Hi. Looking to buy a stoker. I'll get right to the point.
1) I see a lot of accessories mentioned. Various theromstats, feeder controllers and exhaust accelerators.
Which do I need and what do I need to know? What do I need to have?
2) Hopper size. Obvious that bigger is better. But how much coal does a stove burn to heat a house? Small is 60 LB's
and large is 110-200 lbs. I have a 2000ft ranch and burn 450 gal of oil. 3 ton of coal is 150 40lb bags. I imagine you
need heat in Mass for at least 150 days, and am wondering how this pans out from real cold days, to moderate days.
So that is maybe an average of one 40 lb bag a day. How does this work out in real terms?
3) Is there any specific advantage to a rear vent unit? Or disadvantage?
4) I was thinking about the air jacket hood to feed into my hot air system. But what I wonder is does that mean the
furnace fan has to be on all the time? How does that work?
5) I once saw a picture with a duct for input air from outside. But only once. Is this something that is commonly done?
Is it desireable?
I want to get a stove, but don't want to be cheap and have it be a pain in the ass because of a bad selection.
For $150 the pocono has a 200lb hopper compared to the pioneer with a 110lb hopper. And you can save
another $500 and get a 60lb hopper.
I know NOTHING about the practical side of this. Any feedback is appreciated about these questions or any other
"gotchas" I didn't think of in terms of placement, etc. Right now I am thinking of at the bottom of the basement
stairs (finished basement) as the alternative to the air duct thing.
ALan
General Startup Questions
I have burned anywhere from 12# to 85# a day. My average per day is 39# for the entire heating season (Oct-May). And I am heating 2000sqft. keeping the T-stat set at 73 degrees.mogul397 wrote:But how much coal does a stove burn to heat a house? Small is 60 LB's
and large is 110-200 lbs. I have a 2000ft ranch and burn 450 gal of oil. 3 ton of coal is 150 40lb bags. I imagine you
need heat in Mass for at least 150 days, and am wondering how this pans out from real cold days, to moderate days.
So that is maybe an average of one 40 lb bag a day. How does this work out in real terms?
Yes, I burned 4 ton. (8235 pounds to be exact)mogul397 wrote:As I was doing the math it was sounding like it would be more than estimates.
450 gal per year / 180 (gal per ton) = 2.5 tons. Sounds like you burn 4 ton.