Need Heating Help - Dust, cost

A power vent is used when a chimney isn't available. You might be thinking of a draft inducer, which is a device made to increase the draft beyond what the chimney normally provides. I would not use a draft inducer unless the chimney had really poor draft.

maxpower_454 wrote:Mike, do you use a power vent on your stoker stove? I have a separate chimney on my house for the coal stove but I'm thinking about running a power vent also just for added safety. Is this ok to do? Will the stoker just regulate the draft regardless of whether there is a power vent or not? I'm looking at a Harman Magnum right now.

We no longer use stoker stoves - now just a stoker boiler. At our old house we used stoker stoves, including an old-type Harman Magnum. The Mag was my favorite from a collection of stoker stove and furnace units we used before installing a 1962 EFM 900 stoker boiler. The Mag had its own flue and never had any draft issues, so we never used a draft inducer (or powervent). It worked well enough that we brought it with us to our new house to serve as a backup, but we've never had to run it here.

I don't have any personal experience with draft inducers, but one of the other stoker stoves we used came from an installation where it had been powervented. That guy went on at some length about the maintenance issues associated with using powervents. My preference would be to use mechanical equipment only if it is needed; sometimes adding mechanical equipment just adds opportunities for things to break down or go wrong.

The stoker governs the supply of fuel and air to the fire, but I would think of the barometric damper as being the primary regulator of the draft. They work 24/7 and do not depend on electric power. I appreciate your concern with safety, but to me a natural chimney draft that meets manufacturer specs, combined with periodic monitoring and cleaning, is the safest approach. And of course it's good to have backup in the form of CO detectors.

Mike

So I have been looking for a coal HW boiler but really only finding expensive ones. Is there a way to put a water coil in a coal stove and use that to heat water for Hot water heat? That way I can just use the coal stove to heat the floor in my garage and the baseboards in my house. I did a heat loss calc for both the house and garage and 90k BTU would be plenty.

maxpower_454 wrote: Is there a way to put a water coil in a coal stove and use that to heat water for Hot water heat? That way I can just use the coal stove to heat the floor in my garage and the baseboards in my house. I did a heat loss calc for both the house and garage and 90k BTU would be plenty.

That has been done, and the performance is very low. That is, the coils cannot scavenge very much heat. 90k btu/hr is WAY beyond what a system like that can put out.

Where have you been looking for boilers? There are some listed for sale on this site, and I have seen some pop up on craigslist for <3000 dollars.

maxpower_454 wrote:So I have been looking for a coal HW boiler but really only finding expensive ones.

What do you consider expesive and what is your budget
There are many used boiler that come up for sale that are reconditioned by fourm members that might fit your budget

I cannot comment on the bird dangers, but maybe look more into that since they are sensitive.

I just searched craigslist and there are a few efm stokers for $2400-$3500 used, some rebuilt.
They might seem pricey, but the savings will follow.
And there are a few on the forum here that rebuild and sell. Under $4k
New EFM are over $10k and possibly up to $14k w/ install, so the used is a better deal for the size of home you have.
Your coal usage would be low, so a new unit is out of the question.

Since the garage would not have to be heated to 70F (assuming) then the loss bringing out there would be better
than the loss trying to bring it inside to heat your home to 70F
Also, if having stoker in the garage, you may not need to heat the slab, since the boiler would heat the air....

If you have access window to basement where your coal bin would be, then there would not be much dust except during the delivery.
Since your basement is unfinished, that may leave you with more options and the option to wall off the "boiler" section to contain all dust and possible CO

Also to take into consideration....
You will need to change the ash bucket every day or couple, so that would be a b*tch if there is 3 ft of snow on the ground....if boiler is in garage!

I am gonna go with Mike and say none of the above. I would also put the boiler in the basement using the existing chimney and run the required size piping out to the garage. This will be a more efficient setup as you can use the radiant heat from the boiler to heat the basement. Your living floors will be warmer and this will make the overall house feel warmer. We walk around our house all winter with bare feet...wife included! By putting the boiler in the basement, you don't need to spend money on running the heat to the garage this year. Spread it out over a couple years or just use an electric water heater in the garage for a cheap alternative if you want heat this year. As for dust, I get no dust from my oiled coal and only very minimal dust while changing the ash pan. I am not real careful as mine is in the unfinished basement.

If your chimney is in good shape I would NEVER consider a power vent. Extra noiise, electrical use, and is more prone to getting clogged up with
fly ash than a chimney.

Why not use the warm morning stofe?? or is is no longer there?

Is the Harman stove used?? I hope so, because it is one of the most expensive new stoves available.. There are lots of options
for used stoves, check the classifieds.

You can spend almost as much for a new Harman Magnum as you would to buy a Leiwure Line NEW ll110 boiler which includes an oil burner for backup
and circulator, etc..
Call Dave or Matt at LeisureLine, they are in the manufacuters forum down the home page.

Greg L