Yellow Flame

I'm impressed. It appears to be holding just fine. What's the problem?

Matthew would have used the much better Gorilla tape!!!!

Kevin

Matt would have removed the hopper, rebuilt the rotted away pieces and returned it to safe operation! Gorilla tape is THE BEST, HOWEVER JUST A LITTLE HEAT WOULD NOT BE GOOD. Let's face it, you can neglect these beasts, and even though injured, will fight on until they disintegrate. I've rebuilt AA's that were behind a barn, uncovered for 40 years, and had them humming like new in a few days. Lots of parts replaced, but look like new and perform as new.

In case you guys haven't tried any coal from his family's breaker, here is the address, web link and phone number. It is perfectly sized, clean as a whistle, and the facility is superb. This is not the first time Matt has helped out an ailing boiler, or worked at a coal facility. Check that part of his experience out. Matt doesn't get involved in sales unless you ask him, but his brothers are ready to provide great service.
This is not an ad for DiRenzo Coal, just an opportunity to try out another fine operation. Earmark this address and contact info in your Coal Directory.

http://www.direnzocoal.com/
Toll Free - 800-676-4743
Locally - 570-544-4743
Fax - 570-544-6537
Email - [email protected]

I am injured Whistlnut!!! My jocular comments about Matt have been misconstrued and thrown back at me!



damn, cracked a rib just like Cnewbie!

Kevin

I was just trying to let you know Matt is many things, and wanted you to know that he is VERY capable at whatever he does. Check out the coal side of things he works in when time permits.....he is the REAL deal.
I also heard he is most proud of being a husband and a dad.....so you now know one more thing many guys just aren't capable of, and THOSE are HIS priorities. Lots of hard working, nice folks in PA!!!

Wow, nice job on the repair, Matt! I have a question. In the photo showing the new grates installed there appears to be sealant along the top of the grates. If it is sealant is this something you always do, or is it based on the condition of the grate frame? I have a 3 grate.

Thanks!

Dragonslayer wrote:Wow, nice job on the repair, Matt! I have a question. In the photo showing the new grates installed there appears to be sealant along the top of the grates. If it is sealant is this something you always do, or is it based on the condition of the grate frame? I have a 3 grate.

Thanks!

Thanks........I put some high temp silicone just to help hold them in place. Not sure if you really need anything to hold them there, it can't hurt. My brother has 2 yellow flames at the Coal Co., there isn't anything holding those grated in and it is working fine. I guess a little furnace cement wouldn't hurt. Do you use anything?

I do not have mine installed yet, thats why the question. I am building an addition on my shop with a boiler room in it. My son and I set the boiler and base in place the night before the storm hit and I got my copper pipe delivery yesterday. It was more than my first car cost I'll try to add some pictures.
I am sure I will have a lot more questions as I go along.
Thanks for the help!

Now that I think about it I did use furnace cement to seal over the back side of the grates on the first three rows of holes. When we moved into our house I had never used any type of coal burning anything and never handled coal of any type. I had no clue on how to operate the boiler much less even light it off. A neighbor who was a second generation underground anthracite coal miner on disability came over to show me the ropes suggested I do that to make sure that the fire "don't burn too high don't cha know" and that way " You can get them grates in and out to clean em so they don't burn up." I had no clue as to what he was talking about. I just followed his instructions as he told me how to take the boiler apart for cleaning and I never had a problem in 7 years.

He told me to pull the grates twice a year for cleaning; once in the summer around the 4th of July holiday and once in the fall around Thanksgiving. Like I said I had no clue and I figured he did so I always followed that routine and cleaned out the rest of the holes in the grates like he showed me. By those times of the year I could visibly notice a change in the fire pattern due to clogged air holes. That was also when I wire brushed the insides, pulled and checked the galvanized stove pipe to the chimney and cleaned out the stove pipe and chimney base. So far I have replaced two grates in 7 years. Every time I opened it and cleaned it out good I always got at least a 1/2 to 3/4 of a five gallon bucket of fly ash out of the beast. He always told me..."Pay attention to her and she'll tell you what you need to do, just like a woman."

He was disabled because he was caught in not one but two deep shaft mine roof cave ins. Both busted him up bad. The second one put him in a metal and velcro contraption back brace and put him out on life long disability in the early 70's. The fellow couldn't stand up straight without cranking the tension on it and it pulled him up straight. He had a permanent stoop due to spinal injuries, a bad heart, black lung, and kidneys that functioned at about 30 percent. He would get into coughing jags that would last a couple of minutes. When he calmed back down he would hit himself in the chest and mutter "D..n Rocks in the box!!" With all that wrong he would still say clearly to anyone that asked...."Yep, I would go back inside right now if they would let me. I can do something inside even if I can't swing a pick no more." Without a doubt he could be one of the most disagreeable people I met but after a bluster he would apologize and say he was just frustrated because " I can't do no more mining don't cha know. I love it and I miss it and sometimes it just gets to me." Then he would thank me for listening to his rants and we would go on.

He died from heart failure two years ago. When he got to where he was completely bed ridden, I asked him what he wanted for his funeral but he insisted no funeral. He made me promise him no one would take him to the hospital "because a man should die in his own bed, not some sterile place where nobody cares." His wife begged him to go the hospital and all he would say is " Woman, I told you no hospitals." He also made me promise there would be no funeral and as he put it, "Burn me up and spread the ashes under yonder tree down in the field." He died at home in his bed just like he wanted to do. His wife wanted a funeral but I reminded her that he said no funeral. She agreed to a viewing only instead.

I went to the viewing and the disagreeable side of the family showed up. A fist fight started at the viewing between two ex-wives, an ex-girlfriend, and his current wife all arguing over who loved him the most while he was alive. I kid you not!!! I am talking toe to toe closed hand swinging fist fight between four women. As a minister I've done a lot of funerals and been to a lot of viewings but that was without a doubt a first. The Pa State Police were called and ended up arresting all four women. I had to testify that the wife was the one that started it (which she did.) She got a $100 fine for disturbing the peace plus court costs.

She got mad at me for telling the truth. She wanted me to lie and say the ex-girlfriend started it. She was supposed to tell me when she picked up his ashes so we could spread them around the base of the tree. Instead she waited two months then picked up his ashes and flushed them down the toilet saying that's all he deserved. She had gotten a locksmith to open his two gun safes and found them empty except for a couple of worn out rifles and three junk pistols. He had given away all the really expensive guns to his two sons from the previous wives before he died. She was going to sell all the guns a little at a time after he died so she wouldn't have to go back to work. No guns, no money, so she got mad and flushed him. I haven't seen or spoken to her since then at her request.

I don't know where all this came from. Thinking about the grates in the yellow flame took me back to that first day in our house when he came over to see if the "city boy" could figure out how to light the boiler. He loved calling me the "city boy who don't know s..t about coal" and I would retort "At least I can keep my eyes open in the sunlight" to which he would reply "Only need to keep your eyes wide open when your underground don't cha know." After that he would laugh that always ended in coughing and wheezing for several minutes.

That first day I met him he said he didn't care about me being comfortable.

I clearly remember him saying "I only came over to make sure the boiler is lit because the woman of the house will always want a hot bath and I don't want no disgruntled woman living anywhere near me even if she ain't in my house. You can get as cold and nasty smelling as you want but you always take good care of a good woman and she'll take good care of you. " He was rough and gruff and a hard headed racist from his head to his toenails.

But I do miss him most days.

Welcome to the southern coal region.

Pastor Larry

blrman07 wrote:But I do miss him most days.
Welcome to the southern coal region.
Pastor Larry

Great story, Larry. A few more neighbors like that and you could write a book.

Great Coal Reagion Story Thanks for sharing that

whistlenut wrote:Matt would have removed the hopper, rebuilt the rotted away pieces and returned it to safe operation! Gorilla tape is THE BEST, HOWEVER JUST A LITTLE HEAT WOULD NOT BE GOOD. Let's face it, you can neglect these beasts, and even though injured, will fight on until they disintegrate. I've rebuilt AA's that were behind a barn, uncovered for 40 years, and had them humming like new in a few days. Lots of parts replaced, but look like new and perform as new.

In case you guys haven't tried any coal from his family's breaker, here is the address, web link and phone number. It is perfectly sized, clean as a whistle, and the facility is superb. This is not the first time Matt has helped out an ailing boiler, or worked at a coal facility. Check that part of his experience out. Matt doesn't get involved in sales unless you ask him, but his brothers are ready to provide great service.
This is not an ad for DiRenzo Coal, just an opportunity to try out another fine operation. Earmark this address and contact info in your Coal Directory.

http://www.direnzocoal.com/
Toll Free - 800-676-4743
Locally - 570-544-4743
Fax - 570-544-6537
Email - [email protected]

Thanks Doug for complimenting my family's operation............you didn't need to do that.....but its greatly appreciated.......Thanks again

Nice job Matt, there's probably not many of us left who will go into any god forsaken cellar and not come out until the job is done, whether it's plugged, broke, leaking or whatever.
My favorite used to be crawling into the coal bin and shoveling coal at 1AM for those people without a doghouse with a broken EFM worm. Nothing like a few hundred pounds of rock on top of the part you have to remove.......
"Oh, I'll make sure I fix that bin for next year"................OK, right Pal........