Anyone know much about these boilers...?

pura vida · By: **pura vida** On: Sat Jun 04, 2011 9:00 pm

guess i should have also mentioned, since it is new construction, i am planning on using in floor radiant heat. i will also have a conventional oil burning boiler for backup/vacation trips/summer DHW.

pv

coalnewbie · By: **coalnewbie** On: Tue Jun 07, 2011 8:46 am

Hi Vida,

new construction, i am planning on using in floor radiant heat

Thank you for your interest in my systems and good luck in your quest for the perfect heating system. My solutions to keeping warm are obviously not for you but this board is filled with really good guys who will help you. One tip, as you struggle forward take plenty of pictures as you go including the screw ups (of course, I'm not suggesting there will be any). It's great for the family album and personally I love watching any coal project evolve. We learn from each other every day.

pura vida · By: **pura vida** On: Tue Jun 07, 2011 3:46 pm

yeah, thanks for the response. i'm looking for anything that will work for my situation. i'm assuming you are using/provide some sort of forced are system, not a boiler? do you have a link to your products, as don't think i have actually seen them. since it is new construction and we are still in the design stage, i'm not ruling out anything right now. although i do have my opinions as to what i "need" but i have found that can change daily as my education continues and my knowledge improves. thanks.

pv

coal berner · By: **coal berner** On: Sun Jun 12, 2011 1:49 am

Richard S. wrote:Not sure if they are available but EFM was testing a boiler with a modified design that used soft coal:

Testing of Nova Scotia Bituminous

One very important thing I will point out, be sure it's been tested with the coal you want to use. If you get a coal that is going to klinker a lot it's going to be a nightmare.

According to their web site you can burn bit coal in there units now

http://www.efmheating.com/d520.html

coal berner · By: **coal berner** On: Sun Jun 12, 2011 1:59 am

coalnewbie wrote:Here comes that EFM pitch again. Massive infrastructure costs in hydronics and chimneys and it's just not necessary. That's all I will say, my posts say the rest. Giving specific stove advice without seeing the actual location and money available is a troublesome position to me. EFM won't work for me and my solutions worked GREAT last winter. Look before you leap.

Wondering how cost effective it is buying and using 3 or 4 hot air stoker stoves units with power vents vs one hydronic unit with chimney masonry or S.S. baseboard or rads or even radiant floor heating hot water is a hell of alot more efficient then heating air sounds to me you should of took your own advice look before you leap
Even using a hot air stoker furnace would be more cost effective then using 3 or 4 stoker stoves heating a whole house
stoker stoves are design for supplementary heating boilers and furnaces are design for primary heating

Pacowy · By: **Pacowy** On: Wed Jun 15, 2011 7:51 pm

coal berner wrote:
coalnewbie wrote:Here comes that EFM pitch again. Massive infrastructure costs in hydronics and chimneys and it's just not necessary. That's all I will say, my posts say the rest. Giving specific stove advice without seeing the actual location and money available is a troublesome position to me. EFM won't work for me and my solutions worked GREAT last winter. Look before you leap.

Wondering how cost effective it is buying and using 3 or 4 hot air stoker stoves units with power vents vs one hydronic unit with chimney masonry or S.S. baseboard or rads or even radiant floor heating hot water is a hell of alot more efficient then heating air sounds to me you should of took your own advice look before you leap
Even using a hot air stoker furnace would be more cost effective then using 3 or 4 stoker stoves heating a whole house
stoker stoves are design for supplementary heating boilers and furnaces are design for primary heating

"Here comes that EFM pitch again." We used the "3 stoves" approach to heat a big house for a year, and were very happy when the opportunity arose to replace them with an EFM 900. Even though we could handle the stoves in existing masonry chimneys, for us there was no comparison - the central system was way more convenient and produced much better control over the distribution of heat.

Mike

pura vida · By: **pura vida** On: Wed Jun 15, 2011 11:15 pm

actually i am really interested in the efm. it is almost exactly what i am looking for. the only issue, and it could be a deal breaker, is the small auger. it is only a 2" auger and i think i need at least a 3" the coal we get in alaska is sub-bit and general soft and i know of a few stokers using a 3" without issue but most constant coal i can get is about 1.5" minus. efm suggest half inch or less... i'm still having a really hard time finding options. hence asking about the per-eko but it has a separate bin that i would have to manually fill everyday. not very excited about that...

Pacowy · By: **Pacowy** On: Thu Jun 16, 2011 1:21 am

pura vida -

Please check your private messages (envelope icon at top of page).

Thanks.

Mike

coalnewbie · By: **coalnewbie** On: Thu Jun 16, 2011 7:10 am

Welll Vida,

First notice all those adovating EFM are EFM owners and or installers there are other to notch choices. As for me, I heated a 6500' Victorian draft box last winter and this winter will use two forced air systems with minimal ducting and HEPA filtration and that last item is the most important to me. So there are many conflicting issues and you need to do more research.

Cost: Imputed cost of buying, installing and maintenance. You will never get a straight answer on failure rates on these complex systems. In this economy with cash being so scarce I put the number at 10%. So if it costs $40,000 to install it's costing you $4000 a year just to sit there. It cost me half that to buy the coal to run my home. Score one for simplicity. For instance, I wish I could heat my home with a single Hitzer, Glenwood #6 etc. but the heat distribution problems are overwhelming.

Convenience: automated systems are easier to run but more expensive.

Capital improvement in the property especially if it's new: A fully automated elegant system that future buyers will recognize as state of the art puts value on a property and as energy costs escalate this may become pivotal to future value. This is important! A wealthy friend of mine just sold a property in MA for well over $2MM. The landscaping was perfect, the furniture and decor staged and he bought a $25,000 AGA range (gas) and installed it in the kitchen (a useless device in every respect) but he swears that is what sold the home. So consider this one.

I refuse to get into a urinating match with the powers that be on the relative merits of each choice.

LOL.

pura vida · By: **pura vida** On: Thu Jun 16, 2011 2:01 pm

newbie, i'm not sure what you are trying to get at? obviously you are a fan of forced air systems and that works for you. you say you have two systems? does that mean you have two separate coal furnaces? in separate areas of the house to help deal with heat loss of the system over the distance of the house? but as of now, i am still planning to do radiant in floor heat and there are a number of boilers that can easily handle my heat load needs, the hard part is finding one that works with the rest of my needs/desires. i guessing you are not a fan of efm? or maybe just some of those who sell the systems? bad blood? history?

pv

LsFarm · By: **LsFarm** On: Wed Jul 06, 2011 7:28 pm

Hello PV, have you read this thread about a hybrid Bit-burning boiler??

The Iron fireman uses a 3" auger, is designed for Bit coal, and is quite simple, I have one I use in my homemade 'big bertha' [my name for it] boiler.

take a look, this is what you need, find an Iron Fireman stoker and fab up a boiler for your needs:

EFM = Electric Fireman (new project alert) hybrid

Greg L

Anyone know much about these boilers...?

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