Coalpail.com Forum

Hello, new member here with a couple questions. I'm looking to replace a 30 year old oil furnace with a Keystoker duel fuel furnace with the oil gun option. Does anyone have expierence with these? I'm also looking for info about efficiency when running on oil. thanks in advance

If the oil option is a convenience item and not the major function normally, it really doesn't matter that the oil is not of the higher efficiency.
You are so much ahead for the coal firing time a little loss in efficiency doing occasional oil doesn't hurt.

What he said,plus if it were me,I would study the ruggedness of design, choice of materials and the track record of the stoker itself used by the various manufacturers well before the effeciency of the oil side.You will have your selected system a very long time and the initial purchase requires careful investigation.Although the oil is a consideration it will likely come into play only when you are unable to tend the coal for an extended time period.Once you get on coal,there is no looking back to oil.All that being said,Keystoker makes and supports good eouipment.Just my $.02 worth. Good Luck, Mike

I have seen 7 set ups with oil addition on Keystokers. The changeover is quick and fairly easy. HOWEVER, each of them have the oil burner sitting neatly beside the K-6's and K-8's, never used. These are larger homes, mostly 100 years old, and not updated with insulation or new windows. Those that are require a smaller boiler, like a KAA-2 a LL 110, A CoalJack 85K, EFM 350, an AA 130 loafing, a Van Wert 400....

Your question about efficency on oil is easily answered by the folks who manufacture them. I'm thinking around 75%, which is very good for a secondary fuel. On coal they are much higher.

The owners were soooo scared to trust coal they just HAD to have the oil as a backup. Some of these folks have had the units installed over 10 years.

Personally, I keep a separate oil boiler available but have only used it once, just to test it out. If you think the stoker will leave you stranded, guess again...the things are bulletproof.

If you think you can just flip a switch and fire it up, you are wrong once again. As Mick Jagger says: "You can't always get what you want !"
Don't think you will outsmart the old timers, just learn to accept things that you just plain don't understand.
Even in the coldest weather, the hoppers will last 3 to 4 days, more if you have auto fill augers....

whistlenut wrote:I have seen 7 set ups with oil addition on Keystokers. The changeover is quick and fairly easy. HOWEVER, each of them have the oil burner sitting neatly beside the K-6's and K-8's, never used. These are larger homes, mostly 100 years old, and not updated with insulation or new windows. Those that are require a smaller boiler, like a KAA-2 a LL 110, A CoalJack 85K, EFM 350, an AA 130 loafing, a Van Wert 400....

Your question about efficency on oil is easily answered by the folks who manufacture them. I'm thinking around 75%, which is very good for a secondary fuel. On coal they are much higher.

The owners were soooo scared to trust coal they just HAD to have the oil as a backup. Some of these folks have had the units installed over 10 years.

Personally, I keep a separate oil boiler available but have only used it once, just to test it out. If you think the stoker will leave you stranded, guess again...the things are bulletproof.

If you think you can just flip a switch and fire it up, you are wrong once again. As Mick Jagger says: "You can't always get what you want !"
Don't think you will outsmart the old timers, just learn to accept things that you just plain don't understand.
Even in the coldest weather, the hoppers will last 3 to 4 days, more if you have auto fill augers....

This is one of the reasons we have not been to enthused about adding oil option to our Anthraking furnaces. Is it worth the expense?

thank you for the input thus far. Yes, as most have mentioned the oil option is only planned to be used when I'm away long enough that the stoker will go out. I'm not comfortable asking my 65 year old mother to lift 40 LB bags into the hopper while I enjoy a week in Florida and need something that will run completely untended. My current furnace is 30 years old and probably nearing the end of it's life and I wanted to know if I was maintaining oil burner effiency or gaining/losing some, that's all. My efficiency questions to Keystoker thru their website went unanswered, they did however supply me with instructions on the coal to oil changeover process. Semms pretty simple.

I have a good 25 years in the field working on things like coal and/or wood multifuel furnaces and boilers. The other posts are right on their info-however this is what I have dealt with many times in the past- you never know what life is going to bring. Things happen to people that prevent them from burning coal any longer. I've had to do several coal to oil conversions in the middle of winter. So, that being said, I would highly endorse the oil back-up option.
Remember, these units (Keystoker,efm,LL, etc.) are built for many years of service and are not cheap. It would be a shame to have to remove a coal only unit before it's time.

whistlenut wrote: If you think you can just flip a switch and fire it up, you are wrong once again. As Mick Jagger says: "You can't always get what you want !"
Don't think you will outsmart the old timers, just learn to accept things that you just plain don't understand.
Even in the coldest weather, the hoppers will last 3 to 4 days, more if you have auto fill augers....

I don't think that response was needed as the OP wasn't suggesting any of that.

I am sure he is like me, my dad, and brother.. we leave sometimes for 7 or even 14 days and do not use auto fill auger systems.. so having oil as a secondary heat source works wonders. So instead of saying 'backup" perhaps the OP should have said "Secondary heat source" so the opinions didn't come out vs the informative responses in which he is seeking. Switching over to oil has worked wonders for me when I leave the house for extended periods.. but I am lucky and have 2 separate chimneys so I simply push one button and leave.