Thinking about a coal boiler.

 
lincolnmania
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Location: Birdsboro PA.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 350
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Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: alaska kodiak stoker 1986. 1987 triburner, 1987 crane diamond
Coal Size/Type: rice

Post by lincolnmania » Wed. Feb. 14, 2018 7:28 pm

Some pics of the pump

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McGiever
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Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar

Post by McGiever » Wed. Feb. 14, 2018 8:58 pm

Yeah, I bought a bronze pump like that and had to order the unions for it to connect.

If thoses are NPT you can get a set from B&G. in either threaded or sweat.
Don't forget the fiber washers.

Image

 
k-2
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Post by k-2 » Wed. Feb. 14, 2018 11:06 pm

hotblast1357 wrote:
Wed. Feb. 14, 2018 10:37 am
What brand pex and how old is it?
A few years old. Not sure the brand but I do know some brands were recalled.The only thing I can think of that may have made a difference is in the past I used the stoker boiler for hot water and I run the boiler pretty hot but the pex is rated for 200 degrees. So I don't think that's it unless its overrated.

 
lincolnmania
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Posts: 2684
Joined: Fri. Jan. 26, 2007 9:55 pm
Location: Birdsboro PA.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 350
Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: reading allegheny stoker
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: alaska kodiak stoker 1986. 1987 triburner, 1987 crane diamond
Coal Size/Type: rice

Post by lincolnmania » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 7:54 am

the pump is rated 36/29/20 liters per minute....9.5 gpm on high.
i'm sure this is not enough for the garage loop. but my upstairs zone will only be 24' of slant fin.
i figured on buying four pumps since zone valves cost more.

 
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hotblast1357
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Other Heating: air source heat pump, oil furnace

Post by hotblast1357 » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 8:39 am

I’ve ran this pump so far this season no problems.

https://badger-pipe.com/collections/small-pumps-w ... all-valves

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lincolnmania
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Posts: 2684
Joined: Fri. Jan. 26, 2007 9:55 pm
Location: Birdsboro PA.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 350
Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: reading allegheny stoker
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: alaska kodiak stoker 1986. 1987 triburner, 1987 crane diamond
Coal Size/Type: rice

Post by lincolnmania » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 3:51 pm

hotblast1357 wrote:
Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 8:39 am
I’ve ran this pump so far this season no problems.

https://badger-pipe.com/collections/small-pumps-w ... all-valves
and that does everything at your place?.....cool. i will probably order those when i get the boiler.

one question i have, how do the thermostats turn on the pumps? assuming i need relays?

 
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StokerDon
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
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Post by StokerDon » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 6:47 pm

lincolnmania wrote:
Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 3:51 pm
and that does everything at your place?.....cool. i will probably order those when i get the boiler.
Sooooo... you haven't figured out how your going to control this heating system yet? And, by your question, I guess you don't yet know how this stuff works. You have some studying to do. It is really not a good idea to start buying parts before you know what you need.

Once you get a boiler you can follow the install manual, that will cover a lot of it. One thing you will need to figure out is the zoning. On the previous page you said you will have 4 zones. You have to decide if you want to run one pump and 4 zone valves or a pump and flow check for each zone or a combination of the two. Only then can you begin to start figuring out what pump to buy.

-Don


 
k-2
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Post by k-2 » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 9:54 pm

I wound up with 4 pumps and in hind sight I think I would have preferred 1 pump and 4 zone valves. I think a single pump could easily handle all the loops. Why run 4 pumps?

 
Qtown1835
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Post by Qtown1835 » Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 10:41 pm

k-2 wrote:
Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 9:54 pm
Why run 4 pumps?
If 1 fails you still have heat :)

 
Pauly2696
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Post by Pauly2696 » Sun. Apr. 01, 2018 1:51 pm

I sent you a pm about the status of the va800

 
k-2
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Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by k-2 » Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 5:53 am

Qtown1835 wrote:
Thu. Feb. 15, 2018 10:41 pm
If 1 fails you still have heat :)
Havnt had one(of the 4) fail in Almost 20 yrs. Have a half dozen other properties with pumps too, no failures. Its a 15 minute change out if one does fail, so not a lot of down time anyway.

 
lincolnmania
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Location: Birdsboro PA.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 350
Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: reading allegheny stoker
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: alaska kodiak stoker 1986. 1987 triburner, 1987 crane diamond
Coal Size/Type: rice

Post by lincolnmania » Fri. Jan. 25, 2019 8:06 pm

decided against a boiler install. i got too many other projects going on and i have to rebuild my savings. had to replace my roof and gutters over the summer and that cost 10 grand.
the reading stoker that i paid 350 bucks for in 2017 does a decent job of heating the house. i am using 2 buckets of coal a day, but it's still less coal than i'm used to (the shop and apartment in newtown)
putting a hot air stove in the shop too, since i have the class A chimney that came with the crane stove i bought for 350 bucks in 2017.
maybe a small boiler for the house with a heat exchanger going to ....i'm not going thru all the trouble of installing all that plumbing and radiators.....the house is cluttered and it would be impossible to get to some rooms.

 
lincolnmania
Member
Posts: 2684
Joined: Fri. Jan. 26, 2007 9:55 pm
Location: Birdsboro PA.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 350
Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: reading allegheny stoker
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: alaska kodiak stoker 1986. 1987 triburner, 1987 crane diamond
Coal Size/Type: rice

Post by lincolnmania » Sat. Feb. 02, 2019 10:29 am

And then it got so friggin cold that the gears got turning again.
the air coming out of my vents in the bathroom and laundry room and the back of the kitchen was colder than the room air. 58 degrees at two vents and 64 degrees at another. 110 degrees in the living room above the basement......this is with the coal stove running wide open and the oil furnace running wide open.

i told mom that i have to buy a bunch of 2" foil faced foam and insulate the crawl space walls......i'm not even sure i can get 4x8 sheets thru the crawl space openings. should i put 2" foam over the dirt floor or insulate the joists? 35 bucks a sheet for the foil faced r-13 stuff.

i got some kraft faced 2" foam for the attic floor for 22 dollars a sheet but i do not want to use the kraft faced foam down there. that foam in the parts of the attic i cleaned out and replacing the extremely poorly installed metal roof stopped the ice in my attic. we have a shingled roof now with new plywood.
dad bought this house a little over 50 yrs ago for 6500 bucks......my new pole garage is 31 grand lol

if i sell one of my extra cars i can buy a refurbished efm 520.


clearances tho? my basement ceiling is only 71" My floor gets wet too. oil furnace and water heater and coal stove sit on 2" solid block.
then there is the chimney.....it's pretty close to the framing. Right now the 6" oil furnace pipe goes into it.

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lzaharis
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Location: Ithaca, New York
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Post by lzaharis » Sat. Feb. 02, 2019 11:14 am

This would be the best time to test for radon in the basement before you go any further.
The radon tests are not expensive and they can be purchased locally and then you send a check or money order with the test can and they test the media for radon and mail the report back to you.
They have programs to help a homeowner pay for Radon mitigation and removal as positive pressure fresh air ventilation is required to remove the radon gas from a basement or crawlspace if it is detected.

The basement/crawlspace repair people lay down a thick roll of polyethylene to seal a basement floor or crawlspace with a single piece of thick rolled polyethylene plastic and then they can insulate on top of it.

If your basement is wet you need a sump pump or perimeter drainage. If you choose a sump pumps you may be able to install the sump pump outside below the foundation and still be able to create the cone of depression to pull all the water away from the home and pump it away to a drainage ditch the year round.

You can purchase the heavy ABS plastic sump pump chambers to secure the sump pump in and let the water seep into it.
If you do it outside you can less time on the installation and simply run the 110 volt power cord from an outlet on the exterior wall near the sump pit.
Hiring a back hoe and buying a ton of number 3 or 4 crushed stone will let you dig the hole large enough to set the sump pump chamber on a bed of stone and then surround the chamber with stone all the way to the surface to let all the water enter the sump pump chamber to dispose of it.

You or the electrician will need to do some drilling for the plastic conduit and the weatherproof outlet. If you do this you can have a weather proof enclosure for more than one outlet and the required 3 wires(hot, neutral and the ground) for each duplex outlet in the weather proof exterior enclosure.

All of this will depend on how far the electrical power is from where you are able install the sump pit in order to provide the correct drainage and slope to a drainage ditch or swale drain that leads to some more available drainage.

Your current chimney flue pipe is going to need some work as you need a clay thimble for it rather than what was done to cement it in place.

 
lincolnmania
Member
Posts: 2684
Joined: Fri. Jan. 26, 2007 9:55 pm
Location: Birdsboro PA.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 350
Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: reading allegheny stoker
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: alaska kodiak stoker 1986. 1987 triburner, 1987 crane diamond
Coal Size/Type: rice

Post by lincolnmania » Sat. Feb. 02, 2019 12:14 pm

i can't do perimeter drains, there are no footers under the basement walls, the concrete slab that my dad installed in 1971 is 6" thick. what i did do is install two sump pumps, and i did a bunch of waterproofing and masonry work. i may install a third sump pump on the opposite side if i need it. one of the sump pumps is at the bottom of the basement steps on the foundation (proof of no footers lol) the two walls that i fixed and waterproofed with superthoroseal are not leaking except where the floor meets the wall. (2 yrs ago the water flowed in like a spigot from where my coal bin is)
i also got my gutters replaced and they don't leak like the old ones, the downspouts no longer go to the underground drains because both are broken and just dump the water at the foundation.

hurt my arm with the hammer drill so that stopped. it took me all yr for that arm to heal. i moved my coal stoves the day after i hurt my arm when the hammer drill kicked on me. the basement walls are concrete and rubble, there are some not so good layers. all i can do is work on the wall a section at a time, so far i got 1/3 done.

the outside was dug up and stone was put down by me on one side with drains many yrs ago. but some jackass my mom hired came along and dug it up (but not around the broken heat pump) and put driveway coating on the walls and backfilled then put stucco over poison ivy and wood and dirt. he ruined the drainage. now there is no place for the water to go, that is why i pump it out from under my slab via the two sump pumps. i cannot take a pipe to the road any more because my sewer pipe is where that pipe used to be. sometime when i was living in schuylkill county they ran sewage thru here and my parents had to hook up. best thing to ever happen to my property. before the sewage the basement would get up to a foot of water in it when it rained and the crawl space would fill up to ground level. since the sewer that does not happen. going to the crawl space in a little while to look for ice, my cousin is gonna help me put in some foam sheets on the block wall.

the chimney is in the middle of the house. it is chimney block with no liner. we had a mason extend the chimney when we added the two story addition in 1991. every house on this block has an unlined chimney and they were all built new with coal furnaces.


when dad bought the house in 1968 there was a sears homart hand fed coal furnace in the basement. dad replaced it in 1971 due to rust, and the fact that he got an oil furnace and tank and duct work for 600 dollars and fuel oil was ten cents a gallon. he told me that a modern coal furnace was more than that and coal was more expensive than oil at that time. that oil furnace worked well until 2007 when the heat exchanger rusted thru.

i could put the boiler in the pole garage too. i have new class
a pipe and fittings but only 6".


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