Changing to a Stoker

GaryFerg · Post by **GaryFerg** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 11:10 am

I’m trying to decide if I should eliminate my oil fired boiler with the install of the keystroke or KA 6.
The question is, should I circulate hot water between the two boilers, or should I shut off boiler altogether. Which would be more efficient? I’ve been told it’s better to keep a boiler warm, or it might start leaking. I do have an automatic draft damper installed on the oil boiler so I am not losing a lot of heat up the chimney. Any ideas? I know if I hooked up the new boiler directly I can save a small amount of electric because it eliminates the constantly running circulator between the two boiler. I forgot to mention I currently run a hand fired boiler that uses the circulator to constantly circulator between the two.

lzaharis · Post by **lzaharis** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 11:38 am

As Sting would say "depends". You can eliminate two boilers and the circulating pump
to balance the temperature between the two boilers by purchasing a dual fuel keystoker
and saving the second circulating pump as a spare.

It eliminates the dual plumbing and wiring anyway which reduces the potential for leaks.

I have a 27 year old oil fired boiler and a 34 year old hand fed wood and coal fired boiler and I will be replacing
the mess with a dual fuel KAA-4-1 and using my existing Reillo Burner in the keystoker KAA-4-1.

I shut my boilers off in the summer and do not fire them up until the heating season. The more important concern is keeping the boiler warm in the off season months to reduce condensation and the resulting rust AND cleaning the heating surface with a boiler brush and vacuuming out the flue piping.

A dual fuel unit eliminates a second chimney if you have a tile lined chimney.

Post by **coaledsweat** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 11:48 am

I'm not a fan of dual fuel units. By there very nature, one side will have an efficiency problem due to design. Quite often a problem with one can leave you with both sides inoperable. Two seperate units gives you 100% backup.
As far as the plumbing, it is a matter of preference. Tying them has heat loses but extends the life of the unit not in use.

Sting · Post by **Sting** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 12:31 pm

Primary - Secondary piping sounds dramatic.

But if you take a few hours to read and understand the fundamentals, the reality is very simple = fault tolerant - because multiple heat energy sources provide redundancy and the whole business can be sized and run quite efficiently.

Kine Regards
Sting

BTW - books and a few hours are cheep compared to years of poor service from your heating system

Post by **Rob R.** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 12:40 pm

A nice compromise is to pipe them in parallel, circulate between the two only on heat calls, and allow gravity circulation between the two boilers when nothing is calling for heat. I have done this on two systems, and it keeps everything at a nice stable temperature while using less electric than full time circulation.

Post by **Rob R.** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 12:42 pm

If you have a functional (and reliable) oil boiler, I would leave it in place. It is very inexpensive to set it up to automatically come on if the house temperature drops below a certain temperature...you may never need that capability, but it is sure nice to have. I got to find out this past winter when the aquastat on my coal boiler decided to quit.

GaryFerg · Post by **GaryFerg** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 1:12 pm

Sting wrote:Primary - Secondary piping sounds dramatic.

But if you take a few hours to read and understand the fundamentals, the reality is very simple = fault tolerant - because multiple heat energy sources provide redundancy and the whole business can be sized and run quite efficiently.

Kine Regards
Sting

BTW - books and a few hours are cheep compared to years of poor service from your heating system

that easy to say for one who can understand all that stuff. I just need things simple for me to get it.

GaryFerg · Post by **GaryFerg** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 1:15 pm

Rob R. wrote:A nice compromise is to pipe them in parallel, circulate between the two only on heat calls, and allow gravity circulation between the two boilers when nothing is calling for heat. I have done this on two systems, and it keeps everything at a nice stable temperature while using less electric than full time circulation.

the coal boiler is in a remote location (shed) while the oil boiler is in the basement. Thats an interesting idea though. I do get some circulation between the two now without a flow valve inline. Is there somewhere I can see the wiring for that setup here?

GaryFerg · Post by **GaryFerg** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 1:20 pm

Rob R. wrote:A nice compromise is to pipe them in parallel, circulate between the two only on heat calls, and allow gravity circulation between the two boilers when nothing is calling for heat. I have done this on two systems, and it keeps everything at a nice stable temperature while using less electric than full time circulation.

I have used it with the return valve closed to the oil boiler so the circulators return to the coal boiler which pushes the hot water into the oil boiler and out to the zones.

Sting · Post by **Sting** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 1:22 pm

Listen to Dan - have a plan just in case the kind folks at the ER invite you to stay with them for one more night!

Open your mind and read just one book
http://store.heatinghelp.com/Primary-Secondary-Pu ... -p/129.htm
before you assume its not simple!

Post by **Rob R.** » Mon. Apr. 20, 2015 8:27 pm

GaryFerg wrote:
Rob R. wrote:A nice compromise is to pipe them in parallel, circulate between the two only on heat calls, and allow gravity circulation between the two boilers when nothing is calling for heat. I have done this on two systems, and it keeps everything at a nice stable temperature while using less electric than full time circulation.
the coal boiler is in a remote location (shed) while the oil boiler is in the basement. Thats an interesting idea though. I do get some circulation between the two now without a flow valve inline. Is there somewhere I can see the wiring for that setup here?

Can you put the stoker boiler in the basement? You would save a fair amount of coal by doing so.

GaryFerg · Post by **GaryFerg** » Thu. Apr. 23, 2015 4:04 pm

Sting wrote:Listen to Dan - have a plan just in case the kind folks at the ER invite you to stay with them for one more night!

Open your mind and read just one book
http://store.heatinghelp.com/Primary-Secondary-Pu ... -p/129.htm
before you assume its not simple!

okay ok I bought your stupid book got it today we will see how much my feeble mind can get!