Oliver, I wouldn't be too quick to pass judgement on that 254 just yet. Had a similar issue with my boiler a while back. Was always able to idle it at 180-200* any weather no problem mpd almost closed. One evening while in a hurry, closed it up before I felt it was going properly. Checked it a few hrs later with IR gun 167* on the door. Opened the ash door, got it roaring & was fine after that. I always open ash door & get it revved up pretty good, load it & wait till mano hits about .10 before closing up. By following this practice have never had a problem in mild weather. It'll,idle 24/7 any weather, drawing .02-.03. This experience taught me that in order to do this, the coal bed must be fully ignited & roaring before closing shop. Just passing on my experience.oliver power wrote: ↑Sun. May. 02, 2021 10:08 pmI've had to restart my 254 at least three times during these low low burns. The stove will run on low low with no problem. Here are the issues trying to burn low low in these mild temps. Weak draft, and Damp coal. Igniting fresh coal at tending takes forever. Fire can easily be put out if one gets impatient. I'd say the 30-95 is king for the low low burns. As mentioned; The 30-95 has the hopper for drying / preheating the coal. And with it's single grate, the primary
air is more concentrated. On top of that, the 30-95 is a little less efficient, allowing more heated air to flow up the chimney, making for a better draft.
Jim