SF-250

Hi,

Would any SF-250 owners out there burning anthracite comment on their experiences with this stove, positive or negative?

I'm also curious how many pounds it typically takes to refill after shaking.

Is it tough to fill with such a deep firebox?

Anyfeedback appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi Hamiltow,
this is my first season burning coal. I'am very happy with the sf250 it's heating my 2400 sq ranch house i keep it at 71*. My oil boiler has bin turned off for 10 days now. The 250 has a good size fire box that holds about 80# of nut. I shake it down at 6:00am and fill it up to top of fire brick, thats around 35# then leave the ash door open for 10 to 15 min, close the ash door and it's good till 6:00pm then i do the same thing and it's good till the am. You can easly get a 15 to 18 hr burn (if you would need to) with out touching it.. I average 70# a day. I empty the ashes just about every day and thats it. I have seen some posts say they have uneven burning do to only one draft knob on the ash door. I haven't had any problems like that. As far as filling it go's i just heave it in there with the bucket then i grab the rake i made and push it around to get as much in there as i can. i like to leave a little red show in the corner so it dosen't let one of them coal farts !

Thanks a lot Razzler, that was real helpful. Where abouts do you live? Do you get pretty serious cold?

I'm still doing homework on what I should get. I'm even considering a stoker hot air furnace. I may also try an SF-250 with the plenum option, but I here they may not work well if your distance is too great 20ft or more.

Anyway, I'll figure it out eventually, but Thanks a lot for your input.

I live 15 miles north/east of Allentown Pa. We have some cold wether here, not as bad as up state NY or the new England state's. I have the heat collector on my 250, i have it tide in to my AC duct work the 135cfm blower wouldn't be strong unuff to push the air through out the house. So I also run the AC fan 24/7 which has no problem moving the air. Glad to help

I have a SF-250. I find it to be very effective, very efficient and most versatile.. You cannot go wrong if you wish to have a handfired unit. See the following thread concerning a hot water loop added to stove.
SF-250 hot water coil

I have a SF150,I love it,it is in my shop,I want to buy 1 for my house.
I can get 15 hrs. easy,the whole coal pile burns,never have part not.
I use a shovel to fill mine,that prolly would be a issue in the house,
would have to come up with another plan there.
But honestly,I can not say enough nice things aboot it.
GW

Thanks for the input guys,

Cap, I notice you have a plenum in use with yours. How far do you pipe the air and what sort of flow do you get?

Do you use any other means to circulate the air?

Thanks.

Answers:
Not far, decent air flow to heat entire 1st and 2 floors. A small box fan & vent between 1st and 2nd floor to add heat into master br.
See image

when i mentioned a while back that i had bought a sf250 i think it was cap that assured me that it would keep me warm and toasty . and i believed him on that and boy oh boy he wasnt kidding. when we say they work good we arent BSing with ya. its nothing fancy no fancy looks or gadgets to fiddle with but like harman says its a work horse and they arent kidding either.