Diy repairs

 
ben
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Posts: 178
Joined: Thu. Aug. 06, 2009 9:06 pm
Location: n central PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 350 with an S-20 pot (1966)
Coal Size/Type: Rice

Post by ben » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 8:37 am

Stoker Don,
That was very nice of you to send a pictorial of a step by step process to help this guy out.

 
CapeCoaler
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Posts: 6515
Joined: Sun. Feb. 10, 2008 3:48 pm
Location: Cape Cod, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: want AA130
Hand Fed Coal Stove: DS Machine BS#4, Harman MKII, Hitzer 503,...
Coal Size/Type: Pea/Nut/Stove

Post by CapeCoaler » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 8:58 am

;) LOL..Dudette...
Not a dude...
Yep the ladies can burn the black rocks too... :yes:

 
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McGiever
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Posts: 10130
Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar

Post by McGiever » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 9:37 am

Good coal knowledgable boiler techs are hard to find, care to share a name or number?

 
amberh7765
Member
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun. Oct. 07, 2018 9:32 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Stoker Coal Boiler: Vanwert anthrotherm
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat

Post by amberh7765 » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 10:58 am

Stoker don was my first find. King of coals on YouTube. I would never have gotten as far as I did without him. Really if I had seen the step by step first, I probably could have gotten it. I saved it though as I'm sure it will happen again.

 
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McGiever
Member
Posts: 10130
Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar

Post by McGiever » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 11:16 am

Yeah, for sure best of you tube.

How about that plumber that made the house call for you, what's his info?


 
amberh7765
Member
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun. Oct. 07, 2018 9:32 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Stoker Coal Boiler: Vanwert anthrotherm
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat

Post by amberh7765 » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 11:38 am

Hmm. Let me call him and ask if he wants the advertising. Haha. When I said how hard of a time I had finding his number, the guy working with him said he doesn't advertise. So I don't know if this is more of a side gig or hobby. I don't want to post his info and then he's swamped with calls. As I need to make him my new regular plumber, I think I should not make him angry. Haha. I did tell him about this page and the forums. I hope he checks it out!

 
amberh7765
Member
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun. Oct. 07, 2018 9:32 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Stoker Coal Boiler: Vanwert anthrotherm
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat

Post by amberh7765 » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 11:40 am

Mcgiever, I also apologize. I didn't realize you had been asking me in your last post. Thought you were asking don for his number! I'll get back to you as soon as I talk to him.

 
amberh7765
Member
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun. Oct. 07, 2018 9:32 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Stoker Coal Boiler: Vanwert anthrotherm
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat

Post by amberh7765 » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 12:41 pm

I called and ed said share away. His name is ed carter and his number is 570-885-4811. Very nice man.

 
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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 » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 8:07 pm

Glad to hear you found someone that can work on you old Van Wert! Sometimes that's better than fixing it yourself.

I forgot to answer your model question. Your Van Wert is very likely a VA-600, pretty much like the one I have in my basement. There are lots of videos of it on Youtube. Yours is the old style with the really cool looking round fire door.

"E-13" is the air chamber casting. That is used for the VA-400 and VA-600. If it was E-14, it would be a VA-800.

"VA-13" might refer to the ash ring size which is 13", I'm not sure though.

If your repairman installed a "sight tube" that means you have a steam system, not a hot water system. On this type of system it's important to monitor the water level to make sure it doesn't get low.

Well now that you have it running, how bout' a picture or a video of your awesome machine running at full fire???

-Don

 
amberh7765
Member
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun. Oct. 07, 2018 9:32 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Stoker Coal Boiler: Vanwert anthrotherm
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat

Post by amberh7765 » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 9:37 pm

Don after all you've done for me, I'd be a dog not to send you a video! Here it is. In all its dusty, rusty splendor. Of course it kicked off when I reached the motor but all is running well. Water seems to be clearing up as well but based on that rust, I'm thinking something is going kaput.


 
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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

Post by StokerDon » Fri. Oct. 12, 2018 10:05 pm

NICE!

Thank you. It's not that often that I get to sit back and watch someone else's Van Wert video!

-Don

 
amberh7765
Member
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun. Oct. 07, 2018 9:32 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Stoker Coal Boiler: Vanwert anthrotherm
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat

Post by amberh7765 » Sat. Oct. 13, 2018 12:09 am

Mine will never look as good as yours! I sat slack jawed when I saw your videos! I just assumed everyone's basement equipment sat dusty, just doin it's thing until one day it didn't and a plumber came to make it do its thing all over again!

 
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Rob R.
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Posts: 17978
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Sat. Oct. 13, 2018 8:15 am

An afternoon with a shop-vac goes a long way. If you want to brighten things up, put a few extra lights in the basement and whitewash the walls.

 
amberh7765
Member
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun. Oct. 07, 2018 9:32 pm
Location: Pennsylvania
Stoker Coal Boiler: Vanwert anthrotherm
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat

Post by amberh7765 » Sat. Oct. 13, 2018 6:23 pm

I started a major overhaul/purge last year and managed to get the laundry room all nice and organized and vacuumed with the furnace room being my next task when my husband and I finally made a baby! She's great and very well behaved but still takes up a bunch of time. Plus were currently in the midle of remodeling her bedroom. So someday soon I hope to get all that done there looking cleaner. I don't think I'll ever have the time or money to make the beautiful furnace finishings you all have but it'll certainly be cleaner!

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