Yellow Flame, A Christmas Stoker Boiler
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7484
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
- Location: PA, Southern York County!
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
- Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
- Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood
Wow, great info.
Thanks Rob,
-Don
Thanks Rob,
-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7484
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
- Location: PA, Southern York County!
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
- Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
- Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood
Catch of the day.
Sorry guys, only half a days work on the stoker today. 2 hours of it was cleaning the blower housing. It was completely full of hardened grease and dirt, YUK!!! I'm suprized it worked at all. I tried to upload a video of it running before I took it apart, but it didn't load? I will try again.
This is what it looked like after I scraped it for a while. The base of the stoker mech with fines cleanout door, and blower extession ready for paint and sealing. Important parts painted. I'm not going to paint anything that goes inside the firebox, just scrap & clean. I used hi temp sillicone to seal the blower extession and hi temp Anti-size on the bolts.
Continued....
Sorry guys, only half a days work on the stoker today. 2 hours of it was cleaning the blower housing. It was completely full of hardened grease and dirt, YUK!!! I'm suprized it worked at all. I tried to upload a video of it running before I took it apart, but it didn't load? I will try again.
This is what it looked like after I scraped it for a while. The base of the stoker mech with fines cleanout door, and blower extession ready for paint and sealing. Important parts painted. I'm not going to paint anything that goes inside the firebox, just scrap & clean. I used hi temp sillicone to seal the blower extession and hi temp Anti-size on the bolts.
Continued....
Attachments
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7484
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
- Location: PA, Southern York County!
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
- Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
- Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood
And these are the bits that got done today. The blower housing still needs a final cleaning.
Later I will try to get that video up loaded.
-Don
Later I will try to get that video up loaded.
-Don
- Hambden Bob
- Member
- Posts: 8531
- Joined: Mon. Jan. 04, 2010 10:54 am
- Location: Hambden Twp. Geauga County,Ohio
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman 1998 Magnum Stoker
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Blower Model Coal Chubby 1982-Serial#0097
- Coal Size/Type: Rice-A-Roni ! / Nut
- Other Heating: Pro-Pain Forced Air
Looked like a Molasses Mixer ! One tough blower.....
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7484
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
- Location: PA, Southern York County!
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
- Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
- Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood
More like a molasses mixer that was cooked for 30 or so years!!!Hambden Bob wrote:Looked like a Molasses Mixer ! One tough blower.....
-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7484
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
- Location: PA, Southern York County!
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
- Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
- Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood
WoodHog,Former WoodHog wrote:StokerD
What hath Don wrought? Miss a little, miss-a- LOT!!!!!
I drop out sick for a few days and this beast rises from the ashes!...Why didn't you choose a bright color???
NICE work, it's a beauty....
I claim the licensing rights to start lining up tours at the StokerDon Coal Fired Museum
'Hog
Glad to see you are among the living again!
-Don
- Dragonslayer
- Member
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Sun. Mar. 27, 2011 12:44 pm
- Location: Central PA
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Yellow Flame w/model A stoker
Hello StokerDon,
Wow!! I slip out for a quick holiday and missed a ton of good looking progress! I will scare up some more refurb pictures and get some more finished system photos loaded up tomorrow.
Scottscoaled, thank you for the informative post and kind words about my boiler refurb. ( I believe the quote thingy would be appropriate here but I can't figure out how to do it )
Dragonslayer.
Wow!! I slip out for a quick holiday and missed a ton of good looking progress! I will scare up some more refurb pictures and get some more finished system photos loaded up tomorrow.
Scottscoaled, thank you for the informative post and kind words about my boiler refurb. ( I believe the quote thingy would be appropriate here but I can't figure out how to do it )
Dragonslayer.
- 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
DS, it's easy to talk great about your boiler. Pictures do it justice! How does it run? Have you tried different sized coals? Right now you two guys are the "Yellow Flame Guru's". Do you have any pics of the burn? How much have you burned so far this winter?
- Dragonslayer
- Member
- Posts: 37
- Joined: Sun. Mar. 27, 2011 12:44 pm
- Location: Central PA
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Yellow Flame w/model A stoker
Scott,
My boiler is running great. I have a ton of photos of the boiler refurb and my underground to the house etc. but not much on the finished product. I will get busy on that as well as some burn photos. I have only used rice so far. Didn't consider any other sizes, my only info was from the PO and they only used rice. Coincedently while I was reading your post about the different sizes Whistlenut PM'd me with a nice welcome and some info about some available Barley. If I can work out the logistics on that I will have some Barley to try shortly .
I would say I have put nearabouts 4 ton thru it since I fired it back up mid October.
I will also post some photos of how I manage my coal inside. I used some ideas from the "coal bin " posts and twisted it with some of my brainstorms
Boy, I need to get busy.
To me, the refurbing, digging, plumbing, wiring, controls and so on is easier than posting about it.
Dragonslayer.
My boiler is running great. I have a ton of photos of the boiler refurb and my underground to the house etc. but not much on the finished product. I will get busy on that as well as some burn photos. I have only used rice so far. Didn't consider any other sizes, my only info was from the PO and they only used rice. Coincedently while I was reading your post about the different sizes Whistlenut PM'd me with a nice welcome and some info about some available Barley. If I can work out the logistics on that I will have some Barley to try shortly .
I would say I have put nearabouts 4 ton thru it since I fired it back up mid October.
I will also post some photos of how I manage my coal inside. I used some ideas from the "coal bin " posts and twisted it with some of my brainstorms
Boy, I need to get busy.
To me, the refurbing, digging, plumbing, wiring, controls and so on is easier than posting about it.
Dragonslayer.
- whistlenut
- Member
- Posts: 3548
- Joined: Sat. Mar. 17, 2007 6:29 pm
- Location: Central NH, Concord area
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AA130's,260's, AHS130&260's,EFM900,GJ & V-Wert
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Franks,Itasca 415,Jensen, NYer 130,Van Wert
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Furnace: Alaska, EFM, Keystoker, Yellow Flame
- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Alaska, Keystoker-2,Leisure Line
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Alaska, Gibraltar, Keystone,Vc Vigilant 2
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Ford, Jensen, NYer, Van Wert,
- Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwoods
- Coal Size/Type: Barley, Buck, Rice ,Nut, Stove
- Other Heating: Oil HWBB
Don, you were hard to convince that coal stokers were the way to go........and look at your new hobby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rev Larry has a great deal of experience with the yellow flames also and there a couple of older gentleman in Pecksville who hold the keys to the history of the Yellow Flame. You might find it interesting that Yellow Flames could be 50, 60 70 years old and still function very well. Most do recognize the similarity to the Keystoker boilers and stokers, and to realize that even without a lot of care, it ran when you got it. Samhill has a hot air unit and perhaps bigger stoker, but he is very helpful also. Good luck, and nice to see a happy stoker, and hopefully everyone that lives there also. You guys might be into the rain already...we are waiting for snow/ice, slush. Still thousands in Maine waiting for power.........hats off to the power guys who are working day and night to restore power.
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7484
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
- Location: PA, Southern York County!
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
- Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
- Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood
Rob,Rob R. wrote:Don, don't be surprised if that gearbox leaks oil. Hopefully it just seeps a little and what we see is the result of 30 years with no cleaning.
Well, that gearbox needs a rebuild. The output shaft has a lot of play in it , which killed the seal. All the oil leaked out over the years. I have another one that will go in it's place for now.
-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7484
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
- Location: PA, Southern York County!
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
- Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
- Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood
Dragonslayer,Dragonslayer wrote: I will also post some photos of how I manage my coal inside. I used some ideas from the "coal bin " posts and twisted it with some of my brainstorms
Boy, I need to get busy.
To me, the refurbing, digging, plumbing, wiring, controls and so on is easier than posting about it.
Dragonslayer.
I think most people on this forum are like me before I got this unit, I had heard of a Yellow Flame, I've seen a few pictures of the outside of a Yellow Flame, but I realy didn't know what it is or how it works. The more pictures and discriptions, the better. So, dig into your archive and post some pics!
By the way, in the pic where you have the boiler hanging from the back of the tractor, how did you rig it? What did you find to hook onto? Mine seems very top heavy and dangerus to pick up.
-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7484
- Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
- Location: PA, Southern York County!
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
- Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
- Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
- Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood
Doug,whistlenut wrote:You might find it interesting that Yellow Flames could be 50, 60 70 years old and still function very well. Most do recognize the similarity to the Keystoker boilers and stokers, and to realize that even without a lot of care, it ran when you got it.
You guys might be into the rain already...we are waiting for snow/ice, slush. Still thousands in Maine waiting for power.........hats off to the power guys who are working day and night to restore power.
I would like to know how old this unit is. All I know is that the guy I got it from said it was in the house when he bought it 30 years ago. When it was installed, nobody knows. When I first talked to he on the phone, he sent his grandson downstairs to get the info off of the data plate; X510 120,2900KBTU, is what he told me. I have had this thing for over a week now, I have taken it all apart, looked at everything, I have not found this data plate!
Yah, down here it started about 0500, temps right about freezing. Looks like it will be just rain here. That will limit my wheeling and painting to inside.
Right now i'm trying to get a handle on what I need pluming wise. I'm geting the insulated OB PEX from the place in Wissconson http://www.badgerinsulatedpipe.com/main.sc, it's about $5.50 a foot for 4 pipe (boiler+DHW). That's less than half price of what it would have cost local. they also make a nice Modine style hanging heat exchanger with blower. Most fittings and valves from pexsupply.com. I'm going with local threaded black pipe from the boiler to the PEX.
-Don