Best Fireplace Insert for Coal Recommendations

Good Morning,
I am looking to purchase a coal burning fireplace insert. I have several questions. First of all, what other brands make a coal burning insert besides Hitzer? The ratings for Hitzer seem great, are they realistic? Let me elaborate, can the 503 with hopper really heat 3000 sq feet and produce 80,000 btu's? Does the 983 really produce 100,000 btu's - though Hitzer says this stove is also rated for up to 3000 sq feet.

The rest of my questions focus on ease of use. I plan on tending to the stove before I leave for work in the morning, let's say 6:30 AM and when I get home from work in the evening, let's say 5:00 PM. Is that sufficient to keep a front load stove full of coal and burning properly all day or would the hopper design be better?

I have a metal chimney liner, I'm not sure the diameter, I think Hitzer says 8" required (or recommended - not sure which) if my liner is 6" can I run the stove using that liner or would I need to replace the liner?

Any additional thoughts on insert type, brand etc - things for me to think about - all greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
CIK

I doubt that any stove reaches even half of its (bogus) claimed BTUH output. And be glad for it. 100,000 BTUH output requires that you are burning 11.6 pounds of anthracite per hour, or 278 pounds per day.

For a moderately large home, on the single coldest day of any given year you may burn at most about 100 to 120 lbs. as a first guess. And on any average day you may (also on first guess) burn about 40 to 50 lbs.

Chimney diameter is per the manufacturer, but a 6" ID chimney will handly 100,000 BTUH. My coal boiler is rated for about 100,000 BTUH output, and it requires only a 5" flue.

This one looks nice.

Lots of "depends"...
our 503 easily heated 2400 sq ft on The Cape...
Hard coal and a hopper works wonders...

If you can sit a stove in front of your chimney it will increase your choices 100 fold and be more efficient.

I have a 2400 sq ft house, 2 story.

I would opinion that the 503 would do for the 3000 sq ft house for most of the winter, except for the coldest months in which case a 2nd heating system would be needed for the places furthest away from the stove's location.

I think that the stove can heat 3000 sq ft in a perfect single room...but multiple rooms, multiple floors? I would think you would need more for the coldest one or two months.

Unless your place is super-insulated .. which most are not.

The 983? Cannot offer opinion.

My house is not poorly insulated, however it's not new construction that is buttoned up tight as a drum. I currently have Geothermal. So I have an method to help transport the warm air through the house. The stove would go in our den, approximately 360 sq feet, off the den there are 2 bedrooms, laundry room and a bathroom - what we refer to as 'the back of the house'. My goal is to have a room in the house, where regardless of how cold it is, it can be very warm in that room. Any excess heat that can be pulled through the rest of the house is just a bonus.

From a maintenance perspective, can I load the 983 2x a day, morning/night and have that be sufficient to keep it burning - or is the hopper/503 a better option?

The local Hitzer dealer told me that they make a lot of heat and that I would wind up cranking up the thermostats in other parts of the house to help distribute the air - essentially saying the stove would make that part of the house so warm I'd want to pull the heat elsewhere.

503 better option...
the 503 was in a room slightly over 500 sq ft...
if we opened it up would get to 90+ in a heartbeat...

I wouldn't concern myself with # of times to tend the fire.

With my 503, I still have to tend it 2x day during normal winter days, 3x during the coldest.

I think you'll be tending the stove with either the 503 or 983 Hitzers.

The 503's hopper does allow the coal to dry.

I'll start out this year w/o the hopper in my 503.

So you will feed your 503 as front load to start? I may also want to burn wood (we have that available, for free) - my understanding is that due to the hopper, the 503 is not baffled as well for wood - so the 983 is better in that regard. Any thoughts?

90+ in the room the stove sits in? That would certainly make my wife happy. I think the geothermal air handler would be able to distribute the air throughout the house rather well. Are there any tips or tricks to using an air handler to help distribute heat away from a primary heat source such as I am discussing?

have you heated with coal before?...
Nothin' wrong with a romantic fire or two...
Trust me hopper and coal...
Use the search feature...
lots of discussion on how to move hot air...
And cold air too...

Does the hopper come out of the 503? I like the idea of being able to burn wood should I want to do so.

The general consensus seems to lean towards the hopper style fill vs front load.

Hitzer states the 503 and 983 need an 8" flue. I have to remove a propane insert to get a look at the flu, there is a liner - I'm just not certain what the diameter is. If the diameter is 6" - will that work?

Be aware that within 5 -10 years, coal may do some very nasty things to your SS chimney liner. Even 316T (316 stainless with titanium added) is suspect of failure due to coal, but it is the best overall bet. Particularly if you (1) need to meet code**, and (2) intend to occasionally burn wood**.

The best bet is a Terra Cotta (tile) lined chimney. It will last more than a lifetime with coal.

Wood ash is basic (caustic), but coal ash is acidic. 180 degree opposites.

If a 5" flue will handle a legitimate 100K BTUH, then 6" will certainly handle 50K BTUH. What a narrower chimney liner will not do well is handle the fly ash, as it will constrict and potentially plug up a lot more frequently. For your own safety please call Hitzer and ask if it must be 8".

50K BTUH is 5.8 Lbs. burned per hour or 140 lbs. of anthracite burned per day. You would be feeding and tending your insert 3 to perhaps 4 times daily to keep up with that level of output, as well as running it pretty much wide open. Any heat you will get out will assuredly come from the coal you put in. Stoves do not magically make heat from nothing. And they will not deliver more heat than they can get from the coal. I would recommend that you stop looking at BTUH ratings.

For those of you with inserts, have you ever burned more than 140 Lbs. of anthracite in a single day? What do you more typically burn?

There is no "best" fireplace insert. There are at least a handful that can legitimately vie for the bragging rights though. Baker, DS Machine, Hitzer, Keystoker, Harman, others?.

** AL 29-4C stainless steel liner material may be best if you don't care about meeting code (which it won't with coal or wood) and you will never burn wood (the flue gasses for which are too hot, plus it is designed for acid resistance, not caustic resistance), and you must assure that your coal burning flue gasses will ALWAYS remain cold enough to not damage it.

If I ignore BTU - then my focus is on the ability to keep part of my home, where my FP is, warm. Let's say warm to me is 75. Can a coal insert (Hitzer 503 in this case) easily keep that room 'warm' even in the coldest weather central Pennsylvania has to offer? I have an old propane insert in the FP currently - when we turn it on in the winter it can heat up the room in 20 or 30 minutes to 75 degrees.

My goal is to be able to economically keep that room (room approx. 30x12) 75 degrees through the coldest months. Does that seem feasible?

How high is your ceiling CK? If your insert had a blower on it, and you don't have a Cathedral ceiling, I'll bet it'll be warm enuff for PA.

Ceilings are 8'.