What size coal ?

I'm tinkering with the idea of purchasing the Energy King 480EK wood/coal warm air furnace. On EK's website it does not state what size coal to burn. Anyone know ??? Also, if you own this unit can you tell me how your experience has been with it thus far. Thanks in advance.

Hi
We have the same stove. I burned nut coal for a few weeks last year(first timer) in a 480. Great furnace!I only wanted to burn the coal during warmer first half of the heating season but am so happy with the control i got from coal I plan to burn coal a lot more this year even though I have 2 years worth of dry wood.
I hope your used to burning a furnace like Energy King . Its an awesome heater but can heat like nothing you have ever seen.
Some say you can mix pea coal and nut coal together to slow a burn down if its too much .
Your at the right place someone here can answer any questions you have about coal and vast amount of info if you have time to dig in a little

Mixing pea with the nut slows the air flow by filling the nooks and crannies making it easier to control. You can use straight pea too as long as the gaps in the grates aren't too wide.

I just bought a 480EK wood/coal warm air furnace a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t hooked the furnace up yet, but the furnace is made very well and construction is solid. Also Energy King's customer support is excellent. I ordered it with the forced air draft control, coal grate and the Filter Box. I’m glad to see TimV’s comments on the stove, makes me feel like I made the right choice. I asked customer service what size coal to use and they said I could use chestnut or larger.

DavidL On: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:37 pm
I just bought a 480EK wood/coal warm air furnace a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t hooked the furnace up yet, but the furnace is made very well and construction is solid

At a shipped weight of 725lbs I'd say its construction is solid. How did you this big hunk of steel into your house ? If I buy this furnace I'm wondering if I should get it delivered. I'd like to save some money but geez thats one heavy unit.

TimV wrote:Hi
We have the same stove. I burned nut coal for a few weeks last year(first timer) in a 480. Great furnace!I only wanted to burn the coal during warmer first half of the heating season but am so happy with the control i got from coal I plan to burn coal a lot more this year even though I have 2 years worth of dry wood.
I hope your used to burning a furnace like Energy King . Its an awesome heater but can heat like nothing you have ever seen.
Some say you can mix pea coal and nut coal together to slow a burn down if its too much .
Your at the right place someone here can answer any questions you have about coal and vast amount of info if you have time to dig in a little

Tim, How is your furnace set up ? Did you get the hot water coil and cold air return ?

MAR wrote:

DavidL On: Thu Jul 31, 2008 9:37 pm
I just bought a 480EK wood/coal warm air furnace a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t hooked the furnace up yet, but the furnace is made very well and construction is solid

At a shipped weight of 725lbs I'd say its construction is solid. How did you this big hunk of steel into your house ? If I buy this furnace I'm wondering if I should get it delivered. I'd like to save some money but geez thats one heavy unit.

I picked the furnace up with a tilt snowmobile trailer. After I got it home, I removed the doors and fire brick to lighten the load, slid the furnace off of the skid, put the cardboard box back on and laid the furnace down on its back side on the trailer. I am lucky to have an outside door leading down my basement. I attached a hand winch to the front of the trailer and to a strap that I had wrapped around the top and bottom of furnace. I backed the trailer up to the door and tilted the trailer and let gravity take over. Of course I had help from my son. Once I got it down the basement, I used dowels under the feet to move it into position.

DavidL, sounds like a project getting the unit into the basement. I was wondering if you already have a Masonary chimney or did you build the Class "A" chimney as required for this unit ? Also if you may, please decribe how you plan on venting this unit ? Sorry for bombarding you with all the questions, I'm just really trying to get a plan of action going to find out what the best set up would be for my house and I really do not have much time to decide. I need to place my order within the next 2 days or I'll be screwed on the the delivery for this coming winter. I have my choices down to 2 warm air furnaces......the Alaska Model 140 or the Energy King 480. I'm pulling my hair out decided which to purchase...ummm, wait, I have no hair

Buy the stoker Alaska 140, you will like the stoker.. hand feeding a coal appliance gets to be a chore, especially if it is a big unit.

Greg L

MAR wrote:DavidL, sounds like a project getting the unit into the basement. I was wondering if you already have a Masonary chimney or did you build the Class "A" chimney as required for this unit ? Also if you may, please decribe how you plan on venting this unit ? Sorry for bombarding you with all the questions, I'm just really trying to get a plan of action going to find out what the best set up would be for my house and I really do not have much time to decide. I need to place my order within the next 2 days or I'll be screwed on the the delivery for this coming winter. I have my choices down to 2 warm air furnaces......the or the Energy King 480. I'm pulling my hair out decided which to purchase...ummm, wait, I have no hair

I am going to build an outside masonry chimney with an 8" flue. Building a masonry chimney is a little more work, but it is half the price of Class 'A' metal chimney. I plan on hooking the hot air and return into my existing duct work using 18" round duct pipe. One thing I like about the 480EK is you can also burn wood. Good luck with your choice.

You can burn wood in any hand feed coal stove, boiler, or furnace,, that is how you start the coal fire.. With a stoker burner, you sell your wood and say good riddance.

Greg L.

MAR wrote:

TimV wrote:Hi
We have the same stove. I burned nut coal for a few weeks last year(first timer) in a 480. Great furnace!I only wanted to burn the coal during warmer first half of the heating season but am so happy with the control i got from coal I plan to burn coal a lot more this year even though I have 2 years worth of dry wood.
I hope your used to burning a furnace like Energy King . Its an awesome heater but can heat like nothing you have ever seen.
Some say you can mix pea coal and nut coal together to slow a burn down if its too much .
Your at the right place someone here can answer any questions you have about coal and vast amount of info if you have time to dig in a little

Tim, How is your furnace set up ? Did you get the hot water coil and cold air return ?

I have mine hooked up in existing ductwork. Either furnace can operate without having to change anything.
If you have to leave when the coal goes out the oil will take over when the thermostat calls for heat.
I just set thermo lower for the oil furnace to so they dont both try to run but if coal/wood gores out oil will start. There are several ways to hook the two furnaces together.
Be careful which method you pick just because one looks a lot easier it may impede operating airflows if not done properly.
A friend of mine desinged a baffle that made my tandem operation work perfectly.

Mar: If you have not ordered your furnace yet you better hurry. There is a post on here about a company (Harmen) that was way overbooked on orders now they cant deliver. News article said one dealer ordered and sold 300 pellet stoves and dealer just got a notice he would only get 16 of the 300 units this year!!!!(article is on here)
You might want to call the folks at Energy King if you go with them. They were happy to answer any questions I asked and best part was i talked directly to the engineer and also the owner of the company. I would ask them if your unit will be ready by this heating season.

First off I'd like to send out thanks to all that have responded and given their advice to me on this topic. My decision will be made tomorrow and reguardless of which unit I decide on I will be burning coal this winter. If I order the Alaska Model 140 I'll take delivery of it in 11 1/2 weeks. I can have the 480 in 5 weeks. I''ll certainly let everyone know what unit I will be heating with, either way, I'm very excited and look forward to posting here for quite some time.

TimV wrote:Mar: If you have not ordered your furnace yet you better hurry. There is a post on here about a company (Harmen) that was way overbooked on orders now they cant deliver. News article said one dealer ordered and sold 300 pellet stoves and dealer just got a notice he would only get 16 of the 300 units this year!!!!(article is on here)
You might want to call the folks at Energy King if you go with them. They were happy to answer any questions I asked and best part was i talked directly to the engineer and also the owner of the company. I would ask them if your unit will be ready by this heating season.

Yes Tim, you are correct, I have been speaking with Energy King and they are very good. Excellent customer service. That's certainly something to consider in my decision if I chose to purchase their unit.