Iron Fireman for Ky Coal?

Berlin said no to firetubes. Lol

What if you bought one of these, http://www.alternateheatingsystems.com/MultiBoilers.aspx and set if up over your stoker?
Expensive I assume, but you can buy them with ASME rating.

I'd love to throw a ready made boiler on this thing. But the cost is very prohibitive.. The design I posted earler will only cost about $680 in steel, and my time. I have a friend with a shear and brake to do the cuts and bends for very little.

My best bet would be to find an EFM 520 and throw the boiler over this stoker, and keep the EFM stoker and base in case I needed to go to anthracite. But alas, that's a bit cost prohibitive.

Boiler design has taken a change. The local scrap yard needs some work done on their payloader (I'm a diesel mechanic) and has offered me a 500 gallon propane tank in exchange. For what little work that loader needs, it's a very favorable deal for me. (Cost me less than $200)

So, my plan is to have my steel supplier roll a sheet of 1/4" into a round firebox for me. Cut the tank, insert firebox into one end. Stand upright with vertical firetubes from the firebox to a smoke box at the other end. Then have a rectangular passage way that goes back down to just above the firebox with the chimney coupler located there. Or, would I be smarter to have the rectangular passageway coming off the firebox, and firetubes going down to the smoke pipe? Firetubes will go together faster, and with them being vertical, should not collect much for ash. The end of the tank will have a hinged lid for cleanout. The chimney pipe will be connected with a T and cap so that the cap can be pulled and the lower smokebox cleaned out regularly with ease. I'll construct a simple set of ladder rungs on the side of the boiler to climb up it to clean it out as it will be tall (propane tank on end)

Looks to me like it would work, and save me a lot of welding. Plus, those tanks are incredibly thick and incredibly strong... (400 psi test when constructed)

I messaged him. I'm afraid freight is going to be very cost prohibitive.

-Matt

Good idea using a ready made vessel. How are you planning on welding it mig, tig, stick ?

Mig is the plan. I've got a Hobart Beta Mig 250 with CO2 or Stargon.. I can burn through 1/4" easy with that unit. I've got access to a Plasma cutter, shear, and brake at a friend's shop. The inner firebox is going to be made out of 1/4" and I'm going to have the supplier of my steel roll it for me before delivery.

Stick isn't such a bad option either..... Pipelines are 100% stick welded to this day.... 6011 with 7014 over it is tough!

Do you have the overhead clearance and the intestinal fortitude to maintain a vertical fire tube boiler?

deerefanatic wrote:What do you guys think of this design for a boiler? The dimensions shown are firebox dimensions for the upper diagram, and the base dimensions for the base.... The Baffles shown in the firebox are wet baffles....

I'm not a boiler design pro, but if this was burning anthracite I'd be concerned with flyash accumulation in the "el" at the bottom of the 30" vertical channel reached via the 8" opening from the combustion chamber. It seems like it would be better to reduce/eliminate that horizontal surface, maybe by moving the "partition" in the base toward the rear.

Mike

Mike, you are probably right on that! Alas, this design may not get built.

Sting, I have 12ft of vertical headspace in the shop. As for the intestinal fortitude, how often do you figure vertical HX tubes would need cleaned? Weekly? I can handle that easily. I intend to attach a ladder up the side of the vessel and also to make the door easy access.

Well some may be growing tired of the correct answer to the first part of this question - but it is the correct answer

deerefanatic wrote:Sting, I have 12ft of vertical headspace in the shop. As for the intestinal fortitude, how often do you figure vertical HX tubes would need cleaned? Weekly? I can handle that easily.

It DEPENDS! shoulder season and maybe if you got the thing dialed in - this next week - you might be well served punching the flu twice a day

deerefanatic wrote:I intend to attach a ladder up the side of the vessel and also to make the door easy access.

Now picture this -- you standing on a ladder - above a scalding hot vessel - holding a 1/2 iron rod with a scraper on the end - and its ??? in length

and your going to first undo the hatch to expose the fire tubes - set that aside - Pull the turbulators - set them aside - then balance on the ladder while you shove the anemia up and down the holes



and then------- you get to put the whole business back together again - at midnight - In the great white north of Wisconsin

so are you trying to tell me sting that a horizontal firetube boiler is less maintenance? I was led to believe the opposite..... Or just easier maintenance?

NOT trying to tell you anything -- I gave that up

There was just too much drama to go along with it

But I am making you think about it

I had a boiler with horizontal firetubes and keeping them clean was a problem.

Is there any reason why fly ash would foul vertical tubes any faster than it would vertical plates, all else equal?

Mike

running a vertical fire tube boiler with out turbuators is like trying to heat a house by leaving the front door open -- most of the heat energy just flys out with out stopping to transfer into the vessel and move out to the load

Running a horizontal fire tube boiler without turbulators in the fire tubes is at least slightly better but is at most far easier to maintain and punch = plus you get far more wet surface area over the fire

IMO

Pretending to know what I am typing is so "exhausting" and as much as I would like to explain more -- they are taking my crayons away for the evening now - and wiping the drool off my chin

I know what you are trying to tell me... buy a boiler. I'm saying I don't really have the $$ for that. That being said, burnham 4N boilers are horizontal firetube boilers and are specifically spec'd by wil-burt so it cant be a terrible idea. Keystoker uses the wet baffles to their advantage too..