Coalgun s130 adjustment

lamina1982 · Post by **lamina1982** » Fri. Dec. 17, 2021 11:17 pm

So i have been running my boiler for 3 yrs now. I installed the boiler myself and prior had no boiler experience. I have a heat exchanger in the furnace and a radiator in the basement. Eventually the house will all be cast iron radiators, i just have to install them someday. I have constant circulation.
Its approximately 3000sq ft house, i keep thermostat at 68°. I burn about 6 tons lehigh pea from nov to april. The first year i ran at 180°, last year i switched to 170° and it seemed more than adequate. But the low is still 160 so it never runs very long. Im not sure how to change the lower limit though. I was thinking maybe i would get better efficiency running at 150/170 instead of the current 160/170. It usually over shoots if no heat calls for a while and sits around 200° and the furnace will cycle a few times before the boiler fires again. Theres a love pid that controls the ashing and thats set at 115 and thats been pretty good
Im not to sure about the dual aquastat or what the settings should be, it has a thermostat wire coming out of it thats not connected to anything-that's how it came when i got it.
Heres some pics

.JPG | 562.5KB | 20211217_222628.jpg

.JPG | 279.4KB | 20211217_222637.jpg

.JPG | 237.1KB | 20211217_222643.jpg

.JPG | 407.7KB | 20211217_222835.jpg

.JPG | 378KB | 20211217_222902.jpg

.JPG | 374.1KB | 20211217_223009.jpg

Post by **Rob R.** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 3:11 am

You can remove that thermostat wire, the way things are wired you are not using that part of the control. The small aquastat set at 170 is what determines the operating temperature of the boiler. Look under that piece of cardboard on the side, is there a differential adjustment?

Post by **coaledsweat** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 7:32 am

Overshoot at 200° isn't a big deal and common in solid fuel appliances. The heat stays with you, it's not like you're giving it up to some evil nome.

hotblast1357 · Post by **hotblast1357** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 7:59 am

Sounds like it’s working great, just leave it alone like you would a oil/gas boiler and enjoy the rewards of coal!

Post by **StokerDon** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 8:49 am

lamina1982 wrote: ↑
Fri. Dec. 17, 2021 11:17 pm
I was thinking maybe i would get better efficiency running at 150/170 instead of the current 160/170.

Probably not but it won't hurt to try. It looks like the way your unit is wired the small single aquastat controls the boiler temp and the dual aquastat is just used as a high limit control.

Like Rob said, look under the piece of cardboard on the single aquastat. Some have a differential adjustment dial under there, some don't. If there is no dial the differential is fixed at 10 degrees. This means that if the setting is 170, when the boiler drops to 170 it will kick on until 180.

If it has an adjustable differential and you set it to 20, I think it will let the boiler drop to 160 and shut off at 180. Not 100% sure though.

-Don

lzaharis · Post by **lzaharis** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 9:37 am

lamina1982 wrote: ↑
Fri. Dec. 17, 2021 11:17 pm
So i have been running my boiler for 3 yrs now. I installed the boiler myself and prior had no boiler experience. I have a heat exchanger in the furnace and a radiator in the basement. Eventually the house will all be cast iron radiators, i just have to install them someday. I have constant circulation.
Its approximately 3000sq ft house, i keep thermostat at 68°. I burn about 6 tons lehigh pea from nov to april. The first year i ran at 180°, last year i switched to 170° and it seemed more than adequate. But the low is still 160 so it never runs very long. Im not sure how to change the lower limit though. I was thinking maybe i would get better efficiency running at 150/170 instead of the current 160/170. It usually over shoots if no heat calls for a while and sits around 200° and the furnace will cycle a few times before the boiler fires again. Theres a love pid that controls the ashing and thats set at 115 and thats been pretty good
Im not to sure about the dual aquastat or what the settings should be, it has a thermostat wire coming out of it thats not connected to anything-that's how it came when i got it.
Heres some pics
20211217_222628.jpg
20211217_222637.jpg
20211217_222643.jpg
20211217_222835.jpg
20211217_222902.jpg
20211217_223009.jpg

=======================================================================================================

Forgive my mentioning it but,

The high limit and the low limit on the triple aquastat are both set at 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Is the Love PID overriding it??

lamina1982 · Post by **lamina1982** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 9:50 am

I was never sure if that high limit did anything. Its shutting off now at 170 i think and creaps up to about 200 at times, but nothings ever shutoff.
The pid just controls ashing

Post by **StokerDon** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 10:44 am

lzaharis wrote: ↑
Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 9:37 am
The high limit and the low limit on the triple aquastat are both set at 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

I'm not sure what you are thinking but there is no Triple Aquastat. Just a single Aquastat for boiler control and a separate high limit Aquastat. Very simple.

lzaharis wrote: ↑
Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 9:37 am
Is the Love PID overriding it??

This has nothing to do with boiler temperature. The Love control is for ashing, nothing else.

-Don

Post by **StokerDon** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 10:49 am

lamina1982 wrote: ↑
Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 9:50 am
I was never sure if that high limit did anything. Its shutting off now at 170 i think and creaps up to about 200 at times, but nothings ever shutoff.
The pid just controls ashing

The high limit will shut the fan motor off if the single aquastat fails. It is a safety switch. In normal operation it does nothing but sit there waiting.

If you did the install you should have checked the high limit to be sure it works. When the fan is running, turn the high limit knob down below the current boiler temperature. The fan should shut off, if it doesn't the control is not working.

-Don

lzaharis · Post by **lzaharis** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 12:20 pm

StokerDon wrote: ↑
Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 10:44 am
I'm not sure what you are thinking but there is no Triple Aquastat. Just a single Aquastat for boiler control and a separate high limit Aquastat. Very simple.

This has nothing to do with boiler temperature. The Love control is for ashing, nothing else.

-Don

=====================================================================================================

If there is no triple aquastat in use why is it wired into the boiler in picture 4?

Post by **coaledsweat** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 1:00 pm

It's a safety device. An aquastat can fail "on" and that would be a disaster.

Post by **Rob R.** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 1:01 pm

lzaharis wrote: ↑
Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 12:20 pm
=====================================================================================================

If there is no triple aquastat in use why is it wired into the boiler in picture 4?

That is a dual aquastat. Basically two separate controls in one box.

lzaharis · Post by **lzaharis** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 5:31 pm

I used the wrong term to identify the dual aquastat , whoopsie!

It is just like the one I have mounted on the kaa-4.
I fail to see how the dual aquastat can work with identical settings.
I must be missing something simple I guess.

Post by **Rob R.** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 5:48 pm

lzaharis wrote: ↑
Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 5:31 pm

It is just like the one I have mounted on the kaa-4.
I fail to see how the dual aquastat can work with identical settings.
I must be missing something simple I guess.

I would be surprised if it is the same. You likely have an L8124, which has a low limit, high limit, and a relay for the burner motor and also one for the circulator.

The dual aquastat on the CoalGun has no relays at all. It has a low limit that can be used to cut power to the circulators below a certain temperature, and a high limit for safety. The L4006A control is what determines the operating temperature of the boiler, and is normally set somewhere between the two settings on the dual aquastat.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Sat. Dec. 18, 2021 7:55 pm

Careful now! All this aquastat talk will get you pre-recorded lecture on some bad controls on a fellers Keystoker KAA-4-1 dual fuel boiler.
You’ve been warned!