I Am Looking for a New Coal / Wood Stove

longislandsteve wrote:The Harman Super Magnum coal stoker will heat 2000 to 5300 sq. ft. Question ?I know the stoker stoves have a blower motor. If the blower motor goes down will the stove stay lit.(loosing power). Are there any other moving parts on these stoker machines. I have no problem spending the extra money when the stove will not be working hard to heat my house.

If the power goes out the stoker goes out with it (unless you have a power back-up unit of some sort). If you want heat in a power failure you will need to forget about stokers and go with a hand fired stove.

Using 1400 gallons of fuel oil and the rough estimate of 180 gallons equaling a ton of coal, that would indicate about 7.7 tons of coal needed to equal the heating value of the fuel oil used. Does seem to me excessive for the size of the house. Four ton or 720 gallons is what I would expect at most to use on Long Island.

I think the reasons for that much oil used have to be searched out before doing anything. Too much heat loss or very poor inefficient burning.

Describe the house, how old, how tight, how insulated.

Is 1400 gallons accurate? Is there some left over from your last fill up that was included in the 1400? What about domestic hot water? Does it use fuel oil too?

Not too far out of line for many older homes on LI. If that's what he has.

While it's not as cold as many surrounding areas, what a lot of people who've never lived there, don't realize is that LI's very damp winters suck a lot of heat out through insulation and walls that don't get as dried out as other areas. And being an Island with no part more than 11 miles from large water, it's windy much of the time. Think more like trying to stay warm in a damp blanket in the wind.

I had a 1600 sq ft, three bedroom, two story, 1922 American four square on the south shore. Blown in wool in the attic floor, old thin fiberglass in the walls, 32 old windows - a lot for a house that size - and many were double wides. Sun porch off the living room was all windows. Oil hot water with cast iron radiators and domestic hot water coil in boiler. Serviced yearly and upgraded to new Wayne gun.

First few years we used 1200 gal average for that 1600 sq ft so he's not too far off at 1400 gal for 2000 sq ft, if it's an older house with lots of windows.

Added 6 inch foil-faced fiberglass to attic roof joists. Replaced half the windows with new Andersons. Built a new back door to replace old leaky one. Caulked a lot. Added French doors to be able to close off the sun porch at night in Winter.

That got it down to about 800 gal a year.

Paul

Steve,
You've come to the right place; these guys know their stuff! FWIW, I live in RI and burned wood in a Vermont Castings Resolute, fireplace install, for 20 years. I wanted longer burn time and more btus so I moved up to a Vigilant and coal. My house is 2400 sq ft, 1 1/2 story cottage, well insulated. Last season I burned coal from mid November to early May. I bought 50 LB bags for $7.50 each and kept detailed records. Fireplace is central, first floor; stairs in the next room. The living room was always in the 70s; everywhere else at least the low 60s. It cost me $4.25 per day over the period to heat the house. My oil burner provided domestic hot water and backup when out of town, and I only used a hundred gallons or so. No risk to the pipes; the earth provides enough basement warmth to keep them safe. I tended the stove twice a day (7 & 7) during cold periods and once a day in the shoulder season. Tending takes 15 minutes max. Surface temp of my stove was steady thanks to the thermostat (excellent feature), and I could run it at 250 to 600 depending on need. We love the looks too! Hope this helps.

Thanks for the feedback. The house has insulation issues. I am addressing them now by aggressively air sealing the attic and blowing insulation in to give me an r-50. I am also all addressing outside doorways to reduce draft also. The 1400 gallons of fuel is to also provide domestic hot water year long. Do you think the resolute will heat better than the TLC2000.Thank you for all the input.

Is the resolute stove a wood or coal fired stove. Online I only found it out to be wood ?

There are coal burning Resolutes, but I only mentioned it as part of my process of getting to the Vigilant. I am not recommending the Resolute for your needs; and merely describing my experience with the Vigilant for your reference.

Is it this one?

http://vermontcastings.com/products/Stoves/Wood-Burning/

A stove must have a shaker grate mechanism to be able to burn coal.
Wood burners normally just have a stationary grate.

longislandsteve wrote:Thanks for the feedback. The house has insulation issues. I am addressing them now by aggressively air sealing the attic and blowing insulation in to give me an r-50. I am also all addressing outside doorways to reduce draft also. The 1400 gallons of fuel is to also provide domestic hot water year long. Do you think the resolute will heat better than the TLC2000.Thank you for all the input.

Excellent.. The insulation will cut fuel consumption, and I have no idea how to anticipate how much of the 1400 gallons was for hot water.. So, more realistically, after insulation and hot water maybe you will only need 900 gallons for heat..

In that case, you could maybe use a smaller appliance for just heat.. Like something rated 100,000 BTU, especially if you keep the oil for back up.. Personally I wouldn't go any smaller. You'll want the head room when we get the several days of real cold stuff.

Lee,
Current model Resolute is wood only. 1980's (or earlier?) vintage Resolutes were available as coal burners and even had hoppers.

Rich W. wrote:Lee,
Current model Resolute is wood only. 1980's (or earlier?) vintage Resolutes were available as coal burners and even had hoppers.

Oh ok.. cool

Have you looked at hitzer's? They are good hand fired and have various stoves. Not sure if any are over 100k BTU though. The only brand I know of that makes hand fired that big is d.s. machine in current production. I'd stay away from the TLC 2000 it is to small for your application. A big basement stove from d.s. tied to duct would maybe work good. I use a basement stove with tin around it and a fan and a heat duct of its own and it works great.

I would take a good look at the ds circulator or basement stoves. I have a 1500 circulator, just 1 size down from what you would be looking at. The past 2 years, this stove did a phenomenal job heating my home. The hopper gives you great burn times, even in the coldest weather. The stoves are built like a tank, and I was very pleased with the fit and finish of the stove. I have some videos of my stove burning on my youtube channel, under the same screen name I use here, LDPosse.

I have been looking at the ds1600. It puts out 125000 BTU. I have a buddy of mine that recommends it highly. However in the last 2 months of researching most manufacturers and stove types and models has brought me fill circle back to the ds1600.I can say one thing for certain. This website has furnished me with enough information to baffle me.The more I read the smarter and more confused I get. However all roads seem to lead to a hand fired coal stoves with a lot of BTU.
Can anyone else comment on the ds1600. Since no one sells these units on long island I will have to go to Pennsylvania or Jersey and have a local guy install it.(my homeowners policy will not insure me unless a licensed installer does the job)