Stoker or Hand Fed, which do you use?

Yes, that's my thoughts also! The return of Coal is in it's infancy! I don't have any plans to move , but you should always to in a position to sell. My oil furance still works , but has issues and is just plain old worn out, just over 22 years old! I did pick up a used, newer boiler for $400, that is in newish condition. Maybe next spring I will start to remove it and install the better one! I would like to hook up a coal unit to one of my hot water loops, having baseboard upstairs and a seperate one in the floor downstairs gives my options!

I guess the advantage to the Franco Belge stand alone unit now hooked up to the Fireplace chimney is that it can stay there, or not!

As a lot of you know , I have two hand fired HITZER stoves (50-93 & 30-95). Both great stoves. As some of you know , I also bought a Keystoker model KAA-2 boiler , which is a stoker. The stoker boiler is not yet hooked up. I still need to install radiation/plumbing throughout. Not in a hurry. The HITZER stove works great! I went with a stoker boiler due to the fact that I would need electric to run circulator pump anyways. That's the part I don't like about a stoker stove. If electric goes out , so does the fire. I like my hand fired stoves , and would not be without one. Even after the stoker boiler is hooked up , the HITZER 50-93 will be setting right along the side of it.

Now the question; What about the resale value of my house? Are people become more accepting of "Old Coal" or will they be scared away. I'm sure alot of men will look at the cost of fuel and be glad to have a coal stoker there, but if they are married; I can hear the wife now, "Oh, isn't coal dirty!"

I also wondered the same thing. I have an EFM 520 and a gas boiler hooked up in the basement. I use the gas in Oct/Nov and switch over to coal during the cold months. Its a neat setup. I live outside of Phila and I know people's heads would spin when the see "coal". But if any wise person takes a second to think about fuel prices, they'll be open to it. And if they don't like it they can just use the gas boiler. My neighbors are green with envy that I'm saving money on heat. I have another neighbor who has a wood stove. He's got several cords of wood on his property. That's work! And its dirty when carrying the wet wood, wet foot prints, and bugs through the house. The coal stoker is sooo much easier.

Coal burners & Resale, If your in the middle of coal country maybe it would appeal to some.

I've bought & sold a few properties in the Hazleton PA area, residential and a larger commercial building for investments. All were originally heated with coal but were changed to oil in the 60-70's. Even today I'm surprised by the tiny amount of properties for sale heated by coal.

I'm in NJ right over the PA line and people think I'm nuts for heating with coal. They love the idea of saving alot money, "it's just too much work" they say. The old timers remember coal in the old days of hand feeding and can't grasp the idea that a stoker is so much easier. Very, very few people get it.

I'm a new home builder & Realtor, if I installed a coal unit (even an auto stoker)in a new home most would think of ripping it out and putting a wood stove in instead??? That's with oil being around $3.09 right now...

i'm currently using a hand fired but i also have electric baseboard, direct vent propane, and forced hot air oil furnace, and i refuse to use them unless im left without a choice. i use 5 gallons of oil a day to keep the house at 68 and i use about 40 - 50 lbs of coal to keep the house at 80. with the price of oil at $3.25 thats over $16.00 a day. by the 40 lb bag i pay 5.99 a bag so im between $6.00 to $8.00 a day. i would love to put in a stoker but the fact is i only have one rice coal supplier, so i won't put all my eggs in one basket.

George-NJ wrote:Coal burners & Resale, If your in the middle of coal country maybe it would appeal to some.
I'm in NJ right over the PA line and people think I'm nuts for heating with coal. They love the idea of saving alot money, "it's just too much work" they say. The old timers remember coal in the old days of hand feeding and can't grasp the idea that a stoker is so much easier. Very, very few people get it.

I'm a new home builder & Realtor, if I installed a coal unit (even an auto stoker)in a new home most would think of ripping it out and putting a wood stove in instead??? That's with oil being around $3.09 right now...

Good to hear from someone in 'the business'? George where in Jersey are you? I'm in the market for having someone replace my old oil burner with one I got sitting in the garage! Maybe like on the side when not busy. Like maybe next year. You can send me a private email if interested or know someone in HVAC. Jim

I think that every home should have some sort of automatic backup heat, whether it be an oil burner or a LP furnace or even electric heat. Who knows when somebody might get sick or something and you gotta be away from the house for a week or more on no notice. It's a lot easier to just flip a switch and pay the higher fuel bill for a week than to have the house freeze up or try and get someone to empty the ash pan.

e.alleg wrote:I think that every home should have some sort of automatic backup heat, whether it be an oil burner or a LP furnace or even electric heat. Who knows when somebody might get sick or something and you gotta be away from the house for a week or more on no notice. It's a lot easier to just flip a switch and pay the higher fuel bill for a week than to have the house freeze up or try and get someone to empty the ash pan.

I actually have a friend who would dump my ash for me, silly but true.
On the topic though, as I mentioned in another thread, Stokers were above and beyond the "BIG" push.....most sales people said I'd be foolish to buy a Handfired unit in Lieu of the latest Stoker models. I will say (1) old timer was tugging me aside and trying to unload and old Harmon handfired (small unit, not sure of the model exactly) he had in the back room of the store.
I was/am concerned about power failures, although I must say, In the last 10 yrs we lost power here about 5 times for an average of (1) day maximum. We did lose it once a few years back, for 3 days. I've a generator, kept the Frige and other niceities working just fine, the (wood stove) offset the heating issues. My generator will more than suffice in keeping my Alaska going and keeping the homestead warm and happy.

Do I now have to cross my fingers? hrmm,.. now I wonder

Hand fed stoves are cheaper and are still much easier to use than a wood stove. My coal stove is in the cellar of a 2 floor ranch home and i keep it going most of the week. My grandmother lives on the top floor. She is 87 years old and encounters no difficulty keeping the stove going while I am away at work. With coal we no longer worry about keeping the house at 68 and wearing thick sweaters for 6 months. The house is always in the low 70s now and the heat is very affordable.

King O' Heat wrote:Hand fed stoves are cheaper and are still much easier to use than a wood stove. My coal stove is in the cellar of a 2 floor ranch home and i keep it going most of the week. My grandmother lives on the top floor. She is 87 years old and encounters no difficulty keeping the stove going while I am away at work. With coal we no longer worry about keeping the house at 68 and wearing thick sweaters for 6 months. The house is always in the low 70s now and the heat is very affordable.

I priced a Hitzer before I bought my LL Stoker. It was at least $500 more. I suppose there are less expensive hand fired stoves though.

I burn with a Jensen hand fed old boiler... it works great! I'm still getting used to the coal burning thing, however i have learned alot on here! I can burn wood in my boiler as well and i have been up until about two weeks ago, I ran short on wood and switched to coal. It has been Interesting switch but i think i am finally getting the hang of it.

Hip Hip Hoooray fer Coal
( Love the Fire Proof Base - But where do you mount the Coal-Trol ? )

The house I bought had a Losch stoker for hot water and heat. It is in town and was appraised for $124000. The sellers wanted $90,000. It was on the market for 2 years and no offers. The real estate agent recommended from the start that they change the stoker to gas or oil heat. After 2 years they had a plumber haul the perfectly good Losch boiler off to the scrap yard and install a gas boiler for heat and a gas hot water heater. I've been in the house for about 1 year and my gas bill last February was $542. That was for warm hot water and the house around 64. I bought the house about 2 months after they tore out the stoker. I could have threw up when they told me I was 2 months late!!! I'm in the process now of putting my EFM in. Even after I explained how I felt about it the sellers and agent are still convinced that taking out the stoker is what sold the house!!! Talk about misinformation going around!

They are probably correct. Most folks are too lazy or ill informed about such things and that would have scared off most buyers. Heck most home owners are intimidated by their gas furnace. A coal furnace would send them over the edge. Too bad you didn't come along sooner.

coalstoves wrote:..Love the Fire Proof Base - But where do you mount the Coal-Trol

Looks like it goes on the wall by the window.

Have you noticed that the stokers are gaining? Although, I think I might even install a had fed in the kitchen when I get the boilers up and running.