Why doesn't the feed rate in my coal stove slow down after it has reached temperature? Shouldn't the feed rate start the slow down when it reaches the thermostat's temperature?
Example: When the coal stove is getting up to temperature, the feed rate goes up to 99 and it does not turn itself down. I have to go into the settings and manually turn the max rate way down to get it to slow down. And then I can let it go on automatic after that. Also, to keep the room at a steady temperature, we have to constantly change the MIN and MAX flow rate settings.
Thanks!
Coal-Trol Feed Rate
- Flyer5
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You are chasing your tail so to speak. The min and max are not a function of temperature control. They are just like the idle setting and throttle stop on your car. The min is only used to maintain a fire setting it as small as you can so extra heat is not going into the room. It can also be used if your draft is minimal because the chimney does not maintain enough heat to create a strong enough draw. Because the convection fans are not running more heat will go up the chimney so if you have a good chimney or a powervent getting the fire as small as possible when idling will save fuel.gkrol wrote:Why doesn't the feed rate in my coal stove slow down after it has reached temperature? Shouldn't the feed rate start the slow down when it reaches the thermostat's temperature?
Example: When the coal stove is getting up to temperature, the feed rate goes up to 99 and it does not turn itself down. I have to go into the settings and manually turn the max rate way down to get it to slow down. And then I can let it go on automatic after that. Also, to keep the room at a steady temperature, we have to constantly change the MIN and MAX flow rate settings.
Thanks!
The max is used to get the max heat from the stove or like the throttle stop. When the FR is at 99 you want to see a full bed of hot coals with only ash dropping into the ash pan. Both Min and Max are seconds out of a 100 second cycle relating to only the feed motor run time.
The feed rate is a percentage of convection fan speed and Max value. Feed rate is like the cruise control on your car if you come to a hill it will add more throttle if it still is loosing speed it will add more throttle, if your throttle stop / (Max) is to low you will run out of power and not be able to keep up. So getting the min and max set properly in the beginning is important to getting proper operation. Once they are set they should rarely be changed throughout the season unless coal size or quality were to change drastically. Example going from rice to buckwheat you will need to raise values.
The only thing you should be changing that will effect FR is the setpoint temp. Try not to ask the stove to make drastic temperature changes no more the 2 or 3 degrees at a time. I recommend not using any set back between day and night.
I hope this helps clear thing up.
- WNY
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Like he said, you should set the MIN and Max like 6 and 40 (or whatever the book setting is for you stove), only SMALL adjustments to maintain the fire (MIN) and MAX for FULL GRATE OF BURNING at FR99.
COAL and the COALTROL takes time to respond, you should not change the temp more than a few degrees if that at a time. It may stay at FR99 for a while until the temp is the same or higher than room temps, then the FR should start to drop. It can take an hour or more for it to settle out and the FR drops enough to maintain the setpoint.
COAL and the COALTROL takes time to respond, you should not change the temp more than a few degrees if that at a time. It may stay at FR99 for a while until the temp is the same or higher than room temps, then the FR should start to drop. It can take an hour or more for it to settle out and the FR drops enough to maintain the setpoint.
- Flyer5
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6min 40max are good starting points but do need to be adjusted to get optimal operation. I have seen as much as 12 min and max settings anywhere from 33 to 80. But a new pioneer should be 4min and 36 max that is where they seem to operate but yours may be different. There is no shortcut.
- pvolcko
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gkrol,
You may want to run with a reduced MAX in the Fall and Spring. If it is normally 40 to achieve a full bed of coals, then you may want to try running at 20 until the consistently cold weather hits.
And if you can, please try leaving it alone when the setpoint temperature is hit. When you first start it or when you make a drastic temperature setpoint change it has to get up to temp and there is usually some overshoot. Reducing the MAX will limit the amount of overshoot. The control is generally very good at tracking the ups and downs of demand throughout the day and maintain the setpoint temperature through them, however, large jumps in setpoint can induce the overshoot again and require a little patience for the control to settle in on the right FR again. This is made worse in these milder times of year and it why running with a reduced MAX can be helpful in containing the effect.
You may want to run with a reduced MAX in the Fall and Spring. If it is normally 40 to achieve a full bed of coals, then you may want to try running at 20 until the consistently cold weather hits.
And if you can, please try leaving it alone when the setpoint temperature is hit. When you first start it or when you make a drastic temperature setpoint change it has to get up to temp and there is usually some overshoot. Reducing the MAX will limit the amount of overshoot. The control is generally very good at tracking the ups and downs of demand throughout the day and maintain the setpoint temperature through them, however, large jumps in setpoint can induce the overshoot again and require a little patience for the control to settle in on the right FR again. This is made worse in these milder times of year and it why running with a reduced MAX can be helpful in containing the effect.
Thank you for all the replies.
We have not changed our set point. It is set at 75 for both nightime and daytime. What I see happening is that as soon as the temperature gets below my set point, it automatically goes right to 99 FR and stays there for a half hour, and the temperature shoots up to 80. The FR then drops way down because the temp is so high. This makes the temperature in the room drop down to 74 and the whole cycle starts over again. It never truly settles on a feed rate that will maintain the temperature, which seems wasteful to me.
I will try reducing my MAX to 30 for a day or two, then 20 for a day or two to see if this reduces the overshoot. (It is currently set on 40).
We have not changed our set point. It is set at 75 for both nightime and daytime. What I see happening is that as soon as the temperature gets below my set point, it automatically goes right to 99 FR and stays there for a half hour, and the temperature shoots up to 80. The FR then drops way down because the temp is so high. This makes the temperature in the room drop down to 74 and the whole cycle starts over again. It never truly settles on a feed rate that will maintain the temperature, which seems wasteful to me.
I will try reducing my MAX to 30 for a day or two, then 20 for a day or two to see if this reduces the overshoot. (It is currently set on 40).
- Flyer5
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Did you change the HLF setting?gkrol wrote:Thank you for all the replies.
We have not changed our set point. It is set at 75 for both nightime and daytime. What I see happening is that as soon as the temperature gets below my set point, it automatically goes right to 99 FR and stays there for a half hour, and the temperature shoots up to 80. The FR then drops way down because the temp is so high. This makes the temperature in the room drop down to 74 and the whole cycle starts over again. It never truly settles on a feed rate that will maintain the temperature, which seems wasteful to me.
I will try reducing my MAX to 30 for a day or two, then 20 for a day or two to see if this reduces the overshoot. (It is currently set on 40).
- pvolcko
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HLF wouldn't cause the FR to jump around like that. hmm... gkrol, please call us at 315-299-3589 to describe and discuss your issue more. There may be something wrong here based on the description you've given. The FR will climb when under setpoint and decline when over, but it should be a gradual. If it is jumping between 99 and 0 then you may have gotten a unit with boiler code on it by accident.
- nwaelder
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gkrol,
I believe we spoke about this problem.
(If in fact, this wasn't you, well, others may benefit.)
The Coal-trol Thermostat must be mounted on a wall, in the manner of every other thermostat (TS). It will not work correctly while flat on it's belly, as may be the case, on a couch arm, coffee table, or bookshelf.
The reason is that two small holes in the TS act like a chimney - inside the lower hole is the temperature sensor, and this, combined with the heat generated by the electronics of the TS itself, cause a small amount of airflow out the upper hole. This vertical hole arrangement only exists when the TS is mounted as one would expect a TS to be mounted.
I believe we spoke about this problem.
(If in fact, this wasn't you, well, others may benefit.)
The Coal-trol Thermostat must be mounted on a wall, in the manner of every other thermostat (TS). It will not work correctly while flat on it's belly, as may be the case, on a couch arm, coffee table, or bookshelf.
The reason is that two small holes in the TS act like a chimney - inside the lower hole is the temperature sensor, and this, combined with the heat generated by the electronics of the TS itself, cause a small amount of airflow out the upper hole. This vertical hole arrangement only exists when the TS is mounted as one would expect a TS to be mounted.