Possible New Coal Burner

I think the smartest thing you're doing is going with the OPEN floor plan on the stove level floor. Even with my 200 yr old broken up floor plan, having the ceiling fan close to the stove, it circulates the air to a nice 72* even in the coldest of weather. Even with power outages the HITZER keeps doing it's job nicely. I've got a couple neighbors that have stokers & when we got no power they hit CL in hopes of finding something similar to my 50-93 & spend a lot of time cussing NYSEG.As far as a good looking stove, the HITZER is right up there with the best of them. JUST SAYING--I'm a firm beleiver in the KISS philosophy. Like Vigll said when you need to use the ceiling fan, you'll play with it to see what works best--98% of the time, I do not even need mine, but it is there. Again, 12 hr tending ain't bad. Your choice to go with coal is a wise one, now you just gotta sort through the pro's & con's of what YOUR preference is. I'd love to see some pix of your house progress.

Just an idea some of you might want to try. Get a stick or two of "stick incense" or fireworks punks and light it and place it near your stove. The smoke from the incense will give you an idea of the natural air movements in your house. Best to do this with no fan on and then with a fan on so you can see the flow. You can also try this at other spots in your home as well. I have found this method works very well to determine fan placement as well as speed of the fan or blower as well.

Another trick is blow up a balloon and just leave it in the house on the floor when you go out for a bit. When you come back you can see how the balloon has moved.(if at all) Of course if you have dogs or cats this doesn't work very well...

The stick incense is also a good way to find leaks around windows and doors.

Hope this helps...

Onedollar

ONEDOLLAR wrote:..8<...Another trick is blow up a balloon and just leave it in the house on the floor when you go out for a bit. When you come back you can see how the balloon has moved.(if at all) Of course if you have dogs or cats this doesn't work very well... >8...Onedollar

Great idea Member 009(xxx?) posted about using a helium filled laytex or mylar baloon that has lost enough He that it floats just above the floor. Set them afloat and you'll find where the cold air flows the fastest. If you find a place where it doesn't move much or at all, you've found a likely dead spot and a possible placement for a floor grate that will let the cold air out of the dead spot. Heated air will move in to replace it.

welcome.. one good thing to remember is customer svc... you cant beat hitzer in this department... they will not rush you off the phone, and they really stand behind their product... the amish use them and the amish don't have electric.. the way this country is going we all might be searching for electric some day (obumma's war on coal fired electric plants) so think hard before you buy...a little work never killed anybody... ask freetown fred about hitzers good svc. hell he even has their phone number haha...

Welcome to the forum Adkhunter. No electricity on a stove is a plus when the power goes off for a long time, nobody nows what will be tomorroy

Thanks for all the posts guys!! I really appreciate the help! I got a little bit of time to decide on whether or not to go stoker vs hand fed. I am on the road headed back to the east coast from Cali so I should be right on track with gettin home Thursday. Going to go Friday and see a few dealers to look at some stoves in person. Anyone know of any good showrooms in the Albany area? Can be north or south of Albany a few hours too I don't mind. I'm no stranger to driving ;p haha.

I will deff have to try out that trick with the ballon! Sounds like a good idea! I'm sure the wife has some incense around someplace I can try too. I will take some pics of the house when I'm home for y'all to take a look at. Maybe even take a quick video as well. I think with proper vent placement we will be alright on heat for the upstairs. I've been in older homes that are not open floor plans with wood stoves that still get the place heated just fine.

Would love to find a place that sells Harman and Hitzer stoves so I could compare side by side. Is this a possibility in my area? Tried looking up Hitzer dealers on their website but it won't show up on my phone for some reason. Forgot my laptop at home last month when I came off home time so all web surfing is over the phone.

O and does anyone have any advice as to where to get coal around my area (Albany)? I found one place so far that sells by the bagged ton. $289 a ton I believe it was. Was wondering if there was anyplace else that was maybe even cheaper.

Thanks for all your help guys I appreciate it.

Ah, call Dean at HITZER--260-589-8536--he can help with local dealors. I'm sure any questions you have could be answered also.

There is a shop east of Lake George on RT 149 called The Black Rooster. Was in years ago when I bought my boiler. They had stoves but I can't tell you what kind other than Alaska Stoker.

I'd definitely keep an eye out for used though. Sometimes they pop up, especially with your travels here and there. You may just fall into one. Would be a PITA trying to get it into the jump seat though.

You should have plenty of stove shops around Albany Adk. I know there's one in Pittsfield, Ma but there bound to be several in the greater Albany area for Hitzer and Harmon, plus Leasure Line, Alaska, and Keystoker. Should have several good coal sources too. $289 a ton is probably around the going rate in that area but wouldn't hurt to check it out.

Here is a thought you should present to any stove shop: Ask if THEY do burn coal; have ever burned coal; and if so, what kind and brand of stove!!!
Salespeople are just that, all they want is a credit card, a receipt, and a pickup driving away with a wooden crate in it.
I have talked to dozens of shops who say they sell coal burning products, and unbelievably, most know little or nothing about the equipment or products. They sell bagged coal at $440/ton and wonder why pellet stoves are so popular......

You have to be more well educated that the general public when you are purchasing something that actually requires a brain to use....and save lots of money.

Same advise as the one before(from Whistlenut). Try to find a dealer burning ant. One time before I bought the Vigilant ll, we went in a stoves store and the saleman , told us that burning ant was so easy, him after the day time he lighted the stove at home for the evening time and night and was doing that every days. Useless to say that it was all b..... The price you mentionned seems correct for a ton bagged
When you will be out for weeks on the truck, does your wife will burn the stove herself? That could be important to consider when choosing the stove.
An other way to get the natural air loop do the best job is to find the colder spot on the main floor. That place is where you should place a register on the floor for having the cold air going down, ideally when possible to attach a duct/pipe going down to about a foot from the basement floor so the warm air under the main floor doesn't try to block/reduce the air circulation. Cold and warm air shouldn't fight themself but work together
Then try to find the warmer spot on the main floor, curiously the stove will be not too from far form it That is where the warm air should rise from a grill in the main floor.
Best to cut the floor after a few burning times

By the way, if all car drivers could drive a truck van a few miles in their life they would be much more polite with the truck drivers.

Hey all...Thanks for all your replies and help! I got home last night and went this afternoon up to a store in Saratoga Lake and talked with the owner for awhile about coal and stoves. He was a dealer for Alaska Stoves for awhile but was recently dropped as a dealer due to not selling enough of them. So he was offering the stoves at what he said was cost. Wether or not this is true I still think I got a good deal. I plan on picking it up sometime around the end of the month...cant wait to get it hooked up and burning! Any good or bad things about the Alaska Channing Stoves?

Once again thanks for all your helps and insight guys!

Good deal DH--READ the instruction booklet I'm sure some Alaska owners will chime in here---keep us posted as things progress or any specific questions arise.

Channing is a stoker stove from 5000 to 85000 BTU rated. Don't get any easier for a coal stove. You might want to check out the coal- trol thermstatic control for it also. I've never used one but lost of guys have these set ups and love em. Good luck and keep us posted. (of course that will be on the girly man stoker forums )

Yeah I was looking into getting a thermostat for it. But for right now I'm gonna try going without it. That's something I can get later this winter or even next year. For now we just needed to get something and get it put in once the house is ready for it. Should be ready to install the end of the month or early next month depending on when I can get back home. Bought the stove and the power vent for $2000 so I think I got a steal on it. He sells bagged coal for $300 a ton which I think is a little high but the only other place I've found it was $289 bagged. So for $11 difference I will prolly just get this years supply from him and next year will buy it in bulk and get it delivered to the house once I build a bin for it. My parents are most likely going to buy a stoker furnace for their house as well so we will need alot of it. They have a 2300 sq ft house and a 3 car attached garage with a apartment above it to heat. There's a wood stove in the garage that heats the garage and apartment so the chimney and space for a furnace is already there. Makes sense to just swap in a coal furnace and just tie in some duct work into the already existing system. Should save them quite a bit of money

I will get some pics of our house and the new stove put up on here sometime over the weekend for you guys to check out.

Thanks for the help and I'm sure looking forward to learning more and more about this stuff and to begin burning!