Best Stoker for Long Unattended Burn Times

Flyer5 · Post by **Flyer5** » Sat. Jun. 14, 2014 7:29 am

2001Sierra wrote:Should not get hopper fires no matter how much coal is in the hopper. Just saying the draft and over fire pressure being off is the usual cause. I just don't want to scare new people away over a concern that a proper installation and design will avoid. Dave

Agreed, just mentioned it out of caution.
Can we assume a factory install voids any questions, with manometer readings with a proper fire burning?
Not trying to start trouble, just want newbies to be sensible.[/quote]

Agreed same here just trying to inform. I have spoke to a lot of people that were afraid of stoker hopper fires without knowing the facts.

mdrelyea · Post by **mdrelyea** » Wed. Jun. 18, 2014 9:10 am

Pacowy wrote:To do what the OP has outlined would require a more substantial unit, like an auger-fed stoker furnace (or boiler with heat exchanger in plenum), perhaps with an ash pit.

I agree. At an idle, my Alaska 140 auger will purr along for 7 days without touching it. I only have to fill it every 3-4 days or so in January. How frequently I fill it depends on temperature, wind and how sunny it is.

I empty the ash when I fill up the hopper. There's plenty of space in it for an entire hoppers worth of ash.

My house is a 1500 sq ft ranch so your mileage may vary.

Mike

rrob311 · Post by **rrob311** » Sat. Jun. 21, 2014 9:38 pm

That is the type of experience I like to hear. I am looking at a Reading Allegheny. If I get it for a good deal I would probably get the 150 lb hopper. I read that they have the tri burner design and one motor controls several sections. Hopefully it can be upgraded to the most efficient design available. I am probably going to burn kimmels with this but may pickup some uae or direnzo. What coal size is better overall for these? I see most burn rice and buckwheat.

rrob311 · Post by **rrob311** » Mon. Sep. 01, 2014 10:36 am

Richard S. wrote:
rrob311 wrote:
There is an oil furnace in the basement but I would have to find a way to get a boiler down there through the dining room as there is no outside access. Then the brick chimney would need to be lined 3 stories. Short term would be much easier to but a stoker in the room central to the house.
How the hell did they get it down there now? Is it small? What are you going to do if it breaks in the winter and need to get something down there in a hurry? Sounds like it's time to consider a basement door.

Does the oil furnace have a decent chimney or is it the same one you are discussing? You can always power vent the the oil.

The oil furnace is vented to the lone chimney in the basement that goes up from there, then through 2 stories and then the attic which is pretty big. I would imagine they slid the furnace down the stairs to the basement. There are no stairs anymore. I have a ladder.

rrob311 · Post by **rrob311** » Mon. Sep. 01, 2014 10:39 am

Berlin wrote:
rrob311 wrote:
There is an oil furnace in the basement but I would have to find a way to get a boiler down there through the dining room as there is no outside access. Then the brick chimney would need to be lined 3 stories. Short term would be much easier to but a stoker in the room central to the house.
why would the chimney need to be "lined" for three stories? as with oil, the best thing for coal is to stay AWAY from stainless liners.

What is so detrimental to lining chimneys for coal or oil appliances? Both of my Chimneys are lined at my main house. The oil furnace has straight stainless piping and my hand fed coal stove has a flexible stainless liner. Won't coal stove emissions damage the brick?

rrob311 · Post by **rrob311** » Mon. Sep. 01, 2014 10:41 am

I picked up a Reading Allegheny with a power vent and am presently outfitting it with a 150lb hopper. I will be burning Reading rice through it this winter as that was readily available. Wish me luck on the burn times. I will report my data once I am ready to use it.

Another place I am looking at is setup with an outdoor chute where I would possibly dump coal into a LARGE cellar. It has forced hot water so when I get there I will be looking to get into the big leagues with a boiler setup. For now I am going to try the rice stoker route.

Post by **coaledsweat** » Mon. Sep. 01, 2014 11:06 am

rrob311 wrote:What is so detrimental to lining chimneys for coal or oil appliances? Both of my Chimneys are lined at my main house. The oil furnace has straight stainless piping and my hand fed coal stove has a flexible stainless liner. Won't coal stove emissions damage the brick?

It is detrimental to your wallet and serves no purpose other than making a profit for the manufacturer and installer. Stainless liners are the snake oil for the residential home heating market. Buy one if you want, it will serve no purpose and eventually will crumble and cause you problems. I hope you live long enough for the coal to damage the masonry. A liner is unnecessary in a decent chimney.

NJJoe · Post by **NJJoe** » Mon. Sep. 01, 2014 12:34 pm

rrob311 wrote: What is so detrimental to lining chimneys for coal or oil appliances? Both of my Chimneys are lined at my main house. The oil furnace has straight stainless piping and my hand fed coal stove has a flexible stainless liner. Won't coal stove emissions damage the brick?

The sulfur naturally present in the coal will corrode stainless steel. When that sulfur in the flue gases meets humidity, it forms sulfuric acid. Most of #2 heating fuel is ultra low sulfur anyway... so you wont see this problem with oil as readily with coal. I'll let someone else comment on this but from what I hear, the best chimney liner is the regular clay liner that is usually installed in most masonry chimneys.

Post by **coaledsweat** » Mon. Sep. 01, 2014 4:28 pm

Even low sulphur fuel oil will eat a liner. Just eats it slower.

captcaper · Post by **captcaper** » Tue. Sep. 02, 2014 7:45 am

coaledsweat wrote:Even low sulphur fuel oil will eat a liner. Just eats it slower.

I've gotten 9 years of full time long winter coal burning out of my self installed Lowe's bought Super Vent chimney. I know there are different grades of SS. And one will hold up longer against corrosion. Mine is an outside wall and 38 ft high and worse case it can be repaired or replaced easily. I had an estimate for building a brick and or mason chimney and it was way out of my budget. So far this works for me as my wife and I installed it and this chimney is still in good shape as far as I can tell by poking inside my access tees
My advice on liners is if you have to and it's easy to put in do it. Make sure you get the grade of SS that works and replace it every 5 years or so. I'm curious how long mine lasts... I'll replace mine with another for sure if and when it starts failing. I'm too old and poor to have a mason one installed at this point.