Dumb on Btus

rberq · Post by **rberq** » Fri. Feb. 28, 2014 5:45 pm

lsayre wrote:I guess no one cares that the heat is in the coal. Everyone thinks it is in the stove.

Take a pill, Larry.

Post by **franco b** » Fri. Feb. 28, 2014 6:13 pm

rberq wrote:
lsayre wrote:I guess no one cares that the heat is in the coal. Everyone thinks it is in the stove.
Take a pill, Larry.

While that statement might sound simplistic it is actually profound since it calls attention to the pounds per hour required to achieve claimed BTU outputs which are mostly hypothetical or worse. A better way to look at the problem or at least to keep in mind.

Koko · Post by **Koko** » Tue. Mar. 11, 2014 5:41 pm

isayre,
I agree the heat is in the coal. My current stove has a 5 lb. (rated @ 30K) capacity, if I purchase a new stove with a 45 lb. (rated @ 90K) capacity I am assuming I would generate more BTUs with the large stove, correct. Thanks Kevin.

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Tue. Mar. 11, 2014 6:13 pm

Koko wrote:isayre,
I agree the heat is in the coal. My current stove has a 5 lb. (rated @ 30K) capacity, if I purchase a new stove with a 45 lb. (rated @ 90K) capacity I am assuming I would generate more BTUs with the large stove, correct. Thanks Kevin.

As long as it burns more coal per hour/day/etc...

Koko · Post by **Koko** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 1:44 pm

Isayre,
Your not saying that the 30K vs 90K stoves, both burning at 400 degrees would be producing the same amount of heat output ? I justed assumed that if I were burning 5 lbs of coal vs 45 lbs of coal that the heat output would be greater ? Maybe I should just stick with the small 30K stove ? It is great to get everyone's opinion before making a purchase, which may be just a waste of money ! I'd rather be penny wise than pound foolish. Thanks all. Kevin.

Post by **Lightning** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 1:58 pm

My question would be,
Do you need more heat?
Or does your current stove keep you warm enough?

Koko · Post by **Koko** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 3:09 pm

Lightning,
I am heat the first floor of my home, approximately 1150 sq.ft. I have blocked off the 2nd floor so the heat doesn't thermal up. I can maintain 69-70 degrees in the Living Rm (where the stove is in my fireplace) but I don't seem to be getting enough heat in the adjacent room, especially the one next to the living room. So I was thinking that if I had a fireplace insert with a blower rated at 90K I would generate more heat to the entire first floor. During this cold winter in the northeast this small stove struggled, had to keep it at the 550 degree range to keep the oil burner from kicking on. I also figured that I only reduced my oil consumption by 20%, used about one ton of coal. So if I could reduce my oil consumption by 50% and perhaps burn two tons of coal I would be ahead of the game as well as being a lot warmer during the real cold days/nights. Another problem is I have to bank the stove overnight so it doesn't burn up all the (5 lbs) coal, causing the oil burner to take over during the coldest times (night & early morning). If I had 45 lbs of coal burning 24/7 at a steady 450 degrees I am sure my oil consumption would be less.

rberq · Post by **rberq** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 3:45 pm

Koko wrote:If I had 45 lbs of coal burning 24/7 at a steady 450 degrees I am sure my oil consumption would be less.

I'm sure it would, too, and you would not have to worry about keeping it going overnight.

However, you still might have a problem getting heat to other rooms unless you have fans or some other way to circulate it. Heat doesn’t flow well through doorways. My stove heats several rooms, and could produce enough heat to warm the adjacent kitchen and dining room, but they stay cold because of poor circulation, and for esthetic and noise considerations my Director of Decorations has prohibited a vent and fan through the wall.

Is your oil heat via hot water or hot air? If it is hot air you could experiment with running the furnace blower without the burner, and see if that would help in distribution.

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 3:57 pm

What is really needed here is a heat loss study. You can do this yourself utilizing the following website:

http://www.builditsolar.com/References/Calculator ... atLoss.htm

You can not merely assume 3 times more heat output from a 90K BTU rated stove vs. a 30K BTU rated stove, but the likelihood is that there is more potential for BTU's from the stove with the bigger numbers.

What is needed most (in my opinion) is to know the firebox dimensions of one stove vs. the next. This is (again, in my opinion) going to be a better indicator of the potential to generate more heat than mere BTU numbers from the manufacturers.

What is likely needed most of all is a means of distributing the heat from the room with the stove in it to the rooms that are presently not getting as much heat as you desire.

michaelanthony · Post by **michaelanthony** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 4:23 pm

Welcome KoKo, sorry for the late plug in. I couldn't help but notice your needs, a stove to heat 1150 sq.ft. one floor. Well I'm in northern Maine, in a 1100 sq. ft. brick house with cinder block walls, no insulation, 3/4" air space and double layer sheet rock, new windows I installed 2 winters ago and I have used approx 25 gallons of heating oil and a 50,000 BTU hand fed, no blower stove in my fireplace

To hell with saving a little money, do it right and save a ton of money. There are used stoves all around, Craigslist etc.

viewtopic.php?f=57&t=32763 check this out!

Post by **Lightning** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 4:24 pm

Koko wrote: I also figured that I only reduced my oil consumption by 20%, used about one ton of coal. So if I could reduce my oil consumption by 50% and perhaps burn two tons of coal I would be ahead of the game as well as being a lot warmer during the real cold days/nights.

Seems like you would be even further ahead with a stove that didn't require any oil heat back up.

That's why we burn coal right? Cut that oil pipe!

Koko · Post by **Koko** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 4:57 pm

rberg,
Thanks for your response. Actually once the temp outside is above 35 degrees the small stove manages to push some heat into the adjacent dining room where the thermostat is located. Of course this keeps the oil burner from running, so the kitchen can get cool (64-66) which is acceptable. But once the temp drops below the 35 degree mark then the stove has a problem keeping the dining room at 69. I can crank the stove up to 600 degrees and then the room will maintain 69 but you need to tend the stove every 6 hours which is why I bank it overnight. I did have a small fan (100 CFMs)on the dining room floor blowing cool air into the living room which actually did help keep the room warmer (70-71) & my Director said it was OK unless we had visitors ! ! My oil heating system is baseboard hot water. Kevin

lsayre · Post by **lsayre** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 5:04 pm

Since you have baseboard heat, have you considered using a coal boiler instead of a stove?

Post by **Lightning** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 5:08 pm

lsayre wrote:Since you have baseboard heat, have you considered using a coal boiler instead of a stove?

Koko · Post by **Koko** » Tue. Mar. 25, 2014 5:10 pm

Isayre,
Thanks for your response as well as that heat BTU chart - I'll check it out.
My current stove is a Morso squirrel, all cast iron lined with fire bricks, the actual firebox measures
9" X 9" and is 5" deep, coal capacity is 5 lbs. I am looking to replace it with a Keystoker HF insert, they have a 70K and 90K, steel stove lined with fire bricks, firebox measurement for the 70K is
18 1/2" X 12 1/2" and 9" deep, coal capacity is 45 lbs. also has a 220 CFMS blower to circulate the warm air out of the fireplace. It would seem to me that the large unit would help my current heating problem ?

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