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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Jun. 20, 2019 8:56 am

I would love an EFM electric boiler, but finding a used one might be tough. The Slant Fin units seem to be much more common.

I am done burning heating oil. The fuel tank went dry yesterday, and I switched the piping over to the electric water heater. I am not sure how long it took to heat the 50 gallons of water, but there was plenty for the boys to each take a bath in the evening. So far the electric unit seems to have plenty of capacity, and we are enjoying the silent operation.

I read the electric meter yesterday, so in a few months we can compare to last summer and see how much $ the water heater added to my electric bill.

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pintoplumber
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Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Burnham number series 17
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Post by pintoplumber » Thu. Jun. 20, 2019 9:34 am

Rob, a 4500 watt element will heat about 23 gallons an hour based on a 90 degree temperature rise. Dennis

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Jun. 21, 2019 6:22 am

pintoplumber wrote:
Thu. Jun. 20, 2019 9:34 am
Rob, a 4500 watt element will heat about 23 gallons an hour based on a 90 degree temperature rise. Dennis
Roger. So far so good.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Sun. Jun. 30, 2019 11:26 am

It has been about two weeks, and so far I am averaging an additional 17.5 kwh per day. Based on the rate from my last bill, that works out to about $45 more per month.

So far I am very happy. Operating cost is about 1/2 compared to the amount of fuel we were burning, nice and quiet, and plenty of capacity for our DHW needs.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Oct. 21, 2019 6:03 am

As we head into our 10th heating season in this house, I finally decided to do something about the heat on the first floor. Our house has a 16'x24' addition on the west side, and when it was built they just connected the 40' of fintube baseboard in the addition to the existing monoflow zone in the main house...making that level of the home all one zone. The problem with this is that the heat loss in the addition is much higher than the rest of the first floor, and that room was always a few degrees cooler. I moved the thermostat into that room the first winter we were here, which resulted in the addition staying the temperature we wanted, and the original part of the house being overheated by a few degrees. I have always wanted to split the first floor into two zones, but it has taken me this long to get to it. Since I removed the indirect water heater, I had the piping for an extra zone all ready to go. This weekend I finally cut the pipes and got the hard part completed. I fired up the EFM and so far everything is working as expected.

I do need to get a thermostat for the old part of the house, but so far the heat from the addition and the basement is plenty to keep it comfortable.

 
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CoalJockey
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Post by CoalJockey » Mon. Oct. 21, 2019 6:23 am

Once Winter really sets in, you will likely wish you did that years ago. And... the wife will even be glad she left you light up a week early. :D

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Oct. 21, 2019 11:08 am

The house already feels a lot better since the basement has warmed up.

Also - a while back I noticed that the relief valve on the EFM was dripping once in a while (when the boiler sat cold over the summer). I scored a NIB Bell & Gossett relief valve for $40 and put it on while I had the boiler drained down for the other piping work. The old one is on the left for comparison.
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coalkirk
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Coal Size/Type: Lehigh anthracite/rice coal

Post by coalkirk » Tue. Oct. 22, 2019 9:51 am

Nothing like a toasty dry basement to make the rest of the house feel nice! Good move on making the addition a separate zone.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Oct. 25, 2019 11:34 am

coalkirk wrote:
Tue. Oct. 22, 2019 9:51 am
Nothing like a toasty dry basement to make the rest of the house feel nice! Good move on making the addition a separate zone.
Oh yeah - no slippers needed in our house.

The other thing I have noticed is how much more steady the heat in the addition is. Previously it was tied into a loop powered by a Taco 007. Now it is using a Grundfos Alpha2 circulator, which ramps up and down slowly instead of banging on and off.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Jul. 22, 2020 11:16 am

Here we are nearly 10 years after the EFM was brought to life, and there is a big re-pipe project in the works. We are putting a large addition on the house, which is adding a radiant heated slap, and two other zones of baseboard. Rather than try to cobble the new zones into the existing system, I am removing the oil boiler and oil tank, moving the EFM to a new spot in the basement, and adding new manifolds on the wall for the zone piping.

I am also removing the last of the galvanized water piping, and also the large monoflow loop that runs around the basement perimeter. Pictures to follow.

 
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Canaan coal man
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Post by Canaan coal man » Wed. Jul. 22, 2020 12:23 pm

Sounds like fun can’t wait to see pics.

 
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CoalHeat
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Post by CoalHeat » Wed. Jul. 22, 2020 10:26 pm

Looking forward to the photos, sounds like a huge project in the works!

 
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EarthWindandFire
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Post by EarthWindandFire » Thu. Jul. 23, 2020 1:33 pm

This will be interesting to follow, can't wait!

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Thu. Jul. 23, 2020 2:32 pm

Will the monoflow loop utilize TRV's and Venturi-Tees?

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Jul. 23, 2020 2:50 pm

The monoflow loop is going to the scrap yard in 8' lengths. I am going with zone valves and a Grundfos Alpha circulator.


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