Some interesting stuff from a new coal junkie

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dcveem3
Member
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat. Jan. 20, 2018 6:44 pm
Location: NorthWest York Co, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Someday!
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman Magnum (temp basement duty)
Other Heating: Propane/Heat Pump

Post by dcveem3 » Tue. Dec. 25, 2018 6:21 pm

I've been monkeying with my Magnum last few days with a bit of a controlled experiment. First of all, I really like running this thing off of pilot mode. 7 minutes on, 10 off. Running about 2.5 dots..which judging from my thumbnail appears to be about 1/4"? No Tstat. Situation is like this; it's in my partially finished basement. 3 of the 8 walls are insulated. All rim joist are sealed and insulated. It's about 2100sq ft total. 2 walls exposed(walk out). 1 double door, 1 single, 5 windows. 2 are half windows. First floor of house is also 2100 and 2nd floor is 2600. So obviously, I'm just heating the basement with this stove. That's all I want....for now. I thought!

It gets HOT down there. Like 80 degrees since I'm not using a tstat. So I opened the basement door and a column of heat followed onto the main floor. I keep my tstat upstairs at 68. HVAC on both main floors are dual fuel HP over Propane. Outdoor tstat set at 40degF for changeover. So after I opened my door to get rid of this excess heat and now my 1st floor gets up to 69 and stays there....all night the last 2 nights. Now we aren't talking killer temps outside. Heck it was 27 degrees one of those mornings. 42 in the day. Anyway, I decided to open up 2 of my end terminations on my HVAC returns downstairs. I put the blower on..which on my unit since it's a VFD drive, it runs about 1000cfm of the 2200cfm it's rated for. So I'm pulling about 500 cfm per return(dual returns) upstairs and pumping he same back down the steps to the basement. My HP/Propane system on the first floor hasn't ran in 2 days. Heck I'm sitting here now it's 71deg in my living room with 22' vaulted ceilings and it's 34 deg outside.

So let's talk about this experiment. I monitored my coal usage over the last 24 hours. 4:15pm to 4:15 pm. 29 degree days. Low of 30, high of 42. I consumed 68lbs of rice coal with the stove idling away at 7min/on and 10/min off. Basement is 73deg. 1st floor went between 69-71deg. 1st floor is 2x6 construction and insulted best I could. I caulked. I wrapped. Windows are Andersen 400s. Windows were taped to the wrap outside and foamed inside....and they are big...it's a Chalet type front. All windows. Ceilings are scissor trusses with R49 insulation.

Conclusion? I'm amazed. I'm looking forward to colder temps to see what this little stove can do! I know I can't heat the basement and the 1st floor once we get some steady cold temps. A simple calc of btu's available is what? 12.5k btu/lb coal. So 68lbs is 850k btu. Less loss up the chimney? Say 15% being generous? So that leaves like 723k btus over 24hrs is 30k btu/hr. What's frustrating is listening to the hp/propane furnace kick on the 2nd floor while I'm nice and toasty on the 1st!!

Thanks for listening to the rambling....and Happy Holidays to all!!

Don

 
dcveem3
Member
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat. Jan. 20, 2018 6:44 pm
Location: NorthWest York Co, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Someday!
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman Magnum (temp basement duty)
Other Heating: Propane/Heat Pump

Post by dcveem3 » Thu. Dec. 27, 2018 9:14 pm

Ok. I guess it wasn't that interesting....don't mind me entertaining myself with my new toy. I will calm down soon!!

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Fri. Dec. 28, 2018 7:27 am

dcveem3 wrote:
Thu. Dec. 27, 2018 9:14 pm
Ok. I guess it wasn't that interesting....don't mind me entertaining myself with my new toy. I will calm down soon!!
:lol: I doubt it....just look at the post count numbers for a lot of us. :lol:

As you are figuring out the mag stoker can put a big dent into the furnace usage! :yes:

You might want to try putting the stoker 'stat on the first floor. Thats the way i have ours set up in a ranch style, basement stays plenty warm and first floor temp controls the calls for heat. You can probably spread out the pilot timer runs by doing that to something like 3 on & 15 off. Heat distribution is always a challenge with a free standing stove.

The next step for ya will be a boiler sized for the whole house with a heat exchanger in the ductwork!! You aren't far from Stoker Don's Boiler Farm and I have seen how contagious boiler fever can be. It is only surpassed by base burner fever in terms of "spreadability". :baby:


 
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warminmn
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Joined: Tue. Feb. 08, 2011 5:59 pm
Location: Land of 11,842 lakes
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Junior, Efel Nestor Martin, Riteway 37
Coal Size/Type: nut and stove anthracite, lignite
Other Heating: Wood and wear a wool shirt

Post by warminmn » Fri. Dec. 28, 2018 9:08 am

I'd have to crank the heat up. I get frost on my lips if the temp in my house is lower than 75 degrees unless Im working :D

Im thinking after you get used to using coal you will want it warmer because it wont cost you much more to do so. Still that sounds like a tough situation to heat and you are getting it figured out pretty good.

 
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franpipeman
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Joined: Fri. Jan. 11, 2008 4:27 pm
Location: Wernersville pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: efm 520 stoker fitzgibbons pressure vessel
Hand Fed Coal Stove: harman, russo
Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: alpine propane condensing boiler radiant floor

Post by franpipeman » Fri. Dec. 28, 2018 4:37 pm

having what sounds like a properly constructed variable freq drive air handling system can really help to distribute that heat Im trying to convince my daughter and sun inlay to run the duct system fan while their wood stove is running ......they dont want to spend a nickel or dime on electric

 
dcveem3
Member
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat. Jan. 20, 2018 6:44 pm
Location: NorthWest York Co, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Someday!
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman Magnum (temp basement duty)
Other Heating: Propane/Heat Pump

Post by dcveem3 » Fri. Dec. 28, 2018 7:03 pm

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lol...boiler. That's funny. I just sold a KA6!! Regrettably but that's another story. Wife and I aren't sure we are staying here....but we'll make that decision this summer. If we do stay, boiler WILL be installed. In the meantime the Harman is providing enough heat and entertainment to last me the winter!! I haven't reached a conclusion on the best way to run this rig for my situation. But a Tstat is next up to play with.

Ah, yes, the infamous Don's Boiler Halfway House!!


 
dcveem3
Member
Posts: 89
Joined: Sat. Jan. 20, 2018 6:44 pm
Location: NorthWest York Co, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Someday!
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman Magnum (temp basement duty)
Other Heating: Propane/Heat Pump

Post by dcveem3 » Thu. Jan. 03, 2019 8:29 pm

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Well another quick update for the next lad...or lass. I finally secured a couple of cheap magnetic thermometers and after playing a few days with pilot mode settings, I'm on the "combustion fan on all the time" bandwagon. I just had a MUCH better fire and control with the fan on all the time. I'm still monkeying...but I think it's just wasted time. I also noticed I get a LOT more wasted coal in pilot mode. I would think if you had your stove in a living room and it was roasting you out a tstat with a less aggressive pilot mode would be ok.

If you are running these stoves at a higher temps, varying the combustion fan speed seems to be the better way...and adjust coal delivery from there. I know I'm WAY over the capacity of this stove for my heating situation but it's fun to play with something new. I'm just hoping for colder temps so I can see what this thing will really do. That helps us make a decision for next winter!!

I'm running tonight @29deg F outside. Pretty aggressive fire...a bit too much feed rate in this picture. I'm maxing about 600deg F at the top of the stove above the door. 130 in the stack. I placed an old fan behind the stove. It's toasty down in that basement! That's about 6 on/8off and a bit more than 1/4" of feed...maybe 5/16. I did back that off so it's probably now more like 1/4" or a bit less.

Don

 
rodhotter
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Posts: 32
Joined: Mon. Jan. 21, 2019 10:44 pm
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harmaan MK I
Coal Size/Type: anthracite nut
Other Heating: oil

Post by rodhotter » Thu. Feb. 28, 2019 8:35 pm

gotta love cheap + cozy coal heat. when i installed my Harman MKI in my basement-kitchen i needed a big vent thru the floor + after looking locally Atlantasupply.com to the rescue, all types + bigger sizes of floor vents-grates suitable to walk on, heat rises so my small house is good with only a big floor grate near the stove, scru the oil monster $$$

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