Restoration and Installation of a Van Wert 400

 
PatT15
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Posts: 44
Joined: Sat. Jan. 11, 2014 6:52 pm
Location: Morrisdale Pa.
Stoker Coal Boiler: Van wert 400 stoker inside National 200 boiler
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: National recently converted to Hard coal stoker
Coal Size/Type: Buck
Other Heating: Oil and electric

Post by PatT15 » Sat. Jan. 11, 2014 7:04 pm

Hi all, I'm new here and I have recently come across a Van Wert VA13 underfeeder that I slid into my National 200 series hand fed boiler. I noticed that in this thread that the coal transfer housing was swapped out to change auger positions. I need to do this and actually need the one that was removed from yours. Any chance of it being for sale? By the way that is a very nice re manufacture job.

 
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joek18
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Posts: 9
Joined: Wed. Oct. 30, 2013 7:44 am
Location: Carbondale Pa.
Stoker Coal Boiler: Van Wert and a EFM
Coal Size/Type: Buck & Rice

Post by joek18 » Thu. Jan. 30, 2014 4:54 pm

Wow, what a beautiful Beautiful job!! That's a great boiler. I do have to take a ride to see Arnie someday. The acorn gear and that slanted tooth one it turns are looking pretty worn. This chain gear thing has me frazzeled also. I went from a 18 tooth to a 25 tooth gear and there is a big difference in the ash, but still some black in the ash. Going to tractor supply to get a 30 tooth tonight. It comes with a hub to weld on with a 5/8" bore. All I got to do is drill a 3/16" hole through that hub for the shear pin. Cheap to, like $30! Again, you did a beautiful job reconditioning that stoker! Good luck with it. :)

 
Pacowy
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Location: Dalton, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: H.B. Smith 350 Mills boiler/EFM 85R stoker
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat/anthracite

Post by Pacowy » Thu. Jan. 30, 2014 7:47 pm

joek18 wrote:Wow, what a beautiful Beautiful job!! That's a great boiler. I do have to take a ride to see Arnie someday. The acorn gear and that slanted tooth one it turns are looking pretty worn. This chain gear thing has me frazzeled also. I went from a 18 tooth to a 25 tooth gear and there is a big difference in the ash, but still some black in the ash. Going to tractor supply to get a 30 tooth tonight. It comes with a hub to weld on with a 5/8" bore. All I got to do is drill a 3/16" hole through that hub for the shear pin. Cheap to, like $30! Again, you did a beautiful job reconditioning that stoker! Good luck with it. :)
I wouldn't try to eliminate all of the black from the ash. If you succeed, I will mean that you're almost certainly running with too much air relative to the feed.

Mike

 
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dave brode
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Posts: 478
Joined: Fri. Jan. 15, 2010 5:47 pm
Location: Frostburg, Maryland [western]
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-2
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: used to have a 5 section Red Square
Coal Size/Type: rice anthracite

Post by dave brode » Thu. Jan. 30, 2014 7:53 pm

Very nice job!

I felt your pain about breaking the fines cleanout flange. Is it carbon steel or cast iron? If cast, you could try oxy-fuel brazing.

Dave


 
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Scottscoaled
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Posts: 2812
Joined: Tue. Jan. 08, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Malta N.Y.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520, 700, Van Wert 800 GJ 61,53
Baseburners & Antiques: Magic Stewart 16, times 2!
Coal Size/Type: Lots of buck
Other Heating: Slant Fin electric boiler backup

Post by Scottscoaled » Thu. Jan. 30, 2014 9:40 pm

Here's what really makes this little boiler so cool. $35 in glass :) I just take it off and run it under the facet to clean any fly ash off. You can see all this "stuff" that goes on that you don't get to see with a solid door. Like how it runs a different colored flame after the blower shuts off. All in all, this boiler has made me quite happy. The boiler, the Hydrostat 3250 and the window have all worked out better than I could have hoped for. :)

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joek18
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Posts: 9
Joined: Wed. Oct. 30, 2013 7:44 am
Location: Carbondale Pa.
Stoker Coal Boiler: Van Wert and a EFM
Coal Size/Type: Buck & Rice

Post by joek18 » Sun. Feb. 02, 2014 10:42 am

Boy Rob, you did a beautiful job restoring that 400. It's nice to see people who do quality work! We used to have a 400 in our house when I was a kid. Then my dad got us a 600 sometime in the early 70's. We live only a few miles from Peckville Pa. where Van Werts were KING and built there for many years until they closed around 1989 or so. Everyone in every town around here, including Carbondale had a Van Wert in thier home. Coal was KING around here. There were thousands of Van Werts and still are some laying in peoples cellars if your lucky enough to know someone. I just found a guy I bought a spare transmission/pot assy from for only$125. All I really needed was the coal transfer housing to change the worm feed side. Anyway, he has a VA800 laying there that hasn't run in 30 years! He kept it there in case he wanted to go back, but I think he'd sell it now. It would be a hell of a job to get it out of there, though. That's why many are just left in basements. Anyway, My dad was an auto mechanic for a local Chevy/Caddy dealer and could work on anything, especially Van Werts. I remember going with him to all our relatives when they had boiler trouble to fix leaking coil gaskets, or sheared pins,ect. and cursing whenever a coil stud broke off. You'd have to heat those baby's cherry red and hope they don't break. In those days you had to be a boiler mechanic yourself, or pay someone if you can get them. EMF's were big too and made in EMMAUS Pa and a good stoker. I run an EFM in my house, that my wifes dad gave us around 8 years ago. It was just sitting in his cellar for years and I got the bright idea of hooking it up outside in the shed attached to our house , and tied it in to our natural gas boiler(which hasn't ran since) . Sorta like they do with those outside wood burners. Well, that was 8 years ago and its been running great since. To top it all off, my father in law had a treasure trove of EFM spare parts he gave me! Pots, grates, Trannys, motors(they are just an 1725 rpm oil burner motor, ect) It was great! So I quickly learned all about the little less popular EFm's! I also have a Van Wert I just installed in my Moms. Boy the good old days!! Who's of ever thought we'd going back to coal. I Love it! Sorry to ramble. And again, You did a first class job on that 400! Good luck with it. :)

 
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Rob R.
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Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Sun. Feb. 02, 2014 2:28 pm

Thanks for the compliment, but that isn't my boiler. :D The proud owner is named Scott.

 
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Scottscoaled
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Posts: 2812
Joined: Tue. Jan. 08, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Malta N.Y.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520, 700, Van Wert 800 GJ 61,53
Baseburners & Antiques: Magic Stewart 16, times 2!
Coal Size/Type: Lots of buck
Other Heating: Slant Fin electric boiler backup

Post by Scottscoaled » Mon. Feb. 10, 2014 8:51 pm

Here is a parts list for these fine machines
Last edited by Scottscoaled on Mon. Feb. 10, 2014 9:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.


 
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Scottscoaled
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Posts: 2812
Joined: Tue. Jan. 08, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Malta N.Y.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520, 700, Van Wert 800 GJ 61,53
Baseburners & Antiques: Magic Stewart 16, times 2!
Coal Size/Type: Lots of buck
Other Heating: Slant Fin electric boiler backup

Post by Scottscoaled » Mon. Feb. 10, 2014 8:53 pm

Here is the information to make feed rate changes.
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Scottscoaled
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Posts: 2812
Joined: Tue. Jan. 08, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Malta N.Y.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520, 700, Van Wert 800 GJ 61,53
Baseburners & Antiques: Magic Stewart 16, times 2!
Coal Size/Type: Lots of buck
Other Heating: Slant Fin electric boiler backup

Post by Scottscoaled » Mon. Feb. 10, 2014 9:05 pm

Here's the general information for Van Werts
Van Wert Manual Scan(2).PDF
.PDF | 3.7MB | Van Wert Manual Scan(2).PDF

 
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Scottscoaled
Member
Posts: 2812
Joined: Tue. Jan. 08, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Malta N.Y.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520, 700, Van Wert 800 GJ 61,53
Baseburners & Antiques: Magic Stewart 16, times 2!
Coal Size/Type: Lots of buck
Other Heating: Slant Fin electric boiler backup

Post by Scottscoaled » Fri. Jul. 25, 2014 6:40 pm

The little beauty has found a new home. Badly needing some cash to replace a roof, I decided to sell the VW 400. The new owner Is Justin. The guy that hauls ten ton around the northeast. He got a smoking deal. That was one sweetheart of a boiler. No complains about that one. More efficient with coal than any other machine I've had. That little machine heated my 4000sq. ft. house and hot water easily. They are great machines. Very quiet also. Oh well. Back to the drawing board. Maybe I can find a small Gentleman Janitor to try out.

 
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anthony7812
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Posts: 5141
Joined: Sat. Mar. 12, 2011 2:04 pm
Location: Colley,Pennsylvania
Stoker Coal Boiler: VanWert VA 400
Coal Size/Type: Buck/Anthracite

Post by anthony7812 » Sat. Jul. 26, 2014 7:25 pm

That van wert was a beauty! Good find for Justin.

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