Complete Coal Newbie Questions!

NEPA Crossroads,
Very nice to meet everyone! My fiancee and I are building a home here in NEPA and are about two weeks out until completion. The home is set up for propane/forced air on a 1000 gallon tank and we are looking into alternate options to heat the home next winter. We received our bill of almost $1600 for the fill of the propane tank and feel like a bit of investment now could go a long way in the future. So, in addition to reading the wealth of information on this site I have a few remaining questions pertaining specifically to the layout of our home itself.

My biggest concern is of the placement of the stove itself - our home is a total of 3,100 sq/ft, all above ground. My initial thought would be to get a freestanding coal furnace to be placed on the second floor as the first floor isn't going to be used frequently. This would alleviate us having to cut ventilation holes above the furnace should it be placed on the first floor. Another concern being that if it were indeed placed on the first floor, the heat would not adequately make its way up to the third floor where the bedrooms are located.

What are your thoughts on the above? Is it possible to tie the heat generated from the propane furnace into the duct work used from the propane / forced air system? Is this considerably more expensive or difficult of an installation than a freestanding unit?

Also, I've seen many positive reviews for many of the models of furnaces out there - with the lay out of the house in mind, could anyone make a best recommendation as what I should be leaning towards? A budget of $6,000 installed is what we're aiming for at maximum.

Although there seems to be a learning curve to all of this, it does seem like the way to go for both efficiency and economy, especially living so close to the source. I thank you for your input in advance.

Respectfully,
Mike.

Welcome to the FORUM Mike. You'll get a whole lot of feed back from the furnace guys on this one--working w/ new construction is real nice & with that budget, you'll be able to get set up nicely. Be patient my friend.

Hopper fed stoker Boiler on 1st floor with heat exchanger inserted in current air distribution duct
Additional dump zone with baseboard radiation where desired

Poconoeagle - Thank you for the quick reply - was just the advice I was looking for. What would something like that run? Also, since you're a local guy over in Tobyhanna and seem to know what you're talking about - do you recommend any model of furnace and local installer?

Considering the size and layout of your home, I will second the recommendation for a stoker boiler with a water to air heat exchanger. That way you can use your existing ductwork to distribute the heat, and you can also produce domestic hot water with the boiler.

Does the house have a chimney?

MikeO88 wrote:Poconoeagle - Thank you for the quick reply - was just the advice I was looking for. What would something like that run? Also, since you're a local guy over in Tobyhanna and seem to know what you're talking about - do you recommend any model of furnace and local installer?

PM sent!

Rob R. wrote:Considering the size and layout of your home, I will second the recommendation for a stoker boiler with a water to air heat exchanger. That way you can use your existing ductwork to distribute the heat, and you can also produce domestic hot water with the boiler.

Does the house have a chimney?

Rob - We opted to go for a gas fireplace, so, no chimney was installed. Does that complicate things?

-Mike.

You would need to powervent the coal unit.

Have you considered a stand alone coal furnace...and eliminate the propane furnace altogether?
We are heating well over 3000sq ft with only coal...

your ductwork is already in place....so installation should be fairly simple

IMO,i'd recomend a stoker boiler with a water to air heat exchanger,DHW coil and a dump zone hooked up to the garage with a modine.You get everything needed along with the savings of using coal.A $6000.00 budget seems reasonable,depending upon manufacter and size of unit.The LL110 boiler is something to look at,if properly sized for your house.Welcome and you will definetly be warm with coal.The payback from savings of coal won't take too long.