Upgrading my Magnum Stoker to a Stoker Boiler

U235a4 wrote:.... BTW if i remember correctly your from gettysburg area... am I right?

No, I am from Rhode Island.

Thanks guys. I do have 2 flus so I can just leave my oil boiler in place...for now. Actually do to space limitation, I may move the oil boiler to the other flu in the chimney, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.


I think the auger type is def out of the question.... UNLESS I come up with a clever way to stick the auger out of the side of the house and build a coal Bin attached to the house Does the auger have to be angled down like in the pics or can it be angled up to go out of the side of my house? [my basement concrete is only ~3.5' high. The rest is 2x4 construction] Of course this is all pending approval from the boss!! She may freak out a bit, hehehe.

I looked at the assembled specs of the Harman VF3000, Keystoker KA-4, & AHS S130 and the are all comparable in footprint. The AHS does look REALLY big in the pics but I'll have to see one in person.

The AA and EFM are both auger type correct? These are not ruled out, but are unlikely given my circumstance..... of course if one should fall into my possession for cheap $$$, you better believe I would come up with some way to make it work!!

Flyer5 wrote:I have a ka-4 and it works really well unlimited domestic hot water . I am using this till I get 1 of my AA130s in . Stay away from the oil coal combo not worth it . Most cannot be setup for automatic backup . You would be better off with a small wall mounted oil /propane unit plumbed in series for a backup .Dave

Dave,

What are you going to do with the KA-4?

Thanks,
Jeremy

beatle78 wrote:

Flyer5 wrote:I have a ka-4 and it works really well unlimited domestic hot water . I am using this till I get 1 of my AA130s in . Stay away from the oil coal combo not worth it . Most cannot be setup for automatic backup . You would be better off with a small wall mounted oil /propane unit plumbed in series for a backup .Dave

Dave,

What are you going to do with the KA-4?

Thanks,
Jeremy

Not sure yet . I will probably sell it when I am ready . Dave

Flyer5 wrote:

beatle78 wrote:

Flyer5 wrote:I have a ka-4 and it works really well unlimited domestic hot water . I am using this till I get 1 of my AA130s in . Stay away from the oil coal combo not worth it . Most cannot be setup for automatic backup . You would be better off with a small wall mounted oil /propane unit plumbed in series for a backup .Dave

Dave,

What are you going to do with the KA-4?

Thanks,
Jeremy

Not sure yet . I will probably sell it when I am ready . Dave

Well keep me in mind, perhaps our timing will work out.....


Speaking of prices.... what are the current average prices on the AHS S130, Harman VF3000, and Keystoker KA-4 boilers?

How much did everyone here spend on theirs? (price, year bought, new/used?)

The following are all purchased used in the past 6 months or so, year listed is year of mfgr.:

My own personal
198? Anthraheat Mini Stoker 80 $500
1954 AA 130M $600
1958 AA 130M $1,200
1986 Eshland Coalgun (same design as AHS and has hopper with auger feed to fill from coal bin) $1,795

Others that I know of but did not buy myself

1952 AA 260M $1,600
1958 AA 260M missing some parts $1,200
1986 efm 520 with oil $950
1980 AA 130M $890

Average cost for used boilers = $6.91 per btu, saving a piece of history priceless!

Matthus, could you post some pictures of the Eshland, especially how the helicoid auger is powered. My opinion the Eshland is the most desirable design, improvements on the A-A while still including the helicoid auger.

Actually this unit has a hopper like your AHS. The auger is a 3" chicken feeder auger with no center rod, this allows it to flex. It runs in a piece of PVC electrical conduit. The drive motor is past the unit under the side of the coal bin. I made up a quick drawing to show how it works.

I have yet to pick it up, since it is still heating the home in Nescopeck where I bought it. Will post a pic when I get it.

Ok, so an Eshland 130 is the equivalent to an AHS S130?

This is great stuff. Thanks for all the replies.

Any more VF3000 and Keystoker boiler owners out there want to chime in?

beatle78 wrote:Ok, so an Eshland 130 is the equivalent to an AHS S130?

AHS, Eshland and AA are all the same basic boiler design. Eshland and AHS use a direct drive fan and motor operated grate shaker where as the AA uses a solenoid activated ratchet and paul shaker and a belt drive auger and fan from the same motor. AHS has the hopper and I have heard that some of the Eshlands have an auger like the AA, mine came with the hopper like the AHS.

If you find any of these fine boilers for a price around $1,000 and it has not been sitting for more than a couple years I would recommend buying it! you can't really go wrong with this design, and a handy person such as yourself can fix about anything that might be wrong since they are built like battle ships. Of course as with any purchase of used heating equipment there is some risk, but then that is half the fun.

Jeff the owner of AHS once worked for Eshland and when it went out of business he formed his company. Old Eshland boilers are an improved version of the original A-A design. The photo below shows the blower end of an Eshland. Note the two motors. The lower one drives the grate crank arm (not shown) through the vertical open slot in the ash pit. The upper motor is the combustion blower. It has a dual v-grove pulley that drives both the combustion fan and the gear reduction unit on the left. The chain sprocket gear drives the helicoid feed auger (not shown) which would be the the left. The angle bracket on the left actually slopes down to match the slope of the auger. On current AHS boilers this bracket and gear reduction not present. To show how little the design has changed my AHS S130 with the hopper still has the mounting holes drilled for this bracket!

The upper boiler drain valve is tapped into the domestic hot water coil. It threads into a 4 inch nipple welded to the boiler. I think current AHS designs do not have the valve here.

To add to what Yanche said. My Eshland has the direct drive fan like the AHS design and obviously no motor for the auger since it has a hopper.

Thanks Yanche! That's good info.

I put a note into AHS yesterday for pricing and I'm awaiting to hear back from them.

How long ago did you purchase your AHS S130 and how much did it cost?

Matthaus wrote:To add to what Yanche said. My Eshland has the direct drive fan like the AHS design and obviously no motor for the auger since it has a hopper.

OK, so did your Eshland come like that from the factory or was it modified with the "AHS" improvements?

I def want a hopper style boiler in my setup. Although I do like the auger setup for my dad. His coal bin is in the basement right near the oil steam boiler!!! If I could get him a auger style with oil backup that would be VERY cool!!!! He currently heats his 150 year old 2 story house with the Harman DVC-500.

beatle78 wrote:OK, so did your Eshland come like that from the factory or was it modified with the "AHS" improvements?

Actually I think it came that way, but I have been discussing it with flyer5 and I'm going to modify the AA I currently have to be the same setup except with a variable speed drive and a 3 phase motor driving the fan. That way I can get rid of the hokey twisted belt set up for the auger and put that on a circuit with the ash drawer to eliminated wasted coal delivery to the firepot. I am eventually going to sell the AA but in the mean time it will be a great science project.