Harman Stokers - to Cement Grates or leave floating?

Hi everyone,

I'm going into my 3rd season w/ my VF3000 boiler, original grates which are still in great shape as far as I can tell. I've seen different instructions in say the DVC stoker stove (cement grates in) vs. the instructions I got w/ my boiler which said nothing about cementing the grates even though the stoker mechanism is essentially the same in the boiler as the stove.

Since this will be the first full and probably real winter w/ my little one in the house, I anticipate needing some more BTU's in my upstairs forced air zone. I have the heat exchanger in plenum setup, and in prior years we really didn't need to heat the upstairs as our MBR is on the 1st floor.

My thought is this year to cement the grates in, more airflow directed to coal and more BTU's/hr? Maybe the difference is negligible? Was hoping to hear from some folks that cemented them in and noticed faster burn on the same feed settings. Thanks

If it runs well the way it is, I vote to avoid the risk of broken screws and other complications by leaving it alone.

Was the boiler's capacity "taxed" last winter?

I'm going into my 9th heating season with my VF3000. Original grates still in good shape. Do not cement them in. When you lay them in the grate holder, make sure they are centered with an equal space between each grate and the side of the grate holder.

It has been taxed, but I'm thinking this year should be somewhat better. Original owners finished basement and cut into existing 1st floor duct work, and until I set out to seal it up better last spring I didn't realize how bad it really was. Its now all sealed up and air flow through 1st floor registers is much improved.

I was just wondering if anyone cemented grates in and noticed any difference in BTU output, or there really just isn't that much air leaking around the sides and center line of the grate.