Reading Stoves

 
kootch88
Member
Posts: 483
Joined: Sun. Sep. 28, 2008 8:35 pm
Location: Raymond, Maine
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by kootch88 » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 10:31 pm

Very little is written about Reading stoves in this forum and as a newbie coal burner (no first fire just yet) I am hoping we can have some more input related to Reading stoves. I came about my stove by accident. The local dealer said I would have my Keystoker 90 by September and of course, as everyone knows, this wasn't the case. It would have been nice if the dealer had the decency to call me, but I guess Rings Coal in Auburn didn't have the backbone to let me know I was screwed. Anyway, we found a Reading Lehigh and snapped it up quickly so we could reduce out oil consumption. Last year we burned 4 1/2 cords of wood with a Vermont Castings Encore stove. Great stove, but tired of the mess and number of times I needed to handle the wood. So, here we are. Any comments or advice on the reading stove Line would be appreciated. Also, I purchased the Coal-Trol Thermostat in hopes to make the stove as efficient as possible.

John


 
User avatar
traderfjp
Member
Posts: 1801
Joined: Wed. Apr. 19, 2006 10:32 pm
Location: New York

Post by traderfjp » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 10:40 pm

I don't know too much about Reading stoves but I like that they use castiron in the Lehigh and have a ramp to get the ash pan out a little easier. Can u measure your ash pan because from the pic on their site it looks huge. I'm just curious.

 
kootch88
Member
Posts: 483
Joined: Sun. Sep. 28, 2008 8:35 pm
Location: Raymond, Maine
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by kootch88 » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 10:46 pm

The ash pan is very large, about 12 x 9 x 12" deep. The dealer said it will hold at least 2 or even three days of ash. I get my coal Tuesday and hope to make an initial burn and will update the forum with the performance details at that time.

John

 
User avatar
traderfjp
Member
Posts: 1801
Joined: Wed. Apr. 19, 2006 10:32 pm
Location: New York

Post by traderfjp » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 11:21 pm

That is a very deep ash pan. Are u doing the install?

 
kootch88
Member
Posts: 483
Joined: Sun. Sep. 28, 2008 8:35 pm
Location: Raymond, Maine
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by kootch88 » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 11:25 pm

Yes, we did the install. Seems pretty straight forward except for the barometric damper. I am waiting to get a gauge to set that up and am waiting on my thermostat.

John

 
aspj111
New Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat. Nov. 03, 2007 10:39 am

Post by aspj111 » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 11:32 pm

I too have a Reading.I have the Susquehana model, its actually a furnace.I converted it this year from a triburner and
purchased a coal-trol.I added separate combustion fans so I am anxious to see how much better it will work. I wound
up burning about 4.5 tons of rice last year which I think was too much for my size house 1100 sq foot ranch. I hope between the coal-trol
and the new fans I will burn around 2-3 tons. Adam

 
kootch88
Member
Posts: 483
Joined: Sun. Sep. 28, 2008 8:35 pm
Location: Raymond, Maine
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by kootch88 » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 11:35 pm

I would be interested to see how you made the conversion. Can you provide me with any information on that? Greg, who posts a lot on this forum said it would be a smart move.

John


 
aspj111
New Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat. Nov. 03, 2007 10:39 am

Post by aspj111 » Sat. Oct. 04, 2008 11:43 pm

John, tomorrow maybe I could take a pic. All I did was take the fans out of the motor that controls your feed and combustion.
than I attached the two new combustion fans on the bottom of the housing of the feed motors in the back they fit over the hole
that was already ther.I just attached them with sheet metal screws.I have alot more air getting to my grates now, I am anxious to try it out
but I am trying to hold off lighting for another week or 2...adam

 
snooze913
Member
Posts: 75
Joined: Thu. May. 22, 2008 9:52 pm
Location: Northeast PA.

Post by snooze913 » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 1:59 pm

I also bought a Reading Lehigh this year. I got in line for a Harman DVC 500 until I found out I could get the Reading right away and start burning less oil this winter and not wait until next year. Worked out great because the Lehigh is in and ready to go (bird in hand....) I'm going to go this year with the stove as is and see how efficient it is. Next year I may add the coal trol. Good luck with your new stove.

 
arcticcatmatt
Member
Posts: 320
Joined: Wed. Sep. 10, 2008 10:22 pm
Location: Montour Falls NY

Post by arcticcatmatt » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 2:11 pm

Not to bash coal trol but from what I gather -

Cheapest coal trol is $324. The best savings you will see is 10%.
Coal here is 230 a ton. If a person burns say 3 ton a year. They would save 23 dollars per ton - $69 total.

It would take almost 5 years just to break even and thats assuming that you save the entire 10%. And thats the cheapest unit on their site.

 
User avatar
traderfjp
Member
Posts: 1801
Joined: Wed. Apr. 19, 2006 10:32 pm
Location: New York

Post by traderfjp » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 2:45 pm

It isn't about saving coal although it will definetly do that. It's about comfort. I ran my stove for 2 years without a Coaltrol. Some morings I would wake to a cold house and other days I would be too hot. 350.00 is well worth the money for the comfort the Coaltrol gives.

 
aspj111
New Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat. Nov. 03, 2007 10:39 am

Post by aspj111 » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 4:31 pm

[quote="arcticcatmatt"]Not to bash coal trol but from what I gather -

Cheapest coal trol is $324. The best savings you will see is 10%.
Coal here is 230 a ton. If a person burns say 3 ton a year. They would save 23 dollars per ton - $69 total.

It would take almost 5 years just to break even and thats assuming that you save the entire 10%. And thats the cheapest unit on their site

Matt,I would have to disagree.If you have a Reading stove that you convert from a triburner to a more efficent
system coupled with a coal-trol your savings will be much more I believe....Adam

 
kootch88
Member
Posts: 483
Joined: Sun. Sep. 28, 2008 8:35 pm
Location: Raymond, Maine
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by kootch88 » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 6:23 pm

I bought the thermostat for comfort reasons mainly. I am heating my home from the basement and need to have a constant temp to keep things even upstairs in my Cape. With my woodstove I was able to keep the house at 70 despite the waning output from the stove early in the morning low burns and hope to be able to wake up and have a nice warm house this Winter. We are in a valley and see some pretty wide temperature swings during the cold evenings, which makes it tough to set a rheostat and hope it is good for the evening.

John

 
kootch88
Member
Posts: 483
Joined: Sun. Sep. 28, 2008 8:35 pm
Location: Raymond, Maine
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by kootch88 » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 7:41 pm

Stack blower question for Reading Lehigh:

I see where radiant heat is obviously less efficient than having a blower system. Does anyone have experience with a blower mounted in the stack? They sell for around $165 or so. Would this significantly increase the efficiency of the stove and is it worth the expense?

See below for an example of what I am talking about.
**Broken Link(s) Removed**John

 
kootch88
Member
Posts: 483
Joined: Sun. Sep. 28, 2008 8:35 pm
Location: Raymond, Maine
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by kootch88 » Mon. Oct. 13, 2008 6:49 pm

aspj111 wrote:John, tomorrow maybe I could take a pic. All I did was take the fans out of the motor that controls your feed and combustion.
than I attached the two new combustion fans on the bottom of the housing of the feed motors in the back they fit over the hole
that was already ther.I just attached them with sheet metal screws.I have alot more air getting to my grates now, I am anxious to try it out
but I am trying to hold off lighting for another week or 2...adam
Adam,
Did you light off your stove yet? I was wondering how your conversion went.

John


Post Reply

Return to “Stoker Coal Furnaces & Stoves Using Anthracite (Hot Air)”