Hopper Fed (50-93) or Regular Hand-Fed for Basement?

sorry double post

You asked about real-world output, and about hoppers.

I had a Harman Mk 1 which was a great stove, excellent quality. But no hopper. Noisy fan. Realistic output was about 50 to 60 percent of the manufacturers rating, unless you wanted to push it so hard you had to load coal every 6 hours.

I have switched from the Harman to a DS Machine circulator. With hopper. No fan -- quiet -- ahhhh. Can't yet comment on realistic output vs. manufacturer's claims. But I would NOT go back to a hand-fed stove without a hopper!

No offense to the OP, but "Stokers have to many moving parts"? Although not a handfired, stokers are hardly technological feats of engineering. Can they be abit fickle? yes, yes they can, but I'll take them over a Pellet stove anyday ( Ha! people call Coal dirty LOL).

The smallest cheapest Generator (or Inverter with deep cell battery) will keep the heat going without worry.

Note : I'm Not trying to talk you out of a Stoker, just trying to explain why they aren't the "monster" some think they are.

Best of luck on your decision.

Ya no way for a pellet stove. Way too much work and they sure wouldn't reliably stay dry in my basement, and my garage is already too full.

As far as a stoker goes--I guess I hate to be reliant on a gasoline engine attached to a generator attached to a voltage regulator attached to 3 electric motors and assorted controls and moving parts, for heat, when gravity will do the job...it would be a different story if this purchase was intended to completely replace the oil furnace, and a separate heat source for 'bad weather backup' existed...but this is meant to replace the oil as much as possible AND be the 'bad-weather backup.'

Did buy the stove tonight. Hitzer 50-93 with removable hopper. Heavy sucker, even with all the bricks, the door, and one grate out. Good shape; needs new gaskets here and there, pivots oiled, and front brick retainer angle straightened; otherwise, OK! (Didn't try the blower, but it spun freely and quietly.) Had more coal than expected, gave her a little more $, thought deal was just a little too much in my favor otherwise.

So, thanks for the info. I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes along.

Added on edit:
Don't mean to sound like I am running down stokers, they sure have their place, just don't think they'd be the best choice for me at the moment.

I'm sure you'll be happy, sounds like you made a good deal.

I can understand your staying old-school off the grid thingy....my old wood stove made me content as well until I discovered Coal, and never looked back.

Power outages over here are a Bi**ch, so yeah a hand fired is great...even better in some cases ( especially since you don't need gas/diesel).

My fire stays lit for 15mins on avg, so plugging in my Gen, turning the key and fipping my breakers takes alot less than 10 so it's all good for me.

PS, my Stoker is my Primary Source.

Good deal AV And don't worry about not going with one of them, thar girly stoves. You'll love the 50-93

Congrats on your new to you stove. If your thinking of putting a large grate in the floor over the stove there is a place in Syracuse that sells the large floor grates out of old houses, don't know there name or where they are in Syracuse but if you ask around I bet you can find them.

Jacob, Very good on the new stove and props to Freetown F for his relentless Hitzer 50-93 posterchilding . Honestly Hitzer need to start paying FF some commission!

That said, I think you'll find this stove to be a great choice for your needs. You mentioned the chimney and the only thimble in the basement, but really putting another thimble in is no more than a couple hours work. That choice of the 50-93 is also better since it will fit right in the main floor too and looks better than the other design (model 82) and is not nearly as dusty due to the ash shaking with door closed should you ever decice to relocate the stove.

I started out with the idea of just converting my old Glenwood cookstove in order to suppliment the cost of oil heat. I now have an additional Glenwood cylinder stove in the living room and heat my whole 226yr old home on the Maine coast with coal alone. That's how good I found it to be! My only wish was that I'd "discovered" it earlier and not spent the (significant) money to have a brand new steam boiler installed the year before. I'm now content in the knowledge that I have a great backup system if I'm traveling! I'm only telling you this because you'll soon see how excellent these stoves can work for you.

I was going to suggest the 82, I built a metal shell around mine, and then put an 8" duct from the top of the shell to the ceiling so the heat can be ducted to where it needs to be. I do this with my old house (100+ yrs). The reason is so that your not wasting coal heating an unfinished basement. The 82 FA would be optimum for your need. I'm not sure if you have an efficient way to move the heat from the basement to the first floor.

Jacob, Very good on the new stove and props to Freetown F for his relentless Hitzer 50-93 posterchilding

Yeh, Fred's very cheap to buy. You must appreciate the board has their share of lunies. You've got camps, the Hitzer camp, AnthraKing and LL stoves (me), the EFM boys and the AA crazies, William and the baseburners (hey, great name for a rock group) and many others. None of us to my knowledge prostitute themselves to a manufacturer - OK, Fred may be an exception (I slay myself) - but I am talking generally. When you have a great coal stove that keeps you from freezing to death at reasonable cost you tend to be a fan of the game you are following. Fans are not logical. Great fuel and many great choices and it does not mean the guy that does not follow your team is wrong.

NOT LOGICAL??? I resemble that you old Limey woodpecker--talk about slaying ones self AND, yep, I might be cheap, but I ain't no *censored* puppy av's gonna be a happy camper when he gets through that learning curve

freetown fred wrote:yep, I might be cheap

No, no -- FRUGAL.
By the same token, my back acres are not a swamp, they are an ecologically-valuable wetland.

@fastcat: Some sort of architectural salvage place eh? IIRC there may even be some closer. Yes, an old cast-iron floor grate would be just the thing for that use.

@SteveZee: Thought about putting in a thimble but, that plan was nixed by the better half. Would put stove a little close (~6' or so) to the bottom of the stairs, if a kid fell or ran down stairs and didn't stop in time...

Again, thanks for all the input, now working on a safe way to get the stove downstairs. Very easy to move on the level, or on a slight slope, just a piece of plywood with rollers of pipe, but it'd be Interesting in a Hurry to try that on ramps on stairs even without rollers I suspect it would slide a little too quickly.

agcowvet wrote:Again, thanks for all the input, now working on a safe way to get the stove downstairs. Very easy to move on the level, or on a slight slope, just a piece of plywood with rollers of pipe, but it'd be Interesting in a Hurry to try that on ramps on stairs even without rollers I suspect it would slide a little too quickly.

There is a thread on this topic. some only took a second or two to get the stove downstairs.
How Did You Get Your Coal Stove Into Your House???

Hook that stove to that there cow and back er down.