Newbie to coal. Have a ?

Here's my situation, I purchased an AHS s-130 this year to heat a new 2,100 sq/ft single story home with full basement. Basement is not heated other than what the boiler throws off and the farthest area away from the boiler stays at around 55-58 F so far. We keep living area (2,100 sq/ft) at 70-72 F. The boiler also heats the DHW for 3 people. It is a fairly well insulated Pre-Fab house, no radiant heat, just baseboard hot water.
I've been burning about 60+ lbs of anthracite pea coal in a 24 hour period with outdoor temps of 15-30 F, wind has been minimal. The set point variable (SV) is currently at 128, water temp is usually 150+ with a high limit of 200. Shaker set to mode 2 so that it only shakes when fan is running and ash temp is below SV.
My questions are, is this an excessive amount of coal to burn for this boiler given the size house? I realize the first year of a new house will be the worst to heat.
Will consumption increase a substantial amount when the weather is cold? Say below zero F all day long. Or will the increase be only marginal?
I appreciate any responses and please let me know if there is a better place to post this question or if I have left out any variables.

I think you are doing well at 60 lbs/day with a home that size and domestic hot water for three people.

Your coal consumption will certainly increase as the temperature drops. You may burn 100-120 lbs per day on a below zero day...especially if it is windy. If your house is very "tight" and not sensitive to wind, the amount you burn will be more predicable once you get a feel for it.

Thanks Rob, I wanted someone with experience to reassure me. I thought it was excessive but our last house was only 1,200 sq/ft and I heated with wood/oil.
I think I lit too early cause when it was 40-50 F in mid Oct.-Nov. there was a lot of unburnt coal in the ash, I felt like throwing it back in. The ash pan is now lighter with the cooler temps. I'll know better next year.

I think you would be depressed if you had to heat your current house with oil. However much coal you burn will cost about 50% less than if you did the same job with oil.

What is the setpoint temperature of your boiler? 180?

Not sure. The SV (set point variable) is currently at 128. The manufacturer recommends 140 and no lower than 120. I turned it down cause it is still kind of warm outside and I was getting a good amount of unburned coal in my ash. The circulator is set to 140, the high limit to 200, the temp gauge usually runs between 160-190 with the pressure constantly at ~22psi. That is how the dealer set it up and he gave me a quick lesson about it. I really know very little about boilers... use to have forced hot air system before.
I did turn down the temp on DHW cause it was on "5" the caution zone but our faucets have an anti-scaulding device so I didn't realize the DHW was turned up that high.

I was referring to the L4006A aquastat. I believe the factory setting is 180.

Rob R. wrote:I was referring to the L4006A aquastat. I believe the factory setting is 180.

That is how mine is set. The L4006A setting of 180 turns on the fan at 170 degrees, and turns off the fan at 180 degrees. You will find this aquastat on the motor end of the boiler, positioned in the upper right hand corner.

I heat a similar square footage of floorspace, and I just ran my computer program which tells me that for a day in which the high is 30 degrees and the low is 15 degrees I will theoretically burn 59.5 lbs. of coal, so if you are burning 60 lbs. to keep the home warm at those temps it sounds quite normal.

I assume the basement in this house is around 2000 sq. ft also? That is a big space to keep warm...but your house would be more comfortable if the basement was heated to room temperature. If the basement walls are insulated, it might not take all that much coal to keep the basement at 70 or so.

OK the L4006A was what I was referring to as the high limit... I just saw the #'s 4006 on the Honeywell box. It is at 200. I turned it down to 180 previously about a month ago in an effort to be more efficient, the next day I noticed the fire was out. I'm not certain if it went out for that reason or some other but I re-lit and turned it back to 200 which is where the dealer set it upon installation.
Something else about that L4006A, the electric company replaced the transformer (at the pole)one day and when they did I had to trip the breakers for the oil & coal boilers to start running again(3-4 hours later). I also had to press the reset on the L4006A for it(the fan or pump?) to start up again. I'm assuming cause we had no power for a while that the coal was still lit and water was not being circulated and got to 200+ and tripped it out.
Like I said I don't know much about these boilers but I do want to learn which is part of the reason for joining this forum. Thanks for all the input, everyone has been so helpful. Some forums out there which will remain unnamed are full of grown ups who act like they are in middle school. I appreciate it .

The basement is not insulated and is also 2,100 sq/ft. We have a knee wall of about 4' with two windows facing South. That knee wall is insulated but we have no plans to insulate or heat the rest of the basement at the moment. I am building walls around the coal & oil boiler, chimney, water tanks, and HRV. This "furnace room" will be 20' X 20'. It is more or less to keep these utilities and coal storage separate from the rest of the basement.

jdeg wrote:OK the L4006A was what I was referring to as the high limit... I just saw the #'s 4006 on the Honeywell box. It is at 200. I turned it down to 180 previously about a month ago in an effort to be more efficient, the next day I noticed the fire was out. I'm not certain if it went out for that reason or some other but I re-lit and turned it back to 200 which is where the dealer set it upon installation.
Something else about that L4006A, the electric company replaced the transformer (at the pole)one day and when they did I had to trip the breakers for the oil & coal boilers to start running again(3-4 hours later). I also had to press the reset on the L4006A for it(the fan or pump?) to start up again. I'm assuming cause we had no power for a while that the coal was still lit and water was not being circulated and got to 200+ and tripped it out.
Like I said I don't know much about these boilers but I do want to learn which is part of the reason for joining this forum. Thanks for all the input, everyone has been so helpful. Some forums out there which will remain unnamed are full of grown ups who act like they are in middle school. I appreciate it .

Your two aquastats are working in reverse. Sadly the electrical schematic points to this, but the schematic itself is in error (and your dealer apparently did not know this). The "high Limit" side of your L4081B is the one that should be set at 200 degrees. Set the L4006A at 180 and the L4081B 'high limit' side at 200 and the boiler will not go out. Be careful, as the L4081B is intentionally installed upside down, and this has also led to some confusion.

[
Your two aquastats are working in reverse. Sadly the electrical schematic points to this, but the schematic itself is in error (and your dealer apparently did not know this). The "high Limit" side of your L4081B is the one that should be set at 200 degrees. Set the L4006A at 180 and the L4081B 'high limit' side at 200 and the boiler will not go out. Be careful, as the L4081B is intentionally installed upside down, and this has also led to some confusion.[/quote]

I pulled the cover off the L4081B and it is installed upside down because the Honeywell logo is upside down and so are the temp readings/dials on the inside. Looking at it the way it is installed, the "dump zone" 206626B is on the left side and is set at 195*. The "operate limit" L4081B is on the right side and is set at 175*. The installer wrote operate limit on the dial inside the box L4801B and there is also a sticker (operate limit) on the outside of that box. The L4006A has a high limit sticker on it. What you're saying is that the operate limit sticker should be on the L4006A and vice versa. Of course I understand that a sticker doesn't change the function of the device, I just want to be sure we are on the same page cause my S-130 is the new model with the mode 2 on the grate control. I would like to think that AHS would revise the schematic if they realize an error... doesn't mean that they actually did though.
I'll wait for a reply from you before changing my temp controls. I'm just too afraid to screw something up.

jdeg wrote:I'll wait for a reply from you before changing my temp controls. I'm just too afraid to screw something up.

We are on the same page. I would strongly advise and encourage you to call Darren at AHS to confirm this first, before taking my word for it. Jeff Gingerich (former owner of AHS?) is the one who told me to reverse them, but I don't believe that he currently works for them. My fire had gone out within 24 hours of firing up the first time, and when I called Jeff that was his solution. I have not had an out-fire since.

I was told something to the effect that the boiler was actually approved (listed) by UL using the bogus schematic, and now in order to change the schematic and the manual itself they would have to jump through hoops to be re tested and listed by UL with the schematic corrected.

lsayre wrote:I was told something to the effect that the boiler was actually approved (listed) by UL using the bogus schematic, and now in order to change the schematic and the manual itself they would have to jump through hoops to be re tested and listed by UL with the schematic corrected.

Poor unknowing customers have to take it in the shorts...Quite the business concept.