Axeman-Anderson Anthratube 260m disection

what's on the roof? Are those solar panels?

Yep, they are corrugated fiberglass solar or greenhouse panels, when I put the roof on the old building several years ago, I had the fiberglass panels, so decided to go ahead and use them, and save on the steel roofing.

I like all the light, but there is not insulation, so I've considered insulating the roof, but so far it hasn't happended.

Greg L

Greg, I've pretty much been thru the mill on these with control also so if you need any info as far as controls to use or how to built your own outfire /highlimit and wire diagrams let me know and we can talk here or via phone ( easier) to get you going easy.

Thanks U235, I'll PM you if I need some help!!

I finally have the plumbing done, and the chimney hooked up. it's full of water and is not leaking anywhere.

I still need to build the coal bin for the auger to feed from.

LsFarm wrote:Thanks U235, I'll PM you if I need some help!!

I finally have the plumbing done, and the chimney hooked up. it's full of water and is not leaking anywhere.

I still need to build the coal bin for the auger to feed from.

almostdone.jpg

almostdone4.jpg

Looks good altho how much room are you going to have for the coal bin?

Greg, how did you vent it? Did you just parallel it into the existing stack?

It looks like such a toy compared to the big monster boiler you have now...... Can't wait for the first fire report!

Good luck!

Chris

U235, the coal bin will be 40"x48"x48" high, I have my main coal bin just outside the door of the boiler building, I'll be filling the bin every week or two I'm guessing. Emptying the ash pan every two-four days or so. I ave no way of gauging how much coal I'll use, but by what your AA uses, and the size of the house, I'm hopefull to burn less than 10 ton a season.

Chris: at the back of 'Big Bertha' [I finally named the old boiler ], I had an elbow going from vertical to horizontal into the masonry chimney. I changed this into a horizontal 'TEE' and reduced the end facing the AA boiler to 6", then ran 6" pipe to the 'TEE' above the AA Boiler. So I have a cleanout for the long 8' or so of 6" pipe. It rises at about 1/4" per foot.

I did install a baro, although I think it is unnecessary. I had it, so I used it. On really windy days it may be working a little.

I can't wait for the first fire, and see how long it takes to bring the boiler up to temperature, all ~29 gallons of water . Big Bertha holds around 250-300 gallons I'm estimating.

I'm working till saturday afternoon. I hope to get the coal bin built saturday/Sunday AM, and Have my first burn by Sunday afternoon. I have to run some wiring, instead of extension cords too!!

Greg

IT"S ALIVE !!! The Axeman Anderson 260M has been successfully ressurected.

I fired 'er up on Sunday afternoon, I didn't have time to make my corner coal bin, but used a 55 gallon plastic barrel instead, I'll work on the corner coal bin next weekend.

Since firing it up, I've had a few issues with a leak that appeared with hot water in the system
I've had to readjust the belts to run correctly, the twisted belt kept flipping off, so I realigned the motor and bought a shorter belt, It appears to be OK now.
I've had to adjust the start winding governor release rpm twice in the motor to get the run windings energized earlier, the fan and auger gearbox exert a lot of drag and inertia on the start circuit of the motor, but I think I have the adjustment correct now.

I had to add an expansion tank and pressurize the system, I tried it at a low 150* temp but was getting some gurgling and boiling in hot spots in the water jacket, so I'm now running it with about 5 psi pressure. The boiling and gurgling has stopped.

Photos of the first fire below.,

Greg L
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Looks great! Congratulations on getting it working, your hard work is rewarded. The images look a lot like those on my AHS. However my burning gases die down when I open the flapper door. Perhaps it's because your's is a larger boiler. I've thought of using a pyrex pie pan taped in place of the flapper and photographing through it.

Is your expansion tank an internal diaphragm type? If it is they are usually pre-charged with 12 psi air. When you install it in a system with a different design pressure you need to set the expansion tank to the design pressure before you install it. If you don't do this the diaphragm will not be at the center of its travel range and will wear out prematurely.

Hi Yanche, my expansion tank is just a tank, about 15" x36", standing on end, so the column of water has to rise a long way to compress the air above. It allows for a lot of water expansion if I raise water temp for colder weather.

When my fire has rested for about 10 minutes there are no blue flames, just dark coal with glimses of red. The blue flame you see is right after the fan started pulling air through the coal bed. That fan is powerfull !!

Greg L.

Hi Greg & Yanche Greg is that the tank that we took out with the boiler I think it is a standard 20gal tank if I remember right I think it should have 5 to 10 psi in it Again if I remember correctly My memory Is not what it use to be

Hi Jc, yes that tank is the one that came with the AA boiler.

Greg

Hi Greg,

Congrats on firing the AA, looks nice, although I can't see the pictures you posted of the fire at this time. Happy Burning!

UPDATE I've had a few problems. I ran the Boiler last weekend, the 10th thru 12th. I worked my way through drive belt issues, a few leaks from heat expansion, and I thought I was done with the motor issues...

So when I left tuesday the 13th for a five day assignment at work, I thought I was all set for the week, but it was not to be. My caretaker checked on the boiler at 6pm tuesday, and the circuit breaker had opened, and the motor would not start, just hummed, I had him spin the motor by hand and try again, but no luck. He also said the fire was out, with the water temperature on the low pin.

So I talked my caretaker through reseting the water valves to put ' Big Bertha' back in business. 'Bertha' has been keeping the place warm all week.

So I got back home today, Saturday the 17th, I installed the original fan motor, with noisy bearings and missing cooling fan. The difference is amazing. Both motors are rated 1/2 horse, but the new, higher effeciency one just doesn't have the starting torque of the old one. The lights would dim and the fan/auger would take several seconds to accelerate up to speed. With the old original motor, the fan/auger is up to speed in 1-2 seconds without any dimming of the lights or hesitation. The old motor is noisy, I'm hoping the bearings will last till Monday when I'm buying a new motor and replacement bearings to refurb the old motor for a spare.

Also, every threaded fitting where I threaded black pipe into a brass ball valve has started leaking, so while the water was cold and the fire cold, I drained and resealed the threaded fittings with RTV instead of pipe sealant. I should have used RTV the first time !!

I refilled the boiler and was going to start a new fire, but there still was a fire going !! This is after five days with no shaking of the ash drawer, or fan induced draft !! I'm very surprised. So I just started the fan, and soon there were blue flames and fresh coal coming up the auger droping on the fire.

So for now I'm back in business, I'll see how the AA does over the next few days, and I'll install a fresh new 'Farm Duty' motor on Monday. Maybe I'll find time to build my bigger coal bin tomorrow.

Greg L

Hi Greg,

congratulations on getting the AA running. I noticed the new motor in the pictures you posted. I guess it just didn't have the start-up torque needed. I have had a similar problem using pipe sealant instead of teflon tape, the water seems to find it's way through the sealant, even the types containing teflon. I always use teflon tape and add some sealant for good measure.

I was very surprised that the AA still had enough fire to restart, you must have good coal.

John