Gentleman Janitor GJ-51??? Project

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Sat. Mar. 19, 2016 11:57 am

Mid 30's this morning, we are expecting a little snow today and tomorrow. Hard to believe after days where it hit 80 degrees last week and a few in the 70's. This week every day was in the mid 60's. For the first day of Spring we have cold and snow in the forecast!

All this made me decide to re-lite the GJ/EFM for a few days. By the middle of next week it will be back to mid 60's for highs so I will shut it down for the summer at that point. I did a quick brush down of the firebox and lit it up.

I posted a video of the re-lite process.
https://youtu.be/W8JQSwi5Lzw

-Don


 
User avatar
windyhill4.2
Member
Posts: 6072
Joined: Fri. Nov. 22, 2013 2:17 pm
Location: Jonestown,Pa.17038
Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Crane 404 with variable blower
Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both

Post by windyhill4.2 » Sat. Mar. 19, 2016 12:29 pm

SD,it would appear as though your cat is very happy with the boiler going again. Cats are similar to some of us people,in disliking changes.

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Sat. Mar. 19, 2016 2:46 pm

windyhill4.2 wrote:SD,it would appear as though your cat is very happy with the boiler going again. Cats are similar to some of us people,in disliking changes.
Your right! The cat is quite happy to have the boiler going again!

Even though the thermometer in the garage only got down to about 58 degrees, it feels a lot warmer with the boiler running.

-Don

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Tue. Mar. 22, 2016 7:43 pm

Here's something you don't see every day.
GJdisplayLight4.jpg
.JPG | 166KB | GJdisplayLight4.jpg
GJdisplayLight1.jpg
.JPG | 215.7KB | GJdisplayLight1.jpg
GJdisplayLight3.jpg
.JPG | 91.2KB | GJdisplayLight3.jpg
It's for sale on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191809968057?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Pretty neat look'in old advertisement lamp!

I would love to have it but $275 is way out of my price range for decor.

-Don

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Sat. Apr. 23, 2016 7:46 pm

I have been secretly running the GJ/EFM for about a month now. It just sits there idling on the LO limit. Today I had a few pieces of scrap plywood laying around that I needed to get rid of so, in they went!

I posted a video of the pretty fire.



I still need to work on making the video files that come out of my new camera smaller. This minute video took an hour to upload to Youtube. A 3 minute video from my old camera uploads in 7 or 8 minutes.

-Don

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Tue. May. 24, 2016 7:40 pm

Here it is a month later and I am still running the GJ/EFM. The main reason I have not shut it down is because I would like to be able to do a thorough cleaning when I do shut it down. That way it shouldn't rust up over the Summer. I have not had time so it was just easier to leave it run.

Temps well into the 80's this week, humidity coming at the end of the week. This week end will be shut down.
GJtoEFM 002.JPG
.JPG | 132KB | GJtoEFM 002.JPG
A little dirty, but still runs perfect!
GJtoEFM 003.JPG
.JPG | 129.6KB | GJtoEFM 003.JPG
It still puts out a lot of fines. I'm think'in it's the end of the bin auger. I had to put a piece of PVC on the end to get the exposed flights down to 2.5. We'll have a look at it after shut down.
GJtoEFM 006.JPG
.JPG | 211.7KB | GJtoEFM 006.JPG
GJtoEFM 005.JPG
.JPG | 125.2KB | GJtoEFM 005.JPG
Here's the view looking up from the ash pan.
GJtoEFM 008.JPG
.JPG | 174.4KB | GJtoEFM 008.JPG
GJtoEFM 011.JPG
.JPG | 70.1KB | GJtoEFM 011.JPG
The cross tubes and plates are up in there.
GJtoEFM 012.JPG
.JPG | 181.7KB | GJtoEFM 012.JPG
GJtoEFM 013.JPG
.JPG | 127.5KB | GJtoEFM 013.JPG
-Don

 
Pacowy
Member
Posts: 3555
Joined: Tue. Sep. 04, 2007 10:14 pm
Location: Dalton, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: H.B. Smith 350 Mills boiler/EFM 85R stoker
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat/anthracite

Post by Pacowy » Tue. May. 24, 2016 8:08 pm

Don,

I think the eye on the cleanout rod is supposed to fasten to the cleanout cover from below. Not sure if you get binding or a restricted range of motion when connected from above.

Mike

P.S. It must be pretty quiet around here 'cause that's all I got. :lol:


 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Thu. May. 26, 2016 7:17 pm

Pacowy wrote:Don,

I think the eye on the cleanout rod is supposed to fasten to the cleanout cover from below. Not sure if you get binding or a restricted range of motion when connected from above.

Mike

P.S. It must be pretty quiet around here 'cause that's all I got. :lol:
No problems with the clean out rod, it works perfectly. When I did the final assembly, the rod did not fit on the bottom, only the top. It opens and closes with no binding at all. This was one of the things that confused me when I put it together. In stokerman's thread about the pot assembly, it shows the rod on the bottom.

-Don

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Thu. May. 26, 2016 7:26 pm

OK! OK! I'll shut it down!!!

It was in the 90's down hear today, must have been 100 in the garage before I opened the door.
GJtoEFM 001.JPG
.JPG | 147.6KB | GJtoEFM 001.JPG
GJtoEFM 003.JPG
.JPG | 130.1KB | GJtoEFM 003.JPG
-Don

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Mon. Oct. 10, 2016 7:16 pm

A week and a half ago, I started up the GJ/EFM again. I had an idea about the fire view door air wash. I had originally left a slot on each side and top and bottom to let the "washing air" in.
IMG_0326.JPG
.JPG | 79.2KB | IMG_0326.JPG
This had limited success, if you really wanted to see the fire you had to scrape it every other day. Then I thought, "The air coming in is always going to be colder than the firebox". So that means the air coming in is always going to go down. I removed the top gasket completely.
IMG_0328.JPG
.JPG | 81.3KB | IMG_0328.JPG
The glass has stayed clean for way longer than it ever has. There is no need to leave the bottom gasket open at all.
IMG_0327.JPG
.JPG | 78.3KB | IMG_0327.JPG
Even after a week and a half, you can still see the fire pretty well. It is time for a cleaning though.

-Don

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Sat. Oct. 22, 2016 8:19 pm

Yesterday I did the fall cleaning on the GJ/EFM. I shot 8 videos of the process, I currently have 2 posted to Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYeirbqGqo0&list=PLFU8SaWNbzx8zDFyKEAelrcbwxCr6FRbO

It will take a while for me to get the rest posted so please bare with me. My newer videos are in HD and therefore much larger files than my old camera. I have a slow-ish internet connection so most videos take 1.5 to 3 hours to upload. I try to do this overnight.

Sorry, I was so busy taking the videos and doing the cleaning I didn't get any pictures. I took a few today though.
IMG_0360.JPG
.JPG | 98.5KB | IMG_0360.JPG
IMG_0361.JPG
.JPG | 109.5KB | IMG_0361.JPG
IMG_0363.JPG
.JPG | 96.2KB | IMG_0363.JPG
IMG_0365.JPG
.JPG | 103.5KB | IMG_0365.JPG
I put the original door back on. I have come to the conclusion that the BairMatic/Van Wert can heat the house and the garage without any problems. Even if it could only heat the house, the GJ/EFM is WAY bigger than what is needed in the garage. That means my beloved GJ/EFM is looking for a new home, you can see it in the classified section on this site.
IMG_0364.JPG
.JPG | 80.4KB | IMG_0364.JPG
IMG_0369.JPG
.JPG | 90.3KB | IMG_0369.JPG
IMG_0371.JPG
.JPG | 92.1KB | IMG_0371.JPG
IMG_0373.JPG
.JPG | 101.6KB | IMG_0373.JPG
IMG_0374.JPG
.JPG | 101KB | IMG_0374.JPG
IMG_0375.JPG
.JPG | 68.2KB | IMG_0375.JPG
-Don

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Mon. Oct. 24, 2016 8:09 pm

StokerDon wrote:Yesterday I did the fall cleaning on the GJ/EFM. I shot 8 videos of the process, I currently have 2 posted to Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYeirbqGqo0&list=PLFU8SaWNbzx8zDFyKEAelrcbwxCr6FRbO

-Don
I now have 6 of the videos posted. It turned out to be only 7 videos, not 8. I will try to get the last one posted tonight.

-Don

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Wed. Oct. 26, 2016 9:34 pm

The videos of the fall cleaning are all uploaded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYeirbqGqo0&list=PLFU8SaWNbzx8zDFyKEAelrcbwxCr6FRbO&index=1

AND, I got the new burn plates in the mail today.

-Don

 
User avatar
Townsend
Member
Posts: 573
Joined: Tue. Nov. 21, 2006 7:38 pm
Location: Connecticut
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93 & Harman Mark I
Coal Size/Type: Pea / Nut

Post by Townsend » Thu. Oct. 27, 2016 8:38 am

Don, you have a beautiful boiler and did an incredible restoration. Looks superb and I love the colors.

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
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

Post by StokerDon » Sun. Oct. 30, 2016 10:07 am

Thanks T!

I've been looking at your AA260 thread. That 4" drop header is mind boggling! My arms hurt every time I look at it!
New (to Me) Axeman 260
4inchDropHeader.JPG
.JPG | 25.4KB | 4inchDropHeader.JPG
-Don


Post Reply

Return to “Stoker Coal Boilers Using Anthracite (Hydronic & Steam)”