The Epoch of the Axeman

 
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Lightning
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Location: Olean, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite

Post by Lightning » Wed. Jan. 26, 2022 2:25 pm

Wow.. It's been a cold week! This period was 12 degrees colder than the last. Averaging 83 pounds per day right now with 12 degree average OAT. Heating 2400 sqft house, domestic water for family of 5 and keeping a 32x16 outbuilding at 40 degrees. That ash vs coal percentage though.. 8.9%...lol... What?! :lol: Still hovering around 1.5 pounds per HDD.. I'm trying to did out a corner of the bin so I can get in there.



01/19 3:00pm bin level/empty tubs
Date......#'s....OAT...HDDs
01/20.....80.....15....50
01/21.....80.......3....62
01/22.....80.......7....58 morning low of -13 degrees
01/23.....80.....19....46
01/24....120....11....54
01/25.....80.....19....46
01/26.....63.......9....56

Notes - living room thermostat left at 73 for 2 nights instead of setting back to 71

Period of 7 days
Coal used 583#s ..... 83#s/day
Total HDDs = 372
DHW = 70 gallons/day = 4.33 pounds/day
DHW = 30 pounds for period
1.49 pounds per HDD
Average OAT for period 11.9 degrees

Ash 52
Ash/coal used 8.9%

I dunno how the double pics got in there.

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coaledsweat
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260M
Coal Size/Type: Pea

Post by coaledsweat » Wed. Jan. 26, 2022 3:19 pm

For Axemans, I always recommend the green AG belts. Axemans tend to flaggelate their belts because they are never really tight. The green will outlast the black belts many times. Not sure what they're made of but Kevlar comes to mind.

 
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Retro_Origin
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Location: Schuylkill county
Stoker Coal Boiler: 1957 Axeman Anderson 130
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat / Pea

Post by Retro_Origin » Wed. Jan. 26, 2022 7:19 pm

Lightning wrote:
Thu. Jan. 13, 2022 7:20 pm
Yep, K type.... I ordered it from Amazon. They list it as British Standard Pipe Thread? which is slightly different. It threaded into the SS well (NPT) just fine..
FYI, British standard is usually straight, (BSPP) (although there is BSPT, which is tapered) where as standard is tapered (NPT). Although it's a smaller size the 1/8-28 is the British pitch and 1/8-27 is the standard, and you could thread them together and not notice....(although I wouldn't trust that to seal much pressure...) British are also 55deg threads and standard is 60 degree.

There are quite a few different type of pipe fittings and although it's a little rare, the standard system seems to be the most sensible. 1/2 and 3/4 diameters have the same pitch for both so that's probably where your luck lies. I know that doesn't pertain much to the post but...I've been driven bonkers in the past because the machinery I run is Japanese or Korean, and the tooling can be standard or metric so it's always a bit of fun (or not) trying to plumb things in and figure out what pitch it's going to be today...

 
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Lightning
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Modified AA 130
Coal Size/Type: Pea Size - Anthracite

Post by Lightning » Sat. Jan. 29, 2022 7:11 pm

Today, I hooked up the PID that I plan to replace the aquastat with, its not controlling anything yet. For now I'm just recording the aquastat ON/OFF temps according to the PID. Some interesting observations.. I notice that the combustion fan's kick on temperature to be around 153 degrees and combustion fan's kick off temp to be around 161. According to the dial on the aquastat it agrees. Although the combustion fan off temp seems to be a couple degrees short with a 10 degree differential.

What I found interesting is that when DHW is used, the aquastat doesn't notice the boiler is cooling down till the PID showed around 147, which is 6 degrees underneath the aquastat's set temperature. I attribute this to the sensor for the PID being up higher in the boiler and level with the internal DHW coil than the aquastat is (see pic). The mixture in the boiler is far from homogeneous temperature wise so there will always be variances in different placements around the boiler.

The bonus to this observation is that once the PID is in control, it will kick the combustion fan on a few minutes earlier than the aquastat did, when DHW is used. This will give the boiler a little advantage at keeping its temperature up.

Here's the data I collected today

Current aquastat temps according to PID

Combustion Fan
On..........Off..........Notes
153.5.....161.8.....
147.7.....160.5......DHW used
155.4.....160.8
152.9.....161.0
147.0.....159.8.......DHW used
154.2.....160.1

The yellow circle is the PID sensor placement. The yellow "X" is the aquastat. The yellow square is the new PID. Everything will be going in a new project box once I'm ready to make the switch.

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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. Jan. 30, 2022 9:15 am

Looking good Lee!

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 11:16 am

swyman wrote:
Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 9:15 am
Looking good Lee!
Thank you Shane! I cut mounting holes in the new project box's face plate last night. It actually went a little better than I thought it would lol.. I used my Ryobi handheld oscillating saw? I dunno what ya call it lol. It has variable sized blades that vibrate extremely fast. Anyways, it went thru the 1/4 thick PVC plate like a warm knife thru butter lol.

I discovered this morning the the PIDs that I'm using don't have the 12DC output on them for the separate relay.. They just have their own small internal relay, which I can use to power a separate 120AC relay for the fan motor.. but now I have the wrong separate relay, since it has the 12DC coil in it... arrrg.. oh well.. I ordered a 120AC relay. It'll be here middle of next week. The struggle is real :lol:

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StokerDon
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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 » Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 12:06 pm

Lightning wrote:
Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 11:16 am
I discovered this morning the the PIDs that I'm using don't have the 12DC output on them for the separate relay.. They just have their own small internal relay, which I can use to power a separate 120AC relay for the fan motor.. but now I have the wrong separate relay, since it has the 12DC coil in it... arrrg.. oh well.. I ordered a 120AC relay. It'll be here middle of next week.
Ummm,,, so your going to run the 120 volt Hot through the PID internal relay to trigger the 120 volt relay?

That should work. This is where that 15 amp fast acting Fuse might come in handy. :D

-Don


 
Jkohanski
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Post by Jkohanski » Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 12:59 pm

Wow, clean looking panel front. Can't wait to see this when it's finished.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 1:00 pm

StokerDon wrote:
Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 12:06 pm
Ummm,,, so your going to run the 120 volt Hot through the PID internal relay to trigger the 120 volt relay?
Yes. Precisely. This is how I currently power the solenoid for the ashing lever. The difference this time is that the new PID will power the 120AC coil in the new relay for the fan motor.

I am happy that we installed the inline fuse. I'm bound to blunder something somewhere at some point and cause a direct short. :lol:

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 1:09 pm

Jkohanski wrote:
Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 12:59 pm
Wow, clean looking panel front. Can't wait to see this when it's finished.
Thank you partner! I like that the bigger box has room for future add-ons. I may try to get the components in it today. It'll take about an hour if I have everything well thought out and planned right lol.. which means no power to the Axe for that duration since everything will need to be disconnected and then reconnected to move from one box to the other. Things are gonna cool down. I can just lower the thermostat so the house isn't demanding heat for a while.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 5:08 pm

I know these projects are suppose to be fun, but that was stressful.
Time for a Captain n Coke!

I got everything as ready as possible, let the boiler run one more time, then killed the power and set back the thermostat to 65. It took about an hour and a half to make the switch. I left the circ on in case the outbuilding needed a spritz. Its only 15 degrees outside so I cant let that go without any attention very long lol. The boiler temp fell to 139 by the time I finished and the house was at 67.

The triple aquastat is still running the boiler temp for now, I'll get to that when my new relay shows up this week. I took pictures of the prior wiring to use as a guide to put it all back together again. It all went pretty smooth. I held my breath as I hit the power switch and she came roaring back to life with everything running as it should. Although the fire was not happy with me AT ALL lol

SO,,, I'm glad that's over.. :lol:

I'm guessin Mr. StokerDon will be happy that I labeled stuff :D

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StokerDon
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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 » Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 7:34 pm

Wow, that looks really good Lee!

It looks small, but I know for a fact that there is a lot of work that goes into making one of those boxes! It took me two days. :D

Looks like the only thing missing is the hour meter.

-Don

 
Jkohanski
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Location: ringoes, nj central west jersey near pA border
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Other Heating: fuel oil
Contact:

Post by Jkohanski » Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 8:10 pm

Lightning wrote:
Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 5:08 pm
I know these projects are suppose to be fun, but that was stressful.
Time for a Captain n Coke!
Wow, that is one nice looking setup. Super job. Smart to put it all in a bigger box for who knows what.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Sun. Jan. 30, 2022 8:23 pm

Thanks for the kind words fellas :)

 
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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 » Mon. Jan. 31, 2022 6:56 am

Great job, I personally think it's the perfect setup! How are you reading the supply and return temps as far as the sensors?


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