Ready to Buy a Keystoker Koker Lite

 
franco b
Site Moderator
Posts: 11416
Joined: Wed. Nov. 05, 2008 5:11 pm
Location: Kent CT
Hand Fed Coal Stove: V ermont Castings 2310, Franco Belge 262
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood Modern Oak 114
Coal Size/Type: nut and pea

Post by franco b » Tue. Jul. 08, 2014 1:20 pm

2004blackwrx wrote:I know the previous homeowner had a power vent on the furnace and switched to a chimney due to issue with furnace on power vent
I would try to find out what those issues were. Maybe just an under size unit.
Keep in mind that with the power vent on the coal appliance it will run constantly with shorter life and burning electric. Also another potential trouble spot.

Connecting the power vent to the oil furnace it will run very little.


 
2004blackwrx
Member
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue. Apr. 29, 2014 7:39 pm
Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: Looking to buy one

Post by 2004blackwrx » Tue. Jul. 08, 2014 2:50 pm

Yea ill ask around some of the hvac people I kind of know to see what they recommend as far as power vent on the furnace and cost to do so. Also I will be vent out the side of my house with no windows.

 
User avatar
SheepDog
New Member
Posts: 18
Joined: Tue. Feb. 06, 2007 10:17 am
Location: WV
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Alaska Kodiak
Coal Size/Type: Harmony Nut

Post by SheepDog » Tue. Jul. 08, 2014 6:16 pm

Can't speak to your stove choice, but I can say that the change to coal 4 years ago was the best thing I have ever done for a nice warm house in the winter. (Wife likes it tropics warm!)

I oversized my stove just a bit so that the worst cold weather does not stretch it out all the way.

I went with a hand fired stove so I can still have heat during the blizzards that seem to come through a couple/few times a year.

Oversized also allows me to run a lower stove temp (Safer for little ones to play around) and maintain a very warm house.

With coal bought in bulk I can do all of this each winter all winter long for less $$ than many spend a month heating with other fuels. (Many of which I have been around at one time or the other.)

SD

 
oilman
Member
Posts: 214
Joined: Sat. Feb. 04, 2006 6:19 pm
Location: Central New York

Post by oilman » Tue. Jul. 08, 2014 7:48 pm

Hi 2004...........I install quite a few Kokers and quite honestly I would suggest the standard Koker for your application. There is quite a bit of difference between the 2 as far as cfm's and temp. rise.
The lite is better in small homes, not 2,000 ft. homes.
Just my experience.
The Koker is a wonderful unit by the way.

 
User avatar
lsayre
Member
Posts: 21781
Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
Location: Ohio
Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Tue. Jul. 08, 2014 8:44 pm

His heat demand has not been very high at all. His house was built in 2000, and is likely respectably insulated. Last year was likely the coldest in a decade and yet he managed it on only 500 gallons of heating oil (which I figure would have been closer to 625 gallons if his T-Stat was at 70 degrees). I can't imagine him needing more than the Koker Lite. I can imagine him getting by on less than the Koker Lite (just as many on this forum do). As long as the Koker Lite can honestly push 6 to 7 lbs. of coal per hour for a day or two a year he should be fine with it. I would suggest that he call Keystoker and ask them if it will melt or start to glow and wilt if called upon to push 8 lbs. of coal per hour for a full day. Thats knocking on the door of 200 lbs. per day. Who really thinks he will need to burn that much? Yet 8 lbs. per hour is only about 75,000 to perhaps 80,000 output BTU's.

 
2004blackwrx
Member
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue. Apr. 29, 2014 7:39 pm
Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: Looking to buy one

Post by 2004blackwrx » Tue. Jul. 08, 2014 9:04 pm

I honestly like the koker lite because its more the price point I want to spend. However, if the regular koker would heat more efficiently then I would consider spending a little more now to save more in the future.

 
User avatar
lsayre
Member
Posts: 21781
Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
Location: Ohio
Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Tue. Jul. 08, 2014 9:16 pm

2004blackwrx wrote:I honestly like the koker lite because its more the price point I want to spend. However, if the regular koker would heat more efficiently then I would consider spending a little more now to save more in the future.
What were the high and low outside temperatures for the coldest single day you experienced last winter?

And for those pushing him in the direction of a huge furnace, how much coal did you burn on the coldest day of the year last winter?


 
2004blackwrx
Member
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue. Apr. 29, 2014 7:39 pm
Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: Looking to buy one

Post by 2004blackwrx » Wed. Jul. 09, 2014 7:51 am

Coldest high was prob around 5 or 6 last year but doesnt happen often. Average around here is low to mid 30,s. Also I will still have my furnace for emergency and will probably start it up once a month to exercise it. As long as I don't need oil more then a few times a year I will be happy.

 
User avatar
blrman07
Member
Posts: 2383
Joined: Mon. Sep. 27, 2010 3:39 pm
Location: Tupelo Mississippi

Post by blrman07 » Wed. Jul. 09, 2014 8:21 am

He has backup and will not be depending on the Koker Lite for everything even during the worst of the winters. Keep in mind that the oil cycles where the coal unit burns continously and doesn't let the house cycle.

Rev. Larry
New Beginning Church
Ashland Pa.

 
User avatar
lsayre
Member
Posts: 21781
Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
Location: Ohio
Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Wed. Jul. 09, 2014 10:03 am

2004blackwrx wrote:Coldest high was prob around 5 or 6 last year but doesnt happen often. Average around here is low to mid 30,s. Also I will still have my furnace for emergency and will probably start it up once a month to exercise it. As long as I don't need oil more then a few times a year I will be happy.
My thinking is that if the Koker Lite can deliver its full rated ~80K BTU's or so of output (wherein 105,000 rated BTUH input x 76% efficiency = 80,000 BTUH output) you may never need to burn oil again.

 
2004blackwrx
Member
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue. Apr. 29, 2014 7:39 pm
Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: Looking to buy one

Post by 2004blackwrx » Wed. Jul. 09, 2014 10:12 am

Yea I think you guys may be right with the house at 60 if I turn the gas fireplace on that is 30,000 BTU it will slowly heat the house up to 70 and beyond. Unfortunately propane is also expensive. So with the lite I should def be able to heat and can supplement with the pretty gas fireplace on real bad days and if all else fails use the oil furnace.
Last edited by 2004blackwrx on Wed. Jul. 09, 2014 10:18 am, edited 1 time in total.

 
User avatar
windyhill4.2
Member
Posts: 6072
Joined: Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 2:17 pm
Location: Jonestown,Pa.17038
Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404 with variable blower
Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both

Post by windyhill4.2 » Wed. Jul. 09, 2014 10:16 am

2004blackwrx wrote:Yea I think you guys may be right with the house at 60 if I turn the gas fireplace on that is 30,000 BTU it will slowly heat the house up to 70 and beyond. Unfortunately propane is also expensive. So with the lite I should def be able to heat and can supplement with the pretty gas fireplace o. Real bad days and if all else fails use the oil furnace.
There is that many $$$$$ between too little & the right unit ?? Doesn't make any sense to me , but.. if the mathimagichans say so ,it must be so !! :wacko: What I am trying to say is : If you are buying a NEW unit , what is the point in not getting a unit that will handle anything that winter can throw your way.?? January 1994 central Pa.dipped to -35*,buy a unit for that ,why have to depend on propain or the foreign oil?? %%% A little of this,a little of that , or Coal is king with heating !!

 
User avatar
lsayre
Member
Posts: 21781
Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
Location: Ohio
Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Wed. Jul. 09, 2014 12:09 pm

Only the die-hard solid fuel burning crowd still believes that bigger has to be better. The oil and NG and propane furnace and boiler installers seem to have abandoned this 'logic' years ago, and they gained end user efficiency in doing so. Gained efficiency translates to lower costs. That's why I was shocked to see that his purportedly 86% efficient oil burner has a whopping and seemingly well overkill 130K BTUH's of input (just shy of 112K BTUH's of output).

Again I ask: Who really thinks he will have a need to burn anywhere near 200 lbs. per day of coal (which the Koker Lite should be capable of doing)?

I get burned for this every time I say it, but all of the energy resides within the coal. If the appliance can safely burn it, the energy will be released. That's why I asked the OP to inquire of Keystoker if it can readily handle 8 lbs. per hour of feed without issues. This is akin to asking Keystoker if it is rated honestly.

Edited to correct spelling only.
Last edited by lsayre on Wed. Jul. 09, 2014 3:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
User avatar
windyhill4.2
Member
Posts: 6072
Joined: Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 2:17 pm
Location: Jonestown,Pa.17038
Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404 with variable blower
Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both

Post by windyhill4.2 » Wed. Jul. 09, 2014 1:09 pm

oilman wrote:Hi 2004...........I install quite a few Kokers and quite honestly I would suggest the standard Koker for your application. There is quite a bit of difference between the 2 as far as cfm's and temp. rise.
The lite is better in small homes, not 2,000 ft. homes.
Just my experience.
The Koker is a wonderful unit by the way.
Is he trying to sell the OP a bigger unit ?? OR ,as a furnace service/repair/install specialist he does not know what he is talking about ??? Sometimes things in life demand real world choices/outcomes rather than what the numbers say . Look back thru the different members who posted low heat output this past winter & one in R.I. who went to a restored EFM to increase his heat output. As for me & my house ,we decided in '99 to cut ties with oil/propain & stick with ONLY solid American supplied fuel. No gain or loss for me no matter the choice made by the OP. Just expressing my opinion which may not have any value at all . :)

 
User avatar
McGiever
Member
Posts: 10130
Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar

Post by McGiever » Wed. Jul. 09, 2014 2:55 pm

No loss no gain for me either...

You can let numbers allow you to know you're making the right decision, or....just go and let fear make up your mind for you. :o

It's not even close here that the Lite will do the job. :)


Post Reply

Return to “Stoker Coal Furnaces & Stoves Using Anthracite (Hot Air)”