Wood Coal Boilers
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- New Member
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Sat. Jan. 25, 2014 4:10 pm
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: vermont castings Vigilant 2
- Coal Size/Type: nut anthracite
I am thinking of getting a wood coal outdoor boiler. Who has good ones and who sells junk? I don't need anything other than wood coal because I have a 80,000 BTU propane boiler now for base board heating and hot water.
- Lightning
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 14658
- Joined: Wed. Nov. 16, 2011 9:51 am
- Location: Olean, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
- Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite
Have you considered a stoker boiler tied into the propane boiler? Seems like a better option. There is a lot of wasted heat with an outdoor heating unit. The unit itself radiates heat that would just be lost to the outdoors.
- coaledsweat
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 13763
- Joined: Fri. Oct. 27, 2006 2:05 pm
- Location: Guilford, Connecticut
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260M
- Coal Size/Type: Pea
Avoid the wood/coal dual fuel. The two fuels are so different in needs that one that burns both is going to be a little clumsy by design. Get a real coal appliance, put it in next to the other boiler and forget the outdoor nonesense. A anthracite boiler will last 50 years easy, outdoor boilers have dismal track record burning coal and surviving 5-10 years. Plus, when something goes wrong (and you know it will out there ) you won't be out there freezing your buns off.
- McGiever
- Member
- Posts: 10130
- Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
- Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
- Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
- Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7486
- 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
Welcome to the forum Duramax.
I guess what the other guys are trying to say is, we still have not seen one of these outdoor wood/coal boilers that can;
A) successfuly burn anthracite coal.
B) Is an actual closed pressurized system boiler, to keep it from rusting out in 5 to 10 years.
There are a lot of good, old, used stoker boilers out there looking for a good home. If you want to put it outside, stick it in a large shed or garage. I have 2 in my garage, one is a project, the other heats my house, garage and domestic water.
-Don
I guess what the other guys are trying to say is, we still have not seen one of these outdoor wood/coal boilers that can;
A) successfuly burn anthracite coal.
B) Is an actual closed pressurized system boiler, to keep it from rusting out in 5 to 10 years.
There are a lot of good, old, used stoker boilers out there looking for a good home. If you want to put it outside, stick it in a large shed or garage. I have 2 in my garage, one is a project, the other heats my house, garage and domestic water.
-Don
- windyhill4.2
- Member
- Posts: 6072
- Joined: Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 2:17 pm
- Location: Jonestown,Pa.17038
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404 with variable blower
- Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both
duramax, Please watch the video that Isayre posted,so true to life,my wife & I have watched it several times & really enjoy the video. We just got rid of our OWB after using it for the last 8 yrs. WHY do you want an outdoor unit? So you can stand outside repairing it at 3 a/m @ -10*,35-40 mph wind whipping the snow into your eyes,yep,that is what we did just this past Jan. If you have no basement to install a coal boiler then read my thread in the EFM section titled From OWB to EFM520 installed in a truck box. It may help with your decision,if I had a basement or adjoining room in any of our buildings it would be installed inside. The video on the OWB is way too short when compared to tending the stupid thing in the rain,freezing rain,snow,blizzard conditions,11p/m so it will last till 6 a/m.Take lots of time to carefully consider & think b4 going with something that you will dread for the duration of ownership !!
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- New Member
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Sat. Jan. 25, 2014 4:10 pm
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: vermont castings Vigilant 2
- Coal Size/Type: nut anthracite
The reason I am considering a OWB is that we have access to lots of wood. It's too bad no one makes a good dual purpose boiler. What killed your OWB after 8 years? So now I might have to look into a stoker. My big question I have is has anyone compared the cost of coal vs. propane? If I get propane at $3 per gallon and coal at $270 per ton I wonder if I am going to end up like the guy in the video wondering if I saved anything.windyhill4.2 wrote:duramax, Please watch the video that Isayre posted,so true to life,my wife & I have watched it several times & really enjoy the video. We just got rid of our OWB after using it for the last 8 yrs. WHY do you want an outdoor unit? So you can stand outside repairing it at 3 a/m @ -10*,35-40 mph wind whipping the snow into your eyes,yep,that is what we did just this past Jan. If you have no basement to install a coal boiler then read my thread in the EFM section titled From OWB to EFM520 installed in a truck box. It may help with your decision,if I had a basement or adjoining room in any of our buildings it would be installed inside. The video on the OWB is way too short when compared to tending the stupid thing in the rain,freezing rain,snow,blizzard conditions,11p/m so it will last till 6 a/m.Take lots of time to carefully consider & think b4 going with something that you will dread for the duration of ownership !!
- confedsailor
- Member
- Posts: 472
- Joined: Tue. Mar. 12, 2013 9:46 pm
- Location: Moosup Ct
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: 100 KBtu Chappee
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Surdiac 513
- Other Heating: Oil Fired 1950"s American Standard Arcoliner 132K BTU
From OWB to EFM520 Installed in Truck Box Windyhill's odyssey,
And if you want to get an idea of what the relative fuel costs are, https://coalpail.com/fuel-comparison-calculator-home-heating .
And if you want to get an idea of what the relative fuel costs are, https://coalpail.com/fuel-comparison-calculator-home-heating .
- Coalfire
- Member
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 23, 2009 8:28 pm
- Location: Denver, PA
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine 96K btu Circulator
- Coal Size/Type: Nut
Chances are the price of that coal will not change much in the next ten years, however it is likely that the propain will fluctuate wildly for the next ten years. Where is your general location, just trying to get a handle on your fuel costs.duramax wrote: If I get propane at $3 per gallon and coal at $270 per ton I wonder if I am going to end up like the guy in the video wondering if I saved anything.
Eric
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- Member
- Posts: 1493
- Joined: Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 1:48 pm
- Location: somewhere high in the catskill mountains
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 160
- Coal Size/Type: Nut
- Other Heating: wood parlor stove
Duramax, Welcome! I can relate to where you're coming from. I too was a long time wood burner that just last year switched primarily to coal. However I too wanted a unit that was rated for both; just in case. I did my research and bought the Harman SF-160, it is classified as dual fuel. This is an indoor boiler that is plumbed in tandem to my oil burner; and takes care of all baseboard & domestic needs while burning coal. It does ok on wood, but tending times are much more frequent. To describe the wood aspect a little better, it burns the same as any older pre baffle or pre modern woodstove. In our hunting camp we have an older all nighter with 2 spinner knobs on the door just as does the Harman. And both units perform about the same with just an MPD. The trick with burning wood, I found, was that in order to get through the night, I had to disengage the auto aqua stat and just us the spinner knobs on the door, to keep it at idle. This is a double edge sword. As towards morning the oil would have to kick on here and there to maintain temp, But at least I had coals in the morning for a fresh fire. The only other dual fuel boiler that I am aware of is the DS Aqua Gem, which operates much the same as the Harman. Do as you wish, but as shadows get longer, you will come more and more to appreciate the benefits of coal. Hope this helps.
Jim
Jim
- windyhill4.2
- Member
- Posts: 6072
- Joined: Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 2:17 pm
- Location: Jonestown,Pa.17038
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404 with variable blower
- Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both
We made our choice to go with a OWB based on getting FREE wood,when the free wood source ended,so did the cheap heat. The amount of labor is horrendous !! Our OWB was not a sealed boiler,most of them aren't,being open to oxygen availability all the time takes its toll on metal even with the corrosion additives.Most of the OWB's are only 35-40% efficient at best,the OWB era in our life's is one of those memories that would be nice to erase,but it will instead be a constant reminder to us of a time when we made a less wise choice & looking back on that time gives us overwhelming satisfaction with the choice we made swapping the OWB for a coal stoker. Do as the man in the video said.....find someone with an OWB,go to their place & tend it during a major winter storm or during a freezing rain event,do that for several times & see if that is something you would enjoy doing every day for 8+ yrs.
- coaledsweat
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 13763
- Joined: Fri. Oct. 27, 2006 2:05 pm
- Location: Guilford, Connecticut
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260M
- Coal Size/Type: Pea
The term OWB is not accurate, they are heaters and very inefficient. Plan on being the guy in the video if you get one regardless of what you burn.duramax wrote:windyhill4.2 wrote: The reason I am considering a OWB is that we have access to lots of wood. It's too bad no one makes a good dual purpose boiler. What killed your OWB after 8 years? So now I might have to look into a stoker. My big question I have is has anyone compared the cost of coal vs. propane? If I get propane at $3 per gallon and coal at $270 per ton I wonder if I am going to end up like the guy in the video wondering if I saved anything.
- windyhill4.2
- Member
- Posts: 6072
- Joined: Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 2:17 pm
- Location: Jonestown,Pa.17038
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404 with variable blower
- Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both
coaledsweat, The correct name is Outdoor Wood Burning Monster , but was shortened to Outdoor Wood Burner Everyone sees the OWB & assumes a boiler,yet very few are set up as boilers. An OWB isn't really all that bad at doing it's job.......... .........oh, its job is to burn lots of wood,they do it very well . AND, the heat you get from it is a benefit built right into the unit.