I Finally Have It Figured Out

I've had this boiler for 36 years, but have been struggling learning to burn coal. With the big grate area I was afraid of over firing the boiler. I'd start the boiler on firewood then throw coal on. It would be good for a day or two, then slowly die out. I'd have to throw firewood on top to get it perked up again. Since it snowed, I can't get to the woodpile. In desperation I threw a lot of coal on. That was it. It doesn't overheat. I haven't seen it above 185 degrees. The little green motorized box on the side is opening and closing the draft and damper doors and maintaining temperature. Dennis

That is one big grate area!!! Good to see you have the coal burning figured out! Fill it to the top of the firebrick and then the next hurdle will be understanding the ash clearing necessary to keep it going.

Now does this mean a move to the dark side and the path to the wood pile won't ever need to be cleared?

You probably have some excess BTU's with that big a firebox, how about a pex loop under the driveway for a little snow melt!! :punk:

Wow ..... Looks like you have enough firebox to heat the White House!

Happy to hear you're getting the hang of it. I'm curious..... What are the dimensions of your grate area? What is the BTU rating on your boiler?

Paulie

Here's some pictures from 2010. we bought the lot next door, my garden, fruit trees and a garage are on it. I have radiant heat in the floor, oil boiler. I thought it would be nice to melt snow in the sidewalks and driveway . Boy is it expensive to melt snow.

The grate area measures about 18" x 24". I have no idea about the age of it or the BTU rating. I bought it in the fall of '78 and got it in the basement as our house was being built. Dennis

Last February when I got new grates, I bought nut in bags to try it out. This summer I bought 5 tons of stove, of course it has some smaller pieces mixed in with it. I think what I have is good. My problem was I was afraid to pile it full of coal. If I keep it almost level with the loading door that seems good. Dennis

Can you get a pic of the water jacket? Is it a sectional boiler?

waldo

It's a jacketed cast iron sectional boiler.
I gave $150.00 for it in the fall of '78. We had just a couple of steps to get it up out of the old basement. My new basement was dug out, and we lowered it down the bulldozer ramp to get it in the new basement. The blocks weren't laid up yet. Not sure of the age of it. Dennis

The nice thing about that firebox, is that it looks to be built in such a way that ash buildup will be at a bare minimun. That's a really good design.

Just food for thought; I have a Harman hand fed boiler, and another member has a New Yorker hand fed boiler & it's been our experience that both of these units can be a little difficult to clear of ash. What we have both found is that the coal bed needs to be poked at least once per day; otherwise dead spots will occur, and a fully illuminated ash pan will not happen when you shake. So when the boiler is ramped up look for an even burn. If it ain't even ash is building up. Then get a 4 ft rod & bend a 10 inch 90 on one end. Start from back to front & from the top poking down to grates & wiggle that rod in several places. you will see the coal bed settle a bit. This is making the suspended ash settle. Now when you shake, it should clear pretty good. Good luck!!
Jim

I got a rod that came with the boiler. It's about 5' long with a 3" leg on the end. I poked it before church this morning and the bed dropped. It was burning nicely when we got home. Thanks, Dennis

Well my friend, it seems that you are well on your way!! As far as BTU's of that unit goes; ifn you multiply length times width times 365 you should be pretty close. I have done this with many stoves advertised, including mine, and it comes out pretty close. The only exception is Hitzer Which are EXTREMLY conservative. my best guess is that your unit is a minimum 150K BTU boiler. CHEERS.
Jim

This is so cool, not having to go out to the woodpile. I don't know what I was thinking, when we built the house, I didn't put in an outside cellar way. 36 years of carrying wood in through the kitchen and down the steps. Dennis