DS Machine Boiler Info ?

 
coalrunner
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Location: frostburg Md
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 260

Post by coalrunner » Fri. Oct. 02, 2015 8:47 pm

II'm in line to get a coal boiler,and was wondering if anyone had experience with the ds auqa gem boilers? I don't want a stoker,as I burn bit coal (coal miner,so it's free to me). I also called about the ahs multi fuels,which I've heard are great,but damn pricey. Any help would be appreciated
Last edited by coalrunner on Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 2:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.


 
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SWPaDon
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Location: Southwest Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
Other Heating: Oil furnace

Post by SWPaDon » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 7:53 am

I can't help you with the boiler other than this one thread I found: Post by jremington - DS Aqua Gem 1100

Member 'coalder' has been using a hand fired boiler for 3 years, I sent him a PM with a link to this thread.

Hope this helps, Don.

 
coalder
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Location: somewhere high in the catskill mountains
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 160
Coal Size/Type: Nut
Other Heating: wood parlor stove

Post by coalder » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 8:29 am

This will be my third season heating with a Harman sf 160 hand fed boiler. So far so good. It has no problem heating my 1500 sq ft ranch & all domestic water. However this is with ant & not bit. I believe that the DS has a secondary on the door for over fire air as does the Harman. To my understanding this is a requirement for burning bit. Takes me about 1/2 hr morning & evening to do the tending. I'm sure some bit burners will be along shortly to offer some advice. As far as hand fed boilers go IMHO I really like the Harman but think the DS is a better unit. For a couple reasons. The firebox on the DS is slightly larger and it totally surrounded by water; thereby eliminating the need for firebrick. The water capacity is also a couple gallons more on the DS. And another point is the ash pan on the Harman is marginal; whereas the pan on the DS fits totally under the grates allowing less spillage. Over all IMHO, I believe the DS is a good pick & should be capable of easily heating the " average" 2000 sq ft home.
Now lets hear from the BIT members.
Jim

 
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SWPaDon
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Location: Southwest Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
Other Heating: Oil furnace

Post by SWPaDon » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 8:35 am

Thanks for coming, 'coalder'.

My first question for the OP would be where is the bit coal from IE: what type? Is it the 'big vein' coal? Is it from Cobra? The reason I ask this is because that coal tends to fuse together, making a crust over the top, and after a few hours someone needs to poke pretty good to get heat out of it.

 
coalrunner
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Posts: 88
Joined: Fri. Nov. 13, 2009 6:29 pm
Location: frostburg Md
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 260

Post by coalrunner » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 2:47 pm

Thanks Don and Coalder for the replies.I actually looked at a Harman sf160 last year(used) but passed because I was worried about the size keeping up with my heat needs. I actually have an offer now on one that's never been hooked up or used,and the price is right,but I worry about the size of the firebox. I'm looking to heat 2300 ft of living space plus basement,and with burning bit coal,I'm not sure I could get enough in the Harman Firebox. I was thinking the ds machine 3200 was a bit bigger but haven't seen it in person yet. Im also extremely impessed with the ahs wc 40 handfed but it is costly. I'm very familiar with "Cobra mining " coal. I'm told it burns pretty well,but has some junk in with it. I work for Arch coal and have access to all their coal seams. I would primarily burn big vein,but I also like the Redstone 4( it doesn't fuse as bad) our big vein has the highest BTU in our area,with a lower sulfur content because it's cleaned properly. It's the breast coal. Lol,here I go rambling on......

 
coalder
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Posts: 1493
Joined: Mon. Dec. 16, 2013 1:48 pm
Location: somewhere high in the catskill mountains
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 160
Coal Size/Type: Nut
Other Heating: wood parlor stove

Post by coalder » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 3:02 pm

Coalrunner, ifn the price is right, give it a shot. You live quite bit south of me, & your house is most likely newer. Can I ask , how much for the Harman? BTW, I adamantly feel that you don't need the larger DS. The smaller one is just a tad bigger overall than the Harman, And there are some on the forum who purchased 260 Harman and had to reduce firebox size due to too much heat. The smaller DS it a happy medium between the Harman 160 & the 260. IMHO ideal size. Anyway I'd probably jump on that Harman. You could always add a hot water storage tank for extra volume for very small$$$$.
Jim

 
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SWPaDon
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Location: Southwest Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
Other Heating: Oil furnace

Post by SWPaDon » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 3:26 pm

coalrunner wrote:Thanks Don and Coalder for the replies.I actually looked at a Harman sf160 last year(used) but passed because I was worried about the size keeping up with my heat needs. I actually have an offer now on one that's never been hooked up or used,and the price is right,but I worry about the size of the firebox. I'm looking to heat 2300 ft of living space plus basement,and with burning bit coal,I'm not sure I could get enough in the Harman Firebox. I was thinking the ds machine 3200 was a bit bigger but haven't seen it in person yet. Im also extremely impessed with the ahs wc 40 handfed but it is costly. I'm very familiar with "Cobra mining " coal. I'm told it burns pretty well,but has some junk in with it. I work for Arch coal and have access to all their coal seams. I would primarily burn big vein,but I also like the Redstone 4( it doesn't fuse as bad) our big vein has the highest BTU in our area,with a lower sulfur content because it's cleaned properly. It's the breast coal. Lol,here I go rambling on......
It's your thread my friend, ramble away. :up:

Do you happen to know the BTU's on the Redstone? I'm pretty sure that is what Orner Trucking in Grantsville has been selling, and I couldn't get it to burn well at all in my Clayton furnace.


 
coalrunner
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Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 260

Post by coalrunner » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 3:33 pm

Thanks JIM. I can get the Harman for 2200. It's I think a 2009 model,but has never been installed. Just sat in a garage. My reasoning for wanting the larger firebox was to get the longer burn times. I need to go at least 12 hours at a time. My house is actually older,but it's been upgraded. It's not super insulated,but its decent with rockwool ,and it has been upgraded with double pane Windows. How exactly would the storage work ? I have read up some on storage ,but not sure exactly how that would go. Right now I have an older gas boiler that works fine. I have one chimney though,so was thinking either go straight coal boiler,or put in A power vent boiler to go beside the coal boiler. I definitely want that back up.

 
coalrunner
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Location: frostburg Md
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 260

Post by coalrunner » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 3:41 pm

Hey Don,our Redstone usually goes from 12,300 to 12,700. That's the clean number three and fours. There is four layers in a Redstone seam,with binder between each layer. The first seam is basically junk,with the second a little better,and the 3 and 4 being good stuff. A lot of places won't split the binder out or separate the seams properly,and that's when you end up with bad burning coal. We have to keep ours perfect so we can blend the proper mix for the power plant. It's a newer "clean " burn plant and the mix has to be right

 
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SWPaDon
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Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
Other Heating: Oil furnace

Post by SWPaDon » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 3:43 pm

That explains a lot , thank you.

 
coalrunner
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Posts: 88
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Location: frostburg Md
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: harman sf 260

Post by coalrunner » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 3:53 pm

You're welcome. Get me taking about coal,and I'll go on forever,lol. I too had a Clayton 1600 in my last house. Good furnace for burning bit coal. Where do you primarily get your coal ?

 
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SWPaDon
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Posts: 9857
Joined: Sun. Nov. 24, 2013 12:05 pm
Location: Southwest Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
Other Heating: Oil furnace

Post by SWPaDon » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 3:57 pm

I'm getting mine at Stardust in Smithfield, Pa. It's supposed to be Pittsburgh Coal. $85 a ton picked up. Here is what it looks like with a $10 dollar bill there.

Those are the largest pieces, there are some a lot smaller, and even a little fine mixed in.

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Last edited by SWPaDon on Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 4:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
KingCoal
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Hand Fed Coal Stove: 1 comforter stove works all iron coal box stove, seventies.
Baseburners & Antiques: 2014 DTS C17 Base Burner, GW #6, GW 113 formerly Sir Williams, maybe others at Pauliewog’s I’ve forgotten about
Coal Size/Type: Nut Anth.
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Post by KingCoal » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 4:00 pm

SWPaDon wrote:I'm getting mine at Stardust in Smithfield, Pa. It's supposed to be Pittsburgh Coal. $85 a ton picked up. Here is what it looks like with a $10 dollar bill there.
never mind you caught it.

 
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SWPaDon
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Posts: 9857
Joined: Sun. Nov. 24, 2013 12:05 pm
Location: Southwest Pa.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Clayton 1600M
Coal Size/Type: Bituminous
Other Heating: Oil furnace

Post by SWPaDon » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 4:01 pm

KingCoal wrote:
SWPaDon wrote:I'm getting mine at Stardust in Smithfield, Pa. It's supposed to be Pittsburgh Coal. $85 a ton picked up. Here is what it looks like with a $10 dollar bill there.
forget sump'in ? ;)
It's there now, I posted the wrong pic and had to change it. Seems you are quicker than me, lol.

 
KingCoal
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Posts: 4837
Joined: Wed. Apr. 03, 2013 1:24 pm
Location: Elkhart county, IN.
Hand Fed Coal Stove: 1 comforter stove works all iron coal box stove, seventies.
Baseburners & Antiques: 2014 DTS C17 Base Burner, GW #6, GW 113 formerly Sir Williams, maybe others at Pauliewog’s I’ve forgotten about
Coal Size/Type: Nut Anth.
Other Heating: none

Post by KingCoal » Sat. Oct. 03, 2015 4:03 pm

that's bit ? what screen size is that ?

thanks,
steve


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