KAA-2 Boiler Does Not Have a Option for Oil Burner

 
syncmaster
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Post by syncmaster » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 3:05 pm

I called the factory today for prices of K6 and KAA-2
the KAA-2 was $3770.00 and no oil burner kit was available for it .
the K6 was $4563.00 and the oil kit option $692.00

6 to 8 weeks for delivery
The guy said he is getting alot of orders now and in the fall it will be alot worst.

I also got a price for a VF 3000 for $4300.00 and the oil burner kit $700.00 + tax & shipping


 
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Richard S.
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 3:45 pm

Those oil add-ons are nice but its my understanding they aren't very efficient at least compared to a regular oil burner. Be nice if they had some documentation on them... :roll: Certainly convenient if you need to go somewhere in January and wont have anyone to look after the furnace. Not that expensive either.

 
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Post by stoker-man » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 4:04 pm

They aren't the greatest for efficiency, about 75%, but are great for going away for the weekend or on vacation.

 
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Post by coaledsweat » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 4:13 pm

I think it best to leave your old boiler for standby/backup or replace it with a used one. The combos are convenient, but some do not change over automatically and are not efficient at all. In some models, it even creates problems. TARMs will eat a hole in the baffle when the oil burner is used frequently.

Two boilers in tandem, it should cost you less, work automatically and give you 100% backup. It works for me. :)

 
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Post by syncmaster » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 4:49 pm

since you cannot share a chimney with the coal boiler and oil boiler that means you will have to add a extra chimney.
That will probly cost at least a $1000.00 for the SS insulated pipe plus that extra room 2 boilers take up.

If you have the extra room and a extra chimney you are all set.

 
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 5:11 pm

Not that I'm reccomending butI know at least one person that has hooked up a Coal stove to a the same chimney that had a Gas boiler. He worked in HVAC too... Anyhow you could just set up an easy way to quick connect one or the other. You're only going to be using one of them at a time.

 
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Post by CoalHeat » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 5:26 pm

syncmaster wrote:since you cannot share a chimney with the coal boiler and oil boiler that means you will have to add a extra chimney.
If you order the coal burner with the optional oil burner...that's 2 products of combustion going into the same chimney, but not at the same time.
If you leave the old oil-fired unit in place it's the same thing. If it's going to be inspected you can have 2 sets of pipes to the chimney thimble-one for the coal boiler and one for the oil boiler.


 
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Post by CoalHeat » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 5:27 pm

Richard S. wrote:Not that I'm reccomending butI know at least one person that has hooked up a Coal stove to a the same chimney that had a Gas boiler.
Actually you know 2, but the other one burns coal and has an oil-fired hot water heater.

 
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Post by syncmaster » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 6:23 pm

I read alot of posts on this forum and I saw some pictures of someone doing a great job hooking up a coal boiler with a oil boiler and I think it will work fine but if you ever need to sell your house your gonna have to change all that stuff before the sale.
I also think if you go to sell your house and you say I burn coal only it will turn off alot of buyers.
but if you can say I have a multi fuel boiler coal or oil I think that would be a big plus.

So, do the job right now or have to tear it down later and redo it right that's up to you.

 
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 6:28 pm

I'm not trying to dissuade you from the multi sytem, I'd probably put that in myself but I don't see what is wrong with having two units. Matter of fact I would think its preferable if you can afford it. If you have a flue pipe for each going towards the same connection and only have one connected to the chimney at a time its the same thing as having a multi fuel system, you could even advertise it as two furnaces if you wanted too or oul fired with coal back up or whatever you want to advertise it as. It wouldn't take more than few minutes to disconnect one and connect the other.

One added benefit is you have major malfunction in the coal boiler that would affect the operation of both the coal and oil you'd still have an independent source of heat if it wasn't one system.

 
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Post by syncmaster » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 6:44 pm

Richard S. wrote:I'm not trying to dissuade you from the multi sytem, I'd probably put that in myself but I don't see what is wrong with having two units. Matter of fact I would think its preferable if you can afford it. If you have a flue pipe for each going towards the same connection and only have one connected to the chimney at a time its the same thing as having a multi fuel system, you could even advertise it as two furnaces if you wanted too or oul fired with coal back up or whatever you want to advertise it as. It wouldn't take more than few minutes to disconnect one and connect the other.

One added benefit is you have major malfunction in the coal boiler that would affect the operation of both the coal and oil you'd still have an independent source of heat if it wasn't one system.
I don't have the room for 2 boilers and I wouldn't want to play around with chimney pipes because I want to go away for a few days so I want to go to oil.

But your way would be a big plus for making DHW for the summer.
You change the chimny pipe over to the oil boiler for hot water in the summer and clean the coal boiler whenever to feel like it after it is completely cool. I have read that some coal stoker boilers don't idle to well for DHW needs in the summer.
Sometimes they go out.

 
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 6:55 pm

Actually I'd run the coal boiler all summer, we do that and it idles along just fine. You burn about a ton in 3-4 months. For the sake of argument lets say you spend $40 a month for hot water. There's other benefits though, you're preventing a lot of corrosion. The gaskets and seals will start to leak after few years if you keep turning it on and off... By leaving it run your increasing its life expectancy and preventing a lot of future maintenance and its really not costing you anything or you may even be saving money depending on your hot water usage each month. We don't even have a cold water line going to dishwasher. ;)

 
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Post by syncmaster » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 7:35 pm

Richard S. wrote:Actually I'd run the coal boiler all summer, we do that and it idles along just fine. You burn about a ton in 3-4 months. For the sake of argument lets say you spend $40 a month for hot water. There's other benefits though, you're preventing a lot of corrosion. The gaskets and seals will start to leak after few years if you keep turning it on and off... By leaving it run your increasing its life expectancy and preventing a lot of future maintenance and its really not costing you anything or you may even be saving money depending on your hot water usage each month. We don't even have a cold water line going to dishwasher. ;)
So your saying that it is not good to let a coal boiler cool down? That is something I never thought about.
Thanks for sharing your experiance.
I see you have a VA-1200 is that a older boiler that you have to hand feed?

 
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Post by Richard S. » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 7:51 pm

It's not just the cooling down, its all the resulting corrosion inside. They won't corrode as fast if you keep the moisture out of them. The ash , moisutre, air and metal don't play together. :lol: If you keep it running it won't be unheard of to have it 50 years. I had one customer that had a losch that was 50 years old and I think stoker-man mentioned a EFM that was 50 years old.... You're buying a furnace for lifetime worth of use if you maintain it and don't move. ;)

I'll give you an idea of the duratablity. I had one customer that lived in place called Shickshinny right next to the river. Their basement would get fully flooded about every 5 years or so. If the water was coming up he's take the conrtols and all the electric components off the furnace. Once the water recedded he'd get a hose, wash it out and start it up. That was Van Wert too. The coal he'd throw in mud and all. He did that numerous times... you can expect the same performance from a Keystoker I'd imagine.

Ours is a Van-Wet which they don't make anymore, its about 25 years old. My Grandmother has one that is 30 years+. It's auger fed, you don't have to hand feed it.

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Post by syncmaster » Tue. Apr. 29, 2008 8:07 pm

Thanks for the picture, that helps alot.
I am leaning towards the VF3000 Harman with the optional oil burner.

I have a hot water solar system 120 gal tank and 2- 4x10 collectors.
on a clear sunny day in the summer I get 95% of my DHW from the solar.
I am wondering if the VF3000 will be able to idle back that much without going out.
do you know if it will be ok?

Of course in the sumer on a rainy day I will need the vf3000 to make all the DWH.
Do you think the VF3000 is a good choice for this application?


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