AK-110, Is It for Me?

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2biz
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Post by 2biz » Mon. Feb. 13, 2017 12:41 pm

Hello Anthracite burners! I’m new to the forum and have gotten bit ever since I saw “Anthracite Rice Coal” at our Lowes Store 3 weeks ago here in Southern Ohio. This was new to me! I’m 55 years old and had never heard of or seen it before. Yea, I grew up with neighbors that had stoker boilers that used soft coal and old farmers that used lump coal in potbelly stoves, but nothing like this. So the past 3 weeks I have been cramming for the big test, which has lead me to this section of this forum!

Some back-ground…I’ve been burning wood all my adult life and currently have a Firechief FC700E that heats appr 1800 sq ft ranch style single level house. The Firechief replaced a 20 year old “Hot Blast” from TSC that served me well! The stove sits in an attached insulated garage with duct work in the attic and cold air return also in the attic. I installed all this about 25 years ago when I wasn’t near as wise as I am today. Yea I know, ductwork and return air in the attic is not the most efficient, but it is the only way I could do this and keep the mess out of the house. There is slab between the garage and main living quarters, so my options are limited…Also, I have a hybrid system where the “A-Coil” for my central air-conditioning sits right above the stove in the plenum. The wood furnace blower is also used to cool the house in the summer! Before I get backlash, the A-Coil has been in there and working flawlessly for 25 years! It costs me less than $50 a month to run the air conditioning, so it is very economical!

Moving on…The firechief has a rated capacity of 150K BTU and has a 1500 CFM Blower. I know there is CFM loss going through the A-Coil along with heat loss in the main trunk and losses in the cold air return. But it heats my house (and cools) with ease. Even down to a tested minus 15° (Below zero)…I also have propane gas fireplace logs and a 3 burner ceramic heater in the house I use for backup for when the furnace dies down or we’re away from home any length of time…It all works for me….Currently….

If I had known about the Anthracite burners 3 years ago when I replaced the Hotblast, I would have looked into this at that time. But now I’m getting older and for the first time in my life, I feel dragged down by how much work the firewood is. I burn between 8-10 cords a year. Even though I purchase most of the wood, stacking it away and hauling it in to the garage every day is more and more a chore. Let alone filling the furnace at least 4 times a day….Its Not fun like it used to be….I need to start minimizing the amount of work I have to do! I need to prepare for the next 20 or more years while I can still pay for the change!!

So, after all that, I am here…I believe the AK 110 is the best coal stoker furnace that fits my circumstances in comparison to all its competitors...And I have looked at them all, online only! I will add, if I go this route, I will be changing the cold air return for the coal furnace to its own system down low at floor level into the house. I will be adding a new Central Air system in the Walk through attic above the garage and will keep the cold air return in the ceiling which will be optimum for my layout…Both systems will share the same main ductwork with dampers to redirect flow between winter and summer. Again I know this is not optimum, but it will be better than what I had.

I would like to know if anyone else out there has a similar setup as I do running the AK 110? I think would be very happy with a system like this and the amount of work it will save…Plus I like to have things to do every day, I just don't want it to consume my time! But I also know I have to weigh out the cost and cost of the Coal…Right now its $6.00 for a 40# bag for what Lowes and TSC sells. Same price for Blaschak and Reading about 2 hours North of me….Decisions…Decisions…Sorry for such a long post! See attached Pictures of my current setup…..

Image

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EarthWindandFire
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Post by EarthWindandFire » Mon. Feb. 13, 2017 1:28 pm

Yes, I think the AK-110 would work just fine.

You should also consider the following furnaces.

Keystoker A-150 with optional burner. (dual fuel)

Leisure Line AK-220. (Has two burners. Can never have enough btu's)

 
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windyhill4.2
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Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both

Post by windyhill4.2 » Mon. Feb. 13, 2017 1:46 pm

In the approximately 4 yrs I have been following this forum, I have read way too many threads from folks who bought too small. So many get hung up on the heat loss figures which are dependent on the average. We have had some worse than average winters in the recent yrs. & this is likely why the threads on not enough heat from the installed unit.

If it was me,with the info you posted,I would install the AK-180,it is a dual burner stoker,so it can be run low on 1 burner or fire both burners for the high heat demand times.More is better when 1 of those ridiculously cold spells comes to visit your house .

 
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2biz
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Post by 2biz » Mon. Feb. 13, 2017 2:59 pm

I guess I have another limitation I forgot to mention.... I only have a 6" double wall SS chimney ruling out a double burner....

 
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windyhill4.2
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Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both

Post by windyhill4.2 » Mon. Feb. 13, 2017 3:52 pm

2biz wrote:I guess I have another limitation I forgot to mention.... I only have a 6" double wall SS chimney ruling out a double burner....
I reckon that will narrow your choices,it may even point out the obvious choice unless the stack is upgraded to 8".

 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Mon. Feb. 13, 2017 6:21 pm

A good used Axeman-Anderson stoker boiler has a 5" breech and 2 little pipes travel and insulate real easy. ;)

Just add a water to air coil in duct. You'll get unlimited domestic hot water too.

See you are using soom renewable energy there in southern Ohio. :)

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Mon. Feb. 13, 2017 7:16 pm

I only have a 6" double wall SS chimney ruling out a double burner....
I have an AK180 double burner and a 6" outlet no problems, as few elbows as possible. You need a good draft. Rare stove, I don't think they sell many. I recommend the stove without reservations. I also had a AK110, good unit as well. As I say, overkill is good but more overkill is better. BTTW (where TW is The Wall) setting on the 180 is to run it on buck (thx Rob) .... yeah, oh baby.


 
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Flyer5
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Post by Flyer5 » Tue. Feb. 14, 2017 11:27 am

If you have any further questions you can also give us a call at the factory. [Phone Number Removed] Thanks

 
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2biz
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Post by 2biz » Tue. Feb. 14, 2017 11:58 am

Thanks! I may do that! I was trying to see if anybody else out there had this furnace set up similar to what I'm wanting to do...You know....Get some "Real Life Feedback"!

 
coalnewbie
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Post by coalnewbie » Tue. Feb. 14, 2017 1:46 pm

Let us know how you do. This is a major upgrade and you will enjoy it very much.

 
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2biz
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Post by 2biz » Wed. Feb. 22, 2017 11:55 am

The Ak-110 is on order! :dancing: :clap: :cheers:

Funny Story I have to share….

Last night I also ordered a Manometer from Amazon. Since I used my wife’s Amazon Prime to get free shipping, a few seconds after placing the order she gets a notification on her phone…

She say’s, A “Man~O~Meter”!! Really?!

I’ll leave it up to your imagination what my response was! Her Reaction Was Priceless! :smoke:

 
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Flyer5
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Post by Flyer5 » Fri. Feb. 24, 2017 2:50 am

2biz wrote:The Ak-110 is on order! :dancing: :clap: :cheers:

Funny Story I have to share….

Last night I also ordered a Manometer from Amazon. Since I used my wife’s Amazon Prime to get free shipping, a few seconds after placing the order she gets a notification on her phone…

She say’s, A “Man~O~Meter”!! Really?!

I’ll leave it up to your imagination what my response was! Her Reaction Was Priceless! :smoke:
I guess we should be careful when we say it talking to people. LOL

 
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Feb. 24, 2017 3:00 am

Welcome.
I burn between 8-10 cords a year.
That is quite a bit of wood...unless you mean face cords? I ask because past fuel consumption is an indicator of heat load.

 
coalnewbie
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Coal Size/Type: Rice,
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Post by coalnewbie » Fri. Feb. 24, 2017 4:47 am

Good luck with the stove. :D

 
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2biz
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Post by 2biz » Fri. Feb. 24, 2017 7:04 am

Nope, not face cords...Full cords...Do you know what the usage conversion is between wood and coal?

My cold air returns killed efficiency. I have 2 of them in the attic, with the longest run about 50 feet. Flex duct....Plus the return grills are in the ceiling...Not optimum at all...I am cycling heated air through the attic and freezing it before reaching the furnace....I installed all that about 25 years ago. I'm a little wiser now than I was then! Plus I was a lot more energetic 25 years ago...Cutting 10 cords of wood was a piece of cake...At 55, I have to work "Smarter Not Harder"!

The new stoker gives me a chance to re-do the cold air return. It will pull from the floor level and leave the heated air where it belongs! The change will have to make my system a lot more efficient. I'm not complaining about the way it worked...It did for a long time. Now its time to optimize it!


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