corn and pellet boilers - in home

Ron Schroeder

http://www.vogelzang.com/hh005.htm

http://www.vogelzang.com/sr57e.htm

http://www.vermontcastings.com/catalog/elements/files/2006/FC029_1000_9107_VC_VigiCoal.pdf

tom cudworth

corn and pellet boilers - in home

i have gas fired hot water heat presently in my 2 story farmhouse that is insulated pretty well. i would like some advise on an in home corn and/or pellet boiler that i could put in the basement right next to my original boiler. i have heard that they're very expensive and hard to install. any advise on the subject or brands to purchase would be greatly appreciated. thanx!!!

Leo_6

What area do you live in? I wouldn't do pellets. Aside from the price of the boiler, pellets themselves have gone way up in price. It may not be worth it. I just got finished installing a coal boiler in my basement, right next to my gas boiler. I now have a dual fuel heating system. Though I will pretty much always be running the coal because its really cheap. I live in Eastern PA.

Perry_2

Only worth considering if...

you live very close to a pellet plant or in the corn belt where you can get the corn from a local farmer.

I know of several farmers in the area who have installed corn boilers - and they grow their own corn.

Transportation cost can significantly increase the cost of these fuel items.

Like the Coal mentioned. Great if you are in the right area - but not worth it if you are not.

I grew up helping deliver home and small business coal, and cleaning and repairing coal furnaces.

Now years later I work in the Utility industry - and found that it cost more to transport the coal - using 100 railcar trains where the utility owns the railcars (Unit trains, running 4 trains a week with a "bulk rail service fee contract") - than the coal cost from the mining company.

Perry

Leo

Hey

Now there are two of us.

hvac-tech

coal??

COAL??? realy??? like back in old England ...

did you have to install a COAL shoot??

hvac-tech

Say Leo

I have not heard of a new COAL res. unit.......


Can we have a look please?

Perry_2

So they still make...

Stoker fed coal furnaces/boilers?

The stoker feed was based on a timer (x amount of coal every so often) or some of the advanced models allowed you to manually dial in the outside temperature which would increase or decrease the coal feed rate each hour. Kinda like a modulating fuel feed.

I immagine that the advanced models were fairly effecient for its day.

It seems to me those would be a good match for coal country today - only automate the outside temp feedback.

Perry

burninben

corn boiler

I've installed a couple in small outdoor sheds w/ a several bushel hopper attached. they work really well if you can keep them clean. make sure you are getting good dry corn too.

hvac-tech

coal

how do you start a coal fire ??

hvac-tech

coal

how do you start a coal fire ??

Cosmo_3

I grew up with one

The way we would start the coal burning was to use the acetylene torch!!

Cosmo

Stan W_2

Fine dust coal, burns better, less polution industral applicati

Coal is less expensive than wood pellets.There is more heating energy derived from coal than wood / pellets.

I wonder if this fuel source would be good idea using this fine dust coal fuel applied to residential or commercial boilers ? Probibly too much soote, to clean in the boiler.
There is a industrial plant near where I live (Canmore, Alberta, Canada ), which produces concrete.
The fossel fuel, coal rock is grinded to a fine coal dust which is used it as a fuel in the making of concrete.
A natural gas burner inturn ignites the fine dust coal to utilize the coal dust as a fuel: this process is used in the making of the concrete.
This process, they say, produces less polution than the rock, because it burns better.
I wonder how much cleaner it burns ?
And I wonder how much cleaner it burns than other fuels?

Stan W_2

Coal dust, less polution than coal rock

There is a industrial plant near where I live (Canmore, Alberta, Canada ), which produces concrete.
Coal rock is grinded to a fine coal dust which is used as a fuel in the making of concrete. A simular process; wood made into pellets ( another fossel fuel).

A natural gas burner inturn ignites the fine coal dust to utilize the coal dust as a fuel: this process is used in the making of the concrete.
This process, they say, produces less polution than the rock, because it burns better.
I wonder how much cleaner it burns?
And I wonder how much cleaner it burns than other fuels?
It would be great if a company would make a coal dust residential / commercial boiler if it would produce considerable less percentage pollution than a coal boiler.
Probibly the soote residue is to dirty to handle and to clean the boiler.
The developed hydrogene fuel cell or solar or wind or geo boiler is probibly best for our enviroment.

Perry_2

Most peopel started fires the old fashion way

by building a wood fire first - and then sprinkling some coal on the wood fire - then you could start the coal feed.

A stoker fed boiler only had to be started once per year.

A chunk coal furnace would also be started by a wood fire - but you had to shovel in the coal a couple times a day.

Perry

Perry_2

Pulverized coal boilers

are typically industrial sized. This is how power plant boilers are built.

Pulverized coal's biggest advantage is in the ability to ramp up and down the boiler load; and in the ability to build very large boilers with it. It does not inherently burn more efficiently. The amount of ash is dependent on the coal type.

For small to medium boilers a rotating grate system works burning "stoker coal" (coal chunks) very well - and usually built instead of pulverized coal.

There are also several safety issues with pulverized coal. Ever hear of a natural gas explosion blowing up a house.... You should see what a "mill puff" does. This is where the pulverized coal/air mixture explodes in the pulverizer and coal piping. I've lived through a couple bad mill puffs. Darnright dangerous.

Perry