Need a manual

Hello,

I am looking for a manual for a Losch 350. Serial number 847A

Welcome to the forum Shawn.

I'm going to assume you will be using this unit to burn Anthracite coal, not Bit coal. That being the case, I'm moving this thread to the "Coal Stoker Boilers Using Anthracite" section. This will put you in contact with people that actually use these things.

To answer your question, I have never seen a manual for a Losch posted on this forum. It would probably be easier to just ask about the info you need, then we can answer your questions.

In general, the Losch is about the most heavy duty coal stoker boiler ever built for residential use. As long as the water cooled grate and DHW coil area are not leaking, it should work fine.

-Don

Water cooled grate? Ours has a coal bin in the back we fill and is gravity feed and then the grate moves back and forth it’s fan cooled. DHW ? I am thinking direct hot water .....DHW?.....we have 3 pipes above the coal fire that I am thinking is our hot water and water for the heat I’m not sure what one is what. I can take pics and post if that would help.

Thanks Don for the welcome

Shawn3318 wrote: ↑

Fri. Sep. 13, 2019 1:15 pm

Water cooled grate?

Yes, you have a Losch 350. It has a water cooled grate. Your unit is very old and this is one of the things that can fail after about 50 years of use. This has nothing to do with the coal bin, and by "coal bin", I think you mean Hopper.

Shawn3318 wrote: ↑

Fri. Sep. 13, 2019 1:15 pm

DHW ? I am thinking direct hot water

Close! Domestic Hot Water. This is a coil that is bolted into the steam chest of the boiler. Domestic water goes in cold and comes out hot to feed sinks and bathrooms. This is domestic water and has to stay completely separate from the boiler water. The gasket where this coil bolts in is a common failure area.

Are you looking for general information, or is there a problem?

For general information type "Losch" in the search box at the top right of this page. Here's a few that I found.
Post by StokerDon - My New Toy, Losch Stoker Boiler
Post by windago - Losch 475
Post by windago - Losch Boiler Update 3 Months After First Fire.
Post by Kendrickson - Picked up a "New" Losch 350 Boiler Today!

The first 3 are for Losch 475. The 475 is a slightly larger version of the 350. Most of the info is interchangeable between the 350 and 475.

-Don

We are going to have someone familiar with this unit come out and take a look at it. What are some questions we should ask about this furnace. Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you

If you can, ask them to check the DHW coil gasket for leaks. This alone is the number one killer of hydronic boilers. They may need to remove the front cover to see in there.

Cleaning. When was the last time it was cleaned? The side panel of the boiler needs to be removed to clean the flyash off of the boiler tubes. The stovepipe needs to be removed, cleaned and checked for holes. Where the stovepipe connects to the boiler base is the flyash trap, this needs to be cleaned out to.

The air holes in the grate must be free of any obstructions.

I would also run the boiler pressure up to 30+ PSI and make sure the Pressure Relief Valve (PRV) is working properly.

Is this boiler running now, or shut down for the Summer?

-Don

Thank you so much. I had cleaned it out as far as the grate and the fly wheel of the fan and I stuck half my body in and cleaned the ash off the pipes that are right above the heat. I kinda had a feeling I was not doing all that needed to be done. I use an air compressor and attach a needle a thing that you blow up football’s soccer balls etc it fits perfectly in the grate holes. It’s mostly off for the summer. We only fire it up for hot water we had it running all last winter and early part of spring and it kept going out because it would be up to temp. So I came up with a bight idea to only turn it on for hot water. Lol.....we have a big pile of old parts in the back....do you know if we need a part can we take it off and take it to a machine shop and have them make the part. Or repair the part. I saw your photo of “your new toy” did they only make it in the green color. Hey thanks so much for your help.

Shawn3318 wrote: ↑

Sat. Sep. 14, 2019 6:05 pm

I stuck half my body in and cleaned the ash off the pipes that are right above the heat.

It's a whole lot easier to clean the boiler tubes off by removing the side cover.

Shawn3318 wrote: ↑

Sat. Sep. 14, 2019 6:05 pm

do you know if we need a part can we take it off and take it to a machine shop and have them make the part. Or repair the part.

That is one of the big problems with a Losch. They have not made stoker boilers for so long that parts a very rare. Losch is still in business and you can call them up to see about parts. The last I heard is that John was the last of the old timers that knew anything about the coal stokers. This was close to 10 years ago so he may not be around anymore.

It's good that you have some spare parts though. Another good source of parts and information is Mark's Supply 570-462-0748. Talk to Joe, he has a whole lot of knowledge about coal stoker boilers. He also has a lot of old parts for these things in the back room.

Good luck!

-Don

-Don

Is it true a Losch burns barley sized coal? I remember my in-laws had one.

Hi Ben , we burn rice coal. I did wonder why they called it rice coal then when I put my hand in a pile of it it did feel like rice. Lol. So I’m guessing that barley coal would feel like barely.. just a guess..lol.

ben wrote: ↑

Mon. Sep. 16, 2019 7:36 am

Is it true a Losch burns barley sized coal? I remember my in-laws had one.

I've had customers that used barley in a Losch but some of them had issues on really hot days.

My wife and I are new to the coal world. I’m like a sponge and soaking up all the information I can. We found that only turning it on for hot water works pretty good. We bought the house in December last year and all they said to us was keep the hopper full and catch the ash in the bucket and it takes rice coal. They didn’t tell us a lot. Lol. We....well I just found out that the grate is water cooled. So any information on cleaning and how to would be greatly appreciated. We called losch but they seamed a little reluctant to come. Mmmm..I will look around. I think stokerdan gave us a number to call. I will call them and see if they can come out and just explain what I need to do etc etc etc. you all have been great.

ben wrote: ↑

Mon. Sep. 16, 2019 7:36 am

Is it true a Losch burns barley sized coal? I remember my in-laws had one.

YUP!

If you think about when this stoker was designed, smaller coal was not easy to sell so it was cheaper than the larger sizes. The stoker boiler manufacturers realized this and designed stokers that would burn Barley coal which was the cheapest fuel available at the time.

If you live close to a coal breaker you can still get Barley cheaper than the other sizes.

-Don

As someone that has spent my life in the culinary industry I am picturing barley and rice they are both about the same size just different shapes. Is that the same with the coal. I am thinking that with barley I would need to turn down the time on the feed as the barley would be a little thicker then the rice.
I do like the fact that I can very easily control the water pressure in the house and how hot the water gets. My wife likes it at 170. Water that is heated with electric is hot but it’s a different kind of hot I notice it right away....
I am a little confused at how the grate is water cooled with it going back and forth should I be turning on the water circuit-later when I’m heating for hot water? The water circulation is hooked up to an old fuse box that looks like has been converted to electric. It looks like they took all the controls off the boiler and put them on the wall. I can post a pic of the set up.