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[rick n kristi]

Yes I did, sorry it took so long to get back. I'm working 2nd shift and have not had time to sit down and type.
On coal; anthracite is a very hard coal. It has less heat than bituminous coal but burns cleaner and smells better. The trouble is it will go out if not fired regularly. When your boiler goes into idle anthracite will go out. Bituminous coal burns more like wood; it can stand the idle periods of the OWB better but tends to smell of sulfur and other gases when the first couple of cycles of the boiler get the coal really burning. After the initial cycles the odor is less offensive. Kentucky lump coal is the best bituminous coal I have burned, less odor better relight after an idle period and lots of BTU's. The Ohio coal I am burning is close and cheap to me. Mined in New Lexington OH. It burns well in my boiler but during warmer days it will also go out between cycles. I mix in wood on those days with the coal to help solve the idle problem. It also klinkers and cokes more than Kentucky Lump.  My Natures Comfort 325G is not finicky about wood, she will burn anything well. Experimenting with your forced air is necessary regardless of what you burn. The better your wood (hard wood and well seasoned) will require less air. Green, wet, punky, or plain junk wood will require more air. Coal likes more air and really does well with air over the coal bed (that’s why the 325G does so well with coal). If I remember right you have shaker grates, this puts you ahead of the game. Try burning bituminous coal in the lump size. Grapefruit size up to soccer ball size. Kentucky Lump if you can get it. Learn more about coal here  http://nepacrossroads.com/      Keep working at it, it took me a good year to learn my boilers secrets! You won’t be sorry! If it just isnt working out for you, I may take that 250 off your hands!

[woodedacres]

picked up some kentucky lump today. bought it from thompson bros. mining. we will see. filled fire box up to the fire brick area with coal through some wood on top.

[rick n kristi]

Try wood on the bottem or mixed in. On top does not help with relite after idle period.

[MD20/20]

Where do you have your 325G set, both aquastat and air opening?
Thx

[rick n kristi]

Aqua stat is at 165, Upper draft is 1/3 open, lower is 1/2 open. We are burning only  wood now as it has been so warm here. When burning coal or a mix we open up the upper draft to about 1/2 or more. Getting 24 hours between fills using junk pine and anything we can clean up off the ground.

[MD20/20]

Could you describe your set-up...distance from house, type of lines, etc...?  thanks so much!

[rick n kristi]

325G, about 50' from the back door of the house, buried pex wrapped in insulation inside corrugated plastic pipe buried 4' down. Water to air heat exchanger in forced air propane furnace with return to boiler line running through a water to water plate heat exchanger post water heater. This heats all domestic hot water for the house. 2nd loop on the boiler goes to the shop about 50' from the boiler to a water to air exchanger in an old salvaged furnace gutted to be just an air handler.

[MD20/20]

thanks.  do you have 1" or 1 1/4 " pex?

[rick n kristi]

1", where exposed in the house or at the boiler it is foam insulated.

How is your set up shaking out for you?

[MD20/20]

I like it, but not getting the long burn times I would like.  Granted, I have been burning bad quality wood, but that doesn't seem to be a problem for you.  I need to insulate the 3' of return line at the owb and about 5' of return line inside the house, otherwise it is well insulated.

Also, what kind of smoke are you getting during idle? 

[rick n kristi]

At idle I get a little wisp of smoke. When the boiler blower starts and I have un burnt wood in the fire box I’ll get heavy smoke until the temp goes up enough to start gasification. If the "load" in the firebox is old, it will go into gasification very quickly. Make sure your ash door is sealed well, I all ways give it a little kick to seat the gasket tight. If you’re drawing air from the ash door when idle it could burn your wood quicker or worse, a big draft here will cause a boil over! Also burning rounds tend to help the wood last longer, I try to cut in 2’ or 4’ lengths depending on diameter and load the stove up tight. 6” to 1’ diameter seems to work well for me. Most of what I burn is old blow down. When I have burned green wood it goes fast!

[MD20/20]

great info.  thank you.

[RSI]

Did you get this yet?

We are writing to notify you of an important update for any NCB-325G(-COAL) boilers that you have sold. It has come to our attention that sealing the holes in the floor of the control area with insulation or other material is required to keep large amounts of cold air from entering, causing condensation to build up in the blower resulting in failure of the motor or bearings.

 

To prevent any blower problems or failures, please contact each of your customers who purchased an NCB- 325G(-COAL) to make sure they cover and seal the holes where the underground pex comes through.

 

This is not required for any other model, only the NCB-325G or NCB-325G-COAL

 

This issue was not initially addressed in the installation manuals but is now added for any future sales.

 

Regards,

 

James Van Harn II

Nature's Comfort LLC

[MD20/20]

No I didn't get it.  Thanks--any suggestions on the best way, or just "seal 'er up"?

[RSI]

Probably easiest to just use rigid foam insulation and split it so you can slide on either side of the pipe.