New England meet and greet in central Ma. 11/27/10

Sounds great, I'm bringing a couple of guys that are interested in seeing the boiler. neither are coal burners....yet.

JB Sparks wrote:Sounds great, I'm bringing a couple of guys that are interested in seeing the boiler. neither are coal burners....yet.

I went a party Saturday night and I found a couple more the are very interested in learning more. They will be coming this Saturday for sure.
One of which is a local gentleman farmer. Heating with anthracite is a perfect fit for his situation.

sounds great guys i'll bring the boiler & some blashak rice jim

Sounds like we'll have good weather and a decent turn out. I'm looking forward to meeting you guys.
It should be a good time.
Steve

Steve and Jim need a big round of applause for the NE Meet & Greet.... I wish I could make it down to Worcester County. We will need lots of pictures!!!!!!

We will score a few pics for those who cannot be there, but this is a great opportunity to encourage friends to come along also. See you at 11 ish.....

The Meet and greet was a success and I think everone had a good time. I was completely blown away after having a conversation with smitty.
We discovered that our grandmothers were sisters! Holy *censored*! That would make us 2nd cousins I believe. Right? I know we've crossed paths over the years but never rally knew each other. The funny part is we have so many of the same intersest and ability to piss off our wives!
As usual Jim D impressed folks with his well designed boiler. Wistlenut is every bit of the character that I expected and a wealth of knowlege. Jb Sparks is always a great guy to talk with. Coalpile was there too. He is a member as well but so far is more of a lurker but I hope to change that.
There's just not enough time to talk to these guys in an afternoon meet and greet.
I know I had sure a good time!
Steve

Good to hear it was a success!

My wifey says we're 3rd cousins ... So it's somewhere between 2nd & 3rd ...

Yeah I was equally blown away! What are the odds that we end up coal burners on the coal forum? Good genes I'd say.

Was great meeting everyone! Like I stated in Sat.Coffee, Jim's setup was unbelievable - top notch American craftsmanship, just like your shop, Steve.

I apologize to Coalpile for forgetting his name in Coffee - I blame the liquor ... SORRY! Whistlenut knows his boilers & JB sure knows how electrons flow. What a great group we have here!

Did anybody have a camera ?
We do love pictures.

DAMN! I knew there was something else I forgot ....

Smitty,
A picture is worth a thousand words. And they
would all be in the right order.

I'd like to second the great Mass "M&G". It was good to meet Whistlenut, It was very obvious very quickly that doug is probably the most knowledgable coal burner in New England. He said he liked Jim's design of his new stoker boiler and if Doug says it's good,... it's good. Smitty it was good to meet you as well, sorry we didn't get to talk as long as I would have liked to, hopefully we will get together for a longer chat sometime. It was also good to see Mr.1 Precision again, Steve is the kind of guy everyone would like to call a friend and I'm glad to call him my friend.

I had to leave earlier than I wanted, had to take my friend Joe back home. I brought Joe with me to show him Jim's boiler. I have been selling Joe on the idea of coal burning for sometime now, and he said to me as we pulled into his driveway that he had a lot to think about, so of course I got right out of the truck and showed him where he could install the new boiler and how to hook it all up but, no pressure you understand!!

Looking forward to the next Mass. M&G.

What is up with this 04:07 morning post? JB, the nights are for sleeping....no matter how great a time we all had at the Meet and Greet. Absolutely terrific to meet some of the guys who we only know from the forum, and especially nice of Steve to host at his fabulous machine shop. Great conversations, lots of knowledge shared, and damned nice folks to be around.
It was especially nice to see some wives and kids looking over the new boiler Jim has brought to market, and asking real world questions......other than is is dusty or dirty?

As other fuels escalate in price, coal seems to be steady AND we all like the fact that the money and jobs stay right here in our own country.
As many of you know, the forum members 'names' don't reveal the real character of the members, and I for one am really glad to get to know the jobs and lives folks bring to the table when the discussion surpasses coal burning. It was a chilly morning, however with the new boiler running and providing heat through a Modine.....and the radiant heat from the unit......and the viewable flame from dual stokers, it was quite comfortable. Built in CO detector (with active shutdown), constant draft monitoring, compact package....even though it weighs in at 700 lbs plus. This unit is quiet...so quiet that all you hear is the Modine fan when it calls for heat. You won't be losing any skin when it is time to clean, service or replace any parts, Jim thought about that first. He has worked with his hands long enough to know that a little thought about the 'next guy' saves lots of unpleasantness.
It is unfortunate, but the cameras all stayed in our vehicles, for no particular reason.....well, it is Mass and it is perhaps the one freedom you have that isn't regulated or taxed......yet.
Hand-feds, stokers.....boilers.....and not one SOB mistook BOILER for a FURNACE! I keep thinking about the Jeff Foxworthy Show: 'R U Smarter than a First Grader...special Mass Edition!'. The kids there already knew a boiler from a furnace, a stoker from a hand-fed....stove, nut,pea, buck, rice...where in PA it comes from and some history about our Industrial Revolution. As I sometimes say: "If the father is an idiot, the mother is an idiot, there is more than a reasonable chance that the kids will be idiots also!" For once, the kids were bright, friendly and knowledgeable. That says a great deal about whom they live with. Great job moms and dads!! Nuff said.....
It is great to step out of your vehicle and people you have never even met shake you hand and are instant friends. This is a family each of us enjoy, and a hobby we love. For all of you who thought Smitty was a real lush, will be surprised to know he is a very hard working guy who is your best friend. He blends with everyone.....well, not so much if you drive a Prius with an "Obama '08'" bumper sticker. Steve (Mr Precision) is a very talented guy who happens to be in the machine business. JB is the kilowatt king...no flies there either. You can't 'bullship'(politically correct)any of these guys. Coalpile is a very bright guy who , for now, chooses to stay on the sidelines, but has a wealth of info to share. Jim, his son-in-law, and grandson are excellent folks to demonstrate their equipment. They are 'hands on' guys, not some 'suit' late for a t-off.
No 'snake oil', just the facts, and their take on a coal stoker boiler. Folks from the trades..... not from the fraternity party.

For any who care, the boiler (22 vertical tubes. 2" diameter with turbulators) is made right in Schuylkill Haven by the same quality processes used for generations. In the thirty gallon range.....No foreign stuff here. ASME and Underwriter certified already. 170K if you need it, or 85 if you are in a seasonal transition. A 120K for the average home as a single stoker.
Buy it, plumb up a feed and return, check for leaks, fire it and clean out the ash when necessary.
Tube cleaning is as simple as removing a few bolts, removing a cover, brush it down, and back in business in ten minutes. Durable? 1/4" steel, what do you think?

The weather turned to crap about 20 miles from home and there were all sorts of spin-out wrecks on the snow covered icy roads, so the last 20 miles turned out to be a 'park the car', and 'help out travelers'. Why is it always on a hill, at the narrowest point with two TT units jack-knifed. We kept hearing the metal 'knashing', but no serious injuries, but some happy tow-truck operators, body shops....and rental car places.

I'd really like to meet more folks from PA and surrounding areas down at your meet and greet, so maybe next time.

I'll see if I can get more info on Jim's boiler posted ASAP. Smitty says that the current pic's posted at the USPS are adequate, and no new ones will be posted. He may go 'underground' if he has to.....

Mr. Precision the meet & greet was great, thank you for putting it together. Really nice/knowledgeable group of folks. I thought Jim's boiler design was brilliant with practical, durable construction.

I might have someone looking to purchase, just wondering how to put them in touch with Jim?

Happy Holidays