ndcowboy wrote:We use a coal stoker. Here in North Dakota we burn lignite coal, which isn't as good a quality or as hard as the east coast coal or the coal from Wyoming. We use about 16 tons a year in our furnace - at about $32 a ton.
I keep our coal in three hopper bins outside. I carry 8 to 10 five gallon bucks of coal every day to the stoker, and clean it out every 2 to 3 days.
ndcowboy,
Ya, this coal here in the East in just absolutely unreal.
The rice coal is washed. I mean it is like a clean washed rock.
This system with this coal is MUCH cleaner and easier than my wood pellet stove and that was a very high quality pellet stove (Harman)
I keep pinching myself thinking it cannot be this good, I mean absolutely clean and it would be absolutely no problem had I put it upstairs in say the den or living room etc.
I read the manual and I wanted to be 100% sure I wasn't missing something.
I called Keystoker today was around 10am and talked to them.
I told them how I liked this unit and so far I have used about 500lbs of rice coal and explained how much better this was than my wood pellet stove. I told them with that pellet stove and the fine ash it killed vacuums like no tomorrow even shop vacs with drywall dust filters. Explained that to achieve heat from the exchanger they used a accordion style top heat exchanger.Unless this exchanger is cleaned every week it gets coated with a thick creosote type film that reduces its heat output efficiency.
Also the burn pot gets creasoted and gunked up with almost rock hard burned ash that has to be carefully chiseled out with their scrapping tool they provide. Also when dumping in a 40lb bag of pellets you get dust even if being very careful.Also instead of 26lbs of coal in a day could be 1-2 40lb bags of wood pellets.
I asked what do I need to do with the exception of spending 1 minute a day or every other day adding the coal and switching then dumping the ash bucket?
He said the only thing you will need to do, I said wait as I ran downstairs with furnace right in front of me,said OK I am standing at furnace. He said on top of your furnace because you went with a direct vent(no chimney)do you see the little black cylinder unit that has the small little fan in back? I said yes. He said, do you see the little door right in front that you should be looking directly at which has two little threaded knobs which are screws that keep cover closed? I said yes. He said if you are burning stove really hard when it gets extremely cold if you want sometime in January unplug furnace,unscrew those little knobs take a shop vac and just suck out any possible coal ash in that little front section of housing.He said they use Stainless blades inside that unit so it lasts a very long time.
If I had a regular chimney wouldn't have to even do that little housing clean in January.
That is it until season is over, then do a full vacuum inside furnace,apply little light motor oil to door hinges, and light motor oil to lube blower and auger motor and a spray of WD40 on pushing feeder rod in plain view on back of hopper.
That is it! Now, ready for following year.
I must be dreaming! It can't be this easy and cheap to heat and only spending at most 1 min a day!
Here is how it takes only one minute. And I am now doing it every day because why not?
Walk downstairs which I am always down there anyways cause its nice down there. I bend down grab the nice new shiny metal bushel basket that is empty right next to furnace in left hand. Open bottom ash door with right hand pull out other shiny metal bushel basket they give you that has about maybe at most couple quarts worth of coal ashes already in that bucket.Now with left hand slide empty basket in and close ash door with right hand. Pick up ash bucket with left hand and walk aprox. 10ft to basement door, open the door and walk about 20 ft and throw small amount of ashes out on dirt driveway.Walk back in close door and grab a 25-30lb small bag of already bagged clean washed rice coal already in basement and about 10ft from furnace. Dump in hopper. Done!
No way will I use over 3 tons this year, thinking about 2.5 tons.($600) $600 / 12 months= $50 a month
Drying clothes down there so no dryer electric cost now which the way wife was using that probably was almost that $50
Using a neat umbrella type hanging clothes dryer canopy, now being that there is just the two of us!
Daughter now with the starting of her new professional career she said this Sat she switching to her own new whatever now Phone (her own contract)which will save us about $120 @ month there.
Wife and I are going to Walmart and going to do the Track Phones or whatever the cheap stuff is , that will save another $40.
I called Road Runner and got my (all 3)package dropped to $110 from $170
Now her College is done and she is a big shot making the big bucks when do we say "Honey ever thought about paying for your car insurance" ??
Guess we better not push it.
Martha, shut the door cause lean times are about over!
