willieG- i did turn off the circulator pump today for a bit to the house (the office i left on low) and noticed that the temp came up 10 degrees every 30 min from 110 to 140 then i put it back online with the home and had to leave... the fire was good.... just got home and am at 135...which is not great... but better... and my house is warm...it is particulary cold night tonight anyway.. with wind chill we are down to -11F. on another note, I did try opening the ash pan door and letting in air as a natural draft without the fan for about 2 weeks.. with it being windy lately is was getting alot of mixed results...plus that was when the fire was causing my front plate to turn red... it is now bent!!! i was having similar problem with the fire buring fast up front and slow in the back but i installed "air bafflers" in the ash pan to shunt part of the draft up the middle of the grates which has really helped get the fire better disturbuted....
i think one of the problem with these burning coal is that especially with the 250... the coal grates are only about 1/2 the lengh, if not a bit less) then the length of the boiler... so the effective heat generating area is much less.... if the grate were to go the full length or at least 2/3 back.... there would be a greater area for the fire... the grate that they use of the 175 and 250 are the same!!!!?
for the spring I plan on fabricating something to allow the grates to go back further...
j845125- I was wondering if your dealer has manufactured a grate for the 250... or just the 175.. i would be intersted in seeing what he has done and would be interested in purchasing something for the 250 if the grate goes at least 2/3 the boiler length..