Heating system for a house in NEPA (Shamokin, Stroudsburg: price, floors)

[NP-18424]

Happy Holidays to all.
I have a question about replacing a heating system for a house.
The one we bought came with a coal furnace, but it seems the heat stays mostly in the basement, 1st floor is lightly chilled and 2nd floor is just chilled. Seems like a waste of coal and energy to keep up with the furnace (making sure it does not go out, bringing in coal...). If it does go out, its a whole project to light it up (at least so far, while we are getting used to it) : ).

What would be the best option (energy, time and finance wise) to replace a coal furnace with?

[OleTimer63]

Many options. Have you ever heard about ductless HVAC? Mini splits? How old Is the home?

[Wells5]

Is it steam heat or hot water heat or hot air heat? It sounds like heat from your furnace goes from the furnace to a floor outlet on the first floor where it's expected to heat the whole house.


The easiest replacement would be propane heaters on the 1st and 2nd floors. You could also install baseboard electric heat but your heating bills would be high. Retrofitting the house for baseboard hot water heat by means of oil or propane would be even more costly.


There are also wood and pellet stoves and stoker stoves, which burn coal.

[ChantInTheValley]

That system you describe sounds awful. We moved to PA from New Jersey having been spoiled with the old fashioned thermostat on the wall and natural gas fuel. Moving to the Northeast is much much colder. Our house came with a propane furnace with vents throughout. It warmed up after a while but guess what? The cost to run it was astronomical, so we replaced it with propane blue flame, which ended up generating a ton of moisture that wet the windows and walls. Totally awful. We picked up a used Harmon Coal Stove. Until we got the hang of lighting coal we bought a cord of wood that burned great and really warmed the house up nicely. When the temp dropped into the teens and below we tanked up the stove with coal that kept it nice and warm. We have a ranch home whereas you have a 2nd floor. I recommend running a wood/coal stove on your first floor and installing vents here and there to allow the heat to flow into bedrooms. I'd also get "radiant" propane heaters installed upstairs. This won't generate moisture like the blue flame version does. If you have a wide enough hallway you could install them there which will augment the heat below. I'd even consider installing them in each bedroom above and get the proper btu's to match square foot. Any questions you have let me know. I've been where you're at.

[fisheye]

Coal furnaces that you have to load yourself are a pain, dirty, and there are plenty of better options. Of course, the cheapest option would be to install some way to circulate the heat to your upper floors. But it sounds as if you want a better option. By the way, there are coal furnaces that have stokers and burn pea-size coal and feed the coal automatically.

If I were you, I would get some pros out to look at your house and give you bids. It is hard for us to advise you without knowing if you can run ductwork, plumbing, or what kind of insulation is in your house. Poor insulation in your walls and ceiling could be the cause of your chilly first and second floors - but the pros will be able to give you a better idea. Almost all of the fossil fuels and electricity have increased in price recently. So you want current information and the best way would be to have several local companies come out, give you their opinion, and give you bids.

Here is one local company to maybe try first, they have been around for some time: https://rjgroner.com/. But get several companies to give you bids and ideas on how to correct your problems and get the best system for your house.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by NP-18424

Happy Holidays to all.
I have a question about replacing a heating system for a house.
The one we bought came with a coal furnace, but it seems the heat stays mostly in the basement, 1st floor is lightly chilled and 2nd floor is just chilled. Seems like a waste of coal and energy to keep up with the furnace (making sure it does not go out, bringing in coal...). If it does go out, its a whole project to light it up (at least so far, while we are getting used to it) : ).

What would be the best option (energy, time and finance wise) to replace a coal furnace with?

Sounds like my late brother-in-law's house in Shamokin. It originally had a coal furnace in the basement. I don't know how it was supposed to heat the whole house, but at some point long ago they converted to oil heat, with forced hot air.

There is only one register for the entire second floor, and I guess the rest of the heat is supposed to just rise up the stairwell. Not my ideal setup and I don't know why that would be considered OK in the 21st century.

We had our oil burner replaced by RJ Groner (which Fisheye also mentions) and I can recommend them. They are from Stroudsburg so not sure if they service the OP's area. I can also recommend Bloom Heating in Coal Township if that's more in the OP's area.