Bangor Maine looking for Coal Boiler Sales and Service

Noticed that Freddy from Orrington was on the forum and figured I live about ten minutes away. Looking at EFM, Axeman Anderson or Leisure Line. Coal Boiler seem to fit what I am lokking for. Seriously looking into coal but seem to have limited information for my area. New home in process need a heat source option and coal may fit the bill. Any help appreciated! Thanks......

Hi Scott, can you tell us more about the home you will be heating? Size of the house, heat load, radiant/baseboard/hot air/etc? I heat an old farmhouse in Northern NY with an EFM 520, it has been an easy way to stay warm for thousands less than fuel oil or propane.

No information more credible that freddy! He is impartial and respects all the guys who manufacture coal burning devices. Look HARD at your needs (heat loss numbers, number of kids.....lifestyle) and then start looking at boilers to meet those needs. Be very careful not to ask your plumber about a solid fuel appliance, because they just plain don't get it! They all want low mass, small capacity rapid recovery 95% boilers that have nothing to do with coal or wood for that matter. Need to see a Leisure Line 220K unit with 42 gallon boiler capacity? Need it to come to you? EFM? AA 130 or 260? AHS 130 or 260? Freddy has seen all the above with perhaps the exception of the LL. Radiant heat in the basement floor? Radiant in the house?

Thanks for the quick feedback guys.....Purchasing a modular 28x40 cape.....no clue about heat loss as yet....baseboard heat....just really thinking coal is a great choice. I am 43, last kid is a senior and he will be living with the wife and I for a year or two.....no young ones left!!!! I have really liked the AA boilers but have been leaning toward EFM as they have an option for the oil burner back up. Another question is will the boiler HW be too hot for PEX tubing? I am TOTALLY new to the coal idea and just do not want to wing it with no direction.....could make it a tough sell to my wife. Just have real limited information on service options where I will be living so just trying to cover all the bases.... I also have a Quadra-Fire AE Pellet stove but never took it out of the box as we sold our old home and didn't want to give it away. Probably use that in a barn someday. Cellar has no plans other than heating options and/or storage.

ScottSeile wrote:no clue about heat loss as yet....baseboard heat.

Is your new home going to have a large soaking tub or a two-showerhead shower? With a new home such as yours, the BTU capacity required for domestic hot water often exceeds the space heating load. Make sure you factor the DHW into your calculations.

Yes, the EFM DF520 can accept an oil burner - but it is a manual-switchover from one fuel to another, and the efficiency on oil leaves something to be desired. My preference is to have a separate oil or gas boiler for backup, but not everyone has the floorspace or chimney(s) for that. You ARE planning on putting up a chimney right?

ScottSeile wrote:Another question is will the boiler HW be too hot for PEX tubing?

Generally no, but if you use a boiler that is prone to temperature overshoots it is easy enough to install a mixing valve and "temper" the water.

Yeah definatley a chimney in the plan.....double flue as well. Have basic shower and a clawfoot tub/shower combo. I will not have a dishwasher and almost always wash clothes on cold water. I will have hot water baseboard for upstairs and down. And as we still have the one at home and would lean toward guests once in a while. I just thought a EFM with oil backup would be good if I went off for a week on vacation. Plus most fellas posting suggested coal for hotwater in the summer would just be over kill. Leaning toward a bigger btu coal boiler for just that reason.....rather have more than enough than not. Really appreciate the feedback Rob......thanks.

I think many people with EFM's find that they idle nicely during the summer, and use coal year-round for DHW. We've done that with different ones and not had any problems.

Mike

ScottSeile wrote:I just thought a EFM with oil backup would be good if I went off for a week on vacation.

Yes, the oil burner option would come in handy in that case. If you are willing to excerise the burner once in a while, and capable of changing a nozzle if needed - a DF520 would be a good choice. Keystoker and Leisure Line also make dual-fuel capable boilers, but again they all require a manual-changeover from coal to oil. If you are going to have an extra chimney flue available, consider an entry-level propane boiler for backup purposes. A cheap LP boiler is $1700 or so, and the fuel never goes bad...just food for thought. When my oil boiler dies I will replace it with a propane unit and gladly remove the oil tank from my basement.

Great insight Rob and thank you Mike. Now I just need to find some dealer/service folks in my area and give them a visit to check it out in person! Actually contacted a coal distributor in northern maine that may be an EFM dealer.....keep you all posted.

Checked out the EFM dealer in Easton......very helpful.....still need to find some one to install it here in Bucksport Maine (15 minutes from Bangor) anyone from Maine that could recommend someone for me as the State list is quite large but only lists licensed solid fuel folks(good) but no recommendations with good/bad feedback at all. Thanks in advance fellow Mainiacs!

Gad zooks... How have I missed you, Scott? I guess for three weeks I was emptying the ashes each time you came by. Welcome! Glad to see you found us. You can't bee too far away from me. I'm about 6 minutes from the Bucksport line.

If I had a brand new place, and was looking at coal I think I'd look into the EFM and the Leisureline. Most new places are so efficient it doesn't take much to heat them. I've often said I wished Axeman Anderson made a 85,000 BTU boiler. I have enjoyed my AA but it doesn't like to throttle down. It's got legs & likes to run! I think it's only really happy 4 or 6 weeks a year. I've read good reports of how the EFM's will trickle down to a candle if asked. They are more money, but if one is in the budget I'd give it hard thought.
One thing to consider..... some insurance companies demand a "central heating system" and for some reason they don't see that coal fits that bill. They see them as auxiliary heat because the ashes need to be tended to. So, you might be required to have a separate boiler.

Anyway.... glad to talk coal anytime.....give a call if you want. I'll PM my number.

Freddy wrote: One thing to consider..... some insurance companies demand a "central heating system" and for some reason they don't see that coal fits that bill. They see them as auxiliary heat because the ashes need to be tended to. So, you might be required to have a separate boiler.

I don't know if Maine has any specific requirements like that, but generally don't the dual-fuel units address that issue?

Mike

Pacowy wrote:don't the dual-fuel units address that issue?

Yaaaa... they probably do.