Need a Little Stove and Clearance Advice

Well I'm looking to get into coal stove heating. I have a pretty new and efficient 1900sqft 2 story home. I have a 8' by 20' breezeway from the house to the garage. I am hoping to install a stove in the breezeway and filter into the lower floor and some upstairs. We like the upstairs cooler anyway. My problem is the breezway is not that wide plus we have other stuff out there. Some stoves like a Harman mark II wants 24" of wall clearance. Hitzers are about the same. Some stokers are less if the hopper is against the wall. Is there any good protection I could do to the walls to get a smaller clearance safely. I DO NOT WANT TO JEPORDIZE ANY SAFETY THOUGH. I like the idea of a hand stoker for all coal options including wood but do like the idea of the Stokers. I see the alaska and LL get me pretty close to the walls though. I am open for any advice. Thanks Tim

You didn't describe the walls. Are they wood frame with drywall? If so you need to have the spcified clearances. The mark II needs 24" from the rear and 33" from the sides. A heat sheild can reduce the required cleqarance. This would be a piece of sheet metal mounted on spacers about 2" off of the wall with air space able to flow under and behind it.
I'm also skeptical of your plan to to put the stove in the breezeway and get the heat distributed in the home. Might want to look at other options.

Yes, the walls are Drywall/wood framed. I am also concerned about the heat distribution. The only thing I have going for me is that the breeze way is not currently heated to it is cool and it about 4ft lower then the rest on the first floor. the ceiling slopes up into the house along with 5 steps. The breezeway leads into a hallway that goes straight thru the house. I'm hoping to blow some of the heat around. Otherwise I just don't have a much better place to put this on the first floor. The basement would not be bad but I don't have any outside doors to go down there. I'm open to ideas.

What's your current central heating system---FHW or FHA?? Tying into your existing heat delivery system makes sense; and, utilizes your existing investment. Leisure Line's web site has a great block diagram shown here for a FHA solution: http://www.leisurelinestoves.com/1904137.html

If you have an existing FHW boiler system, tying in a stoker coal boiler would be really straight forward too.

Go anthracite coal. You'll be glad you did when your home and family is nice and warm next winter---without taking out a second mortgage! You'll even find yourself turning the heat UP for a change; because, anthracite coal makes so much $en$e!!

tw230 Do you have any windows in the basement that you can chute coal threw you can build a bin under or by the window and you can take the ash out threw the same window it does not have to be a big window just high enough to Put a ash Pan or ash tub threw 12" to 17" depending on what size ash tub you use the stove can go down the steps inside the
house two to three Guys and handel it put the stove on Planks to get it down the steps you can use a come along or heavy rope you can strap the stove to short planks to lower it down or use long ones to slide the stove down with come along or heavy rope if there is a will there's a way

If you can do it, (access to a chimney) the basement is a much better way to go then the breezeway. Warm air rises so the basment would give you the most bang for the buck in terms of heating your house. I think it would be much easier to try to move the heat from the house to the breezeway than vice versa. Depending on the type of main heating system you already have, you can tie into it with either a boiler or ducts for FHA.

Wow, Thanks for all the good advice. I do have Hot water oil system. In many ways I would like the basement idea. I even thought maybe a Lesuire line setup with the duct cover to duct the heat the center of my down stairs from the basement. The only real drawbacks are the windows are those small 2 ft x 1 ft windows that have a window well around them on the outside. A delivery truck would need to go over about 60 ft of backyard to get to the window. The window is about 6 ft to the sill. Not that I can't just carry the coal into the basement and the ashes out. The exersice would not hurt but it could get old over years. Coming out of my basement everyside is a 2 story height for a chimney unless I use a power vent. Still searching for that elusive perfect setup.

You could put the coal boiler in the breezeway, and pipe the hot water into the basement to hook it up with the exisiting oil boiler system. This would keep the coal and ash-handling in the breezeway, and maybe make the chimney issue easier too.

Look at the Keystoker Kaa2 and the Harman VF3000. They have a small footprint, and minimal setbacks from combustables, easy to feed hoppers, and would not be terribly unattractive in the breezeway...

Greg L

The furnace idea sounded pretty good. I have done some searching and found a Harman Hot Air system. The guy does not know the year or model for $1200. It is for wood or coal and said it is older without any electronic stuff. Would this be a viable option to put in the garage and pipt the air into the housethru the breezeway or the ceiling of the breezway into the living quarters. I assume I would never get this down in the basement. Will I loose too much heat getting it piped in and I guess I would only be taking cold air from inside the garage to heat. Everything in the garage would be great though. Thanks He lives 2 hours away to look at it.

You pretty much answered your own questions.. Air is a very poor conductor of heat,, ductwork is much more awkward to install and to be insulated and effective. And you would have to install cold air returns an a return cold air box, or you would us double or triple the coal to heat the cold air from the garage.
If you are going to go with a remote unit, it really almost has to be a boiler,, two 1" Pex pipes will conduct allthe heat you can use, the intrusion into the house and breezeway is minimal, and the hot water can also heat your domestic hot water,, so you won't use any oil during the winter season...

Greg L

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Well I'm keeping my eyes open for a coal boiler. I have to admit I'm a little lost on the cost and coordinated setup to pipe that all together with my Oil furnace. Also, If I were to put the furnace in the gagrage would I loose much heat since the garage is not insulated? Then also any ideas of the most efficient setup of these 2 senerios. Get a L.L. or Keystoker and put in breezeway pointing into my house hallway about 5 ft from the house. Or a Mark II in the basement with registers in the floor 2 spots to let the air up. Then I need a long chimney then. I am too nervous of the hot exterior of the Mark II in the breezeway that we walk thru everyday. They say 36" per side clearance. The Stokers seem to be maybe not as hot on the sides. But will I burn much more coal with the setup in the basement then a stoker setup with a thermostat up stairs only. I have a chance on a cheap Mark II but all the stokers are new and don't know how much a Keystoker is. Thanks Tim