Wanting First Coal Stoker

I currently have four coal stoves, (one or two of the old stoves is going to be replaced) but none are stokers. I'm now interested in getting my first stoker. There are so many to choose from. Any advice on how to decide? I'm very near coal country, living about an hour from Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Welcome.

Do you want to heat the entire house with the stoker? Or just a few rooms?

Oh yea, I should have stated my plans for the stoker. I own two homes & am getting ready to move into the one that I'm almost done renovating. I want to put the stoker in the basement of the house that I'm moving out of to keep it from freezing without breaking me for propane cost. (last year I paid over $700 just for the month of January) I'm going to renovate that house in the future & will convert it to radiant floor heat. When I do that I want to move the stoker to my shop so that I can work out there comfortably in the coldest weather. The shop is less than 1000 square feet but has an open loft & two overhead doors, so there will be significant heat loss. I hope to eventually put in a ceiling to help keep the heat lower.

One more thing.....
The reason that I want a stoker is because of my having to be absent for long periods of time & my wife can't seem to keep a regular coal stove burning. I need a stove with a large enough hopper to be able to leave it for at least 24 hours & up to two or three days between attendance. She will be able to load a bucket of coal into it, but the stove needs to take care of keeping burning.

Anybody got any advice or suggestions?

Most any stoker would probably suit your needs. The size of stoker will vary according to how much area you want to heat. Personally I am partial to the older Alaska's myself with the tri-burner. It is simple enough that my wife can make small adjustments just by turning the rheostat up or down. Anything more than that and she couldn't handle it. I'm thinking of upgrading to use the coaltrol.
Depending on the stove, hoppers range from 60-200 pound capacity.

Check out the Leisure Line stokers With the Coal-trol controller ,you will find them to be a very helpful company , even talk to the owners with your questions .

Protrucker wrote:Anybody got any advice or suggestions?

You looking for New or used?

Will you end up with only one house before next winter comes?

If I could find a good deal on a good used one that would be great. I will still own both houses for a few years yet. But, I hope to start the renovation on the second house in the next year or two. I will probably be using the stoker in that house for about three years.

Keystoker Koker is a beast of unit at 160k BTUs. If that's too big, their Keystoker 90s and 105s are top notch. Based out of Schuylkill Haven, PA and I'm sure you can find a dealer around Scranton if you wanted to buy new. keystoker.com

Well, This Thursday I picked up my Leisure Line Pocono stove & three tons of 100 pound bags of oil rinsed Reading rice coal. They also gave me ten 40 pound bags of the same coal with the stove purchase. I'll need to go pick up another two tons when I get a chance & I should have enough for this winter.

Now, I need to get my shop cleaned out enough to make room for the farm tractor that's in my basement garage so that I have room to get the Pocono in the basement & installed. Hopefully, I'll be able to get that done before this weekend is over.

Good to hear,keep us updated when you can.