Thininkg About Buying a Coal Furance

ad356 · Post by **ad356** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 2:22 pm

http://www.keystoker.com/new.php

what about this one? there is a local dealer that sells these. I think she said under $3,000 with a power venting system that will direct vent the stove. that vent system alone was $600. if I don't need the powervent then it would probably be well under 3,000

Rigar · Post by **Rigar** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 2:22 pm

i have no idea what the pricing is unfortunately...
ceiling height is certainly a factor

Rigar · Post by **Rigar** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 2:30 pm

what area are u in if you don't mind ne asking?
have you looked at the A120 ?keystoker
Liesure line products as well ?
...i would urge you to look into them as well

GoodProphets · Post by **GoodProphets** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 2:32 pm

You never mentioned your location...unless I missed it.
Are you in PA?

Chimney inspection should be under 100
Chimney cleaning with inspection should be about 150-180

Coal, oil nat gas do not need reg cleaning of chimney, as does wood.
That is a nice chimney, so a good inspection from a qualified person can lower your risk.

If you are leaning towards coal, people can help with the specifics of the stove type.
Maybe measure the height of your nat gas furnace to see the comparison.

I started my search thinking coal/wood dual fuel would be cool.
But the efficiency drops for both.
You may only get 70+% eff for wood or coal out of a dual,
but can achieve 80-90+% from a coal only furnace. ...makes a good bit of difference.

ad356 · Post by **ad356** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 3:19 pm

current furnace is 45" tall, its looks like there is another 1-1/2' of space between the existing furance and the joists

Rigar · Post by **Rigar** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 4:10 pm

u should be ok with the hiegth...40-50 inch range on most units...plus the plenum...which can be modified to suite ur needs.

Dennis · Post by **Dennis** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 4:38 pm

ad356 wrote:current furnace is 45" tall, its looks like there is another 1-1/2' of space between the existing furance and the joists

Rigar wrote:u should be ok with the hiegth...40-50 inch range on most units...plus the plenum...which can be modified to suite ur needs.

will there be enough room to dump the coal into the hopper with the ceiling height?

Rigar · Post by **Rigar** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 5:01 pm

trap door upstairs....load from ur easy chair !

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 6:06 pm

ad356, sent you a PM (private message)
look in upper left for new message.

Wiz · Post by **Wiz** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 6:24 pm

Feeding hopper will be issue. Also think how difficult removing ash will be. I see vac system in your future.

michaelanthony · Post by **michaelanthony** » Sun. Sep. 22, 2013 7:51 pm

ad356 wrote:...... I have a second chimney that the previous owners were using for a wood stove......

Hey, what's up with the second chimney. You mentioned a trained professional

took advantage of your good faith and tried to sell you a liner. You may have more options than you even realize and how hands on are you. I was young (49) and dumb (dumber) when I started burning coal and 3 yrs. later I have made it out of coal elementary. You may want to start with a second hand hand fed in a cooler part of the home and you will quickly move all your furniture next to it

Take your time....have not heard of buyers remorse with coal burners!

ad356 · Post by **ad356** » Mon. Sep. 23, 2013 12:48 pm

the other chimney does have its problems. my issue with that chimney person, is he spent literally 5-10 minutes and told me I owed him $180. that was the part that pissed me off, I had never had someone do that to me. what do I say to him, im not paying you what you asked me to pay you. the other chimney is touching the eves, didn't have enough bricks around the thimble and was transferring heat to the wall. that chimney is never going to be used again, the only reason why I have not torn it down is that its a real hassle. there were also signs of a bad chimney fire. I was upset because I was charged allot of money when he really did nothing.

Dennis · Post by **Dennis** » Mon. Sep. 23, 2013 1:07 pm

ad356 wrote:the other chimney does have its problems. my issue with that chimney person, is he spent literally 5-10 minutes and told me I owed him $180. that was the part that pissed me off, I had never had someone do that to me. what do I say to him, im not paying you what you asked me to pay you. the other chimney is touching the eves, didn't have enough bricks around the thimble and was transferring heat to the wall. that chimney is never going to be used again, the only reason why I have not torn it down is that its a real hassle. there were also signs of a bad chimney fire. I was upset because I was charged allot of money when he really did nothing.

if you can,look into the thimble or clean out with a mirrow and see the flu for yourself,and you be the judge if it looks good/bad,and take a pic if possible and let us see and maybe we can advise you what to do with it.Post a pic of your 2nd chimney with what you described.As stated earlier a coal fire has no creasote and will only help clean the creasote off with use.Most chimney inspectors are looking to make money by installing a liner with big profits into their pockets.

ad356 · Post by **ad356** » Mon. Sep. 23, 2013 4:15 pm

yup, I just called a chimney sweep/inspection place and they told me that I would need a liner to convert the chimney to coal. I will not buy a liner. I went to a stove dealer that sells keystoker, they have a keystoker koker light I looked at. nice unit and is avialable as a direct vent for an additional $350. thats probably the route to go. I know the unit would be safe. getting an honest inspection is impossible, they just want to sell liners. there is no money in doing a $60 inspection. the koker lite looks like a nice unit, 105,000 BTU forced air coal burning furnace, looks to be well made and less then $3,000 for direct vent.

anthony7812 · Post by **anthony7812** » Mon. Sep. 23, 2013 4:43 pm

liners are exactly how they make a quick buck.