Coalpail.com Forum

Becker wrote: ↑

Tue. Feb. 25, 2020 9:09 pm

To Rob R.

The boiler is in the house. I do clean those back plates at least once a year. The teeth are set at 4; the air is at 4, as you suggest. I have the aqua-stat set at 165/high and 150/low. I will bump it up if you think that might be the ticket to more efficient burning. The ash ring and fire appear to be correct.

I would set the aquastat as EFM recommends. How do you have the controls setup? Does the boiler run up to the high limit whenever one of your thermostats calls for heat? Do you have a timer installed?

A baro installed on the flue pipe will regulate the draft. If you have strong draft or live in a windy area, the excess draft will burn coal whether you need it or not.

So much coal gets used by ,

Timer firing up stoker at hi-limit.
Poor fuel-to-air ratio.
Excessive hi boiler temps, (for several reasons)
''Baro'' not set correctly
Not enough radiation in the living quarters

Dave

{all mistakes that I have made}

Becker wrote: ↑

Tue. Feb. 25, 2020 8:29 pm

estic hot water, and I kept the aquastat higher. It was inconsistent, so I have a propane water heater. It is plumbed so that I can feed hot water from the boiler to the hot water tank or directly to the house.

The 520 should provide ample domestic hot for days. The key is having the aquastat set properly for recovery. Also, when is the last time you cleaned the coil? Dirty or clogged coil will surely lead to inferior results.

Most boilers have a fixed burn rate (with adjustments). The Delta-T (temp difference) in your delivery system (baseboard, radiator, heat exchanger, hot water heater, etc) speaks to the efficiency and output level of heat where desired.

Most baseboard doesn't start to work decent until at least 140F and are often rated at 160F-190F.

Too low of a boiler temp may require too long recovery times, inefficient delivery, and extended run times.

I'll bet if you change to 165F low and 185F high, you'll notice a very pleasant performance difference. The exception would be if you have an extraordinary amount of standby time without any calls for heat.

To LouNY:
I live in Greenwich, too. I'd do a bulk load/haul next year with you if think we can save some money.

How tall is the chimney?

Becker wrote: ↑

Fri. Feb. 28, 2020 8:05 pm

To LouNY:
I live in Greenwich, too. I'd do a bulk load/haul next year with you if think we can save some money.

I sent you a PM,
Lou