Warm auger near base -- Need to adjust?

To all:

Here are my settings:

Teeth: 3
Air: 3 1/4
Hi: 200
Lo: 140
Dif: 15
Timer: 3 mins every half hour

Boiler temp seems to be running at about 180 fairly constantly except when we draw on hot water for showers, etc.

The possible issue is the fairly warm auger extending from the base for about 1 foot. Is this a problem? Should I adjust my settings to try to eliminate the warm auger near the base, or is this within the realm of acceptance? If I should try to eliminate this, any suggestions on what adjustments to make?

Thanks in advance.

Manny

Warm is OK, Hot is not. I wouldn't go lower than 3 teeth. If the paint starts burning, then you better increase the feed rate.

Is it normal to have a 60 degree spread between high & low settings? Coal is different I'm sure & I'm still learning. Oil is always 20 degrees.

Thanks.

I changed the following settings and left the rest:

4 Teeth
$ air
2 1/2 minutes per half hour.

I changed it in part to see what it does to the auger temperature and also because the fire didn't look like the entire pot was stoking evenly to see if the above changes alters any of this. I will report what I experience.

Manny

Freddy:

I cannot speak to the issue of the 60 degree spread, I am just following the advice I read on other threads to widen the spread in the summer to reduce chances of an outfire.

Manny

If you don't keep the spread at least 40 degrees, the temperature will be above high limit and the timer won't start the blower. If too many cycles pass without a call for heat, either by demand or the timer, the fire will go out.

When an oil burner reaches its low limit setting, the burner will shut down and so will the source of heat, which would heat the water.

When the stoker reaches its low limit setting, the blower stops but there is still a pot of hot coal which can raise the water temperature another 30 degrees after the blower stops, if there is no demand or circulation.

High limit is merely a safety limit. The boiler will never be maintained to a high limit setting.

I meant to state:

I changed the following settings and left the rest:

4 Teeth
4 air
2 1/2 minutes per half hour.

Manny

Thank you for explaining. It's starting to make sense!