Problems With KAA-2 Temps.

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Carbon12
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Post by Carbon12 » Sun. Jan. 26, 2014 8:33 pm

How dare life get in the way :mad: :lol:


 
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Sting
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Post by Sting » Mon. Jan. 27, 2014 7:26 am

KLook wrote: I remember being chastised by the fabulous Sting for having the return water start my stoker!

Kevin
Sorry -- Maybe that was due to Lovers remorse because I had just run out of $5.00 bills at the strip bar

 
waldo lemieux
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Post by waldo lemieux » Mon. Jan. 27, 2014 7:49 am

Sting,

I had a jersey printed that says " The tit whisperer" and I find I don't need Fives anymore :)

 
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Post by kstills » Mon. Jan. 27, 2014 8:27 am

My guess is he'll be back tomorrow or wednesday, when his heat loss once again exceeds his output.

 
KLook
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Post by KLook » Mon. Jan. 27, 2014 8:42 am

No offense taken Sting, I learned plenty from your cryptic zingers. ;) I earned the handle of the "curmudgeon" over the years so it takes one to know one! :lol:

Kevin

 
farrell2k
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Post by farrell2k » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 11:55 am

Been working too much, guys. Thanks for the concern. I think kstills is correct when he writes that my heat loss is likely outmatching boiler output. just for the hell of it, I put the upstairs on it's own zone and turned down the heat up there, and the boiler was easily able to get the downstairs house temp to 72*. I can live with a colder upstairs, but now the switching relay for the upstairs zone is dead, so I am back to where I started with the downstairs at 66* until I get the chance to buy another. I have noticed that the baseboards upstairs get warmer than the ones downstairs, which is confusing to me.

 
farrell2k
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Post by farrell2k » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 12:08 pm

oliver power wrote:
KLook wrote:The other way to adjust output of the fin tubing is close down the opening on the cabinet itself. Just like having dirty fins.
I think Sting is all about balance, not necessarily high or low flow, but the proper flow to the proper radiation with the proper supply. If you are at the fringes of this "proper" thing, as I found myself at because I am not a hydronics guy either, you listen, read, and learn about how to manipulate what you have. Then observe your results in the real world. I made it work and it works well, because of this excellent forum. 8-)

Kevin
Yes, same here Kevin. That's why we're HOOKED. You know, I went back to page one again. His boiler dropped to (I think it was below) 140*. That would shut off his circulator, and he's dead in the water, till boiler temp comes back up. Meanwhile, his house cools off.......and it never got warm to begin with. Once the boiler reaches temp again, the same thing happens again. That's how it works. With a bigger fire on the carpet, it gives the stoker time to get cranked up before the water temp reaches low limit, shutting off circulator. Yet, a lower setting on the triple aquastat allows the circulator to circulate cooler water, which is why his room temps are higher with lower aquastat setting. It might be cooler water but, it's better than no water. My Kaa-2 would do the exact same thing. And so does anyone elses Kaa-2. The simple fix is to add timer pins. He needs to have a bigger fire on the carpet. If he had a bigger fire on the carpet, and the stoker was able to catch up, and take over before the low water temp shut down the circulator, he'd have no problems. And lots of heat. In these cold temps, the Kaa-2 has to be run on the timer. I'm surprised other Kaa-2 owners haven't chimed in here. We all have the same problem, which isn't a problem at all if you know how to run the little boiler. I think if he simply added pins, he'd be running around his house in under shorts. In any case, we want to hear from him. We want results. Oliver
I currently have the pins set to factory settings. I am going to add some more, if I have any to see what happens. Someone mentioned slowing the flow rate to the baseboards. The only way I can do that is to restrict the water flow to the baseboards via a shut off, which I will try, but I am not too excited about that idea.


 
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Post by McGiever » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 12:10 pm

Somebody else said Do Not slow down the flow. :roll:

 
kstills
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Post by kstills » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 12:13 pm

farrell2k wrote:Been working too much, guys. Thanks for the concern. I think kstills is correct when he writes that my heat loss is likely outmatching boiler output. just for the hell of it, I put the upstairs on it's own zone and turned down the heat up there, and the boiler was easily able to get the downstairs house temp to 72*. I can live with a colder upstairs, but now the switching relay for the upstairs zone is dead, so I am back to where I started with the downstairs at 66* until I get the chance to buy another. I have noticed that the baseboards upstairs get warmer than the ones downstairs, which is confusing to me.
Part concern, part obsession. :)

Some things you can do immediately to help out the situation of heat loss that don't cost a ton of money:

1) bubble wrap for your windows.
http://www.staples.com/Staples-Large-Bubble-Wrap- ... uct_929853

Rolls are better, but using this will effectively double the insulation value of a single pane window, huge in terms of change in heat loss.

2). Fill cellar windows with insulation.
I used fiberglass batt stapled to a fitted board and stuffed it into the window wells.

3.) Insulation on your pipework.
Fitted foam insulation at Home Depot is ~1.50 for three feet, less if bought in bulk, will stop you from heating the basement and direct more heat upstairs.

4) spray foam insulation into any hole to the outside (cellar) or from one floor to another.
Cans are fairly cheap, but use it all up in one go as the nozzle clogs with the goop and it's hard to reuse.

Of course, any insulation added to the attic is a huge factor in reducing heat loss.

Aren't your zones independently valved? Sounds like you have less resistance to flow going upstairs, so if you have a valve in line throttle it back a good bit and see if that helps.

Good news is, after this week it looks like the weather begins to moderate and you shouldn't have any more low temps to deal with.

 
farrell2k
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Post by farrell2k » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 12:30 pm

kstills wrote: Of course, any insulation added to the attic is a huge factor in reducing heat loss.

Aren't your zones independently valved? Sounds like you have less resistance to flow going upstairs, so if you have a valve in line throttle it back a good bit and see if that helps.

Good news is, after this week it looks like the weather begins to moderate and you shouldn't have any more low temps to deal with.
No attic in this small 1,000 sq ft monstrosity. :) None of this is my specialty or hobby. I am an out of work Java developer, so I am not sure about the zones being individually valved. The zones certainly have individual taco circulators which I currently have wired in parallel until I replace my relay for the upstairs zone.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 12:46 pm

Do you know where your current coal came from?

 
farrell2k
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Post by farrell2k » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 12:55 pm

Rob R. wrote:Do you know where your current coal came from?
casey-kassa out of nanticoke pa.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 12:57 pm

You might want to try some coal from Hudson, Jeddo, or Coal Contractors and see if it "wakes up" the KAA-2 a little.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 12:59 pm


 
farrell2k
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Post by farrell2k » Tue. Jan. 28, 2014 1:09 pm

Others have recommended this as well, but I can only fit one ton into the basement of this little house, so I am stuck with casey as they are the only ones who will deliver one ton at a time. :(


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