Questions About Vanwert Simplex Multitherm

 
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artbar56
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Post by artbar56 » Fri. Dec. 19, 2014 6:41 pm

Good Evening All and Merry Christmas All!

I have a couple questions about the VanWert Simplex Multitherm:

1) How deep a bed of coal do you use?
There are two protrusions in the back of the firebox which are exactly five inches above the grates. There are two protrusions on the right and left side which are exactly eight inches above the grates. The oil port is exactly nine inches above the grates. So my question is how high do you build the coal bed?

2) Size of the coal.
I may have made an error in judgment. My last delivery, I asked for stove/nut size mix. Some of the stove size "boulders" are fairly large but they do burn for a while. My question, what size is optimum for your VanWert Simplex Multitherm?

Otherwise, this thing is a dream! I love coal and will NEVER go back to oil! Have a wonderful Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa/ Yule/ Saturnalia!

Thank you!
Artemus


 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Fri. Dec. 19, 2014 7:41 pm

HI Art! Merry Christmas back at you! Great to hear you are mastering the hand fed boiler :)

1) Height of the coal bed.. Could you post a picture of the inside of the firebox so we could better see these protrusions that you pointed out. Normally in a hand fed furnace or boiler a good coal depth after loading fresh coal is 8 inches at minimum covering the entire grate area. Depending on the length of burn and the heat output for the duration, I'll crown it up high to be 12 inches deep at the center.

2) Coal size.. Sizing is helpful when it comes to the desired heat output you are expecting from the coal. The larger size (stove size) is great for achieving a hot burn with a faster recovery period after the fresh charge is added, during cold weather. The small size coal like pea and nut size are easier to idle down low for the shoulder months during early fall and late spring. This year I am using a stove/nut mix like you and am very pleased with the heat output and recovery time. For me, It was a little more challenging to achieve a low/slow burn during the early fall with the nut/stove mix. In any case, its possible to have a hot burning pea coal fire just as well as having a cool burning stove size coal fire - Proper sizing for the conditions just makes it easier. I would say that the nut/stove size mix you are using is perfect...

Coal is awesome... Isn't it!! 8-)

 
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artbar56
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Post by artbar56 » Fri. Dec. 19, 2014 8:34 pm

Thank you Lightning,

I'll post pics as soon as I can. Loaded to five inches a few minutes ago. As far as size, their "stove" size is about as big as my fist and larger. Does that sound about right?

Thank you again!
Artemus

 
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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 » Fri. Dec. 19, 2014 8:54 pm

Art, Merry Chiristmas to you to! Good to hear from you.

Your boiler will likely run fine on strait chestnut. If you run into a situation where you need more heat, Stove size will burn a bit hotter because of the extra air gaps between the larger pieces. You will get longer burn times with the smaller coal. If your draft is good enough, you could burn pea size. With pea size you would likely get a 24 hour burn time, something to think about.

I'm a little concerned about these protrusions you mentioned, they are at about the hight that fire brick retainers are. You do have fire brick in the firebox right? If so, I don't know what they are.

So, what you have now is called "Range Coal", two different sizes to cover a heat "Range". This should work fine. Bottom line, if you have something that gives you the heat you want and you can live with the feeding times, you are OK.

-Don

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Fri. Dec. 19, 2014 8:57 pm

Yes, many of the stove size pieces in my bin are this size..

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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 » Fri. Dec. 19, 2014 9:10 pm

WOW! That's a big chunck!

-Don

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Fri. Dec. 19, 2014 9:20 pm

StokerDon wrote:WOW! That's a big chunck!

-Don
My hands aren't exactly what I would call small either.. :lol: :lol:


 
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artbar56
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Post by artbar56 » Sun. Dec. 21, 2014 9:31 pm

Thank you for the info Guys!

I really do appreciate it!

Thank you again,
Artemus

 
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artbar56
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Post by artbar56 » Mon. Dec. 22, 2014 12:30 pm

Hey All
Okay, I have the pics of the protrusions I was talking about.
These are the protrusions I was talking about. The ones in the back (lower ones) are 5" above and the lower ones on the right are 8" above the grateful surface. Any ideas what they are and the depth I should make the coal bed? I do appreciate all your help!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Artemus

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artbar56
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Post by artbar56 » Mon. Dec. 22, 2014 12:33 pm

Okay, apparently my pictures got rotated. Anyway, thank you for your help!
Artemus

 
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Mon. Dec. 22, 2014 12:55 pm

They look like the rods that are stuck thru the water jacket & welded on both ends to keep the water jacket from warping.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Dec. 22, 2014 1:01 pm

The "bumps" you see are the ends of the boiler stays. The stays are basically rods that pass through the inside and outside of the pressure vessel, and are welded to keep things from moving.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiler_stay

Is there any firebrick in the firebox?

It should not be a problem if you want to put a few more inches of coal in the firebox than what is shown, but be careful not to add too much at one time. (and don't get coal into the oil burner hole in the back).

 
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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 » Mon. Dec. 22, 2014 7:06 pm

X2 what Rob said.

They are boiler stays, they need to be there.

I don't see any fire brick. Are they hiding under the coal?

-Don

 
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artbar56
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Post by artbar56 » Tue. Dec. 23, 2014 12:33 am

Hey All,

As far as actual fire brick, what you see is what I have inside the firebox. The coal is at the 5" level (the boiler stays in the back of the firebox). The only thing below the coal is the grates. Is there something missing that should be in there? Any help, is as always, definitely appreciated!

Thank you and Merry Christmas All,
Artemus

 
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artbar56
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Post by artbar56 » Tue. Dec. 23, 2014 12:39 am

This may make things easier. I have the pictures oriented correctly.

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Firebox2.jpg
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