LL AA-220 Relocation

 
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swyman
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Location: Blissfield, MI
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman-Anderson 260M Leisure Line AA-220 Boiler (FOR SALE)
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Pea

Post by swyman » Mon. Dec. 03, 2018 11:44 am

CoalisCoolxWarm wrote:
Mon. Dec. 03, 2018 10:27 am
Good idea on the insulation!

Even better, cover that new pipe insulation up with some house insulation. It's cheap and effective!

I did, layed it back over it like it was before like a blanket


 
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swyman
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Joined: Mon. Apr. 13, 2015 9:50 pm
Location: Blissfield, MI
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman-Anderson 260M Leisure Line AA-220 Boiler (FOR SALE)
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Pea

Post by swyman » Mon. Dec. 03, 2018 11:50 am

McGiever, now I am going to have to look at it! When I did the initial test at the beginning of the season it was all cleaned up. Maybe this is why I am seeing 9lbs per hour now instead of 10? My barrell should be here this week so i can get going on my coal vac setup and that should hopefully eliminate most all the fines and dust. This stuff sure is dusty this year!

 
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nepacoal
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Location: Coal Country
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
Coal Size/Type: Buck

Post by nepacoal » Mon. Dec. 03, 2018 1:13 pm

Once you stop the constant circulation of both the garage and barn, watch your boiler temperature. You may end up needing a dump zone. Maybe not when it's real cold, but on warm days you will probably overshoot after long heat calls...

 
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swyman
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Joined: Mon. Apr. 13, 2015 9:50 pm
Location: Blissfield, MI
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman-Anderson 260M Leisure Line AA-220 Boiler (FOR SALE)
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Pea

Post by swyman » Mon. Dec. 10, 2018 4:46 pm

Note to self: Don't forget to turn off stokers while vacuuming out fire tubes.......I waited till boiler shut off then removed refractory cover and swept off the top....ran my arm over the fire pit hole and I thought it was a little warm......there was a call for heat so stokers kicked on...heat is pretty impressive! Removed a few arm hairs! Couldn't hear it running over the shop vac
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nepacoal
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Posts: 1696
Joined: Wed. Nov. 21, 2012 7:49 am
Location: Coal Country
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
Coal Size/Type: Buck

Post by nepacoal » Mon. Dec. 10, 2018 4:51 pm

I bet you won't ever do that again... Glad you're OK.

 
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swyman
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Joined: Mon. Apr. 13, 2015 9:50 pm
Location: Blissfield, MI
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman-Anderson 260M Leisure Line AA-220 Boiler (FOR SALE)
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Pea

Post by swyman » Tue. Dec. 18, 2018 7:16 am

Draft performance has really fell off since first cleaning. Went about 6 weeks before I cleaned the PV for the first time this season and since has really fell off. Having to run wide open to maintain. Cleaned it a week ago and was working well but had to turn it up wide open before leaving for work this morning. I plan on doing another cleaning this weekend and for the first time I will use my air compressor to try and get in all those little tight spots that the brush and vacuum will not get. I remember someone stating to use a leaf blower to clean out the vent tube also...may give that a shot while the motor and fan is removed. For the first time in 15 years I will not be working from Christmas to new years so I am going to do a full shutdown and disassemble and clean everything! Coal vac system will get finished also.

 
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swyman
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Joined: Mon. Apr. 13, 2015 9:50 pm
Location: Blissfield, MI
Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman-Anderson 260M Leisure Line AA-220 Boiler (FOR SALE)
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Pea

Post by swyman » Sat. Dec. 29, 2018 8:24 am

Well I did my shutdown yesterday and what a full day of cleaning and making a mess! Only thing I did not do is remove the combustion fans and clean the squirrel cages. I can see what looks like fine coal dust in the corners of the blades. After a full day of cleaning and the way the wind was blowing causing the propane to kick on often I decided to fire it up and get it back online. There was considerable fine's (dust like) under the feed carpets so glad I removed them and cleaned. I also removed the power vent for a thorough cleaning and while it was out the boys and I put my remaining 3 ton of Lehigh buck in the coal bin. I have had the bags stored inside and for the last 4 days in the heated garage and was very surprised and extremely happy that the coal was still wet...no dust! This Lehigh buck has a lot of fines and extremely dusty when it dries, to the point I have to do something. It is so dusty that when I use the new coal vac system (which seems to get a lot of dust), when I open the blade valves to fill the hopper I still get a lot of dust...to the point I have to put the shop vac hose in to act as a dust collector. I used the air compressor this time to clean out the power vent and this is the only way to clean the hosing as far as I'm concerned, it gets into all the small areas I just cannot get with a scraper. No other real issues!


 
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swyman
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman-Anderson 260M Leisure Line AA-220 Boiler (FOR SALE)
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Pea

Post by swyman » Sun. Dec. 30, 2018 6:53 am

Since the weather has been mild I thought I would start messing with the boiler and throttle it down a tad to see what happens. For some reason or another I woke up around 3am this morning and could not go back to sleep so I just layed in bed trying. I always listen to the furnace cycle, can hear it since it is directly under our bedroom. Heard the furnace power vent start which after a 10 or 20 seconds is followed by the propane burner starting which tells me the boiler temp is down to or below 160 degrees. It ran that heat cycle and the next few that followed were strictly furnace fan which tells me the boiler is good. It hit one more propane cycle in the couple hours I layed there. No biggie, got up and adjusted the boiler back up. I can really see a difference in the ash when you burn it slow, seems to be more complete. Another thing came to mind while I was in bed, I know I talked about shutting down the barn loop and installing a stove instead.......what about adding a smaller boiler like a AA130 and running that with my Leisure Line? I should not say a smaller boiler because as anyone who has followed this thread knows my 220k BTU only puts out about 130ish which would be the same as the AA130. I could run the AA hard and throttle the LL back to supplement when needed? Or just run the AA till it couldn't keep up and fire up the LL with it? It's all plumbed together so the LL boiler in the house would stay at temp even if not in use which could also act as a buffer since it holds 42 gallons. That would also give me capacity to add a snow melt for my patio if I decide to redo the concrete. What ya think?

 
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lsayre
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Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Sun. Dec. 30, 2018 6:58 am

No one (including you) actually knows that your 220,000 input BTUH boiler only puts out half of its manufacturer rating. If it actually did, it seems as if you would have a valid legal claim against its manufacturer. If you are fully confident that it is only half the boiler you paid for, why not take them to court and have them make it right?

 
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hotblast1357
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Stoker Coal Boiler: 1984 Eshland S260 coal gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh anthracite pea
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Post by hotblast1357 » Sun. Dec. 30, 2018 6:59 am

Get one big boiler.

 
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hotblast1357
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Post by hotblast1357 » Sun. Dec. 30, 2018 7:00 am

lsayre wrote:
Sun. Dec. 30, 2018 6:58 am
No one (including you) actually knows that your 220,000 input BTUH boiler only puts out half of its manufacturer rating. If it actually did, it seems as if you would have a valid legal claim against its manufacturer. If you are fully confident that it is only half the boiler you paid for, why not take them to court and have them make it right?
Amen to that.

 
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lsayre
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Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Sun. Dec. 30, 2018 7:04 am

Why not set the propane boiler to come on only if the AA-220 hits 145 degrees? Give the AA-220 a chance to recover before resorting to propane.

 
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lsayre
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Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Sun. Dec. 30, 2018 7:06 am

hotblast1357 wrote:
Sun. Dec. 30, 2018 6:59 am
Get one big boiler.
He already has one big coal boiler.

 
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lsayre
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Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
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Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Sun. Dec. 30, 2018 7:12 am

Swyman, due primarily to not having a primary/secondary setup, my boiler rather routinely drops into the mid to upper 150's. It can (and does) do this virtually every time a cold zone opens for heat and dumps its entire content of room temperature water into it. If I had a backup boiler (propane, or whatever) set to kick on at 160 degrees, it would be kicking on routinely. Just like yours is doing.

 
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lsayre
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Joined: Wed. Nov. 23, 2005 9:17 pm
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Stoker Coal Boiler: AHS S130 Coal Gun
Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Anthracite Pea
Other Heating: Resistance Boiler (13.5 KW), ComfortMax 75

Post by lsayre » Sun. Dec. 30, 2018 7:27 am

You might also want to consider adding a thermostatic mixing valve to your boiler return line so it mixes boiler output and return and mitigates the temperature drops that are kicking on the propane boiler.

Either that, or install a well insulated 60-80 gallon 'buffer' tank to try and accomplish the mitigation.


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