Noise Level of Coal Boiler Versus an Oil Boiler

I am thinking of replacing my current oil boiler with a coal boiler which can also do oil.

#1.) How does the sound of a coal burning boiler compare to an oil fired boiler? My office chair sits literally 8 feet from the oil boiler and it is LOUD. I have trouble hearing the TV when it's running.

#2.) What efficiency does the oil burning part of the coal/oil boiler have? Mine is only 3 years old and I think it's 85%.

Thanks in advance (I have never heard a coal boiler run ...or ANY coal unit run)!

-Tony

How does this sound? From my office chair on the floor above I usually can't tell if it is running.



Edit: I forgot to answer your oil question. The efficiency of most "dual-fuel" units is almost always worse when fired on oil; I'm not sure of the actual efficiency numbers. The exception is the Leisure Line 110 boiler, which is basically an efficient oil boiler that has been fitted with a coal stoker. If you already have an existing oil boiler, I recommend adding a coal boiler to your existing system.

I had the unfortunate experience of having oil last year, at least in my case it was a lot louder than a stoker.

Most are the about the same as a coal stove, you just have a combustion blower and a stoker motor, that only runs every so many minutes. It shouldn't be that loud at all depending.

Thanks for the quick replies. It sounds like it's safe to say that and oil-fired boiler is louder?

I'd LOVE to add a coal boiler and have a separate unit because my oil furnace is so new, but the room it's in looks like it may be too small to fit both. I'll measure: it's 8-1/2'x7'. 2 of the 4 walls are block (masonry). Does the typical 18" setback to combustibles apply to block wall? Or could I put it very near it? -Tony

WNY wrote:Most are the about the same as a coal stove, .

I wouldn't say they are the same and I'd be willing to bet a larger boiler with insulation is quieter than the smaller stoker. Besides the insulation you have, thicker steel and it's surrounded by water all of which is going to muffle a lot of the internal noise. I don't know if the EFM boiler is the same but even the cover over the stoker mechanism is insulated on mine. When it's fully covered you get a dull hum and the light crunching noise from the worm. Mine doesn't have the ratcheting action like the the EFM so that is eliminated. I guess that even out since I use buck which makes more noise than EFM which uses rice.

tony17112acst wrote:it's safe to say that and oil-fired boiler is louder?

Yes.

My K6 is alot quieter than my oil boiler. No matter what you get.......sitting 8 feet away.......you will still hear it. The EFM's and AA's use augers and they can be loud. Never seen an AHS yet, but there is one up the road from me that I want to check out. Good luck.

There is no robust firing taking place in the coal stoker boiler. It is a gentle, slow process and all are quieter than most oil boilers. LL boiler will impress you right away. Ask anyone who has one! Keystoker is the quiet guy, right there with EFM. Van Werts are surprisingly quiet also. The AHS is very quiet without any auger addition, and personally, I enjoy the sound of an AA. You hear the coal gently tumbling up the auger, but it is by no means noisy. The oil boiler ALWAYS gets my attention, and if gas has a benefit, sound suppression of the combustion process is impressive. I can't hear them running, HOWEVER I CAN feel the 'ripping of cash from my wallet' whenever I get near them. Unfortunately, the newer condensing boilers are winning the "Smoke and Mirrors" set over. Mid to high nineties when condensing.....low 90's when not, BUT the price of admission should have padded handcuffs....those bills choke the life out of folks! about 83K btus per gallon.....oil is 144K, coal s.....much cheaper per million BTU's.... This fall I was showing a family looking at alternatives to their propane boiler a Keystoker K6 at a friend's home and they all asked what it sounded like when it was running?! I laughed and said: It IS RUNNING RIGHT NOW! That is how quiet most stoker boilers are.


Fear not the stoker noise, fear the oil man or propane dealer.

Great feedback ...thank you! After listening to the utube video above, I can tell that the fan blowing is much quieter than my oil jet in my oil boiler behind me ...simply because you'd NEVER hear the stoker teeth sounds like I did on the video, if it was as loud as my oil unit.

I will start a new thread asking everyone what their boiler recommendation is ...I can already hear the licking of chops.

-Tony

BTW, are there clearance requirements on on coal boilers against cinder block walls in the basement? Every owner's manual I read just lists clearance to combustible. Thank you.

There are numerous threads on WHICH BOILER to get, just do a search on here. Everyone else is wanting to get one too.
You will get a variety of answers and pro and cons for each of them. It depends on your heating situation, not all are home are the same, what works for one, may not for another.

You can get a couple coal boilers that can run oil (not as efficient and probably a bit more expensive), but I would just parallel you existing boiler (for backup).

I'm not looking to get one.

Yeah Fred, but you are stuck in 'your ways'.. not that that's a bad thing..

The oil gun on most oil boilers makes a lot of noise..

The noisiest of the coal boilers, the AA130 and AA260 have a gently tinkling sound of the coal rising up the auger, and that's about it.
And whenever you hear it, you will smile,, not frown and cringe, and grab your wallet.

Fill in your signature, tell us where you live, what size, and type of house you live in, the level of insulation, quality of windows.
Give us the details of your current heating system, and your desires for the handling of coal and ashes.

If you have an older home with an old coal chute, you could possibly set up your coal handling to once a year, and ash to a few times a week..

There are many, many variables..

As WNY suggested, look through the forum, use the search feature, and you will find hours of reading.

Greg L

freetown fred wrote:I'm not looking to get one.

yet...

BTW, are there clearance requirements on on coal boilers against cinder block walls in the basement? Every owner's manual I read just lists clearance to combustibles. Thank you.

Any info on this? Thanks again! -Tony

Tony, clearance to masonry surfaces will be much less, but I suggest you 'quietly' ask a fire dept person, or an insurance company. Dial *67 (star 67) before you dial, otherwise the Govt Tahoe's will descend upon your location and wisk you away to GITMO for some 'fun in the sun' waterboarding and related water sports. Be careful what you ask and to whom, here the building inspector is a very good person to ask because they have the local and national codes.....

...as for Fred...Hitzer is the BEST handfed, and a great company, however as we age, we do one of two things: we smarten up......... and lighten up.......or we go to the 'home' where someone you never met, wipes you, feeds you and becomes the last thing you will remember..............Sooooooo, Fred that Hoooooooaaaahhhhhh is gonna be you and some friends helping you 'adjust to life on the farm WITH a stoker'! Arnie is sooooo close......and no finer person exists on this planet.