New Coal Burner Question

 
breakingdylan
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Koker Lite
Other Heating: Propane Forced Hot Air

Post by breakingdylan » Sun. Sep. 09, 2018 12:52 pm

Getting Koker Lite delivered. Running Propane forced hot air furnace now. Planning on leaving that inplace for the warmer spring/fall months and running the Koker Lite in the harsher December to March months. Planning on tieing Koker lite into existing duct work. Basement is unfinished and open. Concrete Floor with Concrete Block wall. 8Ft ceilings in basement with all open floor joices. 1 Story house with 1500 SqFt. Sick and tired of being cold in the harsh winter months with the ups and downs of the propane. Just wondering if you guys think running this Koker Lite will help me out. All input is appreciated. Thanks!


 
Den034071
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Post by Den034071 » Sun. Sep. 09, 2018 5:55 pm

First insulate the block walls .They will draw a lot of heat negatively .jack

 
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VigIIPeaBurner
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Post by VigIIPeaBurner » Sun. Sep. 09, 2018 5:56 pm

Welcome BD.
A bit more information is needed but all signs so far point to it should help you out.
Where are you located (finish filling out your profile) will tell us if your winters typically are cold or mild.

Is you basement all below grade or are some walls exposed? Jack hit a good point too.

What is the current propane furnaces's BTU rating and is it vented by a chimney or forced exhaust?

The Lite is rated at 105,000 BTU. It's not a true furnace but a hybrid furnace/radiant stove so some percentage of the radiant heat will go to the walls, floors, and ceiling. You'll take advantage of some of that but not all of it.

 
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oliver power
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Post by oliver power » Sun. Sep. 09, 2018 9:09 pm

Tie into the main cold air duct. The furnace will draw pre-heated air into the system, bring the temp up higher / quicker, and distribute it throughout. If you tie into the hot air side of the furnace, the furnace fan tends to cools the air. Yes, it may work, but will work better if tied into the cold air. Let the furnace give the pre-heated air a boost, before pushing it throughout. Your furnace won't run long.

Kind of how a GEO-THERMAL heating system works. The air is pre-heated by the earth before entering the heating system.

 
breakingdylan
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Koker Lite
Other Heating: Propane Forced Hot Air

Post by breakingdylan » Sun. Sep. 09, 2018 9:55 pm

Sorry New to the site obviously. Ill get my profile filled out correctly. I live in North Eastern Pennsylvania. The basement is below grade only about 2 feet above ground. I have 2 Chimneys not used. My propane furnace is direct vented through the wall. Its a thermopride 75,000 BTU. Yea I wasn't sure if I should go with a Koker or Koker lite. My worry is the Koker is a bit overkill.

 
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2001Sierra
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Post by 2001Sierra » Sun. Sep. 09, 2018 10:46 pm

The Koker will not be overkill unless needed. The stoker will simply idle along when there are no calls for heat.

 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Mon. Sep. 10, 2018 11:07 am

The difference between a Koker and a Koker Lite is much more than just heat size.
But you must already know that since you made your choice.


 
breakingdylan
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Other Heating: Propane Forced Hot Air

Post by breakingdylan » Mon. Sep. 10, 2018 11:24 am

McGiever...maybe I'm missing something than...or dont have all the information. What's your 2 cents sir?

 
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McGiever
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Post by McGiever » Mon. Sep. 10, 2018 11:40 am

I beleive your your dealer/sales person should of highlighted the differences...

They're built different, unless they changed designs... The K Lite doesn't have full air jacketing surround so therefore leaves a good amount of produced heat at physical location of the stove/furnace...the K, besides being able to make even more heat, sends most all of that heat produced into the duct system to be distributed to all the designed duct outlets throughout.
Please double check this as I wish not to mis-lead.

 
breakingdylan
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Post by breakingdylan » Mon. Sep. 10, 2018 12:01 pm

Mcgiever...thank you for the info. Hes coming to measure everything to put next to my propane furnace. I'll ask him about the Koker maybe that's more inline in what I need. I want most of the heat to obviously flow through the ducting but would still like the radiant heat coming off the stove to help heat some of the floors. Like I said I'm new to all the coal stuff. I just really appreciate everyone's insight and information.

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Mon. Sep. 10, 2018 12:19 pm

The Koker and Koker Lite share a single manual. And unless the manual is inept and inadequate, they "should" share the same clearance requirements as indicated in the manual, so I believe this to be an indication that they are likely to both be double walled. But don't quote me on this. Rather, verify.

One appreciable difference is that the Lite has only a 1,000 CFM blower, whereas the standard has a 1,500 CFM blower (which is more in line with the blower output of most homes conventional forced air furnaces). Due to serious pressure drop factors which must be calculated and taken into account, at least one person on this forum found the 1,000 CFM blower to be totally inadequate. I believe that you can special order the Lite version with a 1,500 CFM blower, and if given this option, that is the road I would travel. If not given this option, I would opt for the original Koker over the Lite version.

 
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Post by StokerDon » Mon. Sep. 10, 2018 12:39 pm

Both the Koker and Koker Lite are basically stoves with some heat jacketing. This means, in general, they will work well for area heating and have the ability to push some of the heat to other areas through ductwork.

If your main goal is to heat the house, not just the basement, you should use a furnace. The difference between the Koker and the Keystoker hot air furnaces is full jacketing of the fire box and heat exchanger. This makes a big difference.

That being said, the Koker Lite will still do pretty well in your situation due to the fact that the house is not large and having extra heat in the basement will actually help heat the upper floor.

-Don

 
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VigIIPeaBurner
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Post by VigIIPeaBurner » Mon. Sep. 10, 2018 1:36 pm

BD, you have the same idea about using the radiant portion of the Kl as I have - warm the floors. My oil furnace does a decent job of heating the air for the living quarters. However when it comes to comfort in serious winter weather the floors above the unheated basement make it uncomfortably chilly after sitting a while. The floors might not get very hot but the radiant heat coming from a 70* floor is hands and feet better than 50*!

I like OliverP's idea of using both the Kl and the 75k propane furnace in tandem. You need to keep the propane furnace running once in a while to know it's ready for the full load when you don't run the Kl.

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Mon. Sep. 10, 2018 1:42 pm

Neither the Koker or the Koker Lite is jacked on the front side. A lot of radiant heat will be evolved from this surface which will not find its way upstairs via the blower.

 
breakingdylan
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Koker Lite
Other Heating: Propane Forced Hot Air

Post by breakingdylan » Mon. Sep. 10, 2018 3:49 pm

VigIIPeaBurner wrote:
Mon. Sep. 10, 2018 1:36 pm
BD, you have the same idea about using the radiant portion of the Kl as I have - warm the floors. My oil furnace does a decent job of heating the air for the living quarters. However when it comes to comfort in serious winter weather the floors above the unheated basement make it uncomfortably chilly after sitting a while. The floors might not get very hot but the radiant heat coming from a 70* floor is hands and feet better than 50*!

I like OliverP's idea of using both the Kl and the 75k propane furnace in tandem. You need to keep the propane furnace running once in a while to know it's ready for the full load when you don't run the Kl.


Yea thats what i was aiming for either the Koker or Koker LIte to help heat the floor while still throwing heat to the rest of the house. Its one of those things I just want to shut off the propane during the harsh months and just not use it. Propane bills suck. Ill work on insulating the walls with board insulation or something.


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