That's a relief. It would take about 85 PSI to keep that from boiling if it was the internal boiler temperature. How did I miss that. Now I know I'm getting old.
The Van Wert VA600 Project
- freetown fred
- Member
- Posts: 30293
- Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
- Location: Freetown,NY 13803
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
- Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut
Not yet Larry, but you're gainin on it!!!!
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
Last night I changed the feed rate from 12.25 pounds per hour to 10 pounds per hour. I'm not a big fan of reducing feed rates for Summer DHW burning, this contributes to outfires. But we will give it a try here.
Since I lowered the feed rate by changing the motor pulley from 3.5" to 3.0", slowing the blower down too, I moved the air setting up to 5.5.
-Don
Since I lowered the feed rate by changing the motor pulley from 3.5" to 3.0", slowing the blower down too, I moved the air setting up to 5.5.
-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
The meter reading today is 4180.4 - 4170.5 = 9.9 hours over the passed 5 days, 1.98 hours per day. We can't really equate that to coal usage since we changed the feed rate to 10 pounds per hour mid-week.
-Don
A weeks worth of ash.
A weeks worth of gofer activity.
Piled up some more coal over the auger mouth.
In a few weeks we will get to the point where the coal pile over the auger mouth will last less than a week. Then it will be time to put the barrel in.-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
Today we pulled the stove pipe off of the Van Wert to clean the fly ash out of it.
When I turned the stoker back on, the fire did not recover. I re-lit it and took pics at various stages of recovery. On this last one, the fire was 99% recovered and the heat call ended. You can see that one little spot in front that is not quite lit. Tomorrow when we calculate how much coal we used over the week, we will subtract 1.5 hours. .5 for trying to recover the fire and an hour to re-lit it.
-Don
First, I removed the BBQ thermometer so it wouldn't get damaged.
Then pulled the cover off the strait pipe that goes to the thimble.
Cleaned it out.
I took the stove pipe outside and dumped the fly ash in the ash pile.
Then put it all back together.
This all took a fairly long time, and I had shut down the stoker a few hours earlier.When I turned the stoker back on, the fire did not recover. I re-lit it and took pics at various stages of recovery. On this last one, the fire was 99% recovered and the heat call ended. You can see that one little spot in front that is not quite lit. Tomorrow when we calculate how much coal we used over the week, we will subtract 1.5 hours. .5 for trying to recover the fire and an hour to re-lit it.
-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
The meter reading today is 4194.2 - 4180.4 = 13.8 - 1.5 for re-start = 12.3 hours over the passed 7 days, 1.76 hours per day. 17.6 pounds per day.
-Don
I re-piled the coal over the auger mouth.
Good to go for another week!-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
The meter reading today is 4208.3 - 4194.2 = 14.1 hours over the passed 7 days, 2.01 hours per day. 20.1 pounds per day.
That's still a bit high for DHW only. I think it would be better if I turned up the air but with the firebox running positive, we're gonna leave it where it is. Because of this the ash has a lot of black in it.
1 weeks worth. The fire is a little lazy look'in. Gofer action. Here's the BoilerMate we talked about earlier. I got it cheap off CL and it hasn't missed a beat in 4 years! If it wasn't for this forum, I would not have known what an indirect water heater was. Now I gots one! -Don
That's still a bit high for DHW only. I think it would be better if I turned up the air but with the firebox running positive, we're gonna leave it where it is. Because of this the ash has a lot of black in it.
1 weeks worth. The fire is a little lazy look'in. Gofer action. Here's the BoilerMate we talked about earlier. I got it cheap off CL and it hasn't missed a beat in 4 years! If it wasn't for this forum, I would not have known what an indirect water heater was. Now I gots one! -Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
The meter reading today is 4222.0 - 4208.3 = 13.7 hours over the passed 7 days, 1.96 hours per day. 19.6 pounds per day.
Gofer action.
It's gittin more and more difficult to make a pile in there.
-Don- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
The meter reading today is 4239.4 - 4222.0 = 17.4 hours over the passed 8 days, 2.175 hours per day. 21.75 pounds per day.
-Don
The coal is Git'in down there.
It's still WAY hot and humid down this way. Chimney draft is still low and over fire draft is still less than low. With the air set on 4, it just doesn't burn the coal up too good.
Can't wait for it to get cold again!-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
The meter reading today is 4251.8 - 4239.4 = 12.4 hours over the passed 6 days, 2.066 hours per day. 20.66 pounds per day.
We should have enough rice coal to get through the end of this month.
The ash looks a little better this week.
-Don- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
The meter reading today is 4266.4 - 4251.8 = 14.6 hours over the passed 7 days, 2.086 hours per day. 20.86 pounds per day. Almost exactly the same as last week.
-Don
Last week I turned the air up from 4 to 6. This makes the overfire draft a little more positive. I have not seen any problems though.
The ash looks about the same.
I piled the coal up one more time.
Ready for another week.-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
The meter reading today is 4280.2 - 4266.4 = 13.8 hours over the passed 7 days, 1.971 hours per day. 19.71 pounds per day.
-Don
It's been chilly and rainy overnight and today. I opened up the 2 living room radiators to make sure everything was OK with them. The pump and the stoker ran for about 30 minutes, then the A/C kicked on, Whoops!
Yesterday, I put the barrel back in the coal bin. A barrel full should last 2 weeks.
2weeks is also my target for completing and firing the Axeman Anderson 130M in the garage. When that happens we will shut down the Van Wert and leave the Axeman carry the load.-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- 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
The meter reading today is 4294.5 - 4280.2 = 14.3 hours over the passed 7 days, 2.043 hours per day. 20.43 pounds per day.
This week's ash.
Used a little less than half a barrel during the week. By the numbers it was 143 pounds, which equates to, less than half a barrel.
-Don