add on coal furnace

I've been reading these forums with great interest -- a wonderful site. I am considering installing an "add-on" coal furnace to supplement our natural gas forced hot air furnace. I'd like to run the coal in the cold winter months, but continue to use the natural gas during the milder spring/fall months. Does anyone here any experience with such a setup?

That is what most people think when they start but soon realize the coal is actually heating most of the house. For the most part they nay be running the other heat in the bathroom or a simialr situation. Even a small unit can make a world of difference in your bills and how your house feels. There is nothing compared to coal heat as far as how cofortable it is.

Andy,
We do exactly as you describe. We use a propane furnace only in the spring and fall, like right now as a matter of fact. It isn't the most effecient way to go for our house but using the coal furnace now would be too hot for us.
But as soon as the temperature drops, it's coal all the way! Usually around the first week or two in November. Once we start the coal, we don't stop until spring. It's the only way I know to heat this big, drafty 150 year-old farm house.

sparky wrote: but using the coal furnace now would be too hot for us.
But as soon as the temperature drops, it's coal all the way! Usually around the first week or two in November.

If you remember about 3 years ago the first part of the winter was very mild. I had a customer who didn't start burning until late November, maybe first week of December. Said he'd open the windows during the day if that ever happened again after getting his electric bill for that month..

I have a similiar question. I have a Oil fired hot air furnace that I'll use this time of year and in the spring. I also have a Harmon Magnum Stoker in my basement. When I use that it's just radient heat. Which works good but an addition on my house does not get alot of warmth. Can I safely take the 6" duct and port it into my furnace's Plenum and have the furnace blower distribute the heat better. Right now I just have the 6" duct running up to my living room right above the stove. I also added the hot water coil to my stove this summer and can't wait to use it. It's hooked to a tempering tank (old 50 gallon gas HWH) then over into my electric 80g heater. Anybody using one? Like it? I'm hoping to save some cash with it.. Thanks in advance.. -R

I have an Alaska Model 140 Stove. It is set up from the factory to be used as a hot air furnace. I installed it side by side with my existing fuel oil furnace and piped the plenum into the existing hot air trunk line. I then built a cold air return box and hooked that to the existing cold air return ( you need to install a cold air bypass setup..very easy to do... to keep the heated air from cycling through the furnace thats not in use). This setup is heating a 100+ year old 2600sq ft 2 story house with no trouble. Its currently 6 degrees outside and 72 inside. The best part is should I take an extended vacation or run low on coal, I can flip a switch and go right to fuel oil heat again. I also designed and built a hot water coil that is currently heating all my hot water.