Anyone with a WL-110? Likes dislikes?

Hi everyone, well this year I’m going to make the jump into a stoker boiler. I was wondering how the LL wl110 owners like there stoves.
I need a dual fuel unit because I only have one 8x8 flue in the basement.
I really want a referb efm df520 with a oil gun. The problem is I will need to install basement access (bilco doors) to get the boiler in there.
This is another project that will cost money.

The wl110 will did down my stairway into basement. But it dosnt have the pedigree and reputation of the df520.

Wondering what the experts think.
House is 2000sq feet. one zone, all cast iron radiator.
Thanks again

Do you have a functional oil boiler already?

Functional yes for how long?
It’s a 1958 American standard.

Yikes hopefully someone with a Wl-110 will chime in.

Hello Caanan coal man,


I looked at the WL110 but the price was 3K more than I was able to spend and the issue for me was the WL110 water capacity which was was much less than I wanted to have.

Have you looked at the current price of the AHS S130 versus the delivered price of the WL110 with the oil burner?

It would be much simpler to plumb both boilers in parallel and simply remove the flue pipe of one boiler and install the other flue pipe as it would be less than half the work you would need to do to convert the WL110 from coal to oil and back again to coal when needed.

You would have two sets of boiler controls for one thermostat, two sets of pipe union joints and two circulators BUT the oil boiler would remain in place and when the time comes you can simply install a smaller boiler when the old one wanders over the cliff and hits the scrap pile.

I will tell you I wish I had purchased the AHS S130 and left my existing boiler in place as it would have been so much easier and less traumatic moneywise to live with as all I would have had to do is simply change flue pipes if I wanted to burn the dinosaur juice.

I haven’t given a thought to changing out the flue pipe if I was to plumb boiler in series. Is this a common practice?

Also not sure I can fit a 130 down my stairs there 26” wide but I have a slight bend to get under a floor joist I can post pics later.
Is it possible to dissasmble a 130 base off the stoker.

The whole reason for a new duel fuel boiler is when the oil boiler kicks the the bucket. I’m gonna have a hard time spending money on a new oil boiler when it’s only gonna run a few times a year or be there for back up if the coal unit goes down.

I think everyone already knows I am a big fan of the EFM 520...but you asked about the LL110.

I think the LL110 is a very efficient unit and it has a small footprint....but from what I have seen it needs frequent cleanings to maintain that efficiency, the controls are somewhat fussy, and it is more likely to have temperature overshoots due to the small mass.

What kind of load do you plan to hook to the boiler? The LL110 is plenty for some homes, but it is on the small side as far as coal boilers go.

I would much rather spend less on the boiler and have an outside basement entrance. Carrying ashes out through the house gets old quick.

Is plumbing a boiler In series a common thing as well?
Heck I could up date the old boiler when it cracks with a used one say from a gas conversion for cheap. Then if I can squeeze a s130 down my stair well I would be golden.

As far as the wl110 yes it only has 13gal water capacity. How the heck dose that heat a house . Could a sort of indirect storage tank be set up on another zone to help with boiler cold shock and overshoot.

Also what is a good way to fig out heat load. I understand my sq feet won’t help much in fig out my btu loads.

What info would you guys need from me to get a decent estimate.

Again this is all ideas to keep
Me from spending money on an outside basement entrance.

I have yet to quote this. But afraid from what I have read this job will be in the 6000-10,000 range. That would put the purchase and install cost of any boiler way in the back of the bus. Also I have a field stone foundation witch may complicate the install of the entry way.

Hello and good evening Canaan coal man,

According to the current AHS Literature the S130 is 22 inches wide; which does not include the hopper width I believe. The hopper separates from the pressure vessel so that is a plus.

It could go down the stairs BUT the issue is whether your stairs could handle the weight. The job of lowering it down into the basement would require a lot of 2 by 12's and a 12 volt winch to lower it down the flat ramp made from the 2 by 12's that would have to be secured with regular 3 inch nails and double headed nails for the wooden blocks secured to the stair treads. The wood blocks would be cut to match the stair tread depth and the rise and run angle of the stairs to allow the 2 by 12's to be secured in place during the job of lowering the boiler into the basement.

The boiler would have to be rolled to the basement threshold on pipes and then slowly lowered by several people with ropes to the point where the winch or chain come along chained to a 6 by six timber would be blocked up against the threshold and then the winch or the chain come along would lower the boiler down the ramp using a web strap wrapped around the pressure vessel.
Before the boiler reaches the very bottom of the stairs 2 people would be there to meet it with a lifting bar and steel pipe to let it roll forward and add more pipe as it continues forward and downward into the basement.

The more people you have to slide the boiler around while its on the pipe the better as it will be easier to slide over near the oil boiler to allow you to do the pipe work where it would be connected in parallel to the other boilers plumbing and close to the chimney base.

With the S130's 5 inch flue pipe it would be easy to connect to the chimney with adapter stove pipe fittings where you would also need a 5 inch Tee for the 5 inch barometric damper. If the dinosaur juice burner has a flue that is a five inch flue pipe you will only need a new barometric damper and flue pipe and 45 or 90 degree elbows if needed for the stove pipe run to the chimney.

A basement Bilco door would make it easier to lower in to the basement as you could hire a burial vault company to pick it up and then use one of their self propelled burial vault trailers to bring it to the Bilco door and then lower it into the basement with its extended I beam which would reach over the Bilco door opening.

Rev. Larry would be the one to ask for the measurements to be sure, but I am sure he will check the forum and comment..

Saying that the complete weight of the current S130 is 875 pounds and from what I remember looking at the one I checked out 5 years ago the base was welded to the pressure vessel as the base does not have a sheet of steel welded to the bottom of the boiler as it relies on the basement floor for an adequate seal for the ash pit.

SO, it will require some work, several plywood sheets cut to 2 foot widths by 8 foot long, 2 by 12's, wooden blocking, shims to hold the cut 4" by 4's in place inside the ash pit, a chain come along or 12 volt winch.

4 by 4's cut to the interior length of the ash pit to holds its shape and a bunch of friends that are susceptable to beer, pasta and meat balls and pizza for lunch for the help and a bunch of 2 inch by 36 inch pipe blanks to roll the boiler and renting a wheeled pry bar unless your plumber owns a wheeled pry bar.

The biggest issue is the stairs as in many cases the stairs are removed to lower a boiler into a basement using an A frame hoist.

SO there is a lot of planning long before you go much further.

Canaan coal man wrote: ↑

Thu. Jan. 17, 2019 5:45 pm

Is plumbing a boiler In series a common thing as well?
Heck I could up date the old boiler when it cracks with a used one say from a gas conversion for cheap. Then if I can squeeze a s130 down my stair well I would be golden.

As far as the wl110 yes it only has 13gal water capacity. How the heck dose that heat a house . Could a sort of indirect storage tank be set up on another zone to help with boiler cold shock and overshoot.

Also what is a good way to fig out heat load. I understand my sq feet won’t help much in fig out my btu loads.

What info would you guys need from me to get a decent estimate.

The water capacity has nothing to do with the heat output. Many of the more traditional coal boilers hold more water, and as a result those tend to have a more stable temperature. The LL110 would be fine with an appropriate dump zone, and the controls setup accordingly. An indirect water heater would work for a dump zone, but your existing cast iron radiator zone should be fine for any extra heat from the boiler.

How.do.you heat the house now?

As of now I use my Glenwood #6 run 4 tons a year thru it.
I use the old boiler when we are away or when temps get below 15° I like to keep pipes warm at those temps. I use a 50 gal electric water heater for dhw. The boiler had a gravity feed indirect dhw but that was costing us 2 270gal tanks a year just for dhw.
I have realized that with a growing family and growing dhw usage a boiler is a smart move. Since my current boiler is very old and is very in efficient I fig I would kill two birds with one stone with a new stoker boiler.

I can continue my current set up. Hand fed, electric dhw and oil.
But sooner or later I will need a new boiler and it will be hard for me to justify a new oil boiler just for back up or artic blast. I also want the wife to be able to run the unit or at least be able to switch to oil if I was to ever get sick or lame.

If think the dual-fuel feature would rarely be used....there is another option to consider.

Electric Backup Boiler

There is something to be said for no chimney requirement, no fuel tank in the basement, and no annual service.


How wide are your basement stairs? I believe the EFM 520 boiler top is 25 3/4" wide and just under 800 lbs. With some careful bracing and rigging, it might be an option.

Canaan coal man wrote: ↑

Thu. Jan. 17, 2019 8:25 pm

I can continue my current set up. Hand fed, electric dhw and oil.
But sooner or later I will need a new boiler and it will be hard for me to justify a new oil boiler just for back up or artic blast. I also want the wife to be able to run the unit or at least be able to switch to oil if I was to ever get sick or lame.

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The WL110 will have to have a bit of surgery to remove the oil burner and to set it in the burner holder bracket and also to reinstall the firebrick and insulation/gasket if you need to change from coal to oil or to change back to coal if the weather turns to crap.

For what you are contemplating doing you will probably be better off just pouring a reinforced concrete slab for the WL110 and burying some pex all pex (the $15 a foot good stuff) from the boiler shed to the house basement and then you can run the boiler the year round to make heat and hot water and the oil burner will be an afterthought and if and when you can make improvements on the house do it as you will save on coal too.

It would be simple enough to buy a hoop shed and simply have the rice coal dumped in a 10 by 20 hoop shed with a heavy tarpaulin floor provided by the seller of the hoop sheds(farmtek).

I just fill my coal bags up with 6 scoops of buck/rice mix (about 35 pounds) and that makes them easy to handle and dump in the hopper of my stoker.

The WL110 has a 200 pound capacity hopper and as it can burn either buckwheat or rice you could burn a mix of buck/rice like I do and you will not burn a lot of coal like I did using rice coal alone.