aquastat

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603doug

Member
Hearth Supporter
Sep 26, 2008
64
seacoast nh
Is there an aquastat or some type of temp. switch with a manual override. Warm weather the boiler sometimes goes out and the fan runs until I fire the boiler off, this way when the temp drops to certain value it would shut down. The override would be to start the fan until it reaches above the switch setting.
 
I saw an old Dumont boiler this past weekend. It had a timer switch, similiar to a bathroom heat lamp switch. This used to override the aquastat until the unit was up to temp. By experience, you would dial in a certain amount of time for the fan and then the aquastat would take over. I would think it was just wired in parallel with the aquastat.

I guess the Dumont boiler was Prof. Dick Hill of UMO's design based on the original Jetstream boiler, It was like throwing wood into a turbocharger and going full bore. It was really cool to see it operating.

Mike
 
i will be having the same issue, and have a few ideas that have been discussed before - some type of temp switch for the flue - say on above 200, and off below 200. or maybe just a snap disc mounted to the flue....just some ideas.
 
I had the same issue with an older, conventional wood boiler that I never really addressed, though I gave it quite a bit of thought. It was distressing to have the fan blow away any remaining coals long after the water had stopped circulating. I finally concluded that the easiest, cheapest approach would be to use a timer. Once you figure out a realistic firing schedule, you just set the timer to shut off the blower after so many hours.

An alternative would be to get an old controller for a modern gasifier like the EKO. It's not the most advanced piece of hardware/software, but it does have a number of useful control functions, including shutting down the blower when the boiler temp goes below a certain point and stays there for long enough. It also modulates the fan as the boiler heats up, though you probably need a variable speed fan for that feature to work. It can run off a thermostat, etc.

Anyway, a controller like that is only a couple hundred bucks new, and since many people like me are upgrading to the new model, you can probably pick up an older one pretty cheap.
 
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