New Yorker WC Boiler Rebuild Project

We live near the water where there are numerous private beaches of rock and sand, and we were thinking in part to these latter replies, that maybe doing a Mermaid Type photo shoot would be fun. We would have to research getting a fin costume for Katie's legs, but if it was done with some thought, might turn out quite nicely.

We also live near Fort Knox which has a lot of cannons and granite and thought perhaps a photo shoot there in period dress would look nice. It is a public park, but done early in the morning when few people were there, we might be able to get some nice photos. It is allowed, in fact people can get married there, its just you can not do anything to impede other park goers. (They cannot be banned from areas just because you are getting married), but most people are respectful. Those are just two thoughts.

I did manage to get some plumbing on the boiler done yesterday when it was down pouring rain. It is, after all, a very long term project.

I am on the plumbing-it-up aspect of things which is not something I like. I live a ways from the hardware store so when I don't have the right fitting, a plumbing job might mean several trips to the store 30 miles away. Yesterday meant two such trips, but the depressing part was spending $250 dollars and seeing only a few pieces of pipe cobbled together...with far more to go.

I worked on the modine part of the build, completing that loop and now need to start the piping from the boiler to my propane boiler.

The only real question I have right now is if I need a check valve on my modine return line. I can either plumb it back to the bottom of the New Yorker Boiler, or Tee it in with my return from the Propane Boiler, but was thinking I might need a check valve to keep the water from going back through the modine when that emergency dump zone is not activated. It would not go past the closed zone valve, but a check valve would ensure the return water was diverted properly for sure.

So, do I need a check valve?

If you have a zone valve on that zone already, there should not be any need for a check valve on the return.

Thanks Rob for your quick reply. I won't use one then.

franco b wrote:Enjoyed your pictures and still remember the set by the railroad station. As a storyteller and photographer I think you missed your calling.

As I said earlier, thanks for your kind words. As I said before too I dabble with words and photos just for fun and put this together last autumn. It gives a quick snap shot of what life is like around here and why our motto is, Maine: the way life should be."

As always, you guys (and gals) be the judge.

More than a Hay Bale

As I grip my wife’s hand, fingers interlaced, and walk to the top of the hill with a picnic basket clutched in the other; deep in my heart I know as a shipbuilder, farmer, and father, I have so much to do, yet as a husband, this is the most important activity of the day.

Before us lies a sprawling field with commanding two hundred and seventy degree views of some of Waldo County’s most prominent western ridges. In the mid-ground, hardy rock walls with their sun bleached stones intersect in harsh contrast against a dark carpet of green, ankle high grass with a distant ridge lit in vibrant hues of yellow’s, oranges and reds that glow in the emerging morning sunlight. As a layer of fog rises up from the valley below us, the moisture of the morning dew is apparent from a light breeze carrying the musty scent of damp corn slowly maturing in a field just beyond the rock wall. With only a slight breeze, the morning’s breath gently rattles the tassels of the corn as we just talk; of children, of our home, of our future...the type of conversation that is nothing yet is everything in a marriage.

There are hundreds of hay bales to choose from, yet the choice is easy as we spread our quilt over the wet grass at the apex of the hill which affords us the best view, placing our backs against the baled up grass that acts as both a back rest and a wind break. As deer gracefully graze at the edge of the meadow far in the distance, we begin to dine on carefully wrapped breakfast sandwich’s laden with thick pieces of bacon; fresh eggs and a layer of cheese all stemming from our farm as they are pulled from the picnic basket. Close behind are pieces of toast, smothered with butter and sweetly flavored with cinnamon. A mason jar of fresh cider is splashed into two tumblers as we greet the morning, and in turn the morning greets us.

The draw is too much, and I watch in silence as my wife delays the indulgence of her breakfast, and pries her shoes from her feet, mumbling something about wet shoes on the soft blanket, though I know there is a yearning inside her that begs to walk barefoot across the field as one last hold out of autumn before the green blanket of soft grass with nary a bramble in it, is replaced by harsh, cold snow.

It is a hard reality; the hay bale we so nonchalantly lean against is our sustenance. As farmers, everything we have is equated to the miracle of sheep being able to convert the green round rolls of grass, into delicious red meat.

The picnic basket, the food within, and even the blanket we are sitting upon have all been purchased from this conversion. In addition, thousands of dollars have been invested in the tractors and equipment to produce these simple geometric bundles of grass, as well as hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel that provided the energy to do so. Even more equipment, more fuel and more labor is needed to transport these hay bales from this field to the sheep’s mangers so the miracle of conversion of green grass to red meat can continue to take place.

And yet, all this escapes us as we simply enjoy the morning; basking in a simple pleasure of farming life, merely enjoying our wind break, taking pictures of the beautiful bales gracing the morning meadow in all its splendor on top of a western Waldo County hill, and posing on various hay bales for pictures and posterity.

The simple round hay bale; for us, sustenance and survival literally rolled into one.

A Ship Builder.......plus.......and a damned poet!!!!! No wonder you get the 'Pretty girls'. I got your message tonight as I whizzed by your exit at 72 mph. Next trip........Tell me more about your piping....I'll bring along some extra fittings and pipe I have saved for 'friends'.

That is alright, Katie was in New Hampshire anyway visiting family and that is the curvy thing to see and not some ugly, blocky boiler!

As far as piping is concerned and not "pretty girls", I should run 1-1/4 inch piping, but 1" is cheaper and easier to get for sure, so that is what I will run. It is a very short ways from my propane to New Yorker Boiler too which helps, and with an unheated room in between, I'll use the thinner wall tubing to help radiate a bit of heat and help heat it some.

With the "modine" loop, I used 3/4" as my main feed and then a 1" return, but the run was only 6 feet long so it was not much.

Otherwise the plan is rather simple, a single circulator that will always be on when the New Yorker is running, which will circulate water between the two boilers. That way if the New Yorker goes into an over-heat situation, the zone valve comes on and water flows to the modine. A relay will also activate the fan motor on the modine.

I did pipe the relieve valve on the New Yorker outside "just in case" it goes off, and won't fill my mudroom with steam and scare Katie half to death.

No real special fittings on anything that I can think of except a high point vent at the upper most height of my piping. Since the boiler will never have cold water in it, there is no need for an expansion tank, air eliminator and all that since that really only comes into play when you make cold water hot. With a main propane boiler with make-up water, expansion tanks, air eliminators and all that, it should be fairly simple I would think to plumb and make work?

Your existing expansion tank may or may not be large enough to accommodate the extra water in the New Yorker.

I'm thinking it will accommodate it since my add on boiler will not be heating cold water to hot, but rather just ensuring it always stays warm, but I could be wrong. I do have a sizable expansion tank kicking around, but as you could see from my three photos; there is not a lot of space to put it.

Still plodding along with the rebuild.

I took the day off from work today as I work outside and not in a building like most of the shipyard, and as a welder we are not allowed to weld in the rain due to the potential for fatal shock. After sitting in the break room for most of the day yesterday due to the rain; and today and tomorrow rain is predicted; I opted out of work today as much for my sanity as for their checkbook.

On the days I have off, I still get up at 2 AM so I give Katie a break from wee-hours-in-the-morning-babiness, and watch the infant on the CCTV we have trained on her crib. I can't wake Katie or the baby, but I can work on some projects out in my shop, with one hand on the bottle in case an all-out-sprint to the nursery is required.

Today that was the ash pan of the ole WC 90 New Yorker!

The guy before me had not cleaned out the boiler, nor the ah pan and the acids had eaten through the ash pan in places. It was one of the reasons I put compressed air on the boiler way back in the beginning. From the half-burned contents on the grates, I could tell he was burning trash and if he was burning plastic, it could have eaten through some of the steel with its corrosive properties. It ended up being fine, but the thin steel of the ash pan was toast.

I did not need to build a new one though. I suppose I could have as I do have a sheet metal brake, but instead just bent, cut, fitted and pop riveted replacement steel in the old one, plugged the holes and made it as good as can be. It will work just fine for it's intended purpose. A coat of black stove paint and only the well trained eye would see the extra rivets that it required to keep it in circulation.

BTW: Good news at the shipyard; it looks like we will be working on some Coast Guard Cutters in the near future. As is, they are hiring 600-1000 people this year alone. Even at a shipyard, that is a lot of people to be hiring...especially in this economy.

This is sort of part of the rebuilding of the New Yorker WC90 boiler, or at the very least a huge part of integrating it seamlessly into our home so that it works well. I wanted to be mere steps away from my firewood/coal and yet have it under cover. I have a few outbuildings kicking around as this is a farm and yet this part of the project was ambitious; I have been working lately to get a garage moved that is on my Grandmother's place, and move it over to my house as a firewood/coal shed. It is only a 1 car garage (13 ft by 22 ft), but would hold plenty of firewood/coal for us. This is the 4th building I have moved and surprisingly it is cheaper and faster to move a building then build one.

The problem is, buildings were never intended to be moved! They aren't 1970 disco dancers after all!

This one jacked up easily enough, and putting skids under it only took a few hours, but moving; well it was more like an old retired mule then a 1970 disco dancer...it would not budge. In fact it snapped a 10 inch fresh cut log in half on trying to make it move. So my Dad and I decided that it needed to go on a drastic diet, so we cut the building in half.

Even then it was all my little Kubota could do to drag it the 500 feet or so from its old location to the new one. Things went well though and we got both buildings surprisingly close together so that they can be tied back in together and never look like they would be apart.

This is the mid way in the project and it looks pretty horrible. Nasty ole vinyl siding, a building split apart etc, but just like when the Israelite's were trying to build a wall around their city in Neamiah's day, the middle of the project always looks pretty sad and the workers get dejected. Not me and Katie, we can see the beauty of it well enough. After it has been put back together, the roof lines spliced in, and then cedar shingles on the outside, it will match our home nicely and add valuable space for firewood.

Here are some photos of Saturday's adventures: