Domestic hot water

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Egghead
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Post by Egghead » Wed. Apr. 14, 2021 12:27 pm

Is it worth running a coal boiler over summer for domestic hot water. What’s everyone’s opinion on it and experiences.

 
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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Wed. Apr. 14, 2021 1:24 pm

For me, it's not about saving money... Burning year around pretty much eliminates all rust and corrosion in the boiler and stovepipes.

I burn around 14 pounds per day all summer...

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P.johnson14
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Post by P.johnson14 » Wed. Apr. 14, 2021 1:43 pm

I have a Dual fuel Keystoker, and while I have burnt coal for DHW in the summer before, I find that I get better performance with less trouble by running on Oil in the summer. I use half of the oil as my old cold start boiler with an indirect. This also keeps the oil burner ready to go if needed and keeps the boiler and stack warm, so there’s no corrosion.

 
Egghead
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Post by Egghead » Wed. Apr. 14, 2021 5:40 pm

nepacoal wrote:
Wed. Apr. 14, 2021 1:24 pm
For me, it's not about saving money... Burning year around pretty much eliminates all rust and corrosion in the boiler and stovepipes.

I burn around 14 pounds per day all summer...
How much hot water are you producing? Family size, appliances, shower/bath tub use daily.


 
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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Wed. Apr. 14, 2021 6:09 pm

Egghead wrote:
Wed. Apr. 14, 2021 5:40 pm
How much hot water are you producing? Family size, appliances, shower/bath tub use daily.
Just the wife and I... The boiler idles at around 210 to 215 all summer.

Couple of showers per day. Around 5 loads of laundry per week. No dishwasher, but lots of hand washing. Just idling provides all of our DHW needs. I turn down the low limit to 150 during the summer and keep it at 165 during heating season.

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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Apr. 14, 2021 6:14 pm

Egghead wrote:
Wed. Apr. 14, 2021 12:27 pm
Is it worth running a coal boiler over summer for domestic hot water. What’s everyone’s opinion on it and experiences.

It depends on your cost of coal and cost of other ways of producing domestic hot water. There is a benefit to keeping the boiler running, you won't get any corrosion in the off-season.

 
ben
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Post by ben » Thu. Apr. 15, 2021 7:09 am

When I run my unit all summer it eliminates the use of my de humidifier.

 
Egghead
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Post by Egghead » Thu. Apr. 15, 2021 3:48 pm

Thanks for all the input. I think I’m gonna try it out.


 
Dave 1234
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Post by Dave 1234 » Mon. Apr. 19, 2021 9:30 pm

yup , good move

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Mon. Apr. 19, 2021 9:45 pm

Our Axes may need a timer to prevent out fires.. I've noticed that on warm days with little to no hot water use, I lose the fire. It seems that anything longer than 8 hours without the combustion fan coming on, the fire will go out. I just recently had an out fire a couple weeks ago under those circumstances. I've rescued the fire a couple times by forcing heat demand on it after 6 hours, it took quite a while (15+) minutes just to get the fire back. Under normal circumstances with a healthy fire it would come back in 5 or less minutes.

I wonder if a work around would be to narrow the differential to 5 degrees instead of 10 so that it would run the combustion fan sooner. Does anyone have an opinion on that?

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Tue. Apr. 20, 2021 12:56 am

Lightning wrote:
Mon. Apr. 19, 2021 9:45 pm
Our Axes may need a timer to prevent out fires.. I've noticed that on warm days with little to no hot water use, I lose the fire. It seems that anything longer than 8 hours without the combustion fan coming on, the fire will go out. I just recently had an out fire a couple weeks ago under those circumstances. I've rescued the fire a couple times by forcing heat demand on it after 6 hours, it took quite a while (15+) minutes just to get the fire back. Under normal circumstances with a healthy fire it would come back in 5 or less minutes.

I wonder if a work around would be to narrow the differential to 5 degrees instead of 10 so that it would run the combustion fan sooner. Does anyone have an opinion on that?
I think that due to your excellent job of boiler insulation you will need a fan timer. Since you are not shedding sufficient heat to induce fan calls frequently enough to keep the fire going...

 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Apr. 20, 2021 8:39 am

The other thing to consider is it will extend the life of the boiler considerably and help avoid maintenance costs. My Grandmother's Van Wert boiler pretty much ran non stop from the mid 70's and when I sold it recently I got a really good look at things. I sold myself short. ;) It's in NY now heating some bar. Based on the condition I saw when it's finally retired it won't be because the boiler section failed as long as they keep it running and maintained.

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