Coal Gun S- 130 Install

FirstcoalstokerRon wrote:Thanks I was scared I was missing something that went in there. On my way out to get a plug thanks again . I would call you by your first name if I knew it. as u have guessed mine is Ron

From the red in all of my posts my name should stand out like a sore thumb.

OMG LARRY AS I SAID I AM KINDA STUPID BUT THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL UR HELP !!

I was almost done with the soldering when I noticed that the hot water coil face plate has 3 holes in it, one is the domestic water inlet and the 2nd is the domestic hot water outlet. What is the third tapping used for?

Just leave it plugged.[/quote]

Thanks Larry, just thought I would tell you I went and bought a plug , it was the wrong size lol and I had to go back for the right one. While I was there I also bought an EX -30 bladder tank, an air purger, an auto air vent with check valve and a backflow preventer/boiler fill valve.

MY instant electric boiler has a steel expansion tank and an old auto fill valve that I am going to replace as I finish the plumbing for the COAL GUN. My PROBLEM is. I do not have room close to the boiler's 1.25" supply line to install the air purger and the expansion tank as I have seen them installed. My question is can I install the tank 6 or 7 feet from the air purger connected by a1/2" copper line and should the auto- fill valve be teed into the 1/2" line between the purger and the tank? The purger is in the 1.25" supply line after the boilers but before the circulators. Can I have both the steel tank and the bladder tank in the system at the same time?

FirstcoalstokerRon wrote:My question is can I install the tank 6 or 7 feet from the air purger connected by a1/2" copper line and should the auto- fill valve be teed into the 1/2" line between the purger and the tank? The purger is in the 1.25" supply line after the boilers but before the circulators.

Yes. The expansion tank can be mounted some distance away. Put a tee on the bottom of the air scoop and connect your auto fill valve there.

FirstcoalstokerRon wrote:Can I have both the steel tank and the bladder tank in the system at the same time?

You should only have one or the other. One system is air management (all the air goes into the steel tank), the other is air elimination (air scoop removes all the air). If you try to run both the steel tank will get filled with water.

Just understand that you do not have to remove the steel expansion tank and you can leave the steel expansion tank alone as is as long as the boilers are correctly plumbed to connect both of them to the steel expansion tank to remove the micro bubbles.

Just like my system with my Keystoker KAA-4-1 you can run your system at 140 low 160 high with 15 degrees differential with the dump temperature set at 190 and maintain a system with 4-8 PSI with no issues using the steel expansion tank.

You do not need a bladder tank or air scoop or large diameter piping as long as the two boilers are properly plumbed together to the existing steel expansion tank by using a common header pipe under the steel expansion tank fed from the top tapping's of the 2 boilers.

The header pipe is the same size as the tapping in the airtrol valve under the steel expansion tank.

You just have to be sure to fill the boilers when they are cold and be sure the air vent is open when you fill them and when the water starts to squirt out of the vent close it and close the valve to the steel tank and be sure to close the feed valve as it is only needed to fill an empty/repaired system with cold water prior to the boiler being started.

After all the valves are shut and the air is purged out you can start the boiler and any micro bubbles will migrate to the steel expansion tank and be absorbed in the water in the expansion tank.

The low water pressure in the hot system works very well and I do not have to bleed anything as I purged the air from the cold water in each heating run with a boiler drain valve that was soldered in near the boiler sump return line.

I want to thank all of you for all of the help and advice. I could of never got this far with the install without the help of all of you. I will keep reading and I hope learning, as I not only enjoy reading this forum there is so much information available , more than I can understand at times. Since the steel tank and the currant plumbing is old I am going to install the new bladder tank as I stated in my last post. I might have it installed by next winter!!! THANKS AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU

Save your money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The steel expansion tank has no moving parts and is still in good condition and unless there is a crack in one of the welds on the steel expansion tank and it leaks there is no need to rip it from the ceiling.

All you need is a common header pipe from both boilers to the steel expansion tank and as I said before the system pressures are very low and the heating system will work with very little pressure coming off the steam chest of the S-130.

If you invest in a copy of Pumping Away and Classic Hydronics you will have all the information and help you need from Dan Holohan who is the author of those paper pack books and many others about heating and cooling systems.

I know its been awhile since I have been on do to my bad health and waiting for my social security check.
All is well now, I have the first three zones plumbed and I am ready to wire the electric to the S - 130, the thermostats and the zone pumps. I am looking for pictures, videos and any advice you can give me and I hope someone can tell me where to find pictures or videos. Your advice is always so helpful. THANKS AGAIN
As I will soon be looking for advice on the DHW and the parts to make it right as well as safe. I WILL BE BACK SOON

What year is it again? Does it have an 'LC' control?

Best bet for wiring it on your own may be to call AHS and ask to speak with "Darren Bricker".

[quote="lsayre"]What year is it again? Does it have an 'LC' control?
Best bet for wiring it on your own may be to call AHS and ask to speak with "Darren Bricker".

I bought it in DEC of 2016 not sure what year it was manufactured. I think I will read their manual and look on the internet lol as I understand pics better than phone calls, but thanks. Now I must read about an 'LC' control lol u forgot I am old and dumb. I have talked to Jeff and his son but I will keep Darren Bricker in mind if I need to call again.

From memory: If you have a low water cutoff (as I do), the wiring job is a bit more complex, but if you don't, it is merely a matter of connecting L (hot, black wire) to an L terminal (marked L1), and N (neutral, white wire) to a N terminal (marked L2), and then adding a jumper to bypass the low water cutoff terminal bank (the one where the terminals are sequentially letter marked as LWCO, and also (by letter) color identified to match the colors of the low water cutoff wires). As I recall, the terminal strip (to the right of the LWCO strip) may oddly have more than one terminal designated as L1, and ditto L2, and apparently it makes little difference as to which of these you select for your power connections. That's it.

Darren Bricker is the technician (I.E., the guy with all the brains). As I recall, Jeff is the owner, and he is also quite knowledgeable, but IMHO he tends to beat around the bush and never quite get down to the brass tacks of how to easily solve what you are asking him. If you don't have a low water cutoff, you will need to know how to jumper out LWCO, and since I didn't have to do this, I didn't ask regarding how it is accomplished. Perhaps it is outlined in the install manual.

FirstcoalstokerRon wrote:I know its been awhile since I have been on do to my bad health and waiting for my social security check.
All is well now, I have the first three zones plumbed and I am ready to wire the electric to the S - 130, the thermostats and the zone pumps. I am looking for pictures, videos and any advice you can give me and I hope someone can tell me where to find pictures or videos. Your advice is always so helpful. THANKS AGAIN
As I will soon be looking for advice on the DHW and the parts to make it right as well as safe. I WILL BE BACK SOON

Good to hear you have been swingin' some wrenches and getting this hooked up. Are you using a zone control panel for your three zones?

Rob R. wrote:

FirstcoalstokerRon wrote:I know its been awhile since I have been on do to my bad health and waiting for my social security check.
All is well now, I have the first three zones plumbed and I am ready to wire the electric to the S - 130, the thermostats and the zone pumps. I am looking for pictures, videos and any advice you can give me and I hope someone can tell me where to find pictures or videos. Your advice is always so helpful. THANKS AGAIN
As I will soon be looking for advice on the DHW and the parts to make it right as well as safe. I WILL BE BACK SOON

Good to hear you have been swingin' some wrenches and getting this hooked up. Are you using a zone control panel for your three zones?

Thanks Rob,
As I said before at one time I had a gas boiler with 2 zones, one was the main house the other was the 28' by 38' spa room. I installed a TACO SR503, it has 3 three zones with one being a primary so I think I can use that . I also read in the coal gun manual that it needs a deducted 15 amp line and I also read that the boiler and the circulators should be on the same circuit. Can u tell me what one is right ??

Rob R. wrote:

FirstcoalstokerRon wrote:I know its been awhile since I have been on do to my bad health and waiting for my social security check.
All is well now, I have the first three zones plumbed and I am ready to wire the electric to the S - 130, the thermostats and the zone pumps. I am looking for pictures, videos and any advice you can give me and I hope someone can tell me where to find pictures or videos. Your advice is always so helpful. THANKS AGAIN
As I will soon be looking for advice on the DHW and the parts to make it right as well as safe. I WILL BE BACK SOON

Good to hear you have been swingin' some wrenches and getting this hooked up. Are you using a zone control panel for your three zones?

Thanks Rob,
As I said before at one time I had a gas boiler with 2 zones, one was the main house the other was the 28' by 38' spa room. I installed a TACO SR503, it has 3 three zones with one being a primary so I think I can use that . I also read in the coal gun manual that it needs a deducted 15 amp line and I also read that the boiler and the circulators should be on the same circuit. Can u tell me what one is right ??

It seems that my last post posted twice and I have no idea what I did wrong. BTW I still must log in each time I come in but s long as I get in I am happy for all the help I get thanks again.