Cold weather adjustments

Finally we got some real cold weather to test out the boiler. for the last 24 hours highs around 20 lows 14, I had to make some adjustments to the boiler. The thermostat wasn't able to be satisfied so I bumped the blower fan speed up to high and I raised the boiler water to 180 degrees. Now it's cycling again real nice, the forced air fan runs for about 15 minutes on, 15 minutes off, and the house is just under 70. Now I need some temps near zero to see if the feed rate is adequate to maintain the boiler water temp, and at what temperature I reach the radiation limit of the heat exchanger. Pray for bitter cold so I can tweak this monster to perfection.

How big is your house? Are you using a lot of coal? How often do you empty the ash bin?
Thanks

I heat 4100 square feet total, the house is 2800 and the basement is 1300, I can turn off the ducts to the basement so I'm not heating that all the time. 34 large windows and 10 smaller ones, 8 exterior doors, most of the windows are circa 1887 single pane wavy glass but I added storm windows on all the windows, an average of 12"-15" of insulation in the attic, Wall insulation is the same as any other house of this vintage, not much can fit in there. I'm using about 80# a day on average which includes heating all my hot water, every night before I settle down I empty the ash bucket and fill the hopper. In the morning I'll check and see how much coal I used overnight, it's usually less than 50 pounds. The hopper holds 450 pounds and the ash bucket will hold ~100 pounds of ash but I don't let it get to that point, it's easier to empty the ashes when the bucket is 1/4 full, no mess, no dust, and it's light. When the outside temps are above freezing I don't use very much coal at all, less than 50# per day, when it gets down to the teens it augers much more into the boiler. I bought 6 tons, I'm hoping that will last from Oct 1st '07 through may 1st '08. I'll probably need 8 ton a year, time will tell.

That's a big house with lots of exterior doors and windows. I'm sure your saving a bundle and staying comfy.

I can say for certain that the house is warmer than it ever was and I don't freak out when the kids leave the door open. I still get after them but it's not nearly as stressful as watching $2+/gal propane heat the outside