Excited About Coal Stoves I Must Have One in Delaware.

plumb-r · Post by **plumb-r** » Sat. Jun. 28, 2014 8:41 am

Hey "Rob R" has a point about the water heater. Again old style natural draft 80% appliance. I'd be looking into a tankless gas fired water heater with a family of 6. That's probably a good chunk of your gas bill and you would be saving some money all year long not just in the winter.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Sat. Jun. 28, 2014 9:07 am

While having multiple needs to improve energy costs do concider the smartest Return on you Investment...UDD, put your first dollars where they will save/free up the most dollars the fastest...allowing the dollars saved to contrbute to making it finacially easier do the next savings improvement...and so on...you get it.

michaelanthony · Post by **michaelanthony** » Sat. Jun. 28, 2014 9:31 am

[quote="UncleDoDat"][quote] If you heat the upstairs with a radiant heater how are you going to keep those pipes from bursting this winter? [/quote]

Also I checked out the specs on that Vigilant 2310 it says it heats 2,000 square feet for up to 18 hours on a single load. Does it heat your 1100 sqf well? It's looks like the style of pellet burner (square box) I intended on getting that started this journey and allowing me to discover coal................ As God is my witness I shall not be cold this winter and still shovel out half a K a month.[/quote]

Vigilant II Is Just Humming Along!!!

The Vigilant 2310 is a fantastic heater and proven modern base burner, it cost me $5.78 per day to heat my brick, insulated northern Maine home last endless winter! My stove runs on auto pilot and rarely gets to 600* and some folks run up too 700* without a problem. Vigilpeaburner has some great videos...

UncleDoDat · Post by **UncleDoDat** » Sat. Jun. 28, 2014 3:08 pm

That water heater might be a gas hog also. If you have hard or moderately hard water and the sediment has never been drained, it will need some attention.

There is a water softener hooked up in the basement. It was here when we moved in. It is fully operational. However, as I am not previ of how it really work I just keep adding salt as it eats it.

Also I have done a little research on "gas tankless water heater." This is the bottom line according to the article. (Literally at the bottom of the page.)

Efficient storage models are pricey We also tested the $1,400 Vertex, a high-efficiency storage water heater by A.O. Smith. The manufacturer claims its installation costs are similar to a regular storage model. But its high cost offsets much of the roughly $70 per year the Vertex will save you. Instead, we recommend buying a conventional storage water heater with a 9- or 12-year warranty. In previous tests, we found that those models generally had thicker insulation, bigger burners or larger heating elements, and better corrosion-fighting metal rods called anodes.

The article can be found here. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/appliances/hea ... ers-ov.htm

Michaelanthony, read your post that Vigilant really sounds great. I think I'll be in the market for something a little smaller for the rear of the house closest to my bedroom on the first floor as I am not expecting any base heater to reach all the way to my bedroom. I'd be more than happy if it did though. However, looking at Williams video about the "Parlor Stoves" I think I'll invest in one of those little babies. I am in love with the relics of the early 1900's

windyhill4.2 · Post by **windyhill4.2** » Sat. Jun. 28, 2014 3:27 pm

UDD, I was going to post my findings on the tankless water heaters earlier in this thread, but figured I would be labeled as a "doesn't know what he is talking about" type. So glad you posted the official findings as I did not remember where to find them & verifies what my thinking is about the tankless water heaters.... they rank on the same level as heat pumps do............. WASTED MONEY ON WORTHLESS APPLIANCES ! Go for the BB or 2 BB's & enjoy your heat

Post by **Lightning** » Sat. Jun. 28, 2014 3:50 pm

I think that a well insulated electric hot water tank is much better at holding heat than a gas one that has a stack going up thru the middle of it. I would tend to think that a tankless would be better for very low consumption, like for a camp or something where several days would pass without hot water usage.

In a situation where there is steady usage I don't see how a tank less would be a real benefit other than teenagers taking endless showers haha...

But I should clarify that heating anything with electric is way more expensive than natural gas lol

I suppose that didn't help much...

Post by **Rob R.** » Sat. Jun. 28, 2014 9:01 pm

McGiever wrote:While having multiple needs to improve energy costs do concider the smartest Return on you Investment...UDD, put your first dollars where they will save/free up the most dollars the fastest...allowing the dollars saved to contrbute to making it finacially easier do the next savings improvement...and so on...you get it.

Often a case of caulking and a few cans of expanding foam have the fastest ROI.

As for the water heater, I wasn't saying it should just be replaced...but it should be evaluated so you know how much gas it is using and if it is working properly. The same goes for the boiler. Even though the house will be nicely heated by a coal stove, the boiler is still going to maintain temperature and use some gas...it is worthwhile to do a quick check and make sure there isn't extra $ going up the chimney from a maladjusted flame or sooty heat exchanger.

UncleDoDat · Post by **UncleDoDat** » Mon. Jun. 30, 2014 11:55 pm

Steve3 · Post by **Steve3** » Thu. Oct. 09, 2014 2:13 pm

This thread goes back a few months but would like to know if original poster bought a stove and found coal at a good price.

Thinking of moving into DE from NJ. And yes NG can be a cost saving over a lot of fuels. I would most likely only be using coal to supplement NG. Also for the fun of it. Cut, hauled, split, stacked, burned a lot of wood 20+ years ago when living in CT. Coal seems like an easier burn at this stage of my life.

These antique stoves sure look great but I would most likely use something like a small Hitzer 30-95 .

Many thanks to all for reading. Appreciate any input.

Steve

UncleDoDat · Post by **UncleDoDat** » Thu. Oct. 09, 2014 2:35 pm

Hey there Steve3. Yes I have found a place in Maryland that delivers for about $60 bucks no matter how many tons. I actually have posted my findings here. Looking for A Reputable Coal Dealer for Dover DE.

Steve3 · Post by **Steve3** » Thu. Oct. 09, 2014 6:36 pm

Many thanks for getting back to me.

Are you up and running. Did you buy a stove. Are you buying coal.

UncleDoDat · Post by **UncleDoDat** » Thu. Oct. 09, 2014 8:34 pm

Steve3 wrote:Many thanks for getting back to me.

Are you up and running. Did you buy a stove. Are you buying coal.

My install date is tomorrow. And I can't wait!!

Old man winter is has reared his ugly head in DE. I have been tempted to turn the gas on but I'm thinking I can hold out until Mr. Herald has been installed.

Steve3 · Post by **Steve3** » Fri. Oct. 10, 2014 7:47 am

Great ! - Please post lots of pictures

Davian · Post by **Davian** » Fri. Oct. 10, 2014 3:20 pm

Yes, it was a hard winter. In my area we went almost a week without the temperature ever going above 0

Yup, we had an awful winter last year up here. Just as bad on my side of the lake. I really hope we don't have another winter like that this year.