Axeman Anderson 1959 130M

Thats very cool... but with our coal boilers it makes more sense to me to decrease the differential during low heat loads to help the health of the fire and possibly get more complete coal combustion. What's your thoughts?

Mostly warm this week, highs in the 50's and 60's, lows in the 40's. Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 737.6 - 698.2 = 39.4 hours of fan run time, 5.63 hours per day.
Ash reading, 425.7 - 406.0 = 19.7 hours of ashing, 2.81 hours per day. 34 pounds of ash. Starting to look a bit rocky in this warmer weather. Ash is probably closer to 15% this week.
12% = 283.33 pounds, 40.49 pounds per day. 7.19 pounds per fan hour.
15% = 226.66 pounds, 32.39 pounds per day. 5.75 pounds per fan hour.
18% = 188.88 pounds, 26.99 pounds per day. 4.79 pounds per fan hour.

The Gofer is still at work. Almost down to the auger. I use coal as my "Winter weight" in the back of my truck. I pulled the 10 bags of Blashchak out of the truck and put it in the bin. That coal is pretty wet. I hope the Gofer doesn't get indigestion from it!

Current settings,

Fan RPM = 1293.75 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 2.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = About 6 pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 125*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

-Don

Happy Easter!

It's been mostly on the cold side this week. Today and the week to come it will be on the warm side, 60's every day in the forecast. Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 792.4 - 737.6 = 54.8 hours of fan run time, 7.83 hours per day.
Ash reading, 448.2 - 425.7 = 22.5 hours of ashing, 3.21 hours per day. 37 pounds of ash, about 12%. Ash is probably closer to 12% this week.
12% = 308.33 pounds, 44.05 pounds per day. 5.63 pounds per fan hour.
15% = 246.66 pounds, 35.24 pounds per day. 4.50 pounds per fan hour.
18% = 205.55 pounds, 29.36 pounds per day. 3.75 pounds per fan hour.

The Gofer is still hard at work. Current settings,

Fan RPM = 1293.75 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 2.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = About 6 pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 125*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

-Don

Mostly highs in the 70's with a couple 60's this week. These are the temps that are a little tricky for the Axeman. So far, no problems. Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 828.6 - 792.4 = 36.2 hours of fan run time, 5.17 hours per day.
Ash reading, 467.1 - 448.2 = 18.9 hours of ashing, 2.70 hours per day. 33 pounds of ash. Ash still looks pretty good, between 12 and 15%. Ash is probably closer to 12% this week.
12% = 275.00 pounds, 39.29 pounds per day. 7.60 pounds per fan hour.
15% = 220.00 pounds, 31.43 pounds per day. 6.01 pounds per fan hour.
18% = 183.33 pounds, 26.19 pounds per day. 5.06 pounds per fan hour.

The Gofer has eaten down to the auger. Time to move some coal over. Current settings,

Fan RPM = 1293.75 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 2.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = About 6 pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 125*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

-Don

Rainy, cool-ish week. Highs in the 50's and 60's. Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 870.3 - 828.6 = 41.7 hours of fan run time, 5.96 hours per day.
Ash reading, 487.7 - 467.1 = 20.6 hours of ashing, 2.94 hours per day. 33 pounds of ash. Lots of clinkers this week. Ash is between 12% and 15% this week.
12% = 275.00 pounds, 39.29 pounds per day. 6.59 pounds per fan hour.
15% = 220.00 pounds, 31.43 pounds per day. 5.28 pounds per fan hour.
18% = 183.33 pounds, 26.19 pounds per day. 4.40 pounds per fan hour.

The Gofer has eaten down to the auger, again. Sometime this week I will probably put the barrel in. Current settings,

Fan RPM = 1293.75 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 2.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = About 6 pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 125*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

-Don

Highs in the 50's and 60's again this week. I guess some people don't like my home made labels on the control box.
Member nepacoal sent me some nice new lables. Thank you very much N!

Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 910.9 - 870.3 = 40.6 hours of fan run time, 5.80 hours per day.
Ash reading, 508.5 - 487.7 = 20.8 hours of ashing, 2.97 hours per day. 33 pounds of pretty good looking ash. Between 12% and 15% again. Ash is between 12% and 15% this week.
12% = 275.00 pounds, 39.29 pounds per day. 6.77 pounds per fan hour.
15% = 220.00 pounds, 31.43 pounds per day. 5.42 pounds per fan hour.
18% = 183.33 pounds, 26.19 pounds per day. 4.52 pounds per fan hour.

Today it was time to through in the barrel! Current settings,

Fan RPM = 1293.75 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 2.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = About 6 pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 125*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

-Don

Well Spring has Sprung and this week Air Conditioning season has officially begun.

We are well into mowing season but the old John Deere F915 has a problem. The PTO bracket on the engine broke so that needs fixing before we can mow anything. . This is the piece that broke off. I will see if I can get a new one but I'm not holding my breath. The machine is over 25 years old so we will probably have to fix this one. Fired up the snow blower and ran it out of gas. Then put it away until Winter. On to the Axeman.

Last Sunday when I put the barrel in, I didn't get the hole in the bottom lined up correctly. When I came home from work on Monday, the fire was almost out! The fan just kept running for hours and hours. The auger shut off on the "Low Stack Temp" limit.
I managed to recover the fire but our fan hour readings and consumption calculations would be very skewed, so we won't bother with them this week.

New, corrected labels. Thanks again N! Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 956.5 - 910.9 = 45.6 hours of fan run time, 6.51 hours per day.
Ash reading, 530.9 - 508.5 = 22.4 hours of ashing, 3.20 hours per day. 37 pounds of rocky with some coal in it ash. Ash is completely off track this week.
12% = XXX.00 pounds, XX.XX pounds per day. X.XX pounds per fan hour.
15% = XXX.00 pounds, XX.XX pounds per day. X.XX pounds per fan hour.
18% = XXX.00 pounds, XX.XX pounds per day. X.XX pounds per fan hour.
We used a little more that half a barrel this week. Filled it up again. Ready for another week! Current settings,

Fan RPM = 1293.75 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 2.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = About X pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 125*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

-Don

Hey Don,

If you have not done this on that beautiful Toro snowblower already
you should drain the carburator fuel bowl too.

lzaharis wrote: ↑

Thu. May. 06, 2021 11:28 am

you should drain the carburator fuel bowl too.

That's why we run it out of gas. When it stops running the tank and the float bowel are empty.

In other news, it's a little chillier and wetter down here this week. I had the radiators shut off and the AC on last week. Last night I had to open a couple radiators back up. -Don

We managed to get the Old John Deere F915 Running just enough to do some mowing. The PTO bracket on the engine is broke. I have it clamped together. It also needs a PTO driveshaft, the splines on this one are worn to the point that it vibrates pretty bad. New parts are on order. Down to business. Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 991.8 - 956.5 = 35.3 hours of fan run time, 5.04 hours per day.
Ash reading, 551.6 - 530.9 = 20.7 hours of ashing, 2.96 hours per day. 34 pounds of rocky look'in ash. Ash is About 15% this week.
12% = 283.33 pounds, 40.47 pounds per day. 8.03 pounds per fan hour.
15% = 226.66 pounds, 32.38 pounds per day. 6.42 pounds per fan hour.
18% = 188.88 pounds, 26.98 pounds per day. 5.35 pounds per fan hour.

Still about half a barrel left. Maybe we'll let it ride until next week. The coming week should be a bit warmer, Hopefully we will start getting closer to 20 pounds per day soon. Current settings,

Fan RPM = 1293.75 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 2.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = About X pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 125*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

-Don

Today we shut off the heating loop for the house. Now the only thing the Axeman will be heating is the indirect water heater. We'll see if this reduces our per day coal usage. Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 1026.2 - 991.8 = 34.4 hours of fan run time, 4.91 hours per day.
Ash reading, 573.5 - 551.6 = 21.9 hours of ashing, 3.13 hours per day. 35 pounds of rocky look'in ash. Ash is About 15% this week.
12% = 283.33 pounds, 40.47 pounds per day. 8.03 pounds per fan hour.
15% = 226.66 pounds, 32.38 pounds per day. 6.42 pounds per fan hour.
18% = 188.88 pounds, 26.98 pounds per day. 5.35 pounds per fan hour.
Hummm,,, That's exactly the same as last week.

The barrel full lasted 13 days. I through a few shovels full in yesterday morning to keep it going till today. That's almost it for Pea coal! Probably less than a barrel full left in the bin. This should get us into early to mid June. The Summer coal prices should be in effect by then.

Current settings,

Fan RPM = 1293.75 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 2.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = About 6.5 pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 125*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

In other news,
On Friday I met forum member MacCoon1 to pick up a pile of AHS parts. I got 2 fan plates, one is for the direct drive fan, the other is for the belt drive fan. Also, 3 fans, ashing motor, ashing crank, 2 new fan plate insulators and a couple aquastats. I did a quick test fit of the direct drive fan plate on the 1956 Axeman. It fits pretty good! More later.

-Don

Well, down here it's pretty much Summer. 80's and 90's this week, YUK! Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 1054.7 - 1026.2 = 28.5 hours of fan run time, 4.07 hours per day.
Ash reading, 597.6 - 573.5 = 24.1 hours of ashing, 3.44 hours per day. I don't know what happened this week, but the ash is Horrible!!! 60 pounds of rocks and a little bit of powder. That's twice as heavy as normal. And I have no idea what ash percentage it is. It's got to be close to 50%.

The strange thing is that we used less coal than normal. It used, maybe a third of a barrel? Current settings,

Fan RPM = 1293.75 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 2.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = About 6.5? pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 125*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

Hot weather early in the week. Cool weather later in the week. Due to the horrible looking ash from last week I dropped the ashing temp from 125 to 110 degrees. Tuesday we had an outfire due to the warm weather. It was so warm that the fire door would not suck closed so we increased the fan speed to 1725 RPM. Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 1089.5 - 1054.7 = 34.8 hours of fan run time, 4.97 hours per day.
Ash reading, 620.3 - 597.6 = 22.7 hours of ashing, 3.24 hours per day. 54 pounds of what looks like rocks and some powder on the bottom with clinkers on top. The Gofer finished off this barrel this afternoon. I scrapped the bottom of the bin and came up with one more full barrel. That's it for the Pea coal. There are a bunch of fines in there so we will probably have some puff-backs and outfires in the near future!

Current settings,

Fan RPM = 1725 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 2.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = ??.? pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 110*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

-Don

I see i am not the only one who pulls out a barrel towards the end of the season, I just shut my allen stoker off 2 weeks ago but had to turn it back on this weekend we had low temps in the 50s during the day and 40s at night. Coal mice are a life saver for starting the fire but damp coal mice are pretty useless, learned the the hard way. My Allen is now shut off for the season and deserves a good cleaning and a gear box reseal.

Idlorah wrote: ↑

Tue. Jun. 01, 2021 8:39 pm

I see i am not the only one who pulls out a barrel towards the end of the season,

Yup, the barrel is the way to go when the bin gets low.

Well, it's been a very challenging week for the old Axeman. This bottom of the bin coal doesn't want to hold a fire. Also it's been Hot! Hot! Hot! Temps in the 80's and 90's. We've had 5 outfires this week. We had to make some drastic setting changes to make it work. First we changed the ashing temp back to 125. Then we increased the fan speed to 1725 RPM. The fire still went out. Then we increased the fan speed to 2300 RPM, increased the ashing to 3 teeth and set the timer for 1 minute every half hour. Hopefully it stays lit this week!

Fire depth was 7" this morning, 2.5" up to 9.5".

Over the past 7 days;
Fan reading, 1136.9 - 1089.5 = 47.4 hours of fan run time, 6.77 hours per day.
Ash reading, 639.9 - 620.3 = 19.6 hours of ashing, 2.80 hours per day. Ash is mostly part burnt coal and raw coal with a little ash. Pretty Friggin Bad! It's got to be 100 pounds or more. It totally pegged my scale! Only used about 1/3rd barrel of coal though? Current settings,

Timer = 1 minute every half hour
Fan RPM = 2300 RPM (Stock is 2875 RPM)
Ashing = 3.0 Teeth
Auger speed = 4.31 RPM (Stock is 8.05 RPM)
Grate cycles per hour = 10.35
Pounds per hour = ??.? pounds per fan run time hour
Aquastat = 160*F (Inkbird), ON/OFF, Hysteresis = 5*
Anthrastat = 125*F (Inkbird), Hysteresis = 0.5*
Low flue temperature cut off = 160*F, Hysteresis = 0.1*

Here is an update video with the deafening Cicada population explosion!


-Don