First Winter on My Own...HS Tarm Multi-Fuel Boiler..??

jsto72 · Post by **jsto72** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 10:45 am

J F Graham wrote:Also make sure you dump the ashes on a regular schedule. A overflowing ash pan will not only restrict draft; But can cause your grates to warp. When you do a shake down, do you see a glow in the ash pan?

I do always shake until I see a nice glow, and then I clean out the pan after every other shake down or so.

windyhill4.2 · Post by **windyhill4.2** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 10:49 am

jsto72,have you looked under the grates right after doing the shake down ? You should see a bright glow under the whole grate/firebox area,if their are any darker spots you need to poke UP thru from below & clean the ash out of those areas. If the fire is not getting the water temp over 140*,it sounds like the grates are ash bound. The spinner on the top door should be closed for normal operation,you can open that temporarily to expel the gases b4 opening the top door but close it b4 walking away from the boiler. Do not STIR the coal bed,coal prefers to be left alone,a coal bed comes to life when it receives air from below. Just saw your pics,the baro needs to be level to function properly & is there insulation in the thimble where the flue pipe does not fill the hole. The thimble must fit tight to the flue pipe or you lose a lot of draft & risk CO in the boiler room !!!!!!!!!!!

Post by **franco b** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 10:51 am

Remove the baro and stick your vac hose into the chimney. Seal that area above your smoke pipe where it goes into the chimney thimble, even with some fiberglass insulation stuffed in there. The face of the baro has to be level to operate properly . Yours is not. If you can't get it level then close it off with some aluminum foil.

jsto72 · Post by **jsto72** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:15 am

Yikes, okay.....first, what is the exact function of the baro? I will close it off with foil and stuff some insulation around the flu pipe now....

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:22 am

You will also probably have fly ash laying in that pipe coming right out of the exhaust port on the boiler. If the vac hose can reach it good, otherwise you should disconnect the pipe to clean it there.

I am not familiar with your boiler but you probably need to brush the ash on the inside to maximize heat transfer.

Your flue pipe set up is not that far off from good to go. As mentioned, level and plumb the barometric damper, stuff some insulation around the pipe/thimble and vac out the horizontals.

You will need to vac out the horizontals through the heating season, maybe check every three weeks or so until you see how fast the ash is accumulating and adjust the time frame based on the amount of coal burned not just time elapsed.

Regarding the puffback, get the coal bed livened up before loading....I used to open the ash door for a couple minutes to get it going good. Then load the new coal and leave a corner of the existing fired up coal bed exposed so the flames can burn off the volatiles on the new coal. I left he ash pan door open for a couple minutes during this also. DO NOT leave the boiler unattended while doing this!!!! Then I would close the ash door and set the air to the proper setting. Each stove has its own personality and will need its own procedure. Other HS Tarm owners can tell you what they do and you can adjust from there to dial it in for your install. It sounds harder than it actually is.

D-frost · Post by **D-frost** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:23 am

J...
If the thimble diameter is 8", you can buy a 8" to 6" reducer at almost any hardware store($10), and what Franco says about the baro being level to operate properly, is very important. Fix this issue, and I think you will be 'good to go'. Good luck.
Cheers

coalder · Post by **coalder** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:24 am

Your photo does show a cleanout door. Did you check chimney with mirror? However it would appear that the stuck baro would in and of itself, be the culprit. Like franco suggested, seal the stovepipe where it enters the thimble. Just tightly pack pink insulation around it.
Jim

Post by **franco b** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:26 am

jsto72 wrote:Yikes, okay.....first, what is the exact function of the baro? I will close it off with foil and stuff some insulation around the flu pipe now....

The function of the baro is for the flap to open and draw air from the room when draft is stronger than what it is set for.This makes for more uniform pull through the stove. Without it the draft can vary with outside conditions and because your air intake is manual the amount of air for the fire can vary with changing draft.

Right now you are just trying to get good draft, but in time that baro should be set up properly.

jsto72 · Post by **jsto72** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:33 am

I moved the pipe so that the baro was level, and I stuffed the thimble with insulation. See first pic and let me know if all looks okay.

The second pic shows the knob on the baro. I noticed that it unscrews and can be moved. Where should it be set?

It looks like the baro stuck open was the problem, as the temp is now up to 180 (this makes me happy...see last pic).

jsto72 · Post by **jsto72** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:41 am

J F Graham wrote:Your photo does show a cleanout door. Did you check chimney with mirror? ...

I actually didn't see that door until I looked at the picture just now....I'll check with a mirror, but yes, the stuck-open flap was definitely the culprit.

titleist1 · Post by **titleist1** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:46 am

Nice....A boiler selfie!! Yes, if the baro was stuck open or if air was getting in the chimney through that gap in the thimble it would lessen the draft through the stove and give you lower temps. Good to see it warming up! I noticed you had ash built up on the back of the barometric damper, cleaning that off will make it operate more accurately and maybe not get stuck.

A lot of us have a temp gauge on the stove and one in the flue pipe, the relative difference between these temps helps us dial in the operation of the stove.

Also a lot of us have a manometer connected to the flue to measure the draft. Having one will allow you to set the weight on the barometric damper more exactly. It may also alert you to when the flue pipe is getting some ash build up and needs to be cleaned.

Post by **franco b** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:47 am

Great. Keep an eye on that baro to see that it does not slip again. The pipes should have some sheet metal screws to secure them.

Setting the baro accurately requires a means to measure the draft. It is set by moving that weight that you noticed. Sliding it more centered it will keep the flap open more and the stove will have less draft.

For now leave it alone if the stove is working well. If you hold a match flame to the air intake and it pulls in, then all should be well.

Like your picture. Another happy coal burner.

windyhill4.2 · Post by **windyhill4.2** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:53 am

We all like a happy ending to heating issues,we like when the member having issues is happy, BUT , it is not usual for us to see a pic of the happy owner with the happy boiler ! GOOD JOB, keep warm, thanks for the update & the pics.

northernmainecoal · Post by **northernmainecoal** » Mon. Dec. 08, 2014 11:53 am

Great, always nice to see another happy coal burner!
I'm not familar with your boiler but I expect you would want your baro to maintain around -.05 of draft. As Franco said you can't be sure of your draft without a way to measure it. However the numbers on the slide with can give you a rough idea of where you may want the weight.
As it is set now you are probably pulling more draft than you need, I would slide it out to the .6 position and see how the stove behaves, the further you move the weight out, the less draft you will have and the more the flap will open.

First Winter on My Own...HS Tarm Multi-Fuel Boiler..??

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