losch boiler

hello new to this sight

i am new to the use of coal i have just aquired a used losch automatic coal hot water boiler i am looking for any informatiom about this unit also what the best way to find anthracite sources to allentown pa.

thank you truly

The company is still in business, take a look at their web site.

http://www.loschplumbingheating.com/loschboiler.html

Yanche

Hello Coalrush. Welcome to the forum. I too was looking at that Losch boiler on ebay. I couldn't find much info either.

Since the company is still in business, and the boiler is not a real common one to see around, I think the company itself will be the best source for info.

In general, for install and operation:

That boiler was shut down full of coal, and ash. So a very through cleaning is in order. Check for rusted parts from the ash and moisture making acids.

After a very thorough cleaning, see if the stoker will run and push coal. Lube up all sliding parts with penetrating oil. You don't want to damage the motor or transmission of the stoker 'cause it is corroded and seized. Free it up first.

This Losch boiler is HUGE. 400K btu is enough for a 6-8000sqft house with average to good insulation and windows. This unit may be too big, and you will have to run it at an 'idle' or very low setting unless you are heating a big building. How big is the building you are heating??

I would hook up pipe caps and plugs, and use air to pressurize the boiler and monitor the pressure gauges over several hours to see if it has any internal leaks before installing it. It will be much easier to fix any problems before it is installed and full of water..

I'd love to see additional photos of the boiler and the stoker unit. The seller on ebay never responded to my request for more info and photos. PM me for my email address if you can send photos.

Hope this helps. Greg L

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BTW, I can tell you this, those things run forever and are very low maintenance. There's really nothing to break as far as the mechanics go and anything that does break is very easily accessible.

STOP CAUTION, Never pressure test any boiler with compressed air. You pressure test it with water. Pressure testing is done with incompressible fluids. If the pressure vessel you are testing fractures the now compressed air will blow fragments all over the place. Perhaps causing serious property or bodily damage. Test with water. A failure using water will just cause a water clean up mess. That's why you never use plastic pipe for compressed air lines. When it fails shards go flying. Sorry Greg.

Yanche

Aboslutely no need to appologize Yanche, I hadn't thought of the potential dangers of using air to test the boiler. I just wanted to emphasize the need to leak test before getting the boiler all plumbed in and then discover a leak.

The problem is providing a pressurized water test. I guess you could buy adapters and use a garden hose to hook to domestic water and use that pressure to test with. ?

I just work with air in the shop all the time and use it for pressure testing things all the time. But there is a LOT of potential energy in a large vessel filled with compressed air.

Greg L

I would like to know more about that water cooled shaker grate. Looks like a very well made unit.

Coalrush, did you get the Losch boiler yet?? When you do, several detailed photos posted on the forum would be nice.

coadedsweat and myself would like to see details of how the grate is water cooled. I'd like to see the layout and size of the boiler heat exchanger, and it's design and air/water flow. 400K is very intrigueing to me.

Greg L

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hello againnn

i purchased that boiler on ebay it has a few issues for a first project it looks like a summer project. we had very hard time moving this unit out of the basement small 5 step low ceiling jobby, lost boiler jacket and exterior plumbing. after stripping down this unit i feel the stoker to be infair to good shape it is in need of a tune up!!! i called up the losch plumbing co. they informed me that they didnot make the boilers, they were made by a company to their specs. they have all the parts and service and rebuild all models losch boilers. they said the boiler size i have (grate 91/2" wide) was the smallest model they made, its' btu rating is 300,000+ btu. the grate is watercool with what i think to be vibration setup for feeding rice coal. i am planning to take the stoker unit to losch for a look over before i assemble this unit. the boiler part of this system may have a leak!!! i am trying to figure out how to replace the water tubes 12 2"x 42" i found a place i jersey that sells boiler tubing. right now i have to many unknowns for me to complete this season. i am taking pics and am determined to get it up an running. thanks for your inputs. p.s. this boiler is going to heat a small part of a wharehouse.

thank you truly

coalrush :rightfighter5:

Thanks coalrush for getting back with us. I would really like to see photos of the boiler and stoker unit.

Did you water pressure test the boiler to find the leak?? I'l like to see the layout of the boiler heat collector, and the boiler tubes you describe. I would have thought that the boiler would have been several layers or sections of cast iron sealed and bolted together in a sandwich.

Anyway we are currious what it looks like and how it is put together. so pleas post some photos when you can.

Thanks, Greg L.

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Coalrush, just wondering if Losch recommends rice size coal. Our church used to use a Losch and always used barley size coal. It has since been replaced with a pair of EFM stokers. I have a friend who replaced those tubes in a Losch for someone last fall, he does welding, machining, fabricating and stuff like that. I have no Idea how you go about doing it myself but maybe could try to find out from him sometime how complicated it was. Unfortunately the water cooled grate can leak, and many do. The good news is that the leaking can be fixed. I do not know how often this problem recurs but this is the biggest gripe I ever heard about these boilers. There is a lot of steel in one of these boilers! Maybe enough to make a small tank.

hey guys

i am going send some phots this weekend and see if anyone steps up to the plate. i am an artist / fabracator building in a shop with little heat , air gas heaters expensive looking for solutions on a large scale. this project i hope answers my coal questions. i plan to pay losch plumbing a visit this month when they have time to see me and my boiler parts. i am presently heating a very large sprinkler system and it is getting cold :coldcold: :coldcold:

ps someone said they are using a 1,300,000 btu unit and i was woundering;

how sq footage are you heating and how much coal do you use for the season?

thank you truly

coalrush :rightfighter5:

Hi Coalrush, sorry to hear about the leaks in the boiler...

Take a look at this thread:

http://nepacrossroads.com/viewtopic.php?t=1401

This guy is using a big stokerfired hot-air furnace to heat a lot of square footage!!

I don't know how you were going to distribute your hot water from the Losch boiler, or if you already have a water system, or if hot air heat is even an option??

But you may find the information interesting, maybe PM him and compare experiences and heating needs??

Take care, Greg L

hello

here some pics as promised front of the boiler after and before

coalrush

here some more pics the ress was too high for uploading

coalrush