Coalpail.com Forum

Here goes my plunge “back to the future” with coal heating.

Home:
Located in Lehigh Valley, PA.
3300 sq. ft. 1890’s home, good roof insulation, storm windows but still a little drafty, wall insulation suspect. One pipe steam oil fired boiler. Ran very low thermostat last winter and “lived” in small portion of home over furnace room. Multiple set backs on thermostat for daytime and nighttime. Still burned lots of fuel oil. Burned much less than prior years when we had whole home heated “comfortably” (low 60’s). Last winter was also fairly mild. Ran supplemental heating in bedrooms at bedtime with oil-filled electric radiators on timers.
Home shaped like “T” with family room upper left, living room upper right, kitchen at bottom with dining room in between.
Plan:
Locate Hyfire in basement below dining room and power vent either out below 3 season room or enclosed porch (depends where can achieve required clearances). Run 3 8” ducts with inline duct fans on rheostats from the hot air jacket to the 3 corners of the home. (family room, living room, kitchen) Heat duct to kitchen will be insulated since it would run though cold crawl space. Plan is rigid galvanized duct. Hoping to get radiation heating through un-insulated dining room floor.

Possibly install cold air return(s) somewhere in dining room to encourage air flow from corners of home to center. Leave all doors on 1st floor open to allow air circulation.

For now allow upstairs to be gravity fed via convection (or is it anti-gravity fed).

Turn oil thermostat down low to only kick in on really cold days.

Have heating contractor install power vent and vent piping. DIY heat ducts and registers.

Price quotes on rice coal from local suppliers are $5/bag (but not in stock yet), 4 ton bulk@ $229/t, and $215/t. Old coal chute window in home now above fuel oil tank so outdoor coal bin(in carport) may be needed.

A reduction of 50% fuel oil usage would “save” $3000+ per winter at $4.59 gallon. Payback on Hyfire less than two seasons.

Questions:
Does feeding heat to corners of home and having air returns in center make sense?

Is there enough benefit to insulate heat ducts to family room and living room?

Would splitting 8” duct and feeding other rooms (1st floor bathroom) be a possibility? What can 8” duct be split into? (4” and 6” duct?)

What size/number of air returns are recommended? For 3 8” ducts out should there be 3 8” duct air returns? or 1 big one? (12"x12")

Best place to get 8” rigid galvanized pipe and accessories?

Other suggestions/corrections to the plan?

THANKS in Advance with any help with "the plan"...
Bob

Hello Bob,, the return cold air ducting is as important as the supply hot air ducting. your house or your rooms are like a balloon,, you can pump air into them, but don't and won't get any air circulation with out a return duct from the room [the balloon].

Insulation on the hot air ducts is important,, expecially when the duct runs through a unheated space that you want to leave 'unheated'' otherwise the duct will loose heat into the space, making it partially heated..

You can actually provide just about the same circulation with one big central hot air supply, and several cold air return ducts placed in the far corners of the rooms.. the heat will travel to the corners and back through the return ducts... It really doesn't matter which way you do it,, as long as you do create the all-important circulation loop... returning the once-heated air to the stove for re-heating. This once heated air is MUCH warmer than the air off the floor in the basement, This makes the stove burn less coal, and provide hotter supply air.. All good things..

I'd plan on putting as much work and time into the cold air return ducting as you do into the hot air supply ducting.

Hope this helps.. Greg L

The Hyfire II has arrived!!! Picked up this afternoon at Valley Stove and Fireplace in Drums, PA. (Karen picked up that stove like it was nothing and threw it in the truck!! lol)

Plan has changed slightly. I need to locate the stove in the existing furnace room since I could not get the power vent piping out under the porches without using up my "max" equivalent piping. Not sure on chimney install or power vent yet. May have a spare flue in my old chimney.

Need to build a coal bin or buy some bags. How big a coal window do the delivery trucks need. I think the window near the fuel oil tank was used for coal back in the day. It is around 18"by12". I will need to build a chute past the fuel oil tank to the coal bin. Recommended lining and slope for the chute?

The adventure begins!! Just got a fuel oil fill at $4.54/gallon. Over $850 bill..OUCH!!!

Hi 4tees,
When you live with a stove guy you learn to do what's needed or get out of the way. I think you had most of the weight.
Good luck,
Karen

[quote="4tees"]Here goes my plunge “back to the future” with coal heating.

The "Hobby" has begun~!! ( I foresee thermometers in every room to ensure even heating)