New to Burning Coal and Need Your Help Buying a Stove!

 
mikespink
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Post by mikespink » Thu. Feb. 06, 2014 7:38 pm

Hi all, I bought a newer 2,900sqft 2 story house with cathedral ceilings and we have a high eff. forced air propane heat and seperate hot water heater. Well I was a happy camper when I got our propane tank filled this summer at 1.42 a gallon but we ran low and I just got some more and they jacked the prices up to 2.72 so it looks like they play with the prices just like OIL. My house only feels warm when the heater is running and when it stops it feels cold. I want to put in a supplement heat and from what I heard COAL is the way to go since I live in reading PA.

My question is what kind of stove would you put in? I would like to put the stove in my basement which is 1,000 sqft cause we have a nice looking propane fireplace in the livingroom and the stove just will not look right in the livingroom which is the central room of the house. I have been shopping around and have come to the conclusion that tying the stove into the return ductwork will give me the most heat for the bang for the buck. I have also been kicking around the idea of running 1 duct from the top of the stove and locating the register vent in my livingroom. I have narrowed it down to 3 stoves sold here locally keystoker, alaska and leaisure line. I just need some advice on which model stove to go with and and which design(putting the stove in my mechanical room and attaching it to the return duct or putting the stove in my finished basement under the livingroom and just running 1 duct to 1 vent in my livingroom)-any help appreciated!

sincerely
Mike


 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Thu. Feb. 06, 2014 7:41 pm

**Broken Link(s) Removed**

Here is a start!

 
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Carbon12
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
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Other Heating: Heat Pump/Forced Hot Air Oil Furnace

Post by Carbon12 » Thu. Feb. 06, 2014 8:01 pm

Run, do not walk and fetch that furnace!

 
mikespink
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Post by mikespink » Thu. Feb. 06, 2014 8:21 pm

To my newbie eye that looks like a good furnace-what is wrong with it?

I also should have added that I would like to direct vent my stove out of my basement wall rather then running the chimney outside...

thnx for sending me the link.

 
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Carbon12
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Location: Harrisburg, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
Coal Size/Type: Rice/Anthracite
Other Heating: Heat Pump/Forced Hot Air Oil Furnace

Post by Carbon12 » Thu. Feb. 06, 2014 8:29 pm

Private Message the seller. I'm guessing there is nothing wrong with it. Also, ask him if it can be direct vented or power vented. I would imagine it can be. That's a great price for a beast of a heating unit.

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Thu. Feb. 06, 2014 8:30 pm

I would guess nothing is wrong with it based on the quality of work he did refurbishing the boiler that replaced it. See the link below!

Yellow Flame, A Christmas Stoker Boiler

 
mikespink
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Post by mikespink » Fri. Feb. 07, 2014 9:44 am

Okay thanks guys I will PM him.

What are your thoughts of this one it is a alaska kodiak 85,000 BTU the seller is selling everything including the heat jacket. He says it is around 5 years old.

http://york.craigslist.org/for/4244851574.html


 
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Carbon12
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Location: Harrisburg, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
Coal Size/Type: Rice/Anthracite
Other Heating: Heat Pump/Forced Hot Air Oil Furnace

Post by Carbon12 » Fri. Feb. 07, 2014 9:51 am

How many square feet is your house and how well insulated? How are the windows? How much propane do you burn per winter. This info will shine a light on whether or not the 85,000 BTU stove is big enough. Remember that value is Gross input not net output. At 85% efficiency! that stove puts out 72,250 BTU's. That may or may not be enough to heat your home. It all depends on the house.

Edit: I just saw you posted 2900 square feet, newer home. How much propane do you burn? What's the BTU rating of the propane furnace?

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Fri. Feb. 07, 2014 9:56 am

It's half the BTU output of the one in the forum classifieds. I am not sure it would throw enough heat for your 2900 sqft house with the cathedral ceilings. Other factor is the price, if its close to the 170k BTU then I would get the bigger unit since you can run one stoker on it and only bring on the second stoker when we get the polar vortex's.

Have you given any thought to coal delivery / storage and ash removal versus where you are thinking of locating the furnace?

 
mikespink
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Post by mikespink » Fri. Feb. 07, 2014 10:30 am

My house is insulated well and I know my propane furnace is in the 90% Eff. and PVC piped out the wall but I will check to see what the BTU's are on it. I have 1,000 sq ft basement and I just finished it and really insulated it well. I have a large mechanical room framed off where I can build a coal bin and enough room to put in the coal stoker if need be to tie it directly into the return duct. I also have a spot in the basement under my livingroom where I could put the coal stoker if I didnt want to directly tie it into the return duct. This is our first 3/4 year in the house and we have burned around 750 gallons thus far but this has been a really rough winter so I am gonna estimate we will burn around 1,000-1,250 gallons of propane.

We are planning on staying in this house for a long time so I would like to use the propane mostly for hot water usage allowing me to get the 1,000 gallon tank filled up in the summer months when it is cheap and then use the coal for heat so that the propane furnce doesnt have to be constantly kicking on when the wifey keeps pumping up the thermostat to 70+ in the winter months.

My house holds 65 degrees even in this cold weather without kicking on the propane furnace barely at all and my basement stays around 63-65 with no heat or vents anywhere. It really runs alot though if she wants the temp. at 69-70 degrees so that is why I need a COAL STOKER.

thnx-any advice I grealy appreciate it!

 
mikespink
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Post by mikespink » Fri. Feb. 07, 2014 10:33 am

I was just plan on getting a load of coal in the back of my pickup truck and then shoveling it into buckets and carrying it into the bin and dumping them. I know the ashes will get messy so that is why I need to locate it in the basement which I have finished as a gym/exercise room with black ruuber mats on the floor and painted concrete. I have a nice double door walkout basement in which I can drive the pickup right up to it and caryy the coal in. wife is killing me with the thermostat!

thnx guys...

 
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Carbon12
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Location: Harrisburg, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
Coal Size/Type: Rice/Anthracite
Other Heating: Heat Pump/Forced Hot Air Oil Furnace

Post by Carbon12 » Fri. Feb. 07, 2014 10:44 am

By my rough calculation, your heating with between 45,000-50,000 BTU's per hour. Look for a stove that puts out at least that number of BTU's net, per hour. Hooking it to existing duct work will have the best results. I do like the dual stoker burner option. Run one most of the time and both if you really need to, although, it looks like you won't have to. Having a back up stoker ready to go, would be a good thing!

 
mikespink
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Post by mikespink » Fri. Feb. 07, 2014 12:10 pm

Is the BTU's per hour the same as the high end BTU number on the coal stove. (for example) if the alaska stove BTU range is 5,000-85,000-would that work for me if I need 50,000 BTU per hour?

thnx

 
mikespink
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Post by mikespink » Fri. Feb. 07, 2014 12:12 pm

Do you guys think it is a good idea to buy a used stove, or should I buy new. Do these stoves hold up with no problems or do they fall apart. How long of a life span does a keystoker or alaska coal stove have? Is 10 yrs old a old stove is that at the end of its life?

 
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Carbon12
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Posts: 2226
Joined: Tue. Oct. 11, 2011 6:53 pm
Location: Harrisburg, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KA-6
Coal Size/Type: Rice/Anthracite
Other Heating: Heat Pump/Forced Hot Air Oil Furnace

Post by Carbon12 » Fri. Feb. 07, 2014 12:33 pm

Usually the BTU rating is the input. Multiply the input BTU by the % efficiency to get output. 85,000 X .85 (85%efficiency)= 72,250 net BTU output. The 85,000 BTU stoker PROBABLY would be enough. Cannot tell precisely without an accurate heat loss calculation. Without an accurate heat loss, making a recommendation is nothing more than and educated guess. I'd still go with the double stoker. It, almost without question, could heat the house. If the single stoker works better for you, give it a try. If it doesn't have enough snot in the really cold weather, you can always supplement with the pro pain heat.


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