Axeman Anderson 1959 130M

 
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coaledsweat
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Post by coaledsweat » Sat. Sep. 22, 2018 9:10 pm

His behaviour is disturbing. If he keeps this up, he'll have half the AAs on the planet in a decade.


 
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StokerDon
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Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Sun. Sep. 23, 2018 9:42 am

Last night I shot a short video of the plumbing progress we made.


I probably won't get to work on it again until next weekend. Here's a punch list of things that need doing before fire up.

1) Install PRV and downpipe.
2) Finish expansion tank and supply water plumbing.
3) Finish return side plumbing.
4) Plumb in the boiler bypass.
5) Re-plumb Monster radiator.
6) Seal base to floor.
7) Clean/paint ash doors and Pope's Hat.
8) Install stove pipe and clean chimney.
9) Enjoy pretty Anthracite coal fire!

-Don

 
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StokerDon
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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 » Sun. Sep. 30, 2018 9:14 am

Yesterday we finished 1 through 4 on the above punch list.

I did the boiler bypass in 1" copper.
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I ended up taking the long way around to get to the opposite return port.
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This was necessary to avoid any potential issues when servicing the transfer head, gauges or aquastat.
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It turns out that for some reason I TOTALLY SUCK at soldering copper pipe! It's been a long time since I did it and I've never soldered bigger than 1/2" before. It's a little ugly but it held pressure overnight.
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Today I will fill the rest of the system and pray for no leaks.

For some reason I forgot to add the wiring to my punch list. I will try to get wired today also, that way we can run the pump to help purge the air out of the system.

1) Wiring
2) Re-plumb Monster radiator.
3) Seal base to floor.
4) Clean/paint ash doors and Pope's Hat.
5) Install stove pipe and clean chimney.
6) Enjoy pretty Anthracite coal fire!
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I added another action packed video to the playlist.

I think we are on track to have first fire next weekend!

-Don

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Sun. Sep. 30, 2018 10:47 am

Lookin good there Don!

 
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Post by lzaharis » Sun. Sep. 30, 2018 10:49 am

Hello Don,

Is that a 4 square inch Marshalltown Gauge in the top gauge tapping?
The AVCO LYCOMING boiler that was in this house when I bought it
had a gauge that looked just like that.

My replacement 4 inch square Marshalltown Gauge that I purchased to replace the
defective chinese gauges I was sent has worked flawlessly.

You can still send their gauges back to them to be recalibrated, tested and recertified
from what I remember them saying.

 
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StokerDon
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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 » Sun. Sep. 30, 2018 11:23 am

It turns out that it is a Mashalltown gauge!

I didn't realize that before. I attempted to calibrate the temp side yesterday but I don't think it went that well, we will see once it is fired up. The pressure side is definitely off.
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Nice to know that Marshalltown will still calibrate them.

-Don

 
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StokerDon
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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 » Sun. Sep. 30, 2018 7:36 pm

Well, this morning's system pressure test didn't go to well. I pressured up the supply header and the boiler before moving on to the rest of the system. I saw some dripping over on the wall. Then I noticed water weeping out of this 1.25" elbow.
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Yes, that is a casting imperfection. my first thought was "Wow, what a pain that is going to be to replace!". It would require disconnection the pumps, bypass and removing the header, again.

I didn't have time to work on it, but I did have time to think about it. Before I go tearing it apart, I'm going to try drilling and tapping to 1/8th pipe thread. Then I can just put a plug in it. That will save a lot of labor, if it works.

This morning I wired it to run on the LO Limit. When I finish the garage zone we will install a relay to run the garage pump off the thermostat.

-Don


 
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Post by archangel_cpj » Mon. Oct. 01, 2018 1:18 am

Wonder if you could use one of those little MAP gas Oxy kits and just braise that imperfection???:

 
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coaledsweat
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Post by coaledsweat » Mon. Oct. 01, 2018 7:15 am

Cut it out and put a union where the coupling is. If it has porosity there may be more grief coming from it.

 
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coalkirk
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Post by coalkirk » Mon. Oct. 01, 2018 9:08 am

Hmmm! Chinese fittings!

 
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StokerDon
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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 » Mon. Oct. 01, 2018 7:38 pm

coaledsweat wrote:
Mon. Oct. 01, 2018 7:15 am
Cut it out and put a union where the coupling is. If it has porosity there may be more grief coming from it.
That is 2 good points right there. Porosity of that elbow and, yes I should have put a union there where that coupling is!

I was just out there mess'in around with it and realized I had that header at 40+ PSI. It only weeps out a little bit after more than a full day so I'm still gonna try drilling and tapping first.

I shot a short video of yesterday's progress and the leak.


-Don

 
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Oct. 01, 2018 8:09 pm

archangel_cpj wrote:
Mon. Oct. 01, 2018 1:18 am
Wonder if you could use one of those little MAP gas Oxy kits and just braise that imperfection???:
Yes, should not be difficult to braze. Could also put a spot weld on that pinhole with a nickle rod.

 
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Scottscoaled
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Post by Scottscoaled » Mon. Oct. 01, 2018 8:22 pm

I'd try a prick punch first. See if it would seal with a punch and hammer close to the hole.

 
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StokerDon
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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. Oct. 02, 2018 7:35 pm

coalkirk wrote:
Mon. Oct. 01, 2018 9:08 am
Hmmm! Chinese fittings!
Close! It says Thailand on it.

Drilled it for 1/8th" NPT.
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Then taped it.
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I didn't have a 1/8th" plug near by but I do have a few good old radiator valves lay'in around with no purpose. So that's what we used.
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Filled the boiler and pressured it up. I let it bounce off the PRV a few times to be sure it worked. It's sitting at about 28 PSI. Tomorrow we'll see if it leaks.
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That Mashalltown gauge is reading about 6 PSI less than the other gauge. Once we fire it up, we will see how far off the temperature is.
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And now we wait.
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-Don

 
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lsayre
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Post by lsayre » Tue. Oct. 02, 2018 8:22 pm

It looks like it was made yesterday.


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