DS Machine Coal Boiler any feedback?

Hello,
I am new and have been reading for sometime the forums and absorbing as much as I can on Coal Boilers. My latest project is a new steel building that I was hoping to have heated and completed before the end of the year is still a work in progress.
What I have completed so far is the building is closed in with a 6 inch slab ,2'' foam board underneath with vapor barrier, 7 runs of 5/8 pex with manifolds (40 x 80) ,300 ft of 1'' pex to my current house. My objective is to install a 200,000 bTu Ds Machine Boiler to heat the new shop and use the 1'' pex with a heat exchanger to supply heat to my present oil boiler for my home. My dump zone has me wondering to use a old cast radiator or just bite the bullet an purchase a hanging Modine fan coil unit around 9300 btu? I hope to pour the front concrete aprons in the spring and use pex for snow melt as my dump zone next season. Also I noticed the DS Machine Coal boiler has no fire brick, but a thick steel jacket (almost 1200lbs). Has anyone burned with a DSc#3 Boiler? I am curious how the efficency is . I hope to burn coal and wood.

Thanks ahead for any feedback or comments.

Mac

I seen some of them at the factory. They look well built. As for efficency not sure. They are not ul listed so I don't know if that matters for where you live. The insurance man may not like that. There stoves are listed but not the boilers.

Not to change your mind but once you burn coal why would you want to burn wood?
If you are going to heat a shop and tap into your home system why not go with a stoker boiler?

If you go with a stoker there are a couple people on here that sell refurbed ones that should fit the bill. I have a handfed stove, but I think if I had hydronics I would have a stoker, you all ready need electric for the circulator pumps so why not make it easy.

Just some food for thought, Eric

Do you intend to burn anthracite or bituminous coal? If you want to burn anthracite I recommend that you look into a refurbished stoker boiler. I have been down the wood and coal road and would not do it again.

I too have gone ghe hand fed route with a remote boiler. The stoker route is the way to go. A large batch fed boiler is quite hard to manage when the heat load varies a lot..
With my experience, I'd use the floor for the dump zone,, unless you plan on having the floor at 70* already.. it takes a lot of BTUs to raise the slab even a few degrees..

I have a question about your in-floor pex for your shop.. What is the spacing for your tubing, and how deep in the slab is the pex intended to be?
In my heated slab in my shop I used 12" spacing, and it should have been closer for some of the main work areas.. in hindsight, I'd have liked more heat in some areas..
The overall effect of a warm floor is THE way to heat a shop.. and the tools, fixtures etc...

Greg L

I went 12'' with my pex except around the garage doors on the front wall I kept the spacing tighter since I have three 12'x12's doors.

Mark I went the wood coal route since I have some acreage with trees down from wind or age rotting going to waste. I plan on burning coal in the colder months. I really wanted a multi fuel combo unit that could burn coal and oil. I work long hours and hate the idea of being slaved to heating my house or my shop. Everyone was telling me to go with a outdoor boiler and I figured this route would be better since I would not be out in the weather loading a stove.


thanks,
Mac

Did you end up getting the boiler? How is it if you did? I am having the same discussion as I like the EFM's but don't want to have to get a third size of coal down from the mines. I already use pea and nut and don't want to haul buckwheat as well.

Thanks,
Glenn

New Boiler Temps

We never did figure out exactly what the problem was, but I will stay with my recommendation in this thread...get a stoker. An AA or AHS stoker boiler will burn pea, so you can stick with your current "line up" of two sizes.

I ended up truly disapponted in the DS , not to mention the dealer who never had a solution . I noticed their website has been down and spoke to several people in the Cresson area said there service was poor. One was a relative and had nothing good to say. Lesson learned the expensive way so I am working my way towards a AHS S260 been busy with work and family and have not taken the time to get serious about heat again since the outside temps are warm. I did burn wood one weekend when we had the cold snap to make sure all the pumps are ready and that part of the system worked fine including my oil boiler for backup kicked on when the fire went out.

I just need to see a S260 in action before I pull the trigger.. I noticed the manufactures in the coal burning business make a lot of claims about heat output and burn times not to mention ease of use without a lot of proof .
Mac

Thank you for the response. I do live very close to DS Machine and I have to say they are a group of great guys as is my local dealer and there hand feds are excellent stoves. I can not speak for there boilers but I think I will have to pass on them. Coal Burner is of course beating me over the head with the EFM and if it were not for the fact that I can not use the pea coal with them it would probably be a done deal. I am going to research on here more about the Harman boilers. I am not a fan of the company as far as customer service but in this case I care more about the product then the people. Thanks again for the input and taking the time to get back to me.

Glenn

why don't you check out the coaljack boilers [ coaljack.com ] btw where are you located what state

macdabs wrote:I just need to see a S260 in action before I pull the trigger.. I noticed the manufactures in the coal burning business make a lot of claims about heat output and burn times not to mention ease of use without a lot of proof .

What manufactures are you referring to?

The companies that make stoker boilers provide the btu output rating, and it is up to you to see if that is sufficient for your load. What the salesman says that boiler will heat is a different story. Burn time is endless if you keep coal in the bin/hopper and empty the ash tub...and ease of use is usually related to how the boiler was installed.

What I am referring to is many of the units are not lab tested or even certified , the case with the Ds machine boiler. The BTU output is based on the size of the burn box not a true tested average output of the unit itself. The DS is a Hand feed so I am referring more towards the hand feed style of stove. You would have to overfire the stove to get the true output stated, I know for a fact I spent all last heating season messing with one.

Mac, did you ever get a baro? Did you ever post pics of the firebox or of the unit itself?

macdabs wrote:What I am referring to is many of the units are not lab tested or even certified , the case with the Ds machine boiler. The BTU output is based on the size of the burn box not a true tested average output of the unit itself. The DS is a Hand feed so I am referring more towards the hand feed style of stove. You would have to overfire the stove to get the true output stated, I know for a fact I spent all last heating season messing with one.

Looks like we were not on the same page. I agree with your observations about some of the hand-fired equipment. I was referring to stoker boilers, most of which have been rigorously tested. One example, the Axeman Anderson Anthratube, was tested by the US Bureau of mines in an actual home for over two years. The report is here if you want some interesting reading: Bureau of Mines Report 4936 Axeman-Andersen Antratube Boiler

I am really interested in the AHS 260, from what I can see on the documentation the unit is the cats meow . I think the DS would be fine in a gravity sytem or a single zone system and just was not made to work with multiple zone pumps.

Mac