Help me pick a stove!

McMillan2015 · Post by **McMillan2015** » Wed. Sep. 30, 2020 4:41 pm

*posted in another board but not sure if I used the right one.

Hello! I'm completely new to coal. I've been researching and researching and starting to feel overwhelmed so...here is the deal:

Bought a 1871 farmhouse last winter. Roughly 1600 sq ft of living space with 2 floors and an unfinished basement. Lived off space heaters and baseboard heaters upstairs. We were COLD. We had our pipes freeze 3 times between December and April. Our basement is a walkout basement. Chimney is unusable due to the new roof being built over top of it. We have an old oil furnace that vented through the chimney and all ductwork still available.

So, my questions is...would a hyfire 180 or keystoker koker be best? Or is there another option to consider?

Post by **StokerDon** » Wed. Sep. 30, 2020 6:56 pm

Welcome to the forum Mc,

Since you listed stoker stoves/furnaces I moved you question to that section.

I moved into a similar house years ago and my solution was a Harman MK2. It heated my 800 sq ft house built in 1816 completely. There was no other heat source. This Harman is a hand fired stove though.

A HyFire 180 or a Koker 160 should have more than enough BTU to heat your house. The question would be, can you move the heat around to the rest of the house?

-Don

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Wed. Sep. 30, 2020 8:58 pm

1600 sq ft of living space with burner in the basement might actually mean you're heating 3200 sq ft of 1871 Farm House and that is a horse of a different color...

McMillan2015 · Post by **McMillan2015** » Wed. Sep. 30, 2020 10:15 pm

StokerDon wrote: ↑
Wed. Sep. 30, 2020 6:56 pm

A HyFire 180 or a Koker 160 should have more than enough BTU to heat your house. The question would be, can you move the heat around to the rest of the house?

-Don

We have all the ductwork still from the furnace. We should be able to tap into that, yes?
I have no idea what the difference is with a hand fired stove vs kokers. I've never been exposed to coal other than one time, 20 years ago, at a friend's house we played in the coal bin- it was a terrible idea, haha.

McMillan2015 · Post by **McMillan2015** » Wed. Sep. 30, 2020 10:18 pm

McGiever wrote: ↑
Wed. Sep. 30, 2020 8:58 pm
1600 sq ft of living space with burner in the basement might actually mean you're heating 3200 sq ft of 1871 Farm House and that is a horse of a different color...

Our upstairs we have baseboards in and could really make do with just some additional heat I think. The main floor and basement need more of the heat due to only 2 baseboards downstairs and none in the basement. Our electric isn't outrageous here but it is when you use space heaters for 5 months (like we did last year). There is a noticeable difference in heat movement when the door to the stairs going upstairs is opened or closed as well. So I imagine we can regulate the movement a fair amount. I do think we need more than 90k or 110k. Thats why I'm leaning more toward the hyfire currently because we could get the heat jacket and vent some upwards and decide how much goes into the basement. Keeping it above freezing would be preferred. We really can't afford too high of a price currently so thats another factor.

coalder · Post by **coalder** » Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 8:40 am

Not for nothing, if your old chimney if relatively sound it is no big deal to cut out the roof, where chimney is and extend it. Then you could do whatever you want. Worst case scenario it may require a ss liner. In which case I would look into "Olympia chimney supply". www.olympiachimney.com
They offer a SS 316-L liner that they claim is guaranteed for life even with coal.
Just a thought
Jim

McMillan2015 · Post by **McMillan2015** » Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 11:32 am

coalder wrote: ↑
Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 8:40 am
Not for nothing, if your old chimney if relatively sound it is no big deal to cut out the roof, where chimney is and extend it. Then you could do whatever you want. Worst case scenario it may require a ss liner. In which case I would look into "Olympia chimney supply". www.olympiachimney.com
They offer a SS 316-L liner that they claim is guaranteed for life even with coal.
Just a thought
Jim

I can ask around about that. We aren't entirely sure of the integrity of the chimney above the second floor. I imagine it is ok but not sure how much that would cost to do.

coalder · Post by **coalder** » Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 1:44 pm

Most chimneys take a real beating from the flashing up, due to weather exposure. Below the flashing is usually fine. Can you take a photos of the chimney especially where it terminates near the roof & check for the presence of a flue? Like they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words".
Jim

McMillan2015 · Post by **McMillan2015** » Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 1:47 pm

coalder wrote: ↑
Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 1:44 pm
Most chimneys take a real beating from the flashing up, due to weather exposure. Below the flashing is usually fine. Can you take a photos of the chimney especially where it terminates near the roof & check for the presence of a flue? Like they say, "a picture is worth a thousand words".
Jim

Probably not. The chimney is exposed in the basement. When we gutted the kitchen we exposed it but decided to enclose it with sheetrock again. Second floor it is enclosed with sheetrock and there is no roof/attic access.

coalder · Post by **coalder** » Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 3:51 pm

You can tell if the chimney has a liner by looking through the thimble or clean out door. If it does & the chimney is sound It would be well worth the money & effort to cut an attic entry in the sheetrock, then cut a chase through the roof & raise the chimney. This would afford you an opportunity to put a coal boiler in the basement & heat your entire house along with DHW. I know it sounds like a lot; but you will appreciate it long term.
Jim

McMillan2015 · Post by **McMillan2015** » Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 5:16 pm

coalder wrote: ↑
Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 3:51 pm
You can tell if the chimney has a liner by looking through the thimble or clean out door. If it does & the chimney is sound It would be well worth the money & effort to cut an attic entry in the sheetrock, then cut a chase through the roof & raise the chimney. This would afford you an opportunity to put a coal boiler in the basement & heat your entire house along with DHW. I know it sounds like a lot; but you will appreciate it long term.
Jim

Just had the guy in that would do the install. He believes they dropped the excess chimney bricks from above the roof down the chimney.

Post by **StokerDon** » Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 7:01 pm

I'm not sure what you are planning, stoker, hand fired, boiler or furnace but either way, you will need a chimney.

-Don

McMillan2015 · Post by **McMillan2015** » Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 7:08 pm

StokerDon wrote: ↑
Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 7:01 pm
I'm not sure what you are planning, stoker, hand fired, boiler or furnace but either way, you will need a chimney.

-Don

I thought without a chimney you direct vent?

Post by **StokerDon** » Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 7:19 pm

McMillan2015 wrote: ↑
Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 7:08 pm
I thought without a chimney you direct vent?

In my opinion, direct vent and power vent are no where near as good as a chimney. Besides that, it limits you to small, flat great stokers. They also require a lot of maintenance.

A solid fuel heating unit requires a constant draft. A chimney will provide this constant draft naturally. If you have no chimney and are using a powered ventilating system, it has to run 24/7. Any motor or fan blade running in a flyash filled environment 24/7 will need cleaning very often.

-Don

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 9:56 pm

McMillan2015 wrote: ↑
Thu. Oct. 01, 2020 7:08 pm
I thought without a chimney you direct vent?

That there is dealer talk to make a sale.