AXEMAN 101 *Class Is in Session!*

OK guys, I have all the pieces of my Axeman 260M down in the basement now and I'm ready to start putting it together.
I would like to thank John Deere for making that process as painless as possible.

For my first problem, the chimney. I was always under the impression it was about 23' tall but I measured it last night and discovered it to be 18.5' from the thimble to the top of it. It has a square 8" clay tile flue, is exposed and the thimble is 5' from the floor and is 6" clay tile. I don't think that is enough chimney for this beast, what say you all?
In addition, I have a few 4'X8' sheets of polyisocyanate insulation foiled on both sides. Would that be worth sticking to the chimney to keep some heat in it and would it even make a difference in the draft?

Second, in order to use the "puffbackorator" as recommended by Axeman I have another problem. With the 6" pipe adapter at the top of the Axeman using 6" stovepipe, I can't make a size increase prior to the baro as the thimble is 6". I looked down into the boiler where the stovepipe adapter is to find that the length of pipe delivering the exhaust gas to the stovepipe is in fact 4.75"! Do you think it feasable to neck the adapter to 5" stovepipe and run it that way to the baro and then 6" to the thimble?

This boiler was purchased new in 1981 and the guy ran about a ton of coal through it and shut it down, never to touch it again until I bought it. It looked brand new, the grate still had the welders chalk lines and writing on it even though he left it full of ash and coal. Is there something I should look for that may have degraded? Can I reuse the fan housing gasket which looks great?

Any tips or recommendations will be appreciated.
I realize I will have to fitted with a TuTu before pulling the old hand fired and lighting this monster, I just don't want to embarass myself in the process.

On my AA130 , I ran 5" all the way to the baro, 5 " baro, then step up to 6" then step up to 7". This was before I saw the book with pictures! Never had a problem yet, thought I might have heard just 1 boom once but not sure, never any pipes blown apart. Make sure you grease, oil or lube anything that moves except the belts. Do get a CO detector in the area or room which the AA is located.

Obviously, the tankless water nuts should be removed, replace the gasket. anti-seize the threads. I recommend heat if the bolts are not cooperating, no need to twist off a stud at this point.
Have you done the rollers for the ash plate? Not a big deal to do, but there isn't much else to worry about.
I also would assume that the auger rollers have been removed, cleaned and re-lubed......PRV might want to be replaced, long time to sit.
It might be a good idea to stay with the unit during the first few hours of fire-up, and probably nothing will occur other than you will get a lot of heat in a very short time, hopefully with adequate draw to utilize it. It will take a couoke of days to make sure the ashing is working as you desire, and that is something that you will tune-up as season goes forward.
It is pretty easy to forget these boilers once you are fired.....change the ash bucket, listen to the tinkle in the tube, change the ash bucket.....open a window....watch for overheating on a warm day until you have the unit under control.......
I know you must have the draft issue under control...if not, get the manometer on the beast early on...no need to waste coal.

Make sure you have adequate supply and no funneling issues in the bin. Enjoy.....

coaledsweat wrote:I have a few 4'X8' sheets of polyisocyanate insulation foiled on both sides. Would that be worth sticking to the chimney to keep some heat in it and would it even make a difference in the draft?

Sounds like a good time for an experiment!!

My shop chimney is only 18' approx. high and 15' from stove exhaust to top of chimney and it seems to draft very well. I did pay attention to the 10'-2' rule when I put it up. Light a cigar and hold it close to the thimble if the chimney takes a nice big drag you should be good to go.

I think you have plenty of chimney height. The Axeman makes their own draft when running. All you need for draft is .015 or .02 to keep the idle exhaust headed up & out. I'm pretty sure the book says 15 feet will do.

A 260?? Wowza! I hope you have pipes going underground to heat your neighbors house too. The Axeman got legs & like to run!

I'd empty it, clean it, remove the fan & check inside. If the gasket is OK, use it. Remove the ash plate & check & lube the bearings & the asher bushings & lube them. New belts wouldn't be a bad idea. Change the oil in the tranny & fan box. Yaaaa, a new gasket on the domestic coil sounds like a good idea. Careful not to break a stud....unless it's the new design with bolts. Never seize them on the way back. Re-tighten after a month. As for the barometric damper, I'd size up so you can get the pipe to be as in the book, then size back down. A larger baro is a good idea anyway. I wish I'd put on an 8" instead of a 6". The reason for the odd baro setup isn't for anti-boom, it's so when the boiler first comes on it tends to blow the exhaust up the chimney rather than into the boiler room. The view port door on the newer ones has a 5/8" hole with a plug in it. If you get a boom, remove the plug and leave it out. If there is no hole and you get boomage, drill a 5/8" hole in the view port door. That's the one that dangles! Don't go drilling into the water jacket! Arghhh!

Let us know how it all works out.

whistlenut wrote:Obviously, the tankless water nuts should be removed, replace the gasket. anti-seize the threads. I recommend heat if the bolts are not cooperating, no need to twist off a stud at this point.

Everything on the coil looks clean and tight, someone said not to play with them unless they are a problem. Don't forget, this thing hasn't really been opened up yet. It's was like buying a stored 28 year old demo from the dealer.

Have you done the rollers for the ash plate? Not a big deal to do, but there isn't much else to worry about.

I figured I would load them up with Neversieze.

I also would assume that the auger rollers have been removed, cleaned and re-lubed......PRV might want to be replaced, long time to sit.

Didn't know about those, I'll check them out.

I know you must have the draft issue under control...if not, get the manometer on the beast early on...no need to waste coal.

I have a manometer, the hand fired always ran OK but did not have a great draft when down low. I think around .02.

Make sure you have adequate supply and no funneling issues in the bin. Enjoy.....

I'm going to stick the doghouse in a poly 55 gallon drum for starters. I plan some changes in the future so I don't want to get too involved.

JB Sparks wrote:Sounds like a good time for an experiment!!

The base is below grade and it's wide at the bottom but it may be worth a try. Any heat it saves may heat up the brick face in the family room, more heat!

JB Sparks wrote:My shop chimney is only 18' approx. high and 15' from stove exhaust to top of chimney and it seems to draft very well. I did pay attention to the 10'-2' rule when I put it up. Light a cigar and hold it close to the thimble if the chimney takes a nice big drag you should be good to go.

The problem I have is the rest of the house where the chimney isn't is a two story leaker. It competes with the chimney for draft. A cigarette maybe, I light a cigar in this house and the witches will cast a spell on me.

JB Sparks wrote: Light a cigar and hold it close to the thimble if the chimney takes a nice big drag you should be good to go.

My preference is a Kitchen Match

My chimney is only about 15' high from the thimble.. I get .015-.02" of draft. It increases to about .04-.05" when the boiler fires.

I think the suggestion of sizing up to 7", make the baro with the 6" inlet pipe, then neck back down is a good idea.

Make sure to use AA gear oil in the gear box, or find gear oil formulated with zero sulphur.. the bronze gears in the gearbox don't like sulphur..

Make sure the chain doesn't have any stiff, rusted links,, lube the rollers on the auger support, mine are open rollers, no grease seals..

I use never-seize on the grate rollers, and on the bushings for the grate/belcrank/notched wheel shaft.. this shaft is tough to lube when installed in the boiler..

Don't bother with the 'dog house,, just insert the auger into your poly 55 drum.. it will hold about 300#, with about 200-250 usable, there will be some in the bottom of the barrel that won't feed.. But the 'dog house' will be useless in a 55 gal drum.

Once you are ready to start the first fire,, be aware that without a significant BTU load on the boiler, it will reach temperature quickly, without getting the full firepot of coal fully burning. To facilitate getting the fire fully burning, be prepared to use lots of domestic hot water, turn up the thermostats and open the windows.. You want the fire to burn for as long as you can,, I like to see up to an hour of intial burn. Save some ash from the hand fired boiler,, about a 5-gallon pail will be plenty, put this on the grate, bringing the ash level up to the bottom of the firepot lip. Use lots of short wood pieces. a couple of 2x6's 6-8" long, about 1/2"-1" thick will make a great starter fire, start the fire, using the boiler's fan, then add handfulls of coal, either through the flapper door, or through the auger's transfer head. Prop up the ashing handle, for the first hour or two of burning, to prevent ashing untill the fire is well established. The auger tube will slowly fill the firepot, but untill the coal fill tube is full, the fan may not pull hard enough to pull the flapper closed. You may need to prop something against the flapper untill the transfer head and feed tube are full. You can fill these with a coffee can faster than the auger will.

You are going to enjoy this boiler. I sure like mine.. Feel free to call,

Take care,, Greg L

OK, the grate wheels and linkage are all lubed up. I assembled the vessel and the base, the ashing lever and related dodads. Mounted the electric box by the ashing arm, could they have put those bolts in a better place? I removed and cleaned the rollers for the tube and ashing arm. What do you guys use to lube these bearings? Neversieze or wheel bearing grease? The elbow at the top of the feed tube, should that thing get lube? I found no evidence of any lubricant anywhere on this thing, no evidence of any wear either. Real strange, either it evaporated or he only ran the thing a day or so.
Another thing, it took me a few minutes to realize he had the ash door knobs on the inside as the doors wouldn't fit the way I was trying, outside in of course.

coaledsweat wrote:it took me a few minutes to realize he had the ash door knobs on the inside

That's how they come from the factory so they don't get damaged in shipping.

LsFarm wrote:I use never-seize on the grate rollers, and on the bushings for the grate/belcrank/notched wheel shaft.. this shaft is tough to lube when installed in the boiler.

No one trumped this so I went out to get another can of Neversieze from my pal at the auto parts store, it appears the copper stuff is good to 2,000* and the silver only to 1600*. Not that the feed tube gets hot or anything I went with the copper. I noted that it is clearly labeled: Not A Bearing Lubricant. So grouchy and I discussed this issue. He said that the guy at the town garage who works on the firetrucks and ambulances mixes Neversieze with wheel bearing grease to keep the emergency snow chains (dash mounted switch energizes the chains when you need them, they just spin and sling under the tires) working properly all winter and it works like a charm. They are troublesome as they get dosed with salt and then sit for a year, he has had zero problems since the mix. I think I'll try that, mix it with DB wheel bearing grease.
I rechecked the size of the boiler's exhaust tube below the Pope's Hat and it is actually 4.5" in diameter (simply amazing). I think I'll just use 5" from the hat to the baro and then 6" through the thimble.
I now know why the grate on this thing is warrantied forever, the damn thing is 2" thick and has about 4-5" of ash between it and the fire. I wonder if it even gets hot?
I have a lot of electrical control stuff to finish up too, got to get cracking.

What about lubing the transfer head and what is that micrometer handle looking thing do?

coaledsweat wrote:

LsFarm wrote:I use never-seize on the grate rollers, and on the bushings for the grate/belcrank/notched wheel shaft.. this shaft is tough to lube when installed in the boiler.

No one trumped this so I went out to get another can of Neversieze from my pal at the auto parts store, it appears the copper stuff is good to 2,000* and the silver only to 1600*. Not that the feed tube gets hot or anything I went with the copper. I noted that it is clearly labeled: Not A Bearing Lubricant. So grouchy and I discussed this issue. He said that the guy at the town garage who works on the firetrucks and ambulances mixes Neversieze with wheel bearing grease to keep the emergency snow chains (dash mounted switch energizes the chains when you need them, they just spin and sling under the tires) working properly all winter and it works like a charm. They are troublesome as they get dosed with salt and then sit for a year, he has had zero problems since the mix. I think I'll try that, mix it with DB wheel bearing grease.
I rechecked the size of the boiler's exhaust tube below the Pope's Hat and it is actually 4.5" in diameter (simply amazing). I think I'll just use 5" from the hat to the baro and then 6" through the thimble.
I now know why the grate on this thing is warrantied forever, the damn thing is 2" thick and has about 4-5" of ash between it and the fire. I wonder if it even gets hot?
I have a lot of electrical control stuff to finish up too, got to get cracking.

What about lubing the transfer head and what is that micrometer handle looking thing do?

The Micrometer looking things is the Oiler for transfer head make sure there is oil in it .
also check your Cyclone ash Tube make sure the Gasket is in good shape or replace with a new one ASK LS/Greg about that one Also are you sure it is a 260 not a 130 I know it sounds dump bt the flue on AA 130 is 5" AA 260 is 6"
you said yours is 4.75 which is a 5" OD.Also replace the rubber water coil gasket they dry out from sitting not good when you have everything fired up and it starts to leak.there only a few bucks.

coal berner wrote: The Micrometer looking things is the Oiler for transfer head make sure there is oil in it .

OK, no need to come apart just oil? What do you recommend to lube it?

also check your Cyclone ash Tube make sure the Gasket is in good shape or replace with a new one ASK LS/Greg about that one

Is that the cone at the bottom of the exhaust stack?

Also are you sure it is a 260 not a 130 I know it sounds dump bt the flue on AA 130 is 5" AA 260 is 6"
you said yours is 4.75 which is a 5" OD.

It has an oval port, weighs about 1500# and the AA manufacture plate says 260M. The Pope's hat is sized 6" but below that the pipe is only 4.5" in diameter and about a foot or more deep (that cone thingy is at the bottom). I figured if it's that small, 3-4' of 5" won't choke her. Should I avoid the 5"?

Also replace the rubber water coil gasket they dry out from sitting not good when you have everything fired up and it starts to leak.there only a few bucks.

OK, I'll give them a call and get one of those,. Everything on the coil looks clean and sharp, like brand new. Oddly enough, the coil casting appears to be painted green. What were they thinking?

coaledsweat wrote:

coal berner wrote: The Micrometer looking things is the Oiler for transfer head make sure there is oil in it .

OK, no need to come apart just oil? What do you recommend to lube it?

also check your Cyclone ash Tube make sure the Gasket is in good shape or replace with a new one ASK LS/Greg about that one

Is that the cone at the bottom of the exhaust stack?

Also are you sure it is a 260 not a 130 I know it sounds dump bt the flue on AA 130 is 5" AA 260 is 6"
you said yours is 4.75 which is a 5" OD.

It has an oval port, weighs about 1500# and the AA manufacture plate says 260M. The Pope's hat is sized 6" but below that the pipe is only 4.5" in diameter and about a foot or more deep (that cone thingy is at the bottom). I figured if it's that small, 3-4' of 5" won't choke her. Should I avoid the 5"?

Also replace the rubber water coil gasket they dry out from sitting not good when you have everything fired up and it starts to leak.there only a few bucks.

OK, I'll give them a call and get one of those,. Everything on the coil looks clean and sharp, like brand new. Oddly enough, the coil casting appears to be painted green. What were they thinking?

Light machine oil for the oiler.
Yes That is the cyclone ash tube 4.5" Not the Flue size which is 6" stick with 6" stack pipe use a 7" Tee for the baro and
to stick the 6" pipe half way into 7" tee seal it up at both ends like AA says to do also put the baro as close to the chimney flue as possible .Oval port means nothing on the older Beth / Boston & AA130 had them too 1410 Lbs is AA 260 - 930lbs is AA 130 with out Jackets. 260 1530 lbs W/Jackets 130 1000 lbs W/Jackets