Propane VS Coal

 
jubileejerry
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Post by jubileejerry » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 9:25 am

davidmcbeth3 wrote:
jubileejerry wrote:<snip> my coal stoves...other furnaces... two waste oil heaters, two wood stoves, two NG hanging overhead heaters and my Wehrle ...propane central heating unit and a Locke 120 in the basement. Jerry
Gee wiz Jerry, do your structures not have roofs or is it that cold in Neb.?
Sounds bad, doesn't it? My store and shop area combined are about 26,000 square feet with the 14 ft ceilings so it is a lot of space, and there are 4 12'X12' garage doors to bring in repair jobs on the shop side, so it's difficult for the temp. to recover when one gets opened, which is for the least possible time. I spent $13000 on insulation a few years ago to put in the attics and that helped a lot. What amazes me is on the store side where my Wehrle is, if I stoke it and fill the magazine, and allow the wood stove to just burn out during the night, the temp in that part of the building is still 55-60 degrees in the morning when I come to work even on very cold days. I don't run the Wehrle very hard, either. I'd call it a medium setting, as I figure the old girl is over 100 years old and has nothing to prove to me. Anyway, in the morning we start up the wood stove, which mainly burns pallet pieces we've saved from freight shipments, and fire up the waste oil heater and ng hanging heater. By 9:30- 10:00, those two shut down for the rest of the day and only the wood stove and Wehrle can keep the store nice and comfortable. I figure the $5-6.00 for the bag of coal it burns per day is a bargain, and the entertainment value of the Wehrle is nice for the customers, too. It's the first place they go when they come in out of the cold. Jerry

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 9:29 am

JJ, try shutting the front door.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 10:25 am

jubileejerry wrote:When I read posts like this I wonder why no one brings up the cost of the electricity to run the blowers on the NG or propane furnaces. Jerry
I have not brought it up, but I have evaluated it. I calculated that my EFM stoker motor and circulator pumps require about $0.50 worth of electric per day on the coldest days of the year. Whatever portion of the electric that is not doing mechanical work is producing heat, so I do not view it as a total loss.

 
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davidmcbeth3
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 11:27 am

jubileejerry wrote:<snip>. Anyway, in the morning we start up the wood stove, which mainly burns pallet pieces we've saved from freight shipments, and fire up the waste oil heater and ng hanging heater. Jerry
Burning pallets?

Oh man....

I wouldn't.....

Do internet search and insure exactly where/what this pallet wood actually is.


 
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freetown fred
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Post by freetown fred » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 12:09 pm

I'm sadly thinking that more coffee will not be the answer for ya. :(

 
jubileejerry
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Post by jubileejerry » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 12:48 pm

davidmcbeth3 wrote:
jubileejerry wrote:<snip>. Anyway, in the morning we start up the wood stove, which mainly burns pallet pieces we've saved from freight shipments, and fire up the waste oil heater and ng hanging heater. Jerry
Burning pallets?

Oh man....

I wouldn't.....

Do internet search and insure exactly where/what this pallet wood actually is.
Our local government will not allow us to take it to the landfill, saying the state landfill inspectors will fine them if they find processed wood in the burn hole, so I asked them what to do and they told me to burn it in my stove if I could, otherwise it will just pile up out on the back lot. I wouldn't know what else to do with it. I didn't think I'd catch hell here for telling a story about how we use different methods to save money and keep the customers and workers comfortable. As far as keeping the front door closed, that's the day we go out of business. I am proud of how little we spend to heat this big place.

 
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Post by franco b » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 1:13 pm

This seems like a good article on pallet safety.

https://www.1001pallets.com/pallet-safety/

 
jubileejerry
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Post by jubileejerry » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 2:55 pm

Thanks for that article, very informative! I still see no reason that makes what we're doing bad, but I could understand not burning in an open fireplace. Someone asked about a wood stove and the reply was it wouldn't hurt but it would be more fun to make projects with them. Ok, sure it would. I'll watch the markings on them to learn more.

I would like to apologize to BlackBetty06 for messing up her thread. I didn't intend to make the subject stray like I did. Jerry


 
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Post by warminmn » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 3:12 pm

Jerry, David didnt know what he was talking about so dont worry about it, and Freds response was to him.

The last company I worked for, if pallets were outside they had to be under cover (epa I think). They disposed of them thru the local garbage truck, where it goes to a landfill. Yet they could have black plumes of smoke go into the air from baking off paint :lol: Environmental laws rarely use common sense.

Lots of outdoor wood burners around me burn cut up pallets. Im assuming they get them free for hauling them away. It sounds like you've got a neat setup to me.... especially the coal stove in the store.

 
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davidmcbeth3
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 3:27 pm

I'd be concerned with heavy metals....

Like Krokus !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcrj4szgTjc

I just put "free pallets" on craigslist...they are gone in seconds...I guess they are worth $3/ea.

 
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Post by blrman07 » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 6:25 pm

I had a source one time for free pallets. I researched burning the pallets and essentially they are just fine except for the ones marked HB which is a chemical fumigant. I perused the hearth.com and they had posts on there from the nails will melt and go out the bottom of the stove and set your house on fire to the nails in pallets have mercury in them to make them stronger to it's too dangerous to cut the pallets apart because of splinters. These comments definitely came from people who had no clue as to what they were talking about. These people that think pallet cutting is dangerous obviously have never seen me with a chain saw cutting firewood. :lol:

Really???? Mercury in pallet nails to make them stronger and they will vaporize and you'll poison your family with mercury if you burn pallet wood?

Sure it will burn up pretty quickly but if your willing to cut and burn it and you have a virtually never ending supply......

Go For It. :clap:

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Tue. Aug. 22, 2017 6:47 pm

About 10 years ago we had a autumnal visit from a friend who just burned pallets for winter heat. Our shavings came from Quebec and there are some sort of regs involved in Ca companies doing something so he liked our stuff and we wanted to be rid of the pallets.

He traveled all over collecting them. His heat was for free. However, he used 9765 galls of gas for the chain saws and 27000 galls for gas for his truck. His daughter was a total whacko too. I miss him. She descended into the realm of complete madness and eventually became a democrat politician. hahahahahhaa ..... I slay myself

 
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Post by Hardknocks » Sat. Mar. 02, 2019 8:57 pm

blackbetty- This post is rather late. I read your post. You are comparing gallons vs pounds. There are 4.23 lbs of propane per gallon. There are 21,500 btu's per pound of propane. Now do the math, you might be pleasantly surprised.

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