pellets to coal any advice

[Dodge]

I have an oil hot water boiler, and I tried to supplement that with a pellet stove, but unfortunately it did not work out. I am now planning on selling the stove, a Breckwell Big E, with only about 60 bags burned. I am looking for advice, to make the most of my switch to a coal stoker, as far as set up with my existing boiler and any heads up advice with burning coal. Thanks. I also will have about 25 bags of Lignetics for sale.

 

[flamegrabber]

Don't let your Big E experience drive you away from pellet stoves.

jtakeman and I had the same problem with our Big E's. Not enough heat, way too much cleaning, etc. I burned 2 tons in mine and then bought an Enviro Omega, following jtakeman's lead. He did the same thing.

This stove is night and day way way better than the Big E. This stove heats my entire ranch on setting 3 when the temps are in single digits. The house is now toasty in the cold weather. Never been warmer.

Pellets aren't the problem, the Big E is.

Look at the Enviro Omega, a 60k+ BTU Harman, or other high BTU pellet stove. You have to buy a quality stove. You get what you pay for.

Coal is dirty, you need a lot more clearance space, and it's more work.

Here is where both jtakeman and I bought our Omega's, it's a great price and it's multi-fuel too:

(broken link removed)

Good luck.

FG.

I have an oil hot water boiler, and I tried to supplement that with a pellet stove, but unfortunately it did not work out. I am now planning on selling the stove, a Breckwell Big E, with only about 60 bags burned. I am looking for advice, to make the most of my switch to a coal stoker, as far as set up with my existing boiler and any heads up advice with burning coal. Thanks. I also will have about 25 bags of Lignetics for sale.

 

[Dodge]

Is your stove on your main floor? I have mine in the basement and it was costing me over $11 a day to push the heat up stairs. I figure I could do the same cheaper with coal and also heat my dhw. I knew pellet stoves are intended as space heaters, but the salesman did his thing.

 

[MCPO]

I`ve burned coal before and from what I recall the outdoor temperature should be 30*F colder to safely and efficiently burn coal.
IMO when the temps outside are above 40*F , coal burning isn`t ideal for spring and fall heating needs .

 

[jtakeman]

Is your stove on your main floor? I have mine in the basement and it was costing me over $11 a day to push the heat up stairs. I figure I could do the same cheaper with coal and also heat my dhw. I knew pellet stoves are intended as space heaters, but the salesman did his thing.

Home Heater,

My stove is in the basement. But before I recommend anything I need more info, Like sq footage your trying to heat? Are there any ducts for heat transfer? Do you have a way for the cold are to return to the basemnet?

But I can tell you I have 1900+ sqft. And my BigE was maxxed out with the 20° weather. When it reached 0° the BigE was almost useless. I had to fire up the wood stove to keep warm.

The heat output is no where near 55K BTU's Maybe 42K max on 5 which you only can use for 2 hrs. More like 32K on 4 and that's at 100%. You should figure no more than 75% of that and that would be high. The BigE's heat exchanger is not very efficient. I have had not had my Omega higher than 3 on days as low as 2°. Running on/off. Days above 25° its on 2 on/off.

I am not saying the BigE is a bad stove. Just slightly over rate in its heat output. The Omega is really a 60K BTU stove. You need at least a 7.5 LBS/hr feed rate to claim that. The BigE is the same as all there other stoves 5 LBS/hr. feed rate. The heat exchanger on the Omega is huge and it can run all day on the max setting. Something close to 80% eff.

There are a few stoves that will crank out more than 60K BTU's but there all up there in price.

There are also pellet boilers to add to your existing system and furnaces that would allow duct work to get most of your heat upstair. You would heat the basement with the radiant heat from the stove. That would be the sure way of keeping your house warm. But it will be pricey.

A coil boiler is going to be more work than a stove. You will have to feed it(unless there is a stoker boiler out there).

jay

 

[flamegrabber]

My Omega is in a 4 season sunken ( 3 feet lower with a large opening seperating the 2 rooms ) porch off the livingroom so yes my stove is on the main floor but the heat makes it all the way to the bedroom end of the house. I think it travels down the hallway but I also think it radiates so much heat it goes through the walls too.

With the Big E in the same spot it would always be cold from the knees down to the floor, like a 2 foot high layer of chill.

When you stand in front of the Omega you know it's throwing a lot of heat. You can feel it from floor on up, like standing in front of a very large stove or fire in a ski lodge. No comparison to the Big E and no more knee high chilly layer. Even the floor is warm to the touch.

We use the basement for storage so down there I have the t-stat on 50* all winter using the main heat. Our main heating is natural gas.

The Big E is a space heater but not the Omega. This thing is pretty large and has a 200 CFM blower ( much quieter than the Big E was BTW ) so it blows heat out and also radiates a ton of heat.

Good looking stove with a very large window and heat exchanger.

Here's a good shot of the front, note how big the heat exchanger is, maybe 4X the Big E's heat exchanger:

http://www.enviro.com/images/manuals-brochures/brochures/Omega Brochure June 2008 low res.pdf

And the previous poster was correct, you really can't burn coal if it's above 35 or so because the house will get too warm.

I know a guy who heated his house with coal for 10 years, then switched to pellets ( Harman P61 ) and said he'd never go back to coal. Too much work.

I'm not trying to sell the Omega, just saying it did the job for me, and there are other pellet stoves out there that would also work well for my application like the bigger Harmans, etc.

But the Omega is multi-fuel and has a 130lb hopper. It's a great stove.

Talk to jtakeman on this site. Send him a PM and ask him about his Omega. I'm pretty sure he has his in the basement.

FG.

Is your stove on your main floor? I have mine in the basement and it was costing me over $11 a day to push the heat up stairs. I figure I could do the same cheaper with coal and also heat my dhw. I knew pellet stoves are intended as space heaters, but the salesman did his thing.

 

[flamegrabber]

I just measured the heat exchanger opening of the Big E and Omega:

Big E = 13.750" X 3.500" = 48 sq inches.

Omega = 17" X 7" = 119 sq inches.

So the Omega's heat exchanger *OPENING* is more than twice the size of the Big E's.

FG.

 

[Dodge]

I have 2 floor registers with 4" flex. ducts attached to the grill of the big e, with a return grate and an open basement door, heating about 1500 sq ft. Than I switched to an oak and that is when I realized I will be burning over $300. a month plus oil for my 3rd level and for dhw. Not unless the price of pellets drop considerablly , will I ever consider another pellet stove.

 

[jtakeman]

I have 2 floor registers with 4" flex. ducts attached to the grill of the big e, with a return grate and an open basement door, heating about 1500 sq ft. Than I switched to an oak and that is when I realized I will be burning over $300. a month plus oil for my 3rd level and for dhw. Not unless the price of pellets drop considerablly , will I ever consider another pellet stove.

Trust me, You were blowing most of your heat out the exhaust with the BigE. Don't let the BigE issue's chase you away. An efficient stove would use less pellets and you would have more heat. I am using less pellets than I ever have before. I used a ton in January alone with the BigE. I made the switch and have used less than a bag a day. 26 bags since Feb 6TH. I also owned a Quad and the BigE used more pellets than that. Its all about the efficiency of the heat exchanger!

Like I said there are several pellet furnaces and boilers out there, Harmon makes one of each. Or at least consider the Coal stoker. They work like a pellet stove, Just fill hopper and clean regularly. But I have to tell you stoker coal is just as expensive as pellets right now.

I have heard of good things about the Fahrenheit 50F Furnace. Pricey though.

good luck

 

[flamegrabber]

That's a lot of money for pellets.

On setting 2 my Omega uses about 1.10 bags per day if the temps are in the mid 20's-30*.

Setting 3 uses more than 1.5 bags per day depending on whether it's in the mid-teens or single digits.

The Big E simply is not capable in most home heating applications. It's just a space heater.

FG.

I have 2 floor registers with 4" flex. ducts attached to the grill of the big e, with a return grate and an open basement door, heating about 1500 sq ft. Than I switched to an oak and that is when I realized I will be burning over $300. a month plus oil for my 3rd level and for dhw. Not unless the price of pellets drop considerablly , will I ever consider another pellet stove.

 

[Wet1]

HH, you have the right idea switching from pellets to coal. In fact, anyone living in coal country should strongly consider burning coal. Pellets have their place, but they are are certainly more expensive to burn than coal when you don't live all that far from the mines. Not only is coal cheaper, but it has significantly more BTU's than pellets, so you get a lot more heat out of the same quantity of fuel. What this means is you can get the same amount of heat burning two tons of hard coal that would otherwise require three tons of pellets. It's also much easier to store and never goes 'bad'.

As Pook suggested, check out http://nepacrossroads.com/ , you can find a lot more info on coal over there. BTW, they make all kinds of coal burners these days, they even make stoves that burn coal exactly like a pellet stove does...

 

[jtakeman]

I only have one thing to say about coal. It will not reduce your carbon foot print. In no way is burning coal green. And it is not a renewable enegry source.

I would look into multi fuel. At least it is carbon neutral! There are several alternitives to pellets. Wheat,Corn and Barley to name a few.

Burn pellets when you can get them cheap, Other fuels if there to expensive!

jay

 

[Sawduster]

I only have one thing to say about coal. It will not reduce your carbon foot print. In no way is burning coal green. And it is not a renewable enegry source.

I would look into multi fuel. At least it is carbon neutral! There are several alternitives to pellets. Wheat,Corn and Barley to name a few.

Burn pellets when you can get them cheap, Other fuels if there to expensive!

jay

Coal is hated more by environmentalists than any other fuel. I was listening to some show on NPR last night - I think it was called Living On Earth, and it said be prepared for a lot of news about coal now that Obama is in office. Be prepared to have a protestor chained to your coal stoker, and you will be going to jail if you fire it up. It is a seriously bad fuel both on the front end - the mining of it, and the back end - burning it. According to the show, there is no such thing as good or clean coal.

 

[Wet1]

http://nepacrossroads.com/
COAL SITE 4U

HH,
As stated, go visit these guys for info on coal. I suspect you wont find much info or help transitioning to coal on this wood pellet forum.

 

[tinkabranc]

Trying to heat an entire home with a stove installed in the basement is luck of the draw.
Doesn't matter if the fuel is wood, pellet or coal. If the stove is small, the odds are against
you from the start. Do you have room on the first floor for another stove?

 

[jtakeman]

Trying to heat an entire home with a stove installed in the basement is luck of the draw.
Doesn't matter if the fuel is wood, pellet or coal. If the stove is small, the odds are against
you from the start. Do you have room on the first floor for another stove?

Yes,Sir. Thats why I'm pluggin' a furnace or add on bioler. I had to work to get my stove to work. I added ducts in every room. Duct fans to move the heat to where I want it. 8" duct to be safe. You wont move much heat with 4" duct. A fully Ducted bionass furnace would move the heat up stairs. A biomass bioler with the same BTU's would do as good of a job as the present boiler is.

Hey if you go biomass, There is a 30% rebate from Uncle Sam. You won't get that with a coal system ever!

 

[jtakeman]

http://nepacrossroads.com/
COAL SITE 4U

HH,
As stated, go visit these guys for info on coal. I suspect you wont find much info or help transitioning to coal on this wood pellet forum.

You will only get evil eyes and finger pointing here. Some name calling too!

fossil sucker is one, But I'm sure there worse!

jay

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

http://nepacrossroads.com/
COAL SITE 4U

HH,
As stated, go visit these guys for info on coal. I suspect you wont find much info or help transitioning to coal on this wood pellet forum.

You will only get evil eyes and finger pointing here. Some name calling too!

fossil sucker is one, But I'm sure there worse!

jay

You know Jay, the folks that label others as fossil suckers will one day themselves be fossils to suck.

A funny thing about dissing the fossil fuels is that it is only a matter of the time line that separates fossil from living matter.

I call BS on the carbon neutral nutters ;-).

 

[jtakeman]

You know Jay, the folks that label others as fossil suckers will one day themselves be fossils to suck.

A funny thing about dissing the fossil fuels is that it is only a matter of the time line that separates fossil from living matter.

I call BS on the carbon neutral nutters ;-).

Uh Oh, I woke up the Bear!

Well I'm trying to reduce my carbon footprint, But that damn gas hog I drive and The Power I consume is kind of hard to recoupe!

Really I just like to burn pellets and other biofuels. I don't have a oil furnace, All I had for heat was Electric baseboard before I burned wood. Wood was to much work. So I'll just go back to prepairing myself to oneday becoming a fossil.(just like you!) If you noticed my sig, I have a coal stove too!

I know wet1 is not a fossil sucker, Says so right in his sigwell it used to anyway) Also He's going back to being a wood burner. I was just expressing what one might say to a coal burner. I meant no harm. Really.

Used to be my mouth got me in trouble, Now its me keyboard

Nice talking to you again smokey-Stay warm up there!
jay

 

[MCPO]

If I was in coal country and in a more rural area than I presently am , I`d probably consider coal myself although getting rid of those ashes has got to be a real pain in the ash.
However things as they are , there`s no question that these dang ol pellet stoves along with their own drawbacks are still reasonably clean burning , non offensive to the neighbors, and need minimal work and attention. They do provide reasonably good heat too.
I sure hope the cost of the pellets don`t get out of hand.