Can't Get Enough Heat Out of VF3000

That sure does seem like more sq. ft. then mine in Maine. However, it still seems it could do better. You have some excellent minds at work for you, I will step aside. Your problem will be solved if it is possible to solve.

Kevin

I'm not a Harman expert, but if I remember what the grate system looked like, seems to me that its real possible his area under the carpet is filled with fines. At full, extended fire no air gets out the end of the bed. At lower demand, the coal has time to go out before being pushed off the end. He should pick up the plates and clean that area out???????

The manual shows a lever for the fines cleanout...make sure it closes tightly.

Well your house certainly sounds well insulated and with good windows. You need to go back to square #1. First of all as has been suggested, your home looks to be larger than 1500 sq. ft. You should do the math including a heat loss calculation. (Also please don't call your oil or coal burning appliances a furnace. They are boilers. ) After last season, did you remove the grates and clean out all the fine flyash? There is a lever under the grate holder accessible from the ash door that should be pointing toward the ash door. Throughout the heating season you should swing that lever open and closed a few times to allow flyash to fall out. Very important it be in the closed postion or it won't perform well. In the ash compartment there is a metal door on the side where the flue gases go out. The door lifts up to allow access into the flueway. That area gets full of flyash and needs to be cleaned. Many of us now use T's instead of elbows on our vent pipes so that flyash can quickly and easily be cleaned out without shutting down. Any horizontal sections of vent pipe need to be cleaned a few times a season also.

You said you have a Baro damper and that it is set per the manual. The only way to know for sure is to install and use a manometer. Over fire draft is checked via the tiny hole with a set screw in the combustion chamber door. .02 is good. When on high fire the vent draft as checked between the boiler and the baro should be no more than .04. Otherwise you are sending lots of heat up the stack.

The combustion blower shuts off on this boiler when there is no demand for heat. Myself and some others with this boiler have added a fan dimmer switch to allow that fan to run 24/7 at a lower speed when there is no demand for heat. Makes the boiler perform much better in my opinion.

Then there are the settings for how much coal you are pushing, the timers for the maintenace cylces etc. I'm sure we can get you dialed in. Start with the basic steps outlined above and let us know the actual numbers. In the mean time, Happy Thanksgiving!

I completely dismantled the BOILER at the end of the heating season to make sure it was clean. The boiler hasn't really functioned as I would of thought it should since installed. Just to kinda eliminate a heating system with the baseboard turned t-stats back to 50 and still won't keep up. There is very little flame or heat rising (I am sure there is a better way to explain it) in the firebox. No matter how it is adjusted. So I am thinking there is a problem based in the boiler. I will apologize there is 1802 sq ft in the house. Only heating the first floor there is enough heat rises to heat the second floor the thermostats are completely turned off. The handle on the bottom of the grates is closed, I recleaned everything since trying to operate for the past month..THe BTU rating on the oil burner is 120,000 was told by several dealers this (VF3000) should be big enough to heat with for the house I have..

If the boiler can't get up to temperature with no zones calling for heat, something is definitely wrong. Are you sure that the blower housing and fan is clear? Perhaps it has had a wad of insulation stuck in it since you took delivery of the unit! I'd pull the blower off and have a look. If the blower is clear, and the fan spins in the right direction, I am all out of ideas.

Have you talked to the dealer that sold the boiler to you? They said it would heat the house...it clearly doesn't.

How much coal are you burning per day at this time?

OK, now we are getting somewhere. It's not that the boiler is undersized for the home. There is a problem with the boiler. That's actually good news because it can't be anything too tough to fix. I wish you lived closer. I'd be glad to come over and have a look. You said you disassembled it after last season and put it back together. I think something is not back together as it should be.
So your fire doesn't look like this? Is the combustion fan running? Is the flange on the combustion fan slid all the way into the slot under the stoker? A friend with this boiler had this issue last season and could get no heat out of the boiler. You didn't mention if you verifed the cleanout lever is in the correct (closed) position. When you disassembled it after last season, did you remove the metal door in the ash compartment? That will pack in with fly ash. This is a pretty simple boiler. You need adequate coal, air under the fire and draft.

Please don't be offended by the correction of boiler rather than furnace. But it's an important distinction.

Some pictures of your boiler might help also. Maybe a simple over look on the install that a picture could help resolve the issue.

Some questions regarding your "Vert-i-flow Stoker"

How many DOTS are you pushing?

Does the "Y-Fork" measure 1-3/4" inside? They will widen if the pusher block has ever became bound up.

Some reading here>>>> Harman Magnum Stoker Feed Mechanism Tip

As the picture Coalkirk posted shows, you have an issue if there is no heat rising. When I opened the door and it was firing, it made you squint and it was HOT. Something is blocking the air or it is going around the coal or the fan is blocked or it is not turning up fast enough or the squirrel cage is loose on the shaft or the cage is plugged...... you get the idea. That thing should make your eyes hurt when you open the door.

Kevin

Coalkirk, no I can't get a fire like that even if I adjust the rod that I get hot coals going into the ash bucket. I was getting about a 4 inch flame before. Yesterday removed the fire and grates there was a lot of fines in the area under grates swept them out restarted the fire is better it will now hold 140 degrees at night but still not happy with it.. I will take a photo tonight and post so you can see it.. THanks everyone for the information...

Ok, you've got a combustion air problem. Fan is not fully in its slot under the grates, is not running at full speed, cleanout lever is open, etc. Look forward to seeing your pics later.

it will now hold 140 degrees at night but still not happy with it..

Does this mean it is running all night and only holding 140 or is it getting up to 140 and shutting down?

Does this unit have the Johnson controls on it? I had to remove mine. For anyone that wants them by the way, I'll will sell them cheap. 2 dump controls

If you don't have the same flame, there is still is not enough air getting under the coal or it is lousy coal.

Even when it was brutally cold out and the wind was blowing, mine would eventually catch up and shut off at whatever temp I set it at. Usually 180 to 195.

Having said that, my system had an aquastat that changed the flow of water to the gas boiler and allowed it to fire and the coal to catch up. Maybe mine would never have caught up either. BUT, this was before I learned about reducing the flow of water to allow only enough out to satisfy the demand and giving the coal some time to ramp up. I think the famous Sting(not the singer) would call it balancing the system.

Your supplier told you it would heat the house, and maybe it will. But BTU's are funny things with coal. It will produce a bunch and it is probably underrated at PEAK output, but oil and gas are "instant on" btu's, the coal takes quite some time to get up to maximum. This is the problem with bed type stokers.

SO, if you have not cut down your flow yet, I would advise some pictures and the pro's in here, not me, will tell you things about your system you didn't need to know very likely.

Kevin

The boiler is running constantly to stay at a temp of 140 the aquastat is set higher but the water temp doesn't get there because I would assume the lower flame in the combustion area. I am going to research the blower because I can change the flap on the side with very little effect to the flame or heat in the combustion area.. I can open the door and look in without any problem,, no extensive heat or glow as coalkirk has in his photo..