EFM = Electric Fireman (new project alert)

Can't wait to see your base design,, Maybe I'll have you make a second one that 's tall enough to slide an ashpan under the IronFireman's burnpot..

Greg L

.

Is it hot yet?

Unfortunately not. Not till next year...got a lot of work to do yet.

I did get the stoker motor reassembled with new bushings this week. It was interesting that the original bushings were steel backed, babbitt lined, rolled bushings, i.e. they had a seam. Stamped on the outside of the bushings was "CGB" - Cleveland Graphite Bronze - which turned into Clevite in 1952. Well, outside of OEM applications, that style of bushing is long gone, so I replaced them with standard Alloy 660 bronze bushings and machined an oil hole. After pressing in the new bushings, I had to ream the I.D. to size, but now the motor is good for another 60 years.

http://nepacrossroads.com/about14484.html is some more details on the stoker itself. I need to repair/reweld the mounting bracket for the gearbox to the auger tube, one of the welds cracked and the bracket became bent/deformed - easy fix....if I had a welder at home. Then it's simply a matter of stripping the paint and rust, reassembly of the fan and gearbox and the draft regulation system, and a coat of paint and new hopper lid gaskets.

I hope to start on the base fabrication for the boiler next week. I'm still a little undecided exactly how I want to construct it - fully separate panels and bolted together or a welded assembly. Then I'll have to strip the boiler and paint it (after welding in the patch plate which I've already made). Then it will be on to all the plumbing and controls. Lots of work.....but fun!

Glad its progressing

As for the base -- if it were me I would weld it together and be done - but that would depend on moving it into place. Can it be moved in as one piece without more trouble than it would be to build it in sections that bolt together? Will you need an ash door or access ports for seasonal clean out? _ or is this base simply to get the boiler up to a more consumer friendly level?

Just things to consider -- but then you probably - already have.

Looking forward to the next update - and living vicariously.

Yeah, I'm leaning towards welded construction. Moving it won't be a problem as it will only be 10ga. (.120) material and not all THAT heavy . Compared to moving the boiler, it will be a piece of cake. I'll have 1-1/2x1-1/2 or 2x2 angle iron welded around the top to support the boiler.

Here's the basic idea for the design:

It will have an access door at the firepot level for cleaning the fire/removing clinkers which will be lined with firebrick or a piece of ceramic blanket. The rest of the area will be castable refractory cement - old school bituminous stoker install procedure.

I plan to run 8" S.S. Simpson straight up from the connector to the roof, and no barometric damper for starters. I'm hoping that I'll get little soot buildup and the flyash will just fall straight down and into the base, which will have a large access door on one side to allow cleanout of the base and boiler surfaces. I may be even able to clean the chimney thru that same access door using a flex rod and just go right up to cap. But I will most likely do the cleaning from topside so I can remove the cap and really scrub down the inside and outside of the exposed stack prior to summer shutown to minimize corrosion.

Chris

In the fire box of the old Kewanee boiler that I was so intimate with in my youth -- mainly because my father was a bit more "rotund" than comfortably fit thur the fire door

The 'floor" around the fire pot was made of fire brick dry set over a sand base - the sand was held under the vessel by a base much like you are building. Also the fire brick was stacked one or two course around the edge - years have taken this knowledge - but I recall that course protected the bottom edge of the boiler mud legs. I remember those because they often needed replacing yet the brick on the brick that made up the floor - well I don't recall harvesting many to renew.

Anyway the point is - if you want to consider a less expensive maybe more serviceable "old School" fire box its just another idea - I can cut and dry fit brick quicker than I can mix and pour that goop. Your mileage may vary.

Another idea on the smoke pipe. Fashion a smoke box for the products of combustion to linger in just as they leave the boiler. It doesn't have to be insulated and neither does the smoke pipe - unless you have an issue with needing more draft in the chimney or the boiler room is too hot. Plan and build several clean out doors near the bottom edges on the side(s) available for service. The Bit coal soot will fall out of suspension in this box and not collect in the smoke pipe or chimney ash pit nearly as much, and it will be easier to maintain the system. Plan on the baro right away - your draft purchase on fire will vary too much without it.

Sting wrote:The 'floor" around the fire pot was made of fire brick dry set over a sand base - the sand was held under the vessel by a base much like you are building.

I thought of that but wondered how well it would work and hold up, but I'm guessing it would work just fine. Once I get to that point I'll look at it and see what I want to do. It certainly would be a lot easier in case I needed to pull the stoker/boiler apart rather than having to bust up a bunch of refractory cement.

Sting wrote:Fashion a smoke box for the products of combustion to linger in just as they leave the boiler.

That's basically the way it's going to work - the gasses will pass down through the rear section of the boiler 'tubes', and then make the turn out and up into the stack. Hopefull most of the fly ash and soot will fall out of suspension at this point. Similarly, anything that collects in the chimney will fall straight down and end up in the boiler base area. Should be a pretty easy-maintenance setup.

I've finally been able to get some work done over the past week or two. I stripped two layers of paint and rust off the stoker using a combination of 3M stripping pads and wire brushes on an angle grinder as well as a little "black blast" grit blasting. I've got a little touch-up to do yet, but it's just about ready for paint. I picked up a quart of dark green hammertone Rust-o-leum, but I'm not sure I'll like it. Masterchem makes a "mid-green" Hammerite color that's rather more "vintage", but it's impossible to find so far except on-line. I don't want to use spray cans on something this big - it makes it hard to get even coverage without heavy/light areas - so liquid paint and my spray gun get the nod. Unfortunately that limits the Rust-o-leum color choices quite a bit compared to the spray can colors they offer.

Anyway, as I was stripping the stoker, I became more and more impressed at how well it's made and how THICK all the sheet metal is!! I think the hopper lid is at least 16ga. (.065) material and maybe even 15 (.074) or 14ga. (.083)! It's HEAVY! Everything on the stoker is stamped or formed, sealed, gasketed, etc. Shoot, even the 1/2-13 nuts used to hold the gearbox to the auger are works of art - machined with a top and a bottom side, heavy, FIT the wrench, and have a larger hex size than I'm used to for 1/2" nuts. I can't imagine what it would cost to build today. Conversely, with modern CNC lasers, press brakes, and turret press and welding equipment, a "modern" stoker could be made at a decent price but certainly would lack the style and art-deco mojo of the originals.

I'll get some pics of the before-paint and after-paint states, as well as all the other little details as I put it back together. Then I'll need to strip the EFM boiler of it's coating of rust and weld in the patch/blank-off plate for the DHW coil and paint it with a coat of aluminum paint. Then I have the base to fabricate, plumbing, controls, chimney...... I'll just remind myself that this is nothing compared to Greg's little house project!

Well, I can say I've made some major progress - the stoker is done. The only thing I have to do yet is fabricate a latching method for the rear cover I made to replace the missing original.

Putting it back together was a royal PITA! It wasn't so much the fault of the stoker as it was the fault of the "assembler" trying to shortcut something or forgetting a part (the belt) until after the motor is installed and the gearbox bolted up. I then fought for an hour or two trying to get the auger to engage the gearbox drive (square peg in a square hole) and finally after skinning a knuckle (the WHOLE knuckle) and a good chunk out of my arm, I finally just pulled off the gearbox (again) pulled out the auger a few inches, mated them up and bolted it back together. It is just a bit of a "this holds that and then that holds the other thing" assembly that needs a few extra cuss words, a wood block and a hammer. Most could have been prevented if I'd just thought ahead a little bit more....

Anyway, I've not lit it up yet - might do that tomorrow - but there's probably 30~50# of coal in it, so more than enough to test. I ran it for a little while to let the pot fill and WOW! does it run smooth and quiet with the new bushings in the motor.

Here's some pics:

A few more pics. Now I need to start on the boiler and base.....

europachris wrote:Couple more pics:

P1010427.JPG

P1010431.JPG

Chris

5/16" was the original thickness what is it now

coal berner wrote:5/16" was the original thickness what is it now

Hi, J.C. I have the original DHW coil plate sitting at work - I used it to trace out the replacement plate - I'll measure it at the thinnest part to see how bad it really was. My guess it was down to .125 at most in a spot or two.

The replacement plate I made from 1/4" A36 steel. I don't think I have any 5/16" plate - I'd have to go up to 3/8". I've not welded anything yet - I have to maneuver the boiler off the dolly and tip it up on end so I can weld horizontally after getting a nice bevel on the joint sides.

I'm going to guess that this boiler was welded originally with the SMAW process (a.k.a. "stick"). I can either use my friends flux-core Miller MIG or I've got an old Marquette 180 amp 'buzz-box'. Seems that for "pressure vessel" welding, 6011 rod for a root pass is used and then cap it off with something like 7014 or 7018.

Chris

Here is the other thread on the stoker rehab showing some more "before" pictures: http://nepacrossroads.com/about14484.html.

I'll be finalizing the base design over the next week or two and get it laser cut out of some 10 or 11 ga. sheet. It will nice to work with some clean, rust free material! :=)

Today is looking like a good day to build a fire and see how some "vintage N.O.S. bituminous" burns....video to follow.

Chris

Looks mint!!

europachris wrote:...........I then fought for an hour or two trying to get the auger to engage the gearbox drive (square peg in a square hole) and finally after skinning a knuckle (the WHOLE knuckle) and a good chunk out of my arm, I finally just pulled off the gearbox (again) pulled out the auger a few inches, mated them up and bolted it back together. It is just a bit of a "this holds that and then that holds the other thing" assembly that needs a few extra cuss words, a wood block and a hammer. Most could have been prevented if I'd just thought ahead a little bit more.... ............

Sounds exactly like me if I continue working on something on an empty stomach .... or after 8pm.