The guy that sold me the boiler gave me the option of either gearbox. The early 80's ones are different than the one they use now, and the old one he had was in very nice shape - so that is what I went with.

Yes, there used to be a 6 section oil boiler sitting in the same spot. The amount of soot that came out of it when I separated the sections was unreal.

My timer is inside that gray enclosure. I run 2 minutes every half hour and have never lost the fire, and the boiler temps are stable.

​@@battyice thank you so much for that quick feedback! how realize that the timer depends on a couple factors such as size of house, room thermostat temperatures, number of zones, etc. Could you please let me know the approximate SF of your house, how many zones, and what you keep the room thermostats at in the dead of winter to keep the stable temperature for 2 mins on per half hour? What temperature does that keep the water in the boiler system at?

The timer just keeps the fire lively during periods of little/no demand for heat. The aquastat is what maintains the boiler temperature when it has a load on it. The timer cycle might need to be changed if you run a high feed rate. I run my stoker on 4 teeth of feed.

Yes, Grundfos Alpha.