Am i burning to much?

After reading everyones comments of how much they burn it seems i am way over board. My home is new 2000sq ft basement where my L.L. pocono is with power vent and 1975qs ft upstairs. I burned 5 tons last year but we had a mild winter. Is that rite? Input much welcomed Thanks Jeff

2000 sq. ft PLUS the basement that the stove is located in? 3000 sq. ft total? I think you are doing very well.

My house is 1,680 sq-ft upstairs plus 840 sq-ft in the basement, and I went through 4.25 tons this past winter, so I agree that 5 tons sounds about right for a home of your size and your location.

Thanks guys my basement is 64 by 31 with 9ft ceilings. Upstairs is same with 8ft ceilings. Just didn't seem rite. total sq ft is 3975 i think

My 1,700 sf ranch with a 400 sf basement (where my koker resides) utilized about 7,000 #'s of blackshak rice. My usage was probably a little high because it was my first season burning so I know I wasted some early on as I progressed through the initial learning curve. This season my usage should stay on track since I will be using my coal-trol for the entire season.

5 tons sounds pretty good for heating that much space. Even though last winter seemed mild here too, coal usage did not drop as must as I thought it might, so I don't think you have to fear a more severe winter.

I assume your basement is poured concrete -- are the walls insulated?

Although last winter wasn't as cold compared to 2010/2011, many areas got little or no snow and plenty of wind. It might not matter much in a new house, but for those of us in the "old and drafty" club a few feet of snow around the foundation helps keep the wind out and the heat in.

jkabdoors wrote:After reading everyones comments of how much they burn it seems i am way over board. My home is new 2000sq ft basement where my L.L. pocono is with power vent and 1975qs ft upstairs. I burned 5 tons last year but we had a mild winter. Is that rite? Input much welcomed Thanks Jeff

Do you have a manometer? If the power vent isn't set correctly, you will be losing heat.

I used 4 ton nut size in a Clayton hand fed. I'm heating about 2500 Sq ft total..

Every house and heating situation is different, some like it warmer, some like it cooler, but sounds about right for the size.
We have about 2500sq ft and 2 stoves and last winter was bout 4-5 ton, usually about 6 ton.

No i dont have a manometer and yes my walls are poured concrete and studed and insulated. In the process of wiring and drywall. Also a coal bin witch i will enjoy not going outside for coal on those cold days. Thanks Jeff

I went through 5 tons the past few seasons. My place is 1,600 -1,800 sq.ft. depending on whether you ask the bank, or the real estate agent that sold the place to us. We shut the entire 2nd floor off, so we're probably heating 1,100 sq. ft. plus the basement which I'm guessing to be 5-600 sq.ft. Someday I'll actually measure it ... but either way it costs a fortune to heat this place!

Don't forget to factor in coal "quality". I went thru some of the coal I had last year at high rate. Garbage. Other coal is a pleasure to burn and heats much better. 5 tons of this might not be the same as 5 tons of that.

I managed to 'squeak by' on a tad over 2 tons last year. I fired up in early Dec and shut down in early Mar as I had to go out of town. I'm heating only the first floor of my cape-cod style house, roughly 1200 feet, give or take.

Although it was considerably more mild this past winter, I also made significant changes to the ducting in and out of my Alaska Channing III. Basically, I reworked it to remove 5 90 degree turns and about 30' of horizontal run on the cold air return side, thus achieving a better air flow. My stove is in the basement, next to the forced-air furnace. Having built a 'jacket' for the stove 2 seasons ago reduced coal usage by about 15-20% from what I was burning before building the jacket.

In short, it's all about having a complete air 'circuit', and making sure as much heat as possible gets upstairs and not into the basement!

Scottscoaled wrote:Don't forget to factor in coal "quality". I went thru some of the coal I had last year at high rate. Garbage. Other coal is a pleasure to burn and heats much better. 5 tons of this might not be the same as 5 tons of that.

Excellent point Scott. Based on the different coal sources I have tried I think you can burn 15-20% more (or less) depending on the coal characteristics.