Anticipated Fire up Date for 2013-2014 Winter

SMITTY wrote: Good Christ LD! I wouldn't want your oil bill after looking at that second pic! 2 oil burners!! I go thru a gallon per hour with just ONE.

LOL the last time I burned oil was nov 2011. It's been all coal heat since then. My house is a side by side duplex. When I moved in here in 2006, there were already 2 oil tanks, but 1 boiler. I separated the tanks, and installed a separate, smaller boiler for each side, and now my tenant pays their own heat. The tenant's boiler runs often, lol. At this rate, I figure my boiler can be a spare for when the other one bites the dust!!

Both boilers are installed in my side of the house, for ease of servicing.

The new boilers are also much more economical. Average oil use for the old units averaged 1215 gal/year. The new ones, with a house temp of 62° night and 70° day is about 350-400 gallons per year. Still way way more expensive than coal.

LDPosse wrote:

SMITTY wrote: Good Christ LD! I wouldn't want your oil bill after looking at that second pic! 2 oil burners!! I go thru a gallon per hour with just ONE.

LOL the last time I burned oil was nov 2011. It's been all coal heat since then. My house is a side by side duplex. When I moved in here in 2006, there were already 2 oil tanks, but 1 boiler. I separated the tanks, and installed a separate, smaller boiler for each side, and now my tenant pays their own heat. The tenant's boiler runs often, lol. At this rate, I figure my boiler can be a spare for when the other one bites the dust!!

Both boilers are installed in my side of the house, for ease of servicing.

The new boilers are also much more economical. Average oil use for the old units averaged 1215 gal/year. The new ones, with a house temp of 62° night and 70° day is about 350-400 gallons per year. Still way way more expensive than coal.

Thats a nice drop in oil consumption.

Just to clarify, that is 350-400 gallons for each boiler, so the house total is down to 700-800 gals from 1215 gal avg. I'm sure some of that is the tenant using the heat more sparingly. The house used to have the old round honeywell t-stats. I put in some programmable ones. The tenant asked me to set up the same day/night program that I used. I believe the true efficiency increase with the new boilers was probably about 10%.

AHH IC, I was really scratchin thier for a second thinking 300-400 gallons a season His house must be the size of his prius Thanks for the clarity

LDPosse wrote: LOL the last time I burned oil was nov 2011. It's been all coal heat since then. My house is a side by side duplex.

How are you heating a duplex with coal stoves?

LDPosse wrote:Just to clarify, that is 350-400 gallons for each boiler, so the house total is down to 700-800 gals from 1215 gal avg. I'm sure some of that is the tenant using the heat more sparingly. The house used to have the old round honeywell t-stats. I put in some programmable ones. The tenant asked me to set up the same day/night program that I used. I believe the true efficiency increase with the new boilers was probably about 10%.

Yes, modern control systems can help stretch the fuel even with older equipment.

Sorry, more clarification, lol...

I used oil heat from oct 2006-nov 2011. I've been burning a coal stove to heat my half of the house since nov 2011. My tenant still uses oil heat. I still have both boilers, but I don't use the one for my side. It is currently unhooked, and I plan to repipe the system with a manifold for PEX and have a home run to each room.

I am also short an aquastat at the current time.... Last winter, the aquastat on my tenant's boiler bit the dust, so I swapped it out for the one on my boiler.

AHH now I see the need for boiler #2 - great idea there. Saved yourself a bundle on oil, plus saved future headaches. You know how tenant's boiler's always go down on Christmas Eve ...

Greyhound wrote:I generally wait for below 40 degree daytime temps, but generally around All Hallows Eve.

Rick

Me too!

I fired up last Tuesday, 10/8. Lows went down into the low 40's overnight for a few days and I hate waking up cold................plus I was getting the itch. DS on idle (low) and I'm using about a bucket a day. The top of the stove right behind the load door is at 240, pipe is at 140 right after the damper. I went last Tuesday until yesterday on the same ash pan. What are your guys' temps at low?

thinking about firing up this weekend, saturday afternoon after work. Calling for lows in the mid thirties at night starting next week, with highs in mid 50's during days. Will be the earliest I will have fired up. past 2 seasons was doing work on system at last minute. Only work neeeded this year(i hope) will be setting diff/offset on back up oil boiler stage module for when it gets brutal cold out in mid winter(below 15*) and coal recovery isn't able to keep up. Or thats how it was with old control system. Hoping with new elctrical controls(pump strategy) recovery time will be better between calls for zone heat. Plus like others, getting anxiuos about firing up and see the blue lady dance.

I was a little anxious to see the stoker run since I put it in this summer with chilly temps in the forecast I thought i'd try my luck with getting it fired,,, that part wasn't as bad as what I feared. but an hour later I had enough , Man that thing put off the heat Its definitely not cold enough to run that thing. bring on winter

I caved. Was trying to hold off firing up the Yukon-Eagle Klondike IV until 31 October, but no luck! Getting chilly at night and don't want to burn much propane. At the moment I'm on wood fire until the daytime highs fall below freezing. Then I switch to coal. DW says it's TOO hot when burning coal and temps are above freezing, so it's wood for the moment.

I currently have the pellet stove insert running along with a little electric piggy in the new living room. I want to clean the fins on the blowers on the coal burner, then fire it up in the first half of next week.. High of 62 degrees projected for Monday, then 40's after that.

Fired up the boiler yesterday. Checked in on it this morning, everything running good and lots of hot water to use.

I guess I will have to revise my projected date to the 23rd. Weather forecast sounds ominous beyond that. Oh well, what's a week early, another excuse to hide downstairs.