keep in touch, keep the advice comming, this forum is great.

Sierra wrote:But, correct me if I am wrong with a boiler I would not need my oil furnance or do they sell small supplemental boilers.

You want the oil burner there, and it is not just 100% backup for you. Your mortgage holder and insurance company will both appreciate it as they don't believe coal heat exists in this century. Another factor would be selling the home, most buyers would think that moving in would be like taking a time machine back to the 1800s, they will walk when they see coal heat as it is misunderstood in today's society.

Remember, these things need attention on a varying basis. It may take a few minutes every few days, but you cannot go to Australia for two weeks to hunt kangaroos in the dead of winter and expect the coal burner to be fine when you get back.

coaledsweat wrote:

Sierra wrote:But, correct me if I am wrong with a boiler I would not need my oil furnance or do they sell small supplemental boilers.

You want the oil burner there, and it is not just 100% backup for you. Your mortgage holder and insurance company will both appreciate it as they don't believe coal heat exists in this century. Another factor would be selling the home, most buyers would think that moving in would be like taking a time machine back to the 1800s, they will walk when they see coal heat as it is misunderstood in today's society.

Remember, these things need attention on a varying basis. It may take a few minutes every few days, but you cannot go to Australia for two weeks to hunt kangaroos in the dead of winter and expect the coal burner to be fine when you get back.

Lord knows it would be lonely for two weeks and those dang Kangaroos just Hate being bothered in the Dead of Winter too so the oil burner would take over and keep the H20 warm!

I am not afraid of a little dirty work to save money and not make the oil nations rich. I grew up with coal and even cracked a few lumps, for our hand fired stove. I just don't know many people who burn coal anymore, and I made a bad decision with the pellet stove, I want to make this one correctly. I am looking for a good stoker to supplement my oil hot water system and I want to make sure the effort will pay off, without creating any more problems, like more cracked floor joist or having my hot water pipes freeze from not being used.

Sierra,
I kept my oil boiler and put in a Leisure Line stoker. The stove has worked flawlessly. I'll spend 1K less this year in oil then I did last year. I bought 4 tons of coal for 644.00. I could not be happier with the way the whole process worked out.

You guys running a coal boiler.. do you have to burn year round for your DHW?

I have fuel oil heated hot water currently and considering other options this summer. No way do I want to burn coal in the summer to heat my water haha.

Sierra wrote: I guess with all things being equal which co. has the better warranty?

Irrelevant...assuming proper maintenance the smaller hot air stokers can run for about 2 decades.. maybe more. The boilers are lifetime investment.

Things that would need to be warranted would be non-manufacturer parts like motors and I'd imagine they all have the same factory warranty.

arcticcatmatt wrote:You guys running a coal boiler.. do you have to burn year round for your DHW?

I have fuel oil heated hot water currently and considering other options this summer. No way do I want to burn coal in the summer to heat my water haha.

Well we go through about 1 ton from the spring until the fall so the cost is minimal. It's hooked up to hot water heater so we could turn it off BUT running it 24/7/365 will greatly extend the life and cuts down on maintenance considerably.

You need a large insulated furnace with a regular hot water coil that can actually make hot water on it's own for it to be economical. If you're paying a l0t for the coal then probably not very economical.

arcticcatmatt wrote:You guys running a coal boiler.. do you have to burn year round for your DHW?

I have fuel oil heated hot water currently and considering other options this summer. No way do I want to burn coal in the summer to heat my water haha.

I don't. I have an indirect fired HW tank so whatever boiler is running that's the boiler that heats the HW.