Leaves are falling and smoke is out the chimney

So, I finally got the boiler fired up today. I followed the instruction booklet from the beginning, and thanks to that, and a little luck, I really did not have any issues. I had a bunch of trips to the plumbing shop to get the hard piping pieces, but other than that, it was straightforward. I will post some photos asap.

Things I purchased (did not come with the boiler):
1. Circulator pump, flanges, and gaskets
2. Aqua-stats and immersion wells (2)
3. Piping, shut-offs, purge valves, Air scoop, Flow-checks, Exp tank
4. Overheat dump zone with normally open zone valve
5. Coin vents
6. Plugs for unused bungs
7. Branch circuit-wiring, switch, boxes, safety thermal device
8. Pipe and fittings for pressure relief
9. Smoke pipe
10. Boiler drain
11. Exhaust thermometer

Back in the summer, I planned my layout, where the piping runs were going to be. Since I am tying into an existing oil boiler, the main pipes are already in place, and I had to consider those for my planning. I have a supply and return manifold, and the plan was to tee into them with the wood boiler. I started by connecting the supply of my oil boiler to the supply of my wood boiler. I bought a few pieces of black steel 1-1/4” diameter pipe at a time, so I could measure the next distance each time. Since it worked well, I followed the same plan for the return piping. The return piping has a big mixing valve to prevent cold water from shocking the boiler, so this required a little extra planning, piping, fittings, and trips to the plumbing shop.

Here was the order of tasks in which I completed them:
1. Move boiler into basement
2. Position on concrete blocks
3. Install smoke pipe
4. Connect hard piping
5. Install controls from control panel
6. Wire 110v electrical circuit for controls, aqua-stats, pump
7. Fill with water (fix leaks)
8. Make fire

Tonight, it is about 40 degrees F outside, but it is hard to tell because it is 70 degrees F in here. My baseboards and radiant floor system are dumping out the heat, and the wood boiler hardly makes a whisper. I started the fire at about 5 p.m. tonight for the first time ever, and I would compare it to starting a woodstove. I used a bunch of newspaper, and kindling until the fire was roaring. Then I put a few small pieces of firewood into the firebox to see what would happen. Much to my satisfaction, the boiler hummed along at 160 degrees F, shut itself down for a while when it reached 170 degrees F, and then restarted when the fan came on. The fire has been burning for just over 5 hours now, on a very small load of wood. It feels like it will be a cozy and warm inside our house this winter.