AA220 Coal consumption

Rob R. wrote: ↑

Wed. Nov. 27, 2019 5:27 am

Frank, how warm has your basement been since the coal boiler came online? If it is warmer than you want, insulating the piping down there would be beneficial as well.

I'm not exactly sure how much warmer it is, but it's definitely warmer where the lines are. I have the materials and plan to insulate the pipes. Only problem is when I ran them I didn't account for the insulation. So I have to spread them apart. No big deal just adds to the timeliness. I'd prefer to control the heat loss.

Next year I am possibly going to insulate the basement walls with that blanket material too.

swyman wrote: ↑

Tue. Nov. 26, 2019 11:27 pm

I had a heck of a time finding a 2" round brush for some reason but it works well. I have to use a corded 1/2" drill however, it turns really hard. Your setup is really nice being in the open where you can stand on top of the boiler to clean out the tubes. Now that I'm in the basement, I have to stand on the side and is not any fun! Pics to come......

I found some online but they didn't have the rods to attach. How long do they need to be?

You can find 2 inch steel brushes at www.mcmastercarr.com

Frank F wrote: ↑

Wed. Nov. 27, 2019 8:23 am

I found some online but they didn't have the rods to attach. How long do they need to be?

I think it was 24" but I will check on this when I get home in the morning.

Frank, finally did my cleanup today. I have burned around 3-4 ton so far and this is the fly ash under the refractory lid and the other pic is at the breech. This only took about 8 minutes or so and did not lose the fire.

Swyman,
I just finished a clean out on the boiler. It wasn't to bad. I was able to keep fire going as well. I'm not sure how much coal I've burnt so far but there wasn't to much fly ash.

I ended up purchasing a 2" wire wheel for a drill. And a 36" extension from the electrical department. Seemed to do the trick.

Do you brush the walls above the fire? Or is that really not an issue.

every boiler wall should be brushed. A light bush works well for the firebox, you don't need to scrub it, just brush the flyash off. Coal ash is a very good heat insulator, that's why you don't want it between your fire and the boiler walls.

-Don

StokerDon wrote: ↑

Sat. Dec. 14, 2019 7:26 pm

every boiler wall should be brushed. A light bush works well for the firebox, you don't need to scrub it, just brush the flyash off. Coal ash is a very good heat insulator, that's why you don't want it between your fire and the boiler walls.

-Don

Copy! Thank you. I'll get that asap.

Frank F wrote: ↑

Sat. Dec. 14, 2019 2:55 pm

Swyman,

Do you brush the walls above the fire? Or is that really not an issue.

I don't get to much if any fly ash in the burn chamber. You also would have to do a complete shutdown to do it....I will say it is the worst thing with this design, for me at least. I put a mask on, wiggle inside on my back and scrape above so I don't miss anything and all that crap comes right down on your head. I can only reach so much trying to do it from the top and end up missing some areas....I always start from top and finish what I don't get from the bottom and I just can't fine a way to make it easy.

It's been a while since I posted. Here are some numbers. I'm still not very impressed. I wish I hadn't purchased this style of boiler.

Over 24 hrs:

Coal burnt: 182#
Burner circuit: 12 hrs
Zone 1: 14.6 hrs
Zone 2: 1.05 hrs

Frank F wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 17, 2019 8:13 pm

It's been a while since I posted. Here are some numbers. I'm still not very impressed. I wish I hadn't purchased this style of boiler.

Over 24 hrs:

Coal burnt: 182#
Burner circuit: 12 hrs
Zone 1: 14.6 hrs
Zone 2: 1.05 hrs

Interesting, is this with one burner or both lit?

You are pushing about the max of that boiler in 12 hours of run time, but it seems that your lacking in radiation or heat source? As the boiler only ran 12 hours out of 24? If it was tapped out it would be running 18-24 hours..

hotblast1357 wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 17, 2019 8:31 pm

Interesting, is this with one burner or both lit?

You are pushing about the max of that boiler in 12 hours of run time, but it seems that your lacking in radiation or heat source? As the boiler only ran 12 hours out of 24? If it was tapped out it would be running 18-24 hours..

2 burners, that was running 12 hrs in a 48 hr period.

What do you mean lacking radiation or heat source?

Frank F wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 17, 2019 8:13 pm

Over 24 hrs:

Coal burnt: 182#
Burner circuit: 12 hrs
Zone 1: 14.6 hrs
Zone 2: 1.05 hrs

Frank F wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 17, 2019 9:51 pm

2 burners, that was running 12 hrs in a 48 hr period.

So you used 182 pounds in 24 hours, or is it 48 hours?

Frank F wrote: ↑

Tue. Dec. 17, 2019 8:13 pm

It's been a while since I posted. Here are some numbers. I'm still not very impressed. I wish I hadn't purchased this style of boiler.

Over 24 hrs:

Coal burnt: 182#
Burner circuit: 12 hrs
Zone 1: 14.6 hrs
Zone 2: 1.05 hrs

Hello all I'm sorry I meant over a 48 hr period.

91 pounds per day still seems like a lot to me considering your heated space and the outside air temps but that's just my opinion....