About to Start!

Hi Todd,
As others are saying, the direct vent on the coal is not the way to go. I bought a Keystoker 90K and have been using the direct vent for three years and do not care for it at all. When it comes to cleaning it can be a royal pain. Lots of fly ash gets caught up in the fins and had to be diassembled and scraped. I also had to replace it due to a bad motor. The local dealer in my area said I could buy a motor for it, but the problem is geting it apart without destroying the fan housing. The set screw that holds the fan on to the motor shaft gets corroded and you cannot get it apart. So I had to relace the whole unit. This cost approx. 140.00. This year I will be moving the stove approx. 8 ft and hooking into an unused chimney. Also should lower my elect. bill slightly.

On the Field Control powerventer page: "Stainless steel recommended for oil applications."

Ok - I think I've pretty much decided. I'm going to do a little more research, but I'm thinking the keystoker (ka6 ?) boiler to run in parallel with the oil. The oil should never kick in unless I run out of coal. I'll move the oil to power vent and put the coal on the existing flue. We spent about $4000 on oil last year so the wife is onboard with a major change. If I run it in parallel, if we ever sell, I can just take it with me, or sell it with the house and I expect it'll raise the value! Oil is not coming down.

I still need to find someone in the area (durham,CT) who can help with installation and a supplier for anthracite. My brother in law burns anthracite in his auto stoker stove (120 btu) so I expect he can help, but am open to suggestions. Thanks everyone for all the great input.
Todd

thoule wrote:I still need to find someone in the area (durham,CT) who can help with installation.

I'm in. PM your number.

From June of '07 until now, I have had delivered 1146 gallons of oil. Today's cost is 4.70/gallon. If I estimate $5/gallon, I can expect a $5800 bill for the next year's oil. That's assuming it is only $5/gallon - conservative...

If I use Coal, 1146/180=6.4 tons. I'm still trying to get prices for coal, but I'm expecting $250/ton? I realize that may be inaccurate, but I'm trying to estimate based on predictions and what I'm hearing. Even so, that's a $1600 bill for a year.

With a savings of $4200/year, I expect to have paid for a coal boiler in one to two years! Even if I change the numbers to raise the price of coal and raise the installation costs, it's still only a two year payback on the investment. I think I have the wife convinced! And I'm really looking forward it!
Todd

based on the numbers above, can someone help identify what model boiler is best? I was thinking keystoker; someone mentioned the ka6. Does that sound appropriate for a well insulated 3000sq ft house?
Todd

Hello thole,, what is the BTU rating of your current boiler?? and how much oil did you burn per month last year?? Trying to estimate the size of boiler needed based on your description may be wildly inaccurate..

I know one forum member here,, I think it is 'coalkirk' that uses a Harman VF3000 to heat a 4000 sqft house.. I'd never recommend so small a boiler for that house,, but it works well for him..

There are Heat Planning formulas that can accuratly estimate the BTU load for your house, I'd recommend going that way if you can't figure out what your BTU needs are based on your current boiler. What do you use for your Domestic hot water?? How many people are taking showers and using the laundry??

An AHS or AA130 up to a Ka6 or an EFM 520 is the range I'd estimate... That is a pretty wide range..

Greg L

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