-
StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7486
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
- Location: PA, Southern York County!
- 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
- Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood
Post
by StokerDon » Fri. Feb. 08, 2019 6:49 pm
lprince wrote: ↑Thu. Feb. 07, 2019 8:10 pm
I am running off the high limit still because I have the Triple Aquastat t terminals jumped to keep the circulataor running 24-7. Monitoring the pipe I am seeing temps of 180-182 even though I only have the Triple Aquastat set to about 165.
Running the pump 24/7 is smoothing out your overshoots. I have a switch on my pump so, at first, I was just running on the LO limit and left the pump turned on 24/7. The first time I tried thermostatically controlling the pump, the boiler over shot up to 230 after a heat call.
I have since connected the dump zone aquastat to run the house zone pump on an overshoot. This works really well for my setup.
-Don
-
lzaharis
- Member
- Posts: 2366
- Joined: Sun. Mar. 25, 2007 8:41 pm
- Location: Ithaca, New York
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4-1 dual fuel boiler
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: former switzer CWW100-sold
- Coal Size/Type: rice
- Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused
Post
by lzaharis » Fri. Feb. 08, 2019 8:35 pm
The Marsh Instruments Company has many retailers that sell their gauges in PA and they also have a dealer look up list on their home page as well.
-
David...
- Member
- Posts: 243
- Joined: Sun. Nov. 06, 2016 9:48 am
- Location: RI
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Franks 80k output
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Jotul 507B
- Coal Size/Type: Nut
Post
by David... » Sat. Feb. 09, 2019 9:39 am
I have seen the paste dry out and become more like glue and not be able to remove the bulb if replacement becomes necessary. I don't use the paste any more and haven't seen any problems.
David
-
McGiever
- Member
- Posts: 10130
- Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
- Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
- Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
- Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar
Post
by McGiever » Sat. Feb. 09, 2019 2:31 pm
A sliver cut of red rubber gasket can wedge a capillary bulb against thermowell interior wall real nicely.
-
nepacoal
- Member
- Posts: 1696
- Joined: Wed. Nov. 21, 2012 7:49 am
- Location: Coal Country
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
- Coal Size/Type: Buck
Post
by nepacoal » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 2:28 pm
lprince wrote: ↑Thu. Feb. 07, 2019 4:41 pm
Well as the subject say RIP Intermatic C8865 Timer.
So off to the wonderful internet to search for a replacement timer only to have a mild heart attack when I saw the price of an exact replacement. The thought of putting out another $200 -$250 had me quite upset. So I started looking around and found this great digital cycle timer for $12.39 on Amazon. this timer will do a multitude of timing functions and was just what I needed.
https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Delay-Relay-Timer- ... elay+timer
I bought one of these to try out and discovered a fatal flaw in its operation. If there is a brief power outage, this timer will not start back up on its own. You must press the start button. That may be OK for an EFM but for a keystoker, that's a deal breaker. The fire would go out 15 to 20 minutes after a brief power outage. I do use a battery backup system and will test it to see if it switches to battery fast enough to prevent it from stopping but that is a project for the next shutdown for cleaning.
-
McGiever
- Member
- Posts: 10130
- Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
- Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
- Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
- Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar
Post
by McGiever » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 2:57 pm
nepacoal wrote: ↑Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 2:28 pm
I bought one of these to try out and discovered a fatal flaw in its operation. If there is a brief power outage, this timer will not start back up on its own. You must press the start button. That may be OK for an EFM but for a keystoker, that's a deal breaker. The fire would go out 15 to 20 minutes after a brief power outage.
I do use a battery backup system and will test it to see if it switches to battery fast enough to prevent it from stopping but that is a project for the next shutdown for cleaning.
For others already having or planning to have
12 VDC Battery Backup and wanting to go with this type timer...power the timer linked below, from a 1 amp or smaller fused 12VDC line off the battery itself.
No restart needed after any 120VAC power
"blip" or outage.
And use the "dry contact" pair to switch your timed 120VAC load.
Refer to the 2nd or lower diagram...
Programmable-12V-Digital-Delay-Timer
Last edited by
McGiever on Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 3:21 pm, edited 3 times in total.
-
nepacoal
- Member
- Posts: 1696
- Joined: Wed. Nov. 21, 2012 7:49 am
- Location: Coal Country
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
- Coal Size/Type: Buck
Post
by nepacoal » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 3:14 pm
Good idea but the unit spelled out in this thread is AC powered. Would need to make sure you purchase a DC powered unit to do this trick
-
McGiever
- Member
- Posts: 10130
- Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
- Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
- Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
- Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar
Post
by McGiever » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 3:16 pm
nepacoal wrote: ↑Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 3:14 pm
Good idea but the unit spelled out in this thread is AC powered. Would need to make sure you purchase a DC powered unit to do this trick
Absolutely,
That was the link at the bottom of the post above...
But there are others as well...
DROK-Adjustable-Electric-Multifunctional-Automotive
Last edited by
McGiever on Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 3:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
nepacoal
- Member
- Posts: 1696
- Joined: Wed. Nov. 21, 2012 7:49 am
- Location: Coal Country
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
- Coal Size/Type: Buck
Post
by nepacoal » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 3:22 pm
McGiever wrote: ↑Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 3:16 pm
Absolutely,
That was the link at the bottom of the post above...
I'm really hoping my inverter switches fast enough to prevent the outage...
-
McGiever
- Member
- Posts: 10130
- Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
- Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
- Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
- Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar
Post
by McGiever » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 3:37 pm
nepacoal wrote: ↑Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 3:22 pm
I'm really hoping my inverter switches fast enough to prevent the outage...
Let us know, and best of Luck!
-
lprince
- Member
- Posts: 80
- Joined: Fri. Aug. 01, 2014 9:40 pm
- Location: Bushkill, Pa
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AA 260
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harmon 2000
Post
by lprince » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 6:44 pm
nepacoal wrote: ↑Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 2:28 pm
That may be OK for an EFM but for a keystoker, that's a deal breaker. The fire would go out 15 to 20 minutes after a brief power outage.
I am using this on an AA260 and I think my fire could realistically survive for a day or two without operation. How often does the Keystoker need to fire on a timer as I am not familiar with its operation
-
StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7486
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
- Location: PA, Southern York County!
- 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
- Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood
Post
by StokerDon » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 6:53 pm
In general, the flat grate stokers can only go about 8 to 20 minutes before loosing the fire, depending on how much lit coal they have going at the time. The timer is a very much "Required" piece of equipment.
You don't really need a timer on your 260M. It will run fine without it as long as your fire is not high and thin.
-Don
-
lprince
- Member
- Posts: 80
- Joined: Fri. Aug. 01, 2014 9:40 pm
- Location: Bushkill, Pa
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AA 260
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harmon 2000
Post
by lprince » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 7:46 pm
StokerDon wrote: ↑Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 6:53 pm
You don't really need a timer on your 260M. It will run fine without it as long as your fire is not high and thin.
-Don
Since my AA260 is so oversized I was worried about the fire becoming to thin. It does not run very often and when it does run it is only running for less then 10 minutes. Currently I am getting about 50 Pounds of ash a week. So I figured an extra minute of run time every hour would not hurt me. I am still absolutely amazed at the performance of this BEAST
-
nepacoal
- Member
- Posts: 1696
- Joined: Wed. Nov. 21, 2012 7:49 am
- Location: Coal Country
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
- Coal Size/Type: Buck
Post
by nepacoal » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 7:54 pm
lprince wrote: ↑Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 6:44 pm
I am using this on an AA260 and I think my fire could realistically survive for a day or two without operation. How often does the Keystoker need to fire on a timer as I am not familiar with its operation
StokerDon nailed it. My kaa-4 will go out in about 15 minutes. I have the timer set to run 51 seconds every 10 minutes. The only time it's a good thing is on cleaning day. I can shut off the power and 15 minutes later be vacuuming. I imagine you'll need to plan two days in advance to clean that monster...
Last edited by
nepacoal on Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 8:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
lprince
- Member
- Posts: 80
- Joined: Fri. Aug. 01, 2014 9:40 pm
- Location: Bushkill, Pa
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AA 260
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harmon 2000
Post
by lprince » Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 8:12 pm
nepacoal wrote: ↑Fri. Feb. 22, 2019 7:54 pm
I imagine you'll need to plan two days in advance to clean that monster...
I am guessing at least 2 days
I have only been burning about 5 weeks now and honestly I have not even thought of how the heck I shut this BEAST down. I am just glad it is up and running