CO Detector

 
daluds
Member
Posts: 284
Joined: Fri. Jun. 20, 2008 9:27 am
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM DF520
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by daluds » Tue. Sep. 09, 2008 11:23 pm

Anyone measure peak CO reading in the room with a DF520?

Thanks,

Dave


 
User avatar
WNY
Member
Posts: 6307
Joined: Mon. Nov. 14, 2005 8:40 am
Location: Cuba, NY
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Keystoker 90K, Leisure Line Hyfire I
Coal Size/Type: Rice
Contact:

Post by WNY » Wed. Sep. 10, 2008 8:54 am

Hopefully Zero (0). You don't want any CO if at all in the room, but you may have stray fumes....

 
User avatar
e.alleg
Member
Posts: 1285
Joined: Fri. Feb. 16, 2007 10:31 am
Location: western ny

Post by e.alleg » Wed. Sep. 10, 2008 4:02 pm

I have a digital CO meter located above the DF520, it reads "00". I can open the door for a minute to look at the fire ring and it still reads "00". You need a good draft, if you have a marginal draft the 520 could draft through the coal bin. Also be sure that the auger is completely covered in coal, like at least 10" of coal on top of it. I test fired mine when I first fired it up with only one bag of coal and the auger was exposed and it caused high CO readings. I recommend if you are having a problem to get a DWYER Manometer and hook it up to the stack and get a draft reading, they are cheap and way better than guessing or worrying.

 
User avatar
stoker-man
Verified Business Rep.
Posts: 2071
Joined: Mon. Nov. 19, 2007 9:33 pm
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: 1981 efm wcb-24 in use 365 days a year
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite/Chestnut
Other Heating: Hearthstone wood stove

Post by stoker-man » Wed. Sep. 10, 2008 4:53 pm

I test fired mine when I first fired it up with only one bag of coal and the auger was exposed and it caused high CO readings.
Was the the boiler and chimney up to operating temperature when this happened? If it was, there is a draft problem somewhere, for sure, if CO went all the way down to the end of the long pipe, assuming the pipe was filled with coal. Unless you were using the short pipe only ?

 
daluds
Member
Posts: 284
Joined: Fri. Jun. 20, 2008 9:27 am
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM DF520
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by daluds » Wed. Sep. 10, 2008 5:18 pm

Normally reads 0 zero, however I noticed a peak of 11ppm. I suspect it was due to running the whole house fan one night. I'll have to monitor it further.

 
User avatar
stoker-man
Verified Business Rep.
Posts: 2071
Joined: Mon. Nov. 19, 2007 9:33 pm
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: 1981 efm wcb-24 in use 365 days a year
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite/Chestnut
Other Heating: Hearthstone wood stove

Post by stoker-man » Wed. Sep. 10, 2008 10:13 pm

Definitely, a fan can be a problem with any unit.

 
User avatar
Devil505
Member
Posts: 7102
Joined: Tue. Jul. 03, 2007 10:44 pm
Location: SE Massachusetts

Post by Devil505 » Thu. Sep. 11, 2008 5:16 am

daluds wrote:Normally reads 0 zero, however I noticed a peak of 11ppm. I suspect it was due to running the whole house fan one night. I'll have to monitor it further.
You should never run your whole house fan when your coal stove is on. At best it will pull the air out of your stove & kill your fire........
At worst it will suck the CO into your house & kill you!

(I take the on/off knob off the WH Fan switch .... fall-spring)

Your CO detector should always read ZERO or you have a big problem! (Don't mess with CO! :nono: )
Last edited by Devil505 on Thu. Sep. 11, 2008 12:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.


 
daluds
Member
Posts: 284
Joined: Fri. Jun. 20, 2008 9:27 am
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM DF520
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by daluds » Thu. Sep. 11, 2008 11:53 am

It must have been the whole house fan since its been reading 0 for days now. Thanks for the feedback. I hoped closing off the doors to the basement with the whole house fan on would not effect the draft. I'll measure the draft with the whole house fan on and doors to basement shut to confirm.

 
User avatar
e.alleg
Member
Posts: 1285
Joined: Fri. Feb. 16, 2007 10:31 am
Location: western ny

Post by e.alleg » Thu. Sep. 11, 2008 9:14 pm

stoker-man wrote:
I test fired mine when I first fired it up with only one bag of coal and the auger was exposed and it caused high CO readings.
Was the the boiler and chimney up to operating temperature when this happened? If it was, there is a draft problem somewhere, for sure, if CO went all the way down to the end of the long pipe, assuming the pipe was filled with coal. Unless you were using the short pipe only ?
Everything was cold, I dumped one 50# bag in the bin and fired her up. The auger wasn't full of coal, it didn't have any coal in it when I started the fire in the pot. I saw the smoke come out of the auger tube and out the basement window. I also inadvertently had the air setting all the way up so it was really blowing air hard into the empty tube.

 
User avatar
stoker-man
Verified Business Rep.
Posts: 2071
Joined: Mon. Nov. 19, 2007 9:33 pm
Location: Lehigh Valley, PA
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: 1981 efm wcb-24 in use 365 days a year
Coal Size/Type: Anthracite/Chestnut
Other Heating: Hearthstone wood stove

Post by stoker-man » Thu. Sep. 11, 2008 10:07 pm

That explains it.

 
User avatar
Freddy
Member
Posts: 7292
Joined: Fri. Apr. 11, 2008 2:54 pm
Location: Orrington, Maine
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 130 (pea)
Coal Size/Type: Pea size, Superior, deep mined

Post by Freddy » Fri. Sep. 12, 2008 3:21 am

daluds wrote:I'll measure the draft with the whole house fan on and doors to basement shut to confirm.
For sure. Even if the fan is "shut off" from the basement with the door closed you might find there are many leaks....especially if the upstairs is fairly tight. Under & around the door, any pipes, wires, ducts, coming from the basement up may have cracks around them. When the door is shut, the basement may still be the easiest route for air to travel.

 
daluds
Member
Posts: 284
Joined: Fri. Jun. 20, 2008 9:27 am
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM DF520
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by daluds » Fri. Sep. 12, 2008 9:59 am

Checked the CO detector last night, and it was reading 0. However, the peak showed 10ppm was measure since the last time I cleared it. I didn't run the whole house fan so will have to look into this further. Does the CO readings increase when the DF520 is opened to remove ashes or check the fire?

Thanks,

Dave

 
User avatar
gambler
Member
Posts: 1611
Joined: Mon. Jan. 29, 2007 12:02 pm
Location: western Pa

Post by gambler » Fri. Sep. 12, 2008 10:18 am

daluds wrote:Does the CO readings increase when the DF520 is opened to remove ashes or check the fire?
Yes they can. What kind of weather were you having last night?

 
User avatar
e.alleg
Member
Posts: 1285
Joined: Fri. Feb. 16, 2007 10:31 am
Location: western ny

Post by e.alleg » Fri. Sep. 12, 2008 10:48 pm

The chimney really needs to be warmed up before it will draft correctly. Trying to solve a draft problem in the summer might solve itself once the chimney warms up and the outside temps drop. When you open the fire door the ash sitting on the sill will get sucked in, if it kind of puffs out then the draft is too low.

 
daluds
Member
Posts: 284
Joined: Fri. Jun. 20, 2008 9:27 am
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM DF520
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by daluds » Sat. Sep. 20, 2008 8:47 pm

Been running coal for heat this week, and noticed there is a lot of hot air and dust coming out of the top of the front door. The door sits crooked so its not level to the top of the opening. I readjusted the insulation rope to match, and will see if this helps. The CO detector reads 11ppm when its been running for a while so I suspect this is the source of the reading.

Should I try thicker insulation rope? Where would I purchase this insulation rope?

Thanks,

Dave


Post Reply

Return to “Coal Bins, Chimneys, CO Detectors & Thermostats”