Getting Ready to Install LL WL110

Hello All,

I am new to the forum and to coal burning. For the past 8 years owning my home, I have been heating with wood (forced hot air) and an oil boiler (Energy Kinetics System 2000).
A good friend of mine is a Leisure Line dealer and could say enough good things about the LL WL110 dual fuel boiler. After much consideration I made the purchase and the WL110 is now sitting in my basement waiting to be installed. I haven't ever installed a boiler so I am looking to see if there is any advice and or previous posts in regards to tips on install. Any info that I can be directed to would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Brian

Allot of good info can be found here, add your location to profile. Maybe someone here lives near you that could show their setup.

Leisure Line is very well thought of around here and they have their own section for questions as you need.
Your system 2000 is a pretty epic (and expensive system)... but even at that... it cant beat coal and oil is the devil! (criegs list that system 2000 because its worth money!)
You wont be using your 110 with oil (its their... so it will make you comfortable in the purchase, etc... but you like all the others will be using coal from now on)

Brian, if you could post some pictures of your current system (in particular the piping around the boiler) it would be helpful.

dcrane wrote:Leisure Line is very well thought of around here and they have their own section for questions as you need.
Your system 2000 is a pretty epic (and expensive system)... but even at that... it cant beat coal and oil is the devil! (criegs list that system 2000 because its worth money!)
You wont be using your 110 with oil (its their... so it will make you comfortable in the purchase, etc... but you like all the others will be using coal from now on)

I have thought about putting the system 2000 on craigslist when the time comes to part ways. I have a power vent to go with it. Any idea how I could go about gauging its value?

Rob R. wrote:Brian, if you could post some pictures of your current system (in particular the piping around the boiler) it would be helpful.

Rob, here are a few pics of the current boiler hook up.

the heat exchanger?... is that for domestic hotwater? I'm just curious.

wilder11354 wrote:the heat exchanger?... is that for domestic hotwater? I'm just curious.

Yes, it is standard on System 2000 units.

I hate to sound so negative, but that install is quite a hack job. My own oil boiler is a close second.

Since the LL110 is capable of burning fuel oil, I would probably do a complete boiler swap and send the System 2000 down the road.

Rob R. wrote:

wilder11354 wrote:the heat exchanger?... is that for domestic hotwater? I'm just curious.

Yes, it is standard on System 2000 units.

I hate to sound so negative, but that install is quite a hack job. My own oil boiler is a close second.

Since the LL110 is capable of burning fuel oil, I would probably do a complete boiler swap and send the System 2000 down the road.

I hear ya. This will be my first attempt at a boiler install. Given this scenario pictured, I'm not sure where to begin.

The good news is that you have a coal boiler, and hydronics. I have changed out 6 of those yellow bast***ds this year, so don't ask me to comment on them.
PT Barnum called it correctly when he said there is one born every minute..... VERY tight feed, return, and heat exchanger locations.
Not a union in sight, a real PITA to modify to make two boilers work together.

Create a manifold for your zones OFF the damned boiler ....on a wall, for feed and return lines, AND DO NOT install the air scoop over the top of the boiler.
It can be on the wall as well. No rusty drips from stuck or corroded air purger vents.....look around, you will quickly see what I'm talking about....
I would add as many unions as you feel comfortable with, and if you are not a skilled soldering guy, consider black iron piping.

You can lay it out on the supply house floor and add as you go. Home D and Lowe's are NOT a plumbing supply house, so ask around and get the RIGHT components.

Sys 2000's all come with Honeywell Zone Valves, HOWEVER there are many other brands to use if you chose something else.
Than little computer is simply a means of extracting all the available BTU's to the domestic hot water, and then become a zero start oil boiler.

If you have not had any service work done, you are a lucky camper. It should have a BMW sticker on it just like the fine German Ultimate Driving Machine (Bring More Wampum)

Lets just say that you are a lucky guy to have a LL dealer close by. Order the optional flue clean-out box, and larger hopper......makes life easier.

I agree with whistlenut, move all the zone contol valves, and feed return manifolds to a wall mount setup. also use isolator bleed valves in each each zone and ball valve on other side of zone valve from isolator, to close off that section if zone valve ever goes bad, just isolate the valve and replace it, no draing whole system to fix. Think it out, sketch it out, lay it out, then double check, then start to assemble it.

Some good pics of a wall install setup of zone manifolds and controls. New Life for a 1980 DF520 Rob R is the builder of this one I believe.

Yes, that is the EFM I put in my brother's house.

Note to self...paint the plywood next time before screwing the piping to it. Second note to self, don't install boilers in January, that way there is time to paint.

I guess I am a bit overwhelmed at this point. I was hoping not to do a whole lot of modification to put the 110 in its place. The installation instructions are a little vague.

It is not as complicated as it looks, but unless you intend to put the WL110 in a different location, the piping will need a lot of modification. I say that because your current boiler is unique in the size and configuration in the piping.

Z10396 wrote:I guess I am a bit overwhelmed at this point. I was hoping not to do a whole lot of modification to put the 110 in its place. The installation instructions are a little vague.

My two cents.

Cut all that crap out.

Strip the existing boiler down to the inlet and outlets.

Pipe a primary loop from the WL 110 to the old boiler. You're gonna want extra mass running the WL110. You really will want that.

Run your zones as secondarys off the primary loop.

Make one of those zones the dump zone.

But before you do anything, get sting to send you the names of the three books by Hallorhan (?) that you absolutely should be reading before starting your installation.

It's late in the season to be doing this, I know because I waited until October to install mine and it was a very anxious few weeks before I was up and running.

The next summer I ripped out all my piping downstairs and started over, and that winter I had the best heat I've ever had. The coal sucked, but the heat was great. Looking foward to this year and not having to do anything to the boiler.