I'm New, Good Descision?
This is all new to me. I did not want to spend as much money as I did last year on oil. We have a 200 year old small farmhouse, 1500sq ft, not including the basement or the two attic rooms. The house is not well insulated, working on that too. We purchased a Direct vent Keystoker stoker stove 105K btu. It is to be installed in the basement. AT first we were going to put it on the first floor. Bottom floor is all open one room. There are two grates in the ceiling going up to the second floor for airflow. No insulation between basement and first floor. We are hoping this will heat most of our house and be our prominent heat source. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
Also, how big of a coal bin do I need to hold 3 tons of rice coal. I was told 4x4x8 will do it.
Ive been looking through this forum this past week. It looks like coal is the way to go.
Also, how big of a coal bin do I need to hold 3 tons of rice coal. I was told 4x4x8 will do it.
Ive been looking through this forum this past week. It looks like coal is the way to go.
This is a breakdown from a post by "spc" This will give you an idea of what you will need. I'm using 90K stove in a 800 sq. ft poorly insulated house and I burn just 3 ton per yr. I'm willing to bet your going to use more than 3 ton based on your info. Just a heads up. Don't want you to run out. Good luck.4 x 8 x 2 = 64 Cubic FT Approx. 1.6 tons
4 x 8 x 3 = 96 Cubic FT Approx. 2.4 tons
4 x 8 x 4 = 128 Cubic FT Approx. 3.2 tons
4 x 8 x 5 = 160 Cubic FT Approx. 4 tons
4 x 8 x 6 = 192 Cubic FT Approx. 4.8 tons
5 x 8 x 2 = 80 Cubic FT Approx. 2 tons
5 x 8 x 3 = 120 Cubic FT Approx. 3 tons
5 x 8 x 4 = 160 Cubic FT Approx. 4 tons
5 x 8 x 5 = 200 Cubic FT Approx. 5 tons
5 x 8 x 6 = 240 Cubic FT Approx. 6 tons
4 x 10 x 2 = 80 Cubic FT Approx. 2 tons
4 x 10 x 3 = 120 Cubic FT Approx. 3 tons
4 x 10 x 4 = 160 Cubic FT Approx. 4 tons
4 x 10 x 5 = 200 Cubic FT Approx. 5 tons
Welcome & you are in for a warmer, cheaper winter.pclfal wrote:This is all new to me. I did not want to spend as much money as I did last year on oil. We have a 200 year old small farmhouse, 1500sq ft, not including the basement or the two attic rooms. The house is not well insulated, working on that too. We purchased a Direct vent Keystoker stoker stove 105K btu. It is to be installed in the basement. AT first we were going to put it on the first floor. Bottom floor is all open one room. There are two grates in the ceiling going up to the second floor for airflow. No insulation between basement and first floor. We are hoping this will heat most of our house and be our prominent heat source. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
Also, how big of a coal bin do I need to hold 3 tons of rice coal. I was told 4x4x8 will do it.
Ive been looking through this forum this past week. It looks like coal is the way to go.
My stove is in our finished basement & heats the upstairs just fine. As long as you leave plenty of ways for the heated air to find it's way upstairs you'll be fine. It wants to go up there anyway! (open doors, floor vents, a few fans, etc)
Last edited by Devil505 on Fri. Jul. 04, 2008 12:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Hi,pclfal.welcome to the forum.i started with coal heat last season and used 4 ton for heating 1200 sq.ft.i am heating with a keystoker koker model.our home is insulated but not well.we have the stove installed with 8 inch to fha oil furnace the oil didn't come on at all while coal was burning.leisureline has a diagram for hooking head shroud to furnace for fha heat,using cold air return into furnace.my dealer said to install into heat plenum so that is how mine is hooked up for last season it will be into cold air return next year.i'm sure that it will work better that way not that it didnt work well it was 70* all the time some times we had windows open to cool down.in basement will warm floors very well! into furnace should provide decent heat.Good Luck with your choices.Rich
I have my stoker in the basement and was thinking of moving it to the 1st floor also. Richard, Greg and a few others talked me out of it and I'm glad they did. Yes the stove does heat the basement even though its not eally needed down there, but there are a few upsides to having it there.
- Even though your heating the basement the heat will help control dampness down there.
-Also the heat in the basement will keep the floors of the 1st floor warm and very comfortable.
-If you plan on installing a DHW coil in the stove, it will be much easier and less expensive if its in the basement.
-If the stove is in the living area, even being extremely carefull you will get some dust. I know people who have them
in their living room and its as clean as can be. But they also say they do have to dust a little more often. Plus you have to
remove and empty or replace a hot ash pan and if you have carpet and burn it, significant other may get a bit upset.
These are just a few reasons why I kept my stove in the basement. Just make sure you weigh all of your options before placing the stove so you don't have to move it again. They are heavy!!!
- Even though your heating the basement the heat will help control dampness down there.
-Also the heat in the basement will keep the floors of the 1st floor warm and very comfortable.
-If you plan on installing a DHW coil in the stove, it will be much easier and less expensive if its in the basement.
-If the stove is in the living area, even being extremely carefull you will get some dust. I know people who have them
in their living room and its as clean as can be. But they also say they do have to dust a little more often. Plus you have to
remove and empty or replace a hot ash pan and if you have carpet and burn it, significant other may get a bit upset.
These are just a few reasons why I kept my stove in the basement. Just make sure you weigh all of your options before placing the stove so you don't have to move it again. They are heavy!!!
I don't mean to make this confusing for you but I have my stove on the first floor of a 2 story 2000 sqft excluding basement salt box design and I love it there. The amount of dirt made by the stove is not an issue if you use some sense while loading the hopper and emptying the ash pan. I think stoves are a thing of beauty and I like to admire them but that is hard to do if it is in the basement. Do you ever plan on heating the two attic rooms? If you have your stove in the basement it will be very hard to get the heat up two floors to the attic. Also if the stove is in the basement you are actually trying to heat 3000 sqft with the stove and that is asking a lot when your house is not well insulated. I think you would use more coal with the stove in the basement especially if is an unfinished basement. All of that block or stone and concrete will soak up a lot of your heat. The only drawback that I see with having the stove on the first floor is some noise. Although my stove is not bad it does make some noise but you get used to it. Several years ago I bought a corn/pellet stove and put it in my basement and was very unhappy with its performance. I installed it in October and reinstalled it on the first floor in the middle of December and then I was happy with its performance. If you had a well insulated house I would not be afraid to install your stove in the basement but with little insulation I think you would be happier with it on the first floor.
It is a tough choice to make but it is your choice.
It is a tough choice to make but it is your choice.
Gambler is right. I have over 2k sq. ft. to heat and my house is not a well insulated home. I used about 3 tons of coal. You will most definetely use more coal with a basement install. Also, you will not be able to enjoy the beauty of the stove, and will have to hump the ash out of the basement. That means you will be going down there a lot to check the ash pan, the coal level in the hopper and to adjust the feed rate. The feed rate controls how much coal is pushed onto the grate. Think of it as your thermostat. The more coal on the grate the hotter the fire. I'm contstantly playing with the feed rate depending on how cold it is outside. If it's 40 degrees out my stove stays on 2 if it dips into the lower 30's the stove goes to 3 and so on. If it is mild out say 50 then I may leave it at 1 and let it idle. Every morning I turn the stove down and then back up in the afternoon. I would be traveling a lot up and down the stairs if my stove was in the basement. On very cold nights I have to run the stove hot to get the upstairs at a comfortable temp. The stove eats coal when you push it hard. And hard I mean only at about 3/4 capacity. If I had the stove in the basement the upstairs would most likely never get to a comfortable temp unless I ran the stove at max which would require even more coal.
So I guess you have your answer..........There is no answer!
It is so dependent on your particular house & needs that no one solution will be right for everyone. Wherever you put it you will take care of your heating needs & save money. There are plenty of threads on heat distribution so I suggest you do some reading.
Have Fun! (it turns into a hobby for many of us!)
It is so dependent on your particular house & needs that no one solution will be right for everyone. Wherever you put it you will take care of your heating needs & save money. There are plenty of threads on heat distribution so I suggest you do some reading.
Have Fun! (it turns into a hobby for many of us!)
- Rob R.
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For some of us, burning coal progresses from a hobby to an obsession. I started out just shoveling it in the stove and being happy with the heat. Now I have log books to document daily temperatures and coal usage, thermometers all over the place, and draft guage hooked in the stove pipe.
By the way, my stove is in the basement since that is the only place I could hook it into the chimney. It keeps my basement nice and dry, the floors are toasty, and the first floor is always comfortable.
By the way, my stove is in the basement since that is the only place I could hook it into the chimney. It keeps my basement nice and dry, the floors are toasty, and the first floor is always comfortable.
Great little toy here http://www.stacksandstacks.com/html/80150_thermom ... hplate.htmmarkviii wrote:thermometers all over the place,
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Hello pclfal... welcome...
If you are going to duct hot air up from the basement, to the first floor, you will be creating 1/2 of a loop.. you also need to complete the other 1/2 of the heating loop.
On the back of your stove you have either one or two distribution fans,, these are the fans that force air through the stove and out the hot air vents.. You need to get a flange-adapter to screw onto the inlet of the distribution fans and attach some flexible or stiff duct to the fans... have the ducts pull air from a far corner of the upstairs, as far from the heat outlet duct as you can. If you have two distribution fans.. pulling air from the first or second floor at opposite corners of the house would be ideal..
When you hook up your stove like I describe,, you are imitating a forced-air furnace.. ALL forced air furnaces have cold air return ducts that pull air from the house and return it to the furnace to be reheated.. this air is usually about 65* .. If you leave the stove with the distribution fans pulling air from the basement floor,, this air is about 50-55*, and you will not get the heat you want from your stove,, and will have a sauna in the basement, heating the foundation walls and the dirt outside,,, You want to keep the heat in the living spaces.. upstairs... If your stove only supplies radiant heat to the basement, this is best... don't blow any hot air into the basement,, blow it upstairs.. The floor WILL be warmer.. but this is not a good way to use the stove... unless the basement walls are insulated.. and the basement is pretty airtight to the outdoors..
Hope this helps.. Greg L
If you are going to duct hot air up from the basement, to the first floor, you will be creating 1/2 of a loop.. you also need to complete the other 1/2 of the heating loop.
On the back of your stove you have either one or two distribution fans,, these are the fans that force air through the stove and out the hot air vents.. You need to get a flange-adapter to screw onto the inlet of the distribution fans and attach some flexible or stiff duct to the fans... have the ducts pull air from a far corner of the upstairs, as far from the heat outlet duct as you can. If you have two distribution fans.. pulling air from the first or second floor at opposite corners of the house would be ideal..
When you hook up your stove like I describe,, you are imitating a forced-air furnace.. ALL forced air furnaces have cold air return ducts that pull air from the house and return it to the furnace to be reheated.. this air is usually about 65* .. If you leave the stove with the distribution fans pulling air from the basement floor,, this air is about 50-55*, and you will not get the heat you want from your stove,, and will have a sauna in the basement, heating the foundation walls and the dirt outside,,, You want to keep the heat in the living spaces.. upstairs... If your stove only supplies radiant heat to the basement, this is best... don't blow any hot air into the basement,, blow it upstairs.. The floor WILL be warmer.. but this is not a good way to use the stove... unless the basement walls are insulated.. and the basement is pretty airtight to the outdoors..
Hope this helps.. Greg L
Devil is completely right on this one. It's going to come down to whats right for you. I thing the biggest factor at this point will be your ability to vent the thing. Do you have access to a chimney from the first floor or is there access in the basement? Or are you going to direct vent your stove. This could be debated for a long time and i'm not looking to start a war here. Just wanted you to be aware of your options. I think you will be happy wherever you place it. As stated, the final decision will be yours.