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Time to Switch to Coal

Posted: Fri. Mar. 14, 2014 7:38 pm
by Sleeper735
After paying over $550 every month this winter for heat it is time for coal. I need advise on what to get. I have no chimney but I will put one up I don't want a power vent. My basement is about 850 square feet mostly below grade. My 1st floor is also about 850 and my 2nd floor is about 700. I am not worried about the 2nd floor much. My wife does not want my 1st floor overheated. My basement is unfinished and never will be finished. So I don't care about looks. I plan on cutting in a few registers and put in a few inline fans. Just wondering if I am on the right track or not. Also the stove will be located on one end of the house on a outside wall I don't know if that matters. I am also from NEPA. Any comments or suggestions please. Not sure what stove/stoker would be a good fit.

Re: Time to Switch to Coal

Posted: Fri. Mar. 14, 2014 8:13 pm
by lzaharis
My sugestion wil be one of many offered and you
will have to decide which is best by talking
to a coal furnace and boiler installer about it.

With all new construction for a heating system you
have a lot of options, but the issue is the homes very
small size in square area and the smaller living space.

How well insulated is the home?

It might just be worth it to consider the smallest
stoker boiler you can buy and pour a slab and build
over it with small shed with the approprate clearances
for combustables that would also be used as a storage bin
for the coal and bury the $13.00 pex for the hot water to a
water to air heat exchanger and also use heat exchanger for
your domestic hot water on the same incoming pex run.

In this way you can have a short metal chimney as it is a forced draft unit
and also have the ability to heat the home with a generator when the
powers out by simply having a 110 volt line run from home to the shed
in the same trench as the 13 dollar insulated pex pipe.

The mess of coal dust, what little there is, stays outside and any risk of
carbon monoxide gas also stays outside as well

you have a very small home apparently.

Re: Time to Switch to Coal

Posted: Fri. Mar. 14, 2014 8:18 pm
by windyhill4.2
Sleeper,welcome to the coal forum,you didn't mention what you are currently heating with,any duct work in place ? or is it electric baseboard ? Chimney .. best place for is in the center of the house,or if on outside wall insulate it well,a chimney drafts best when it is kept warm.In floor registers...bigger is better,but think of those registers as cold air returns rather than for heat to rise,heat can go up the stairway.If you are thinking of a hand fed stove,click on the Hitzer info on here, stoker .. check out Leisure Line on here. Others will be chiming in with questions & opinions,good luck on your venture into coal burning .

Re: Time to Switch to Coal

Posted: Fri. Mar. 14, 2014 8:24 pm
by Sleeper735
Sorry I didn't realize that. I am currently heating with electric baseboard in the whole house. It isn't feasible to put it I. The middle of the house because I have no chimney and would not be able to build it in the middle of the house. I also don't care if I have to over heat the basement as it is for storage only. I would prefer a stoker. As of now I am just starting to learn about the pros and cons. I would also like the real world pros and cons. Is it that messy even if you take your time with everything.

Re: Time to Switch to Coal

Posted: Fri. Mar. 14, 2014 8:31 pm
by windyhill4.2
Check the manufacturers corner,look at the Leisure Line stokers.. they have fantastic cust. service,great product.Messy...... coal burning is going to be as messy as you make it to be,not quite as clean as your electric heat :) if you install a stoker in the basement you will probably never see any messy evidence upstairs.

Re: Time to Switch to Coal

Posted: Fri. Mar. 14, 2014 9:36 pm
by titleist1
Welcome to the forum!! Great decision to go with coal!

In addition to planning the stove location you should also think about coal delivery and storage. Either a large bin outside with an auger or vac system to get the coal inside or a large inside. If you are careful dust is minimal and manageable.

The stoker in the basement is how we heat our ranch house. It is spread out so the heat distribution for us was the big challenge. I believe you will be able to get warmth to the first floor fairly easy, but you may have a challenge trying to get the warmth to the second floor. It will be hard to predict until you actually get the stove in place and try different air circulation solutions. Do you have central AC by any chance?

Re: Time to Switch to Coal

Posted: Fri. Mar. 14, 2014 9:47 pm
by 2001Sierra
Pictures will help us all. Drawn diagrams are also good. It is possible to install a furnace "Hot Air" or a modified stove format . I have taken a stove hearth setup in my basement family room supplementing oil heat for over 28 years, to a stoker setup replacing a whole house oil system. Realize I installed a very nice multi-zone Buderus oil boiler about 8 years ago. Now it only heats hot water and the Keystoker 90 does the heat, and the thermostats have been turned off for 3 years.

Re: Time to Switch to Coal

Posted: Sat. Mar. 15, 2014 9:50 am
by Flyer5
Sleeper735 wrote:After paying over $550 every month this winter for heat it is time for coal. I need advise on what to get. I have no chimney but I will put one up I don't want a power vent. My basement is about 850 square feet mostly below grade. My 1st floor is also about 850 and my 2nd floor is about 700. I am not worried about the 2nd floor much. My wife does not want my 1st floor overheated. My basement is unfinished and never will be finished. So I don't care about looks. I plan on cutting in a few registers and put in a few inline fans. Just wondering if I am on the right track or not. Also the stove will be located on one end of the house on a outside wall I don't know if that matters. I am also from NEPA. Any comments or suggestions please. Not sure what stove/stoker would be a good fit.
What part of NEPA are you from ?

Re: Time to Switch to Coal

Posted: Sat. Mar. 15, 2014 10:21 am
by NWBuilder
I know you said you do not want to over heat your first floor but you can control the feed rate on your stove to moderate the temperature I had an Alaskan Stoker in my basement and it was 80 * down there and only 65 on thee first floor and 62 or lower up stairs. I had my unit in the center of the house with registers in the floor and the basement door open. I just could not get more heat upstairs. I had lots of help on here. Nothing worked for me. Now I have a boiler and love it. So you may not want to close the door to first floor stoker. Just my two cents. Good luck and welcome!

Re: Time to Switch to Coal

Posted: Sat. Mar. 15, 2014 10:33 am
by heatwithcoal
I have electric baseboard and feel your pain regarding the $$. Many years ago I switched to pellet stove on the main floor and starting playing with a coal stoker in the unfinished basement. I quickly realized that coal was the way to go. I removed my pellet and replaced with LL Econo II on the main floor and a Harman mag in the basement and ran them for a few years. My wife complained a bit about the dust but found it be be an acceptable trade for the big time money savings. This was best heating decision I ever made......Until..... I bought and installed a LL AK110 furnace in the basement. Ran my own ductwork, which was quite a summer chore. But the cuts on my hands healed with minimal scaring and once all the blood was cleaned off the basement floor, I realized this was now the best heating decision ever made. :D No dust upstairs, less time spent filling 2 small hoppers and dumping 2 small ash pans,only having to go down to tend to the furnace every other day (I have gone 4 days once while out of town) and a nice even 71* heat throughout the house. I installed an automatic damper in the master bedroom with separate thermostat which keeps that room at 68*. I live in a raised ranch so running your ductwork will be much different. Also I already have clay/cinder chimney.

Mark