Coal Stoker Furnace- New Home Owner.

Well here it is my first Post, reaching out looking for a little Guidance. Purchased my first home ,North Eastern PA Pocono area, about to face my first winter. The Good: Beautiful home 3200 sqft. Two Story, Full walk out basement, The BAD: Propane heated as are all the homes here, "Scam". Well here's my dilemma , am looking to find a coal solution that can heat my home thru the existing duct and also serve as heating for DHW. i'am ready to get my hands dirty and welcome any ideas and or solutions. I realize a new home is hard work but this propane has got to go, looking for a clean practical, cost effective solution, all my research brought me back to ...COAL. Thanks for reading.

Here is a good place to start....you could use a heat exchanger in your duct to go from the hot water of the boiler to the hot air through your duct work. Others here have this type setup and are pleased with it.

L.L. 110K Boiler Pictures After 1 Year in Operation

You will need to do a heat loss calc to size the boiler or make it at least as large as the BTU rating on your propane equip.

The only thing that will do the things you want (heat the house and hot water) in an efficient manner, is a boiler with a water to air heat exchanger. There are some pretty nice stoker furnaces available, but they don't have the ability to heat your domestic water. Some people put coils in stoves to heat domestic water, but by doing that you reduce the output of the stove (and only product moderate amounts of hot water). Here are some links for "weekend reading":

Coal Stoker Boiler or Warm Air Furnace

EFM 350

H2O-Air Heat Exchanger Installation

Advice Please: AA 130 With Heat Exchanger Installation

Do you have any idea how much propane was required to heat the house in the past? What is the btu/hr rating of the current furnace?

Lastly...what is your budget for this project?

Do you have any information on the Heat exchanger you used? I assume that you ran Pex up to the Heat exchanger placed some where in you Plenum\duct-work?

Coalbrokdale wrote:Do you have any information on the Heat exchanger you used? I assume that you ran Pex up to the Heat exchanger placed some where in you Plenum\duct-work?

I assume this was directed at me? The boiler installs that I posted the links for aren't mine, they are from other members that were nice enough to post pictures & information about their setup. My EFM is hooked up to a hot water baseboard system.

Thank Mark, this is great , not an idea I thought of but your right that does seem more efficient. Definitely weekend reading, what does a unit like that price at.

Title Thanks for the info,

DellPoconoPA wrote:Thank Mark, this is great , not an idea I thought of but your right that does seem more efficient. Definitely weekend reading, what does a unit like that price at.

The cost of a heat exchanger is a small piece of the total install. A boiler like mine can be found for $3000-$5000 used/refurbished; the cost will depend on age, condition, and included accessories. A new EFM like mine is about 9 grand (last I checked). There are other units available such as Leisure Line, Keystoker, AHS, Axeman Anderson, Coal Jack, etc. Some are auger fed, some have a hopper, some have an adjustable BTU output, some don't...what works best for you will probably depend on the heating load of your house, and how much you want to spend.

Do you have a chimney available and room in the basement? A walk-out basement is ideal for coal.

unfortunately, no chimney. Plenty of room in the basement, i'd need to run one not a problem. So i'd need a specific type of boiler for the heat exchanger, pardon me if I seem absolutely clueless but I am : ) but I need a solution for this propane nightmare. Want to get off to a good start with the new house.

No special boiler, they all make hot water. (some steam)

No special H/X, they all take hot water and give up heat to the air stream passing through.
Just needs to be able to be mounted in duct and be of sufficient size to deliver enough heat for the space.
The CFM of air passing through, along with GPM of hot water, at a given temperature flowing through all factor into satisfying the heat load of the space.

Check out your PM header, I sent you a couple ideas I have......
If you aren't familiar with the PM message yet, it is in the top header line to the right of the Log-in and user control panel.

35 degrees here right now......who sent this cold blast up our way.......

Ouch. 35 degrees, that stings. Thanks for the info McGiever, will the heat exchanger route help me reduce cost of the Money Hog propane source.
Whistlenut: Received the Message thanks I appreciate all the help am getting here, my concern is both on pricing and best choice to help reduce my propane bill since all the homes here are pretty much cash cow's for the propane company's. so an option that can work to help low my bills, and doesn't break the bank am willing to do. I welcome all ideas, like the heat exchanger idea.

DellPoconoPA wrote: will the heat exchanger route help me reduce cost of the Money Hog propane source.

With a coal boiler coupled w/ a H/X in -line w/ existing duct work of the propane furnace you can sat goodbye to the propane man for ever. Even your domestic hot water will be heated by such an arrangement.
It's some up-front money...an investment...pay-back is very fast though...and then it's a hugh money saver there on out.
Many members here have done just that. There is a lot of info on here in the archives, please do "Search", up in right corner of this screen.

Are you *handy* enough to do some of the work yourself?

Thanks for the reply, I've been a renter for sometime. I am good with my hands but will admit some of the stuff I've seen here does appear somewhat challenging. But then thats half the fun. So always ready to learn the do and don't. A house is a huge leap from good with your hands and Master handy man.