Axeman Anderson 260-M adventures!

 
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swyman
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Post by swyman » Thu. Nov. 10, 2022 2:19 pm

Rob R. wrote:
Mon. Nov. 07, 2022 3:29 pm
AHS has a blurb in their manual about the swirl chamber staying cleaner if the return water temperature is >160, and I think they also say something about dry coal.

I think a bunch of extra moisture in the coal could have caused what you are seeing.
I thinks it was the wet coal because I didn't have this last year and burned coal. I won't be trying that again!


 
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swyman
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Post by swyman » Tue. Nov. 22, 2022 8:02 am

I finally got the boiler fired up Sunday. Has been very time consuming setting up my new coal delivery system like vermontday but I'm getting closer. Just need to finish fabricating the bag fill stand as I have bulk coal and will use the bobcat to load the bags. Well with the cold spell we've been having I burned 20% in my 500 gallon propane tank just in the last 2 weeks and I have 10 ton of coal sitting on the concrete.... I know it's painful so I went into code red mode and made a 55 gallon drum to set over the auger box to just get me up and running quick. Had 2 of my 3 zones down for service but the house zone was ready to go and that's the only one I needed anyway and everything went smooth on startup. With the house zone being the only one running and the circulator only cycling when called for heat, the boiler quickly ran away with over temp with no movement. I jumpered the circulator to run continuously and that helped and also lowered the boiler temp on/off to 160/170 to help with overshoots. Also lowered the ashing to 118. After a day running I could see there was a ring of burned coal right on top due to the ashing setting but I figured that wouldn't hurt much as my theory was the fire would just be thin. Well woke up this morning to hear the furnace combustion fan kick on signifying that my boiler temp was below the 120 setpoint to kick on the furnace. Went in the basement to see that the only fire was the column of coal going up into the auger distribution head. The head was not hot so I got lucky there but I immediately hand ashed and spread the hot coals around to spread the fire out. The fire stabilized before I left for work and I raised the ashing temp to 145 so should survive the day. What do you guys do if anything to your boiler settings when we get this crazy weather of 45-50 during the day and teens at night?

 
MINO
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Post by MINO » Tue. Nov. 22, 2022 10:58 am

This is my first year heating with a coal gun 260 it’s been online since April but now heating season is here and it’s ramping up to heat….. whatever adjustments you make let them be…. It’s no joke when they say it takes days to settle in…. I had fire going up the feed tube also well getting close but not getting up into it….. and I kept changing controls and never got anywhere….. my problem was grate temp got hot and wouldn’t ash so fire climbs it really takes 48 hours or longer to settle in …. That’s how long it took my grate temp from the high 180’s to 140 on a heat call to finally establish a good ash bed and the grate temp is down in the 120 and 1 teens range…. I was at it for over a week tinkering and I finally said f it and let it be and it came down to what it should be…

 
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Retro_Origin
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Post by Retro_Origin » Tue. Nov. 22, 2022 7:00 pm

Swyman, did you just use regular copper rustoleum to paint your 260? Looks smashing my boy!

 
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Post by Jkohanski » Tue. Nov. 22, 2022 9:18 pm

We had some crazy days like that in October. On my s260 i started with ash temp of 118. Fire was very low, on warmer days, but came alive with lower overnight temps. Just went up as it got colder to 125 and now at 130.

 
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swyman
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Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Pea

Post by swyman » Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 6:50 am

Retro_Origin wrote:
Tue. Nov. 22, 2022 7:00 pm
Swyman, did you just use regular copper rustoleum to paint your 260? Looks smashing my boy!
Yes I did! I love how it looked originally, was a very bright, shiny new copper color and just like real copper it has turned to a duller look from the heat. The transfer head still has the bright shiny look to it since it doesn't get hot but I still like how it turned out.... and thank you!

 
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Post by Rob R. » Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 6:55 am

I think you over reacted when the boiler had not had time to stabilize. I would switch back to the settings that worked well for you last season and just monitor it.

What is the story with the other two zones?


 
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swyman
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Post by swyman » Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 7:06 am

MINO wrote:
Tue. Nov. 22, 2022 10:58 am
This is my first year heating with a coal gun 260 it’s been online since April but now heating season is here and it’s ramping up to heat….. whatever adjustments you make let them be…. It’s no joke when they say it takes days to settle in…. I had fire going up the feed tube also well getting close but not getting up into it….. and I kept changing controls and never got anywhere….. my problem was grate temp got hot and wouldn’t ash so fire climbs it really takes 48 hours or longer to settle in …. That’s how long it took my grate temp from the high 180’s to 140 on a heat call to finally establish a good ash bed and the grate temp is down in the 120 and 1 teens range…. I was at it for over a week tinkering and I finally said f it and let it be and it came down to what it should be…
On my 3rd season with this one. First year I was ashing at 115 and everything was perfect. Last year the first half of the season was at 115 then something changed and I had to raise the temp up to get the fire right, I would like to note I got a new load of coal but that was at the beginning of last season (from same company Lehigh). Started this season at 118 then had that issue yesterday and raised to 145. Fire looked ok last night but still a little high this morning so I went up another 5 to 150. I'll leave it there for a couple days and see how it looks. For some reason I just cannot get mine to make that powder ash that some of you guys are able to achieve but maybe that's just due to coal type? After a blistery cold spell last week (didn't have boiler going yet) to very mild temps this week does not help much either. Congrats on your 260, these things are absolutely amazing on how much heat they put out! I'm still infatuated with mine and will still pull up a chair and watch the fire! ( I installed a glass cover for the over fire access hole)

 
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swyman
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Post by swyman » Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 7:30 am

Rob R. wrote:
Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 6:55 am
I think you over reacted when the boiler had not had time to stabilize. I would switch back to the settings that worked well for you last season and just monitor it.
Last year I was ashing in the 140's from about the mid to late in the season coming from 118 my first year. I thought since it was shut down and thoroughly cleaned (well as best I could, had that coated black stuff) I could go back to my first seasons settings. After yesterday mornings mishap I raised it to 145 and woke up in the middle of the night to relieve myself and noticed through the register in the floor that the boiler room looked like a orange light was on from the fire being so high ( I have a glass cover). To confirm a still high fire this morning there was about a 1-2" ring of burned coal on the outside diameter of the fire chamber so I bumped it up to ash at 150. I will leave it there for a few days to see what happens? Temps in the 50's next few days are not going to help my cause! Oh, my reason for wanting that cold of ash temp is I thought it could put me in the dusty ash club. For some reason I just cannot get that powdery ash that others are able to achieve.
Rob R. wrote:
Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 6:55 am
What is the story with the other two zones?
The garage loop which also has my DHW had a shark bite fitting and if I have a fire out or lose boiler temp for any reason, these fittings start leaking so I wanted to eliminate them and go back to crimp fittings. The barn zone has the same shark bite issue plus this one is my highest point and if I have a shut down it has caused an air lock situation. I purchased a copper TEE and air bleeder to install at the highest point to eliminate the problem. Of course I was in a hurry because of the mild temps and not having anyway to bleed heat from overshoots I just power bled this zone to get up and running and everything is sitting ready to install. If I have a shut down I will get them installed. Speaking of which, I could not get all the black coated coal fines scrapped off the inside of the swirl chamber, do you think if I shut it down and pulled it apart hot that it would loosen up and come off easier? Just how much efficiency am I losing with that on?

 
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Post by MINO » Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 8:21 am

I was high on the ashing temp for awhile and still higher than most…. Food for thought my garage has a heated floor where the boiler sits and the concrete is close to 80 and the boiler is in a 10x10 boiler room in the garage.. even tho I have a window open it’s still hot in there so my ashing temp is going to be higher than most

 
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Post by Lightning » Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 3:16 pm

MINO wrote:
Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 8:21 am
Food for thought my garage has a heated floor where the boiler sits and the concrete is close to 80 and the boiler is in a 10x10 boiler room in the garage.
It might save you some coal if you could insulate the boiler vessel, at least partly, and most of the near boiler piping. I insulated mine and it had a pretty dramatic effect on heat loss to the boiler room.

 
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Post by MINO » Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 5:21 pm

Lightning wrote:
Wed. Nov. 23, 2022 3:16 pm
It might save you some coal if you could insulate the boiler vessel, at least partly, and most of the near boiler piping. I insulated mine and it had a pretty dramatic effect on heat loss to the boiler room.
I have some pipes but not all insulated…. This is a new thing for me with my ahs…. I had fire propagating up to the fill tube and I became obsessed with what some peoples settings were but I quickly figured out if my boiler room is hot is going to keep the grate warmer than most peoples areas and hence why my grate temp was 10-15 degrees higher than others…. I legit tinkered for a month because I let it be for 2 days after each setting … I finally have it almost where I need it so now it’s just minor adjustments to fine tune…. The boiler was lit in April after install but now that it’s under load now I can see what is happening in a quicker time frame….

 
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Post by swyman » Tue. Nov. 29, 2022 9:13 am

I have been following member MINO's post and struggles, really hope he gets them figured out. Well in one of his last responses he is thinking about switching to Buck sized coal, reason being that he doesn't need full output of what these boilers are capable of providing and I'm in the same category. Don't get me wrong, I am still blown away on the capabilities of this boiler and the fact that I went from a brand new state of the art boiler that did not have the capacity to keep up with my heat load, to a 1980 Rube Goldberg looking machine that not only handles anything I throw at it..... but burns LESS coal than the other that couldn't keep up. I'm trying to understand efficiency, my boiler under full load will cycle almost exactly 6 minutes consistently and my concern in the ash. I still get that rocky looking, unburned look. I see many guys with Axeman's or AHS's with almost a powder looking ash. Since my boiler just laughs at my heat load, could there be any benefit to switching to Buck? Would it burn a little longer and more complete? Now I will say I lowered my boiler setpoint to turn on at 160* and shuts off at 170* from the last 2 seasons of 170/180. I did this because of the milder temps and the boiler was really overshooting between heat calls. I think I like the way it's running with the lower temps but would love to hear from any of you guys are running? Do I just leave well enough alone or would there be a benefit to Buck? Oh before I get asked, I'm burning Lehigh pea.

 
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Post by MINO » Tue. Nov. 29, 2022 10:15 am

swyman wrote:
Tue. Nov. 29, 2022 9:13 am
I have been following member MINO's post and struggles, really hope he gets them figured out. Well in one of his last responses he is thinking about switching to Buck sized coal, reason being that he doesn't need full output of what these boilers are capable of providing and I'm in the same category. Don't get me wrong, I am still blown away on the capabilities of this boiler and the fact that I went from a brand new state of the art boiler that did not have the capacity to keep up with my heat load, to a 1980 Rube Goldberg looking machine that not only handles anything I throw at it..... but burns LESS coal than the other that couldn't keep up. I'm trying to understand efficiency, my boiler under full load will cycle almost exactly 6 minutes consistently and my concern in the ash. I still get that rocky looking, unburned look. I see many guys with Axeman's or AHS's with almost a powder looking ash. Since my boiler just laughs at my heat load, could there be any benefit to switching to Buck? Would it burn a little longer and more complete? Now I will say I lowered my boiler setpoint to turn on at 160* and shuts off at 170* from the last 2 seasons of 170/180. I did this because of the milder temps and the boiler was really overshooting between heat calls. I think I like the way it's running with the lower temps but would love to hear from any of you guys are running? Do I just leave well enough alone or would there be a benefit to Buck? Oh before I get asked, I'm burning Lehigh pea.
not a great club to be in right!!!!!????? LOL.... hopefully i get answers after work as a different suppliers coal works its way into the fire chamber..... i watched your youtube video and watched your stack temp get up pretty high as well as stoker dons with a aa130 im only at fully burn hitting 250-260 so that raises more questions for me..... I would also say that our run time for a heat call to get 160-170 is almost identical......

 
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swyman
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Coal Size/Type: Lehigh Pea

Post by swyman » Tue. Nov. 29, 2022 1:08 pm

MINO wrote:
Tue. Nov. 29, 2022 10:15 am
not a great club to be in right!!!!!????? LOL.... hopefully i get answers after work as a different suppliers coal works its way into the fire chamber..... i watched your youtube video and watched your stack temp get up pretty high as well as stoker dons with a aa130 im only at fully burn hitting 250-260 so that raises more questions for me..... I would also say that our run time for a heat call to get 160-170 is almost identical......
I hope your problem is a very easy fix. I have found these boilers to be pretty boring with my experience.... they just work and don't need to be messed with. My first boiler was none stop tinkering to try and get it to handle my loads. It even caused me to build an addition to my house so I could move the boiler into the basement (best thing I ever did)!


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