Decisions ????

RON1958 · Post by **RON1958** » Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 10:14 am

Hi all. I have been following along and finally joined up, thanks for having me. I have many questions so let me explain what's up. I have oil hot air furnace in basement that I put a heat exchanger on top. The hot water is supplied by a very old now but still going fine Energy King indoor wood/coal boiler which is outside in a shed 20 feet from house. I burn all wood in it and we love the heat. Oil only comes on if fire goes out and that never happens. I have a shop that's approx. 120 feet from house that I heated with wood furnace for years. I this season picked up a Hitzer30-95 for there and absolutely love it. So, Im almost 64 and liking the coal deal for the future. What I would like is to go with one coal boiler close to shop and heat both home and shop with one fire. I really like the hopper deal the Hitzer has but they don't make boilers that work that way that I know of. I was flirting with the idea of fabing a hand fired boiler up. just really up in the air over this. any advice would be helpful. Thanks a bunch.

franpipeman · Post by **franpipeman** » Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 1:43 pm

When Ron1958 , i was a steamfitter my whole life in a "trade" as they call it building heating systems and other energy entities. . I didnt get my own hydronic system built till i was 57.5. Well i finally learned why it called Trade, you trade your life hours working for a quantity of dollars. Time is more precious as we get older . i heat two building with a efm . I still logged hours, as you would just installing a efm 520 that i got for free that was built three years after i was born ( 1953)
I recommend buying a automated as much as possible of a coal boiler and use the time of building the boiler to other more useful stuff. Youllll have plenty to do and you dont have to reinvent the wheel.

Post by **StokerDon** » Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 2:53 pm

Welcome to the forum Ron!

X2 on what Fran says above on how valuable time is!
No sense in building a stoker boiler when there are hundreds, if not thousands of them around already. You just have to look.

RON1958 wrote: ↑
Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 10:14 am
I really like the hopper deal the Hitzer has but they don't make boilers that work that way that I know of.

Again, time is valuable. Personally I would never go back to a hopper fed stoker. I don't see the point in having an automatic feed, coal stoker when you have to tend it every day.

My Axeman is a once a week tending. When it's cold out, like it is now, I swap out the ashpan on Friday, then again on Sunday so, twice a week when is cold. It feeds itself out of the coal bin.

I also have a Van Wert that eats out of it's own bin.

Remember, the best place for the boiler is in your basement. Long runs of underground piping have significant losses.

-Don

Post by **Rob R.** » Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 5:01 pm

I will echo what Don said about there being plenty of good used equipment to chose from.

Personally I am not adverse to filling a hopper. The ash tub gets full before the hopper is empty anyway, so an auger doesn’t really save you from going to tend to the boiler. The auger can save you manual labor, dust, etc.

Post by **Lightning** » Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 6:13 pm

If you are looking for a "retirement" type solution a stoker boiler of your choice would be the thing to have.. personally, I would recommend reconditioning an Axeman boiler. Although there are others that would fit the bill.

Retro_Origin · Post by **Retro_Origin** » Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 9:09 pm

Lightning wrote: ↑
Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 6:13 pm
.. personally, I would recommend reconditioning an Axeman boiler.

Didn't see that one coming!

Post by **Lightning** » Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 9:25 pm

Retro_Origin wrote: ↑
Sun. Jan. 23, 2022 9:09 pm
Didn't see that one coming!

RON1958 · Post by **RON1958** » Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 8:35 am

Could the Axeman Anderson be used to provide heat to home and shop? Maybe in a "boiler shed" midway ? If so what would be the appropriate size model to search for. Not overkill.

RON1958 · Post by **RON1958** » Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 8:37 am

Or maybe an EFM , looks less complicated?

Greg A. · Post by **Greg A.** » Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 8:48 am

I have an Efm 520 in an outbuilding, underground piping 50 foot to the house. I heat 3400+Sqft plus dhw.
I picked up my Efm for $800. I put new grates and auger bushing and sleeve in. Its a 1958. I am feeding out of a 55 gallon drum right now. I dump ashes everyday and top off the barrel. It takes 15 minutes a day if that. I love it!

RON1958 · Post by **RON1958** » Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 9:18 am

Greg A. Thanks buddy. How is you coal consumption?

Greg A. · Post by **Greg A.** » Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 9:47 am

Well anywhere from 80 to 150 pounds. I need more insulation blow in the original part of the house (attic). Also I have a concrete slab with metal deck pan above a garage bay (14×32) that is uninsulated. Will be less usage when that is done.

Greg A. · Post by **Greg A.** » Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 9:49 am

By the way we have had temp down around zero with wind a couple mornings

leward · Post by **leward** » Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 9:52 am

Have nearly the exact setup as above, and what you are wanting to do.
EFM520 in the basement of my detatched garage ( about 80' away)
Heat is piped to house - 3 zones in house, and although I have radiators in garage the radiant heat keeps it around 45. (I do have a unit heater that is on gravity feed to keep from freezing in the garage). All of the mess stays in the garage, and mine feeds out of my coal bin. Put coal in once a year, swap ash buckets every couple days as needed.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 11:10 am

RON1958 wrote: ↑
Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 8:37 am
Or maybe an EFM , looks less complicated?

Well if you narrowed down this early in the game then that is a good chunk of the puzzle.