Obviously what we need is a new sea-level tax. Any sea that continues to rise will have to pay it's fair share.

I would definitely call Central Boiler directly. If your dealer isn't helping you they need to know about if if nothing else.

Why isn't your auto-start working?

Your fan should turn on low right away. If your controller goes into medium or high modes, your fan will jump up to higher settings (or it should). You controller won't go into medium mode unless it detects the fire is going, and it won't go into high mode unless your burn pot is at least 800 deg F. This should all be in your manual.

You are probably like me and don't like to be a burden, but you paid too much for this unit to put up with it not working. Mine has been working fine (knock on wood) for 4 years now without any issues at all other than minor stuff like the original aerator melting.

Occam wrote:


While I feel bad for the farmers in Iowa, the farmers here in Michigan are living large. Best years ever with these high prices and good yields. Since Michigan is normally a tough state to grow grains compared with the central midwest, I guess it's their turn. Anyway congrats to my neighbors who are building silos and expanding acres as fast as they can, and again sorry to you folks in the central plains.

[quote="Occam" post=15764]Tropical Collapse in Early Triassic Caused by Lethal Heat: Extreme Temperatures Blamed for 'Dead Zone'


One again intentionally confusing the fact that the Earth warms and cools with the idea that the current warming trend is man-made. Does anyone think that man caused the Extreme Temperatures of the Early Triassic period?

Me either.

Occam wrote:


Duh.... Billions of Chinese and Indians can now afford to drive and stay warm. Instead inventing new ways to raise taxes, we should be preparing for a warmer world. So far, it's quite tasty here in Michigan.

The logic for the controller isn't very exotic. It you are more than 10 degrees from the target, it goes into high mode. If less, it's in medium mode. If less than 3 degress off, low mode.

There are a lot better algorithms call PID loops that most control systems use that involve rate of change and steady-state error to correct the problem you are seeing, but it's now how this controller works.

Sounds like you have a pretty heavy steady heat load?

Good think you installed the safety system!

I worry about mine when we lose power.

I agree it's been terrific. I might be able to plant some peach trees next to my apples if this keeps up. In the past the cold winters always killed them...

I know it's been great. The farmers here are getting higher and higher yields from the longer growing season, and I might have two tons of heating pellets left over for next year, not to mention my hay costs are way down because our pasture was productive way late into the fall. Hope it keeps up, but most of the experts are are saying it's not likely.

Last September, Ivar Giaever, a Nobel Prize winning physicist, resigned from the American Physical Society (APS) over that organization’s climate change orthodoxy.

In his resignation letter to APS, Giaever lambasted the society’s public stance that global warming is an incontrovertible fact:



And recently in the Wall Street Journal 16 prominent scientists, including physicists, meteorologists and climatologists, came forward to express solidarity with Giaever, writing:



Read more: www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/02/17/globa...usion/#ixzz1mfduCuVh

My M250 did this once when the lower auger was jammed. I think the motor pulls too much current and it causes the controller to reset.

Yes to all. I burned straight corn for two years, then switched to straight wood pellets when corn got expensive. I've heard of people burning cherry pits and sunflower seeds. Anything that will go down the auger and burn should work, you just might need to adjust your air settings to get a clean burn.

I should add that burning straight pellets can cause trouble if you lose power if you don't have the burn-back protection kit installed. Pellets don't self-extinguish as well as some of the other fuels, and it's possible for the fire to burn back along the auger to the hopper if you lose power. There is a kit to prevent this, and maybe yours already has it. For mine it was an add-on. Just FYI.

To get the full 250K BTU's / hour out of the M250 with a 10 gpm water flow rate, you have to use the 1.25" outlets and 1.25" pipe. That's why they have those outlets on the burner I suspect, so that they can claim to meet their specs. Regardless I've never read about anyone actually using 1.25" ThermoPex, it's just too expensive.

If we assume you are using 1" lines like 99% of the installs do, then just try to keep your run at short as possible with as few fittings as possible. Anything that restricts your water flow rate restricts your ability to deliver heat to your heat exchangers.

None of this is going to reduce your pellet or corn burn rate, you don't get BTUs for free, these are just some tips to insure you can get the heat where you need it.

The other thing is sizing your pumps correctly. That needs to be calculated based on the size of your lines, how long they are, the flow rate you want, how many fittings you have, etc. There is more information here:

taco-hvac.com/

Georgia Ethanol plant sold for $65 Million Taxpayer loss:

http://www.ajc.com/business/georgia-etha...nt-sold-1289567.html



Wow, a free market capitalist working at an academic institution. Who would have thunk it? I suppose that since it's a tech college, not a liberal-arts campus, he won't be hung from a tree or anything.

Occam wrote:


We've had a very bland, normal, moderate type of winter so far here in Michigan. I hope this trend continues, it's been very easy on my pellet pile.

I think that's a little harsh. I don't think Obama is a Marxist, I think he's just under-experienced for the job. He doesn't know economics or understand how small business operates, doesn't have any experience with the banking industry and is at the mercy of his science advisors. He thinks he can appease everyone, including the terrorists and dictators.

I'm not sure these flaws are any worse than the flaws of the opposing party candidates. I really don't see any bright bulbs on the horizon, at least none that have a chance of garnering the money needed to run a realistic campaign.

Pretty good stuff, as usual, from Peter Schiff. I like the way he tried to be non-confrontational and rational and just help the occupy people understand what they really should be protesting and who they really should be mad at. I think some of them actually got it. Of course there are kooks in any group, but some of those people just need a little direction in terms of understanding who is shafting them.

Unless it's spending a lot of time in idle mode, you really don't have to clean it. It will stay basically clean, you just have to scoop the ashes out once in a while.

If it's running in idle mode a lot, you might get a bit of gunky buildup. I use a metal scraper for that. I also have a 7 foot length of angle iron that I use to clean the heat-exchanger slots. You can get at those easier by opening the cover on the chimney transition at the back of the unit, rather than trying to get to them through the front door.

Based on what you've told us so far I don't think 1 ton sounds excessive if it's 40F outside. Where do you live roughly that it's already that cold?

I'll go through about 9 tons of pellets in a typical winter. I ordered 10 tons this year just to be on the safe side. A little bit larger house than yours, also foam insulated, but with very high ceilings and lots of glass. Just to give you a comparison.

The M250 runs a little bit more efficiently when it's really cold outside (i.e. the unit is running in high/medium modes a lot, instead of medium/low mode). Right now mine is spending a lot of time in low mode which is sort of a waste, but it's still cheaper than propane. It will burn cleaner when it's in high mode a lot as well.

Let us know how it turns out. I've read other posts here about the lower auger binding up, I guess I've been lucky I've never had a problem with mine.

Fired up my M250 last week. I bought 9 tons of pellets this year which should get me through the winter.

Do you guys ever change the water in your burners? This is year 4 for me, and I seem to remember something about changing the water every so many years.....