Yellow Flame, A Christmas Stoker Boiler

 
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CoalHeat
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Joined: Sat. Feb. 10, 2007 9:48 pm
Location: Stillwater, New Jersey
Stoker Coal Boiler: 1959 EFM 350
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Magnafire Mark I
Baseburners & Antiques: Sears Signal Oak 15 & Andes Kitchen Range
Coal Size/Type: Rice and Chestnut
Other Heating: Fisher Fireplace Insert

Post by CoalHeat » Tue. Jan. 21, 2014 10:06 pm

That's strange. Must have been "field modified".


 
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StokerDon
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Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Tue. Jan. 21, 2014 10:11 pm

I am very glad it was. Works perfectly!

-Don

 
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blrman07
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Location: Tupelo Mississippi

Post by blrman07 » Wed. Jan. 22, 2014 8:51 am

Excellent work. The only real problem I had with my Yellow Flame was with the timer and the aquastat. Changed em both out for more modern stuff after they hassled me a couple of times.

That timer may look a little funky but if it works for you, keep it.

Maybe I've discovered why Momma keeps me around?!!??!!

Rev. Larry
New Beginning Church
Ashland Pa.

 
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StokerDon
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Posts: 7486
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Wed. Jan. 22, 2014 7:44 pm

I was right, the blowers were not up to the task. Today in between plowing and sonwblowing I remove the box fan from behind the 80K heat exchanger and installed this blower I had lay'in around in the basement. It came out of a mobile home oil firnace, 550CFM. Now the garage heats up to the thermostat temp!
YFnewBlower 007.JPG

Blower

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YFnewBlower 006.JPG

Blower

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And, I think I'm gona hafta install a fire door with a window. I never get tired of look'in at those flames!
YFnewBlower 008.JPG

Flame

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YFnewBlower 009.JPG

Flame

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YFnewBlower 010.JPG

Flame

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-Don

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Wed. Jan. 22, 2014 7:53 pm

StokerDon wrote:And, I think I'm gona hafta install a fire door with a window. I never get tired of look'in at those flames!
Here ya go...Lightning did that himself just a couple months ago..... 8-)

Load Door Window Installation
Last edited by titleist1 on Wed. Jan. 22, 2014 8:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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tsb
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Location: Douglassville, Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: Binford 2000
Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: LL Pioneer top vent
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Saey Hanover II
Baseburners & Antiques: Grander Golden Oak , Glenwood # 6
Coal Size/Type: All of them

Post by tsb » Wed. Jan. 22, 2014 8:02 pm

I built mine with a small view window, but the stoker blows
around so much fly ash, it fogs over very quickly. I replaced it
with a small open hole I can peak through. Make sure you
wear sun glasses when staring at the fire. It will snow blind you
in no time.

 
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StokerDon
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Posts: 7486
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Wed. Jan. 22, 2014 8:48 pm

I saw Lightning's door glass install, great idea. I has thinking of doing that with my Harman SF3500. With the Yellow Flame, the door is so small, and doesn't seal or latch, I was thinking removing the door and frame and making something that goes around the outside of the square that the current frame fits into.
PaintedBoiler 001.JPG

Door

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That way I would get maximum veiwing and the glass would be further way from the fire.

-Don


 
KLook
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Location: Harrison, Tenn
Other Heating: Wishing it was cold enough for coal here....not really

Post by KLook » Wed. Jan. 22, 2014 8:51 pm

Considering the job you have done rebuilding this unit, I am sure you are up to the task! 8-)

Kevin

 
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Rob R.
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Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Thu. Jan. 23, 2014 5:21 am

Hey Don, I am not sure how long the stoker had been running when you took those pictures of the fire, but there is a LOT of ash on the grate. Once the fire reaches a steady-state, you want to see more fire and less ash at the end of the grate. Think about it, if you are blowing air through ash what is it doing? -taking heat out of the boiler.

 
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StokerDon
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Posts: 7486
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Thu. Jan. 23, 2014 8:46 am

Rob,

Understood, I haven't really been able to check it at full burn. With a stove or a furnace, you just crank up the thermostat, wait a half an hour or so, then look at the flame to see how much ash is at the end. With the boiler if you crank up the thermostat, the stoker just shuts off when the water temp hits 180. On this setup, even with the blowers on constantly the cycle only takes 5 to 10 minutes. I guess that means even though the two heatexchangers equal 130KBUT, the boiler is't working hard to supply heat to them. Do I need more of a load?

-Don

 
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Rob R.
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Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Thu. Jan. 23, 2014 9:30 am

Those heat exchangers are not getting close to a 130k btu/hr load if the boiler loafs along like that. Colder air and more airflow through the exchangers will increase the load.

Do you plan to fix the tankless coil? That would be an easy way to load the boiler.

For the time being, if you don't see any clinkers in the ash and there is a few inches of fire on the stoker by the end of a heat call, I wouldn't worry about it. When you get it to a more permanent state and are burning more coal, it will be easier to tune.

 
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StokerDon
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Posts: 7486
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Thu. Jan. 23, 2014 9:44 am

I just went out and checked on the boiler, it was on a heat cycle, the temp was about 175. I was out there for a few minutes, when I look at the temp again, it was 170, dropping while the stoker was still running. That blower I installed yesterday has really changed the load on the boiler!

Feed rate adjustment;

The output side of the gearbox has six threaded holes starting near the center, spirilling out towards the edge. The hole closest to the center is the lowest feed rate, the one at the outer edge is the highest feed rate.
YFstokerMechResto4 001.JPG

Feed rate

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YFstokerMechResto4 002.JPG

feed rate

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We will call the lowest feed rate hole 1 and the highest feed rate hole 6. I had it set on 3 and it seemed that the boiler was having trouble keeping up AND as Rob pointed out there was a good 5" or so of ash on the end of the grate. I moved up two steps to 5, I am waiting to see what that does.

Keep in mind that the linkage has a lot of ware. The large lever that the gearbox drives back and forth moves at least 1/4" before the grate starts to move. 5 is also the setting that was used by the previous owner.

-Don

 
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StokerDon
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Posts: 7486
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Thu. Jan. 23, 2014 11:44 am

OK, this is what we've got after an hour with the thermostat turned up all the way and after a good 12 minutes or so of a heat cycle. I took the photos as the water temp got to about 175 or so, just before the shuttoff point.
YFfeedAdjustmentFlame 001.JPG

Feedrate adjustment flame

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YFfeedAdjustmentFlame 003.JPG

Feedrate adjustment flame

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Flue temp gets to about 250 when on a heat cycle.
YFfeedAdjustmentFlame 005.JPG

Feedrate adjustment flame

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This feed rate may be slightly to high. Lit coal up to about 2" from the end of the grate. I will leave it for now and see how it goes.

-Don

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Jan. 23, 2014 12:33 pm

That fire looks much better to me, but you will have to monitor things and see what kind of cycle times you get and if there is too much temperature overshoot. You can always feed less coal, but I would reduce the air as well.

 
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StokerDon
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Posts: 7486
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Thu. Jan. 23, 2014 1:19 pm

Rob,

I have been concerned about the amount of combustion air all along. I have the choke as far closed as it will go without bouncing off of the coupler. I think what I need to do is take the crapy sheetmetal screw out, drill and tap the blower housing to about 10-24, steal the choke off of the other stoker mech, do some grinding on the current choke so it fits better, mount the second choke plate on the top side of the blower. Doing this will give me the ability to choke down the combustion air to were it needs to be.
YFstokerMechResto5 014.JPG

blower choke

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I'll do that in my spare time.

-Don


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