Hello Gents, looking to start burning coal, need help

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Pat63
Member
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri. Jan. 24, 2020 4:57 pm
Location: Rapid River, MI
Other Heating: wood

Post by Pat63 » Fri. Jan. 24, 2020 5:08 pm

Hi Gents, I live in the U.P. of Michigan and have been burning wood for 30 years and I've had enough of cutting down 8-10 cords of wood every spring. Then cutting it to length, splitting it and stacking it. Started looking into burning coal recently and could use some direction.

I need a hopper style/auto feed unit capable of heating a 3K sf home. The only thing I've looked at so far has been the S130 coal Gun. Any suggestions appreciated. TIA

Pat
Rapid River, MI

 
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Rick 386
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Posts: 2508
Joined: Mon. Jan. 28, 2008 4:26 pm
Location: Royersford, Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: AA 260 heating both sides of twin farmhouse
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: LL Hyfire II w/ coaltrol in garage
Coal Size/Type: Pea in AA 260, Rice in LL Hyfire II
Other Heating: Gas fired infared at work
Contact:

Post by Rick 386 » Fri. Jan. 24, 2020 5:20 pm

Welcome Pat.

How do you heat your home now besides wood or are you using a wood boiler ??


Rick

 
lincolnmania
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Posts: 2684
Joined: Fri. Jan. 26, 2007 9:55 pm
Location: Birdsboro PA.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 350
Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: reading allegheny stoker
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: alaska kodiak stoker 1986. 1987 triburner, 1987 crane diamond
Coal Size/Type: rice

Post by lincolnmania » Fri. Jan. 24, 2020 7:54 pm

Welcome Pat!

do you have a source to get anthracite coal?

check out the ds stove aquastoke. https://dsofpa.com/ds-products/

 
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StokerDon
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Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Fri. Jan. 24, 2020 8:50 pm

Welcome to the forum Pat.

You certainly can't go wrong with the S130 Coal Gun, it's a great boiler and many of our members use them. You can also look at Axeman Anderson, EFM, Keystoker and DS Machine. These are all great units that will last a long time.

One question does pop into my mind, can you get Anthracite coal in the UP???

Here's a link to my Youtube channel to give you a few more ideas.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqdelUihrbYvDFkq ... subscriber


-Don

 
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swyman
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Joined: Mon. Apr. 13, 2015 9:50 pm
Location: Blissfield, MI
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman-Anderson 260M Leisure Line AA-220 Boiler (FOR SALE)
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Pea

Post by swyman » Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 12:16 am

Hi Pat, fellow Michigander myself! Wish you were closer, you could come watch my system work but we are on opposite ends of the state.


 
ben
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Location: n central PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 350 with an S-20 pot (1966)
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by ben » Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 7:47 am

Pat, Coal heat is the best. These guys on the forum will help you with any questions you may have.

 
Pat63
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Posts: 42
Joined: Fri. Jan. 24, 2020 4:57 pm
Location: Rapid River, MI
Other Heating: wood

Post by Pat63 » Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 12:25 pm

Thanks for the warm welcome and info guys, I'll check it all out.
Rick, yes I'm still burning wood for the rest of the season.
There's a guy who sells Blaschak Coal in 40 lb bags about 40 miles from me. He's the only one I know of right now. Ultimately, I'd like to be able to get in bulk, even though I know I'll have to drive further to get it, the savings would likely be worth it. I know Tractor Supply caries it, but I've heard it's junk?

Pat

 
Trumpeterb
Member
Posts: 229
Joined: Sun. Feb. 10, 2019 8:37 am
Location: West Middlesex, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Pea
Other Heating: Electric baseboards (hopefully never use these again)

Post by Trumpeterb » Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 2:03 pm

I was in a similar position to yours, Pat, last year. Heated with a wood boiler for 12 years and just couldn’t cut, split, stack, haul, load, and clean ashes from wood anymore. And the mess...ugh. I went with a Coal Gun—AHS130 and have not regretted it for a second. The folks in the forum were instrumental to my understanding of the boiler, operation , settings, and installation. I am sure you will find the same. As others have mentioned, check into anthracite availability and pricing. Being a PA resident, it is readily available to me...not sure how it is in Michigan. If you have any questions about my experience with the AHS130, don’t hesitate to ask. I absolutely LOVE heating this way...you will never want to go back to wood.
Last edited by Trumpeterb on Sun. Jan. 26, 2020 12:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
Dave 1234
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Posts: 788
Joined: Tue. Nov. 13, 2012 9:05 am
Stoker Coal Boiler: 1948 International boiler, EFM S-20 stoker
Coal Size/Type: Buck,

Post by Dave 1234 » Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 2:30 pm

Welcome Pat,
Here is the good news, ......you will love coal heat!
Now the bad news, .......it's an addiction that has no cure! You just burn and burn.

Myself and two of my friends are about 5 hours from the coal fields. Not sure how much difference in distance to your place? We have it trucked up in bulk. The truckers use crushed glass as a back-haul. It's about 38$ a ton for the trucking to eastern Ct.

Lots of good boilers to pick from. It will all depend on what you want. The guys here can get you through the questions. And you will have plenty. But don't fret about anything, it's all been done, and someone will help you with any aspect of coal heating.

Dave

 
Egghead
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Posts: 218
Joined: Thu. Dec. 13, 2018 8:51 pm
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 130
Other Heating: Outdoor wood furnace oil boiler

Post by Egghead » Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 5:31 pm

Best to pick the boiler on what is available to you. There’s a guy on YouTube running bituminous coal in a coal gun I believe. He seems pleased with it. As a former wood burner going through 15+ cords a season I think either coal you can get and burn will be a game changer. I burn anthracite but I’m also 30 miles from the main anthracite mines in PA.


 
leward
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Posts: 129
Joined: Fri. Jul. 03, 2009 2:41 pm
Location: Clearfield County, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM520
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Hitzer 50-93 at camp
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 354 double door woodburner

Post by leward » Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 7:02 pm

Myself, family and friends have a variety of Stoker boilers - EFM, Keystoker and Axeman mostly. One thing to add to the decision matrix is - Can you configure your setup to auger feed from a bin, or are you going to only have a hopper feed setup.
EFM and Axeman and the new DS burners can feed from auger - on my setup, I put around 8 tons in my bin once, and feed from it all heating season. It's a lot like having an oil or propane boiler but I take ashes out every couple days. So in my opinion If you have the room, look to one of the auger feed boilers. There are normally plenty of used boilers on the market where you can save over half the cost of new. If maintained, pretty tough to wear one out

 
Pat63
Member
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri. Jan. 24, 2020 4:57 pm
Location: Rapid River, MI
Other Heating: wood

Post by Pat63 » Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 8:59 pm

Thanks guys, appreciate your feedback and ideas. I do like the idea of a large coal bin, I've got the perfect place for it, but just finding a source of bulk anthracite within a reasonable distance from here is probably not an option, at least not right now. I did a search for bulk coal in Michigan and didn't find anything anywhere even remotely close to here. So I guess for now I'll have to just think about boilers with an attached hopper and use bagged stuff. I've looked at the Coal Gun and Leisure Line so far. I know the Pennstoker and Keystoker also make boilers w/ hoppers also.

I'll start making some phone calls soon and get delivered prices on as many different brands and sizes as possible. BTW, has anyone seen this Eko Duo 35? 130K BTU for less than $4K. Seems too good to be true !?

Pat

 
Pat63
Member
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri. Jan. 24, 2020 4:57 pm
Location: Rapid River, MI
Other Heating: wood

Post by Pat63 » Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 9:02 pm

Dave 1234 wrote:
Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 2:30 pm
Welcome Pat,
Here is the good news, ......you will love coal heat!
Now the bad news, .......it's an addiction that has no cure! You just burn and burn.

Myself and two of my friends are about 5 hours from the coal fields. Not sure how much difference in distance to your place? We have it trucked up in bulk. The truckers use crushed glass as a back-haul. It's about 38$ a ton for the trucking to eastern Ct.

Lots of good boilers to pick from. It will all depend on what you want. The guys here can get you through the questions. And you will have plenty. But don't fret about anything, it's all been done, and someone will help you with any aspect of coal heating.

Dave
Thanks Dave. Yeah you guys that live in or near PA have got it good. No coal mines in the U.P., only iron and copper mines !! LOL

 
Pat63
Member
Posts: 42
Joined: Fri. Jan. 24, 2020 4:57 pm
Location: Rapid River, MI
Other Heating: wood

Post by Pat63 » Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 10:03 pm

Trumpeterb wrote:
Sat. Jan. 25, 2020 2:03 pm
I was in a similar position to yours, Pat, last year. Heated with a wood boiler for 12 years and just couldn’t cut, split, stack, haul, load, and clean ashes from wood anymore. And the mess...ugh. I went with a Coal Gun—AHS130 and have not regretted it for a second. The folks in the forum were instrumental to my understanding of the boiler, operation , settings, and installation. I am sure you will find the same. As others have mentioned, check into anthracite availability and pricing. Being a PA resident, it is readily available to me...not sure how it is in Michigan. If you have any questions about my experience with the AHS130, don’t hesitate to ask. I absolutely LOVE hearing this way...you will never want to go back to wood.
Thanks, sounds like the 130 is a winner. I'm kind of leaning that way already. If I do, I'll certainly seek your input. thanks again, Pat

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