I have had 4 GJ's that did have a bottom. The last two don't have a bottom. The one's that did have a bottom, were separate bases like an EFM. They were the larger sizes. I think they were newer. I have seen the smallest one as a two piece. Once again, I think the older, smaller size units were the one piece that had no bottoms.StokerDon wrote:Nope!Wood'nCoal wrote:It doesn't have a bottom!
Gentleman Janitors and Yellow Flames have no bottom.
EFMs, Loschs and BairMatics do have bottoms.
-Don
The Small Gentleman Janitor
- 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
- StokerDon
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- 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
Yah, I generalized that a little to much. Now that I think of it, later Yellow Flames have bottoms to.Scottscoaled wrote:I have had 4 GJ's that did have a bottom. The last two don't have a bottom. The one's that did have a bottom, were separate bases like an EFM. They were the larger sizes. I think they were newer. I have seen the smallest one as a two piece. Once again, I think the older, smaller size units were the one piece that had no bottoms.
-Don
- StokerDon
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- 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
Well, the little trashcan didn't completely solve the stink problem. It doesn't really seal so some stink got out!
I have a 4 foot bin auger that had a sharp flight on it. I put it on the bench grinder, ground and wire wheeled it smooth. It had a coupler on it and I had a pipe coupler in the basement. Then I remembered that some EFM guys use PVC for the bin pipe. Found a piece of 2" SCH-40 PVC leftover from the Coal Vac project. Pulled the trashcan off and installed the bin auger with lots of anti-seize. Cut the PVC to 47.5" and slid it on the auger with the pipe coupler. That gives us about 1.5 flights sticking out the end of the pipe. If that doesn't fix the stink, I don't know what to do.
One thing I noticed right away, the PVC is a lot louder than the steel pipe I had before. You can really hear the coal moving along in there. After I installed the bin pipe and auger there was a long heat call. I got down on my knees again to watch. -Don
I have a 4 foot bin auger that had a sharp flight on it. I put it on the bench grinder, ground and wire wheeled it smooth. It had a coupler on it and I had a pipe coupler in the basement. Then I remembered that some EFM guys use PVC for the bin pipe. Found a piece of 2" SCH-40 PVC leftover from the Coal Vac project. Pulled the trashcan off and installed the bin auger with lots of anti-seize. Cut the PVC to 47.5" and slid it on the auger with the pipe coupler. That gives us about 1.5 flights sticking out the end of the pipe. If that doesn't fix the stink, I don't know what to do.
One thing I noticed right away, the PVC is a lot louder than the steel pipe I had before. You can really hear the coal moving along in there. After I installed the bin pipe and auger there was a long heat call. I got down on my knees again to watch. -Don
- StokerDon
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- Posts: 7496
- 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
No stink this morning. The long pipe seems to always solve this problem.
I put up a video of just the flames! Half way through, I turned the air up to 8 just to make it interesting. After the stoker shut down, the flames still came pouring out on natural draft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQd8tD8G-UA&list=PLFU8SaWNbzx_aaTKBbd3s8L_AIN2LhuP2&index=30
-Don
I put up a video of just the flames! Half way through, I turned the air up to 8 just to make it interesting. After the stoker shut down, the flames still came pouring out on natural draft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQd8tD8G-UA&list=PLFU8SaWNbzx_aaTKBbd3s8L_AIN2LhuP2&index=30
-Don
- 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
I keep looking at those brackets on the inside of the boiler & wonder if it originally had a baffle hanging in there so the flames would hit the baffle & then go out towards the boiler walls b4 going up & out.
Nice video of fire & I really liked your background musical selection.
Nice video of fire & I really liked your background musical selection.
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7496
- 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
Yes, from what I was told, there was a stainless baffle above the fire. I don't know how well it worked and it looks way better without it!windyhill4.2 wrote:I keep looking at those brackets on the inside of the boiler & wonder if it originally had a baffle hanging in there so the flames would hit the baffle & then go out towards the boiler walls b4 going up & out.
I like the classics W.H.. Classic EFM that is!windyhill4.2 wrote:Nice video of fire & I really liked your background musical selection.
-Don
- 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
I would agree with it looking better without a baffle,that arch just gives a very special look to the fire.StokerDon wrote:Yes, from what I was told, there was a stainless baffle above the fire. I don't know how well it worked and it looks way better without it!windyhill4.2 wrote:I keep looking at those brackets on the inside of the boiler & wonder if it originally had a baffle hanging in there so the flames would hit the baffle & then go out towards the boiler walls b4 going up & out.
I like the classics W.H.. Classic EFM that is!windyhill4.2 wrote:Nice video of fire & I really liked your background musical selection.
-Don
That classical EFM sound is a GREAT musical choice
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7496
- 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
I just realized that I don't know how old the S-15 stoker is. The serial number on the blower housing is 56820.
stoker-man @ Dating S-15, S-20, S-22, S-30, S-35, S-45 Stokers
It's called "Dating S-15, S-20, S-22, S-30, S-35, S-45 stokers" if you are doing a search.
Looks like this one was built in 1963. A little difficult to figure out though. I think there is a type-O in the "1963 57639 - 56980" line for the S-15 stokers. It should start at 56639, otherwise it doesn't make sense.
-Don
There is a thread about how to tell the age of an EFM by the serial number on the stoker data plate. I always have a hard time finding it so here it is again.stoker-man @ Dating S-15, S-20, S-22, S-30, S-35, S-45 Stokers
It's called "Dating S-15, S-20, S-22, S-30, S-35, S-45 stokers" if you are doing a search.
Looks like this one was built in 1963. A little difficult to figure out though. I think there is a type-O in the "1963 57639 - 56980" line for the S-15 stokers. It should start at 56639, otherwise it doesn't make sense.
-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7496
- 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
ALMOST AN OUTFIRE!!!
I got home from work today and the EFM was crank'in away but the fire was very small. There was also a lot of stink!. I opened the trashcan and smoke came out. "Oh!, It's out of coal!" I filled the trashcan and spun the hand crank about 80 times. All is well again. Run'in pretty low on garage coal. I guess I will either shut it down in a couple weeks or buy some more coal. -Don
I got home from work today and the EFM was crank'in away but the fire was very small. There was also a lot of stink!. I opened the trashcan and smoke came out. "Oh!, It's out of coal!" I filled the trashcan and spun the hand crank about 80 times. All is well again. Run'in pretty low on garage coal. I guess I will either shut it down in a couple weeks or buy some more coal. -Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7496
- 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
The local feed mill sells bagged Kimmel's, so I figured I'd go and pick up 20 bags.
There 50 pound'ers so that's half a ton. That, combined with the leftover Blaschak, should last til May, I hope! I cut open 15 bags by the doorway of the coal bin. I left 5 in the bag because I was starting to block the doorway. The Blaschak is at the back of the bin and I want to use that first since it is nice and dry. While I was at it, I topped off the trashcan with some Kimmel's. Six days worth of ashes. The ash diverter in this boiler doesn't work quite as well as the one in the GJ-51. I have not pulled the fines lever since the refill last Sunday. This is 6 days worth of fines from about 150 pounds of coal. This is slightly more than I collected from the GJ-51/EFM S-20 after 120 pounds of coal. So I guess this is about normal for an EFM. My Van Wert just eats the fines along with the coal.
-Don
There 50 pound'ers so that's half a ton. That, combined with the leftover Blaschak, should last til May, I hope! I cut open 15 bags by the doorway of the coal bin. I left 5 in the bag because I was starting to block the doorway. The Blaschak is at the back of the bin and I want to use that first since it is nice and dry. While I was at it, I topped off the trashcan with some Kimmel's. Six days worth of ashes. The ash diverter in this boiler doesn't work quite as well as the one in the GJ-51. I have not pulled the fines lever since the refill last Sunday. This is 6 days worth of fines from about 150 pounds of coal. This is slightly more than I collected from the GJ-51/EFM S-20 after 120 pounds of coal. So I guess this is about normal for an EFM. My Van Wert just eats the fines along with the coal.
-Don
- CoalHeat
- Member
- Posts: 8862
- Joined: Sat. Feb. 10, 2007 9:48 pm
- Location: Stillwater, New Jersey
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1959 EFM 350
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Magnafire Mark I
- Baseburners & Antiques: Sears Signal Oak 15 & Andes Kitchen Range
- Coal Size/Type: Rice and Chestnut
- Other Heating: Fisher Fireplace Insert
The GJ stoker I used to own had a plate with two bolts on the bottom of the pot. I realize that the concentric rings may not allow fines to accumulate as quickly as the EFM grate design, but I thought unbolting that plate was a lot of work just to empty the fines.
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7496
- 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
The Van Wert is the same deal as the GJ stoker. At first, I though exactly what you are thinking, "there's no way people take this stupid plate off once a week!". So I made a slide door for the bottom of the Van Wert stoker. I opened it once every few days at first, Noth'in. Once a week, Noth'in, once every couple of weeks, Someth'in!. But not enough to worry about.CoalHeat wrote:The GJ stoker I used to own had a plate with two bolts on the bottom of the pot. I realize that the concentric rings may not allow fines to accumulate as quickly as the EFM grate design, but I thought unbolting that plate was a lot of work just to empty the fines.
Bottom line, it's a once or twice a year thing on a Van Wert. I suspect the GJ is the same.
-Don
- CoalHeat
- Member
- Posts: 8862
- Joined: Sat. Feb. 10, 2007 9:48 pm
- Location: Stillwater, New Jersey
- Stoker Coal Boiler: 1959 EFM 350
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Harman Magnafire Mark I
- Baseburners & Antiques: Sears Signal Oak 15 & Andes Kitchen Range
- Coal Size/Type: Rice and Chestnut
- Other Heating: Fisher Fireplace Insert
That's what I figured. I'm glad EFM has the lever!
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7496
- 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
This small GJ and small EFM have been running very well. So well that I haven't really thought about it much over the passed month!
Last night I noticed that it was skipping teeth again. Today I wire wheeled the drive pawl and the shoulder bolt it rides on. I know I said I would do that last month but I never got around to it. It is running nice and smooth now. This is yet another conversion boiler that has turned out very well. It runs when it needs to and idles there is no need for heat. No out fires over the passed month, just effortless running.
It gets through most of the week on one trashcan full of coal. If it's cold out, I fill it up on Thursday, if not, Friday or Saturday. I top it off and empty the ashes ever Sunday.
It will be time to shut it down soon. The forecast for the coming week has 70's and 80's in it. The Summer doldrums are close at hand.
-Don
Last night I noticed that it was skipping teeth again. Today I wire wheeled the drive pawl and the shoulder bolt it rides on. I know I said I would do that last month but I never got around to it. It is running nice and smooth now. This is yet another conversion boiler that has turned out very well. It runs when it needs to and idles there is no need for heat. No out fires over the passed month, just effortless running.
It gets through most of the week on one trashcan full of coal. If it's cold out, I fill it up on Thursday, if not, Friday or Saturday. I top it off and empty the ashes ever Sunday.
It will be time to shut it down soon. The forecast for the coming week has 70's and 80's in it. The Summer doldrums are close at hand.
-Don
- StokerDon
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 7496
- 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
This week was the first time we went 7 days on 1 trashcan full of coal!
And there was still some in there. I filled it with what was left of the Blaschak from 2 years ago. Still have a few weeks of Kimmles left to feed it. Took a look around to see if it developed any leaks. Even the DHW coil plate has held up just fine. The fire still looks Awesome! Everything is running normally. At this point, I'm really just running it for fun. With temps in the 60's, 70's and even 80's, there is no reason to keep it running. The boiler has been under pressure for close to 2 months now. I guess it ain't gonna leak!
-Don
And there was still some in there. I filled it with what was left of the Blaschak from 2 years ago. Still have a few weeks of Kimmles left to feed it. Took a look around to see if it developed any leaks. Even the DHW coil plate has held up just fine. The fire still looks Awesome! Everything is running normally. At this point, I'm really just running it for fun. With temps in the 60's, 70's and even 80's, there is no reason to keep it running. The boiler has been under pressure for close to 2 months now. I guess it ain't gonna leak!
-Don