Any Furnace Suggestions

[lcback]

I live in SW PA in a 2200Sqft house with propane heat. I put in an old worn out wood furnace last year, and plan on upgrading that to a new Drolet Tundra Wood furnace. burning at 84% effeciancy.
I have been getting all the wood I can, 3.8 cords split and stacked and now getting what I can started for next year.

All this work, I have to admit makes me think I should atleast entertain the idea of coal before I plunk down a big chunk of money on a furnace that rules it out.

Does anyone have suggestion on a Forced air furnace that will run on BIT coal under $2,000 with any efficiency? I don't want to use an anthracite only furnace. The only reason I entertain BIT coal is how cheap it is right now. If I have to buy wood, its on price with Anthracite coal. At least wood I am managing to find free most of the time.

I have tried coal for about a week this past winter in the old furnace, and have to say I did not like it. It was impossible to keep the fire going, and I was wiping coal dust off of everything.

[Pacowy]

Please check your private messages (envelope icon at top of page).

Thanks.

Mike

[McGiever]

I have tried coal for about a week this past winter in the old furnace, and have to say I did not like it. It was impossible to keep the fire going, and I was wiping coal dust off of everything.

Those issues are part appliance and to a larger degree part operator technic.
The learning curve of burning coal will get shorter once the old wood burning technics are far removed and forgotten.

[lcback]

I have tried coal for about a week this past winter in the old furnace, and have to say I did not like it. It was impossible to keep the fire going, and I was wiping coal dust off of everything.

Those issues are part appliance and to a larger degree part operator technic.
The learning curve of burning coal will get shorter once the old wood burning technics are far removed and forgotten.

I certainly believe that. Which is why I am still entertaining the idea of a coal furnace in the basement. But, I still haven't found a high efficiency (that can use Bit, lump etc) forced air one under $2,000. I figure I just don't know what to search as to why I cant find it.

[johnjoseph]

http://www.usstove.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=125

http://www.hitzer.com/faqs.php

I have no knowledge of burning bit coal or what furnaces would be best. But a quick search lead me to the links above.

[SWPaDon]

Under 2,000 dollars is the problem here, as it takes you to the US Stove Company. Those stoves work, but they are cheap and need constant repairs. I have the Clayton model, and I have to repair or replace the shaker handle parts every year, along with the firebricks.

Now if you can swing more money, hop on over to the DS Stove website and check out what they have. I like the DS Kozy King: http://woodstoves.net/ds-stoves/wood/ds-machine-stoves-300-09-kozy-king-wood-and-coal-furnace.htm

But if you want to spend less money, you could get the Economiser model: http://woodstoves.net/ds-stoves/wood/ds-machine-stoves-200-10-ecomiser-wood-and-coal-furnace.htm

I like the grate setup in the DS models. You can shake with the ashpan door shut, which will cut down on the amount of dirt escaping into the house. With the US Stove models, the ashpan door must be open to shake the grates.

The Hitzer 82FA is a nice well built furnace also, but the ashpan door must be open to shake the grates.

While you are looking for furnaces, you want a coal furnace that can burn wood, not a wood furnace that can burn coal. There is a big difference in performance.

[Pacowy]

Under 2,000 dollars is the problem here, as it takes you to the US Stove Company.

Couldn't it also lead to consideration of used equipment in good condition?

Mike

[SWPaDon]

Under 2,000 dollars is the problem here, as it takes you to the US Stove Company.

Couldn't it also lead to consideration of used equipment in good condition?

Mike

The original post mentioned the word 'new'. So my suggestions are for new equipment only.

[Pacowy]

Hey it also said "any" suggestions, so my thoughts on it include used equipment. Maybe the OP could let us know?

Mike

[johnjoseph]

Used worked well for me!

[Lightning]

No comment...

[SWPaDon]

Hey it also said "any" suggestions, so my thoughts on it include used equipment. Maybe the OP could let us know?

Mike

You sell a lot of used furnaces and stoves, what do you have for sale that can burn bituminous coal? Has the OP returned your PM?

[Pacowy]

I have one stoker that might be a candidate and a couple of furnaces it could go in, one of which is a cast iron sectional furnace that currently has shaker grates and could be hand-fired. He also might find one of those locally.

Mike

[SWPaDon]

I have one stoker that might be a candidate and a couple of furnaces it could go in, one of which is a cast iron sectional furnace that currently has shaker grates and could be hand-fired. He also might find one of those locally.

Mike

A stoker would be nice, but it's very hard to get consistent sizing of bitumious coal nowadays down here in SW Pa. . I end up with almost a ton of fines for every 5 tons of nut that I get. The nut coal I get is about the size of stove coal in anthracite measurements.

The cast iron sectional you have, isn't that a boiler?

[Pacowy]

I had a monster cast iron sectional boiler in the classifieds but I believe it is spoken for. The sectional unit I'm talking about here formed the guts of an octopus furnace - hundreds of lb. of efficient cast iron heat exchange surface, including big convection-driving "donut".

Mike