The Bairmatic - Van Wert Project

 
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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

Post by StokerDon » Tue. Aug. 09, 2016 8:22 pm

Olllotj wrote:Nice summer fire Don, Poor barrel! I'm sure you have another boiler to hook it to!
Yah, don't you worry about the barrel. It will be put back into use soon enough! There's one or two other boilers around here somewhere.

-Don


 
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StokerDon
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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. Aug. 14, 2016 8:02 pm

Meter reading today, 2279.8 - 2266.0 = 13.8 hours x 11.0 = 151.8 pounds for the past 7 days, 21.7 pounds per day.
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Gofer hole.
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Another weeks worth of ash.
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And now for something completely different. Heavy duty contractor bags.
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I have read about people using them in there ash pans to make ash removal easier. So, I figured I would give it a try. This time I think we will let it go for 2 weeks on an ash pan.
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I hope it don't burn up!

In other news, I have started working on my radiator plan. So far it looks like I will only be using 8 or 9 radiators inside the house. The radiators that I have chosen will theoretically put out 84,280 BTUs total. I will also use 2 or 3 in the garage. I will have to find a home for the other 10.

-Don

 
Olllotj
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Posts: 558
Joined: Thu. Sep. 04, 2014 10:01 am
Location: Western NY 14141
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KB-8
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat
Other Heating: Utica Propane Hot Water

Post by Olllotj » Mon. Aug. 15, 2016 10:42 am

Let us know how the bag works out!

I usually can't pull my ash pan without a glove, so I don't think it would work for me?

 
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StokerDon
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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. Aug. 15, 2016 7:21 pm

Olllotj wrote:Let us know how the bag works out!

I usually can't pull my ash pan without a glove, so I don't think it would work for me?
The theory is, if your not pushing any hot coal off the edge, the bag should be fine. The ash pit in the boiler doesn't get nearly as hot as the firebox.

I did take a look at mine today. It had a few holes in it. Maybe I need to turn the feed rate down a little more?

-Don

 
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StokerDon
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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. Aug. 21, 2016 7:58 pm

Meter reading today, 2292.9 - 2279.8 = 13.1 hours x 11.0 = 144.1 pounds for the past 7 days, 20.6 pounds per day.
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The gofer hole is git'in pretty big.
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We're still getting some coal water draining out of the main bin. There are a couple of toads around that seem to like it.
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There are some issues with the bag. My ash pans are a bit wider than the bag opening. I stretched the heck out of one side of this bag when I installed it. This caused it to be a good bit thinner in that spot where the holes are.
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It still worked, but some of the ash leaked into the ash pan. There it is, ready to go out to the trash man!
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This time I evenly pre-stretched the bag before installing it. That looks like it will work better.
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In other news; I have been working on my radiator install plan. I did a heat loss calculation on the living room, dinning room, kitchen area of the house using this calculator,
http://www.usboiler.net/heat-loss-calculator.html
I came up with 26,441 BTU at a 80 degree differential, -10 degrees.
29,600 BTU at a 90 degree differential, -20 degrees.
32,756 BTU at a 100 degree differential, -30 degrees.

Then I used the Columbia guide, http://www.columbiaheatingsupply.com/page_images/Sizing%20Cast%20Iron%20Radiator%20Heating%20Capacity%20Guide.pdf
to calculate what heat output I could expect from the radiators I intend to use.
I came up with 56,780 BTU at 180 degrees
30,060 BTU at 140 degrees.

So it looks like I should be able to run 140 or 150 degrees for a HI limit on the aquastat, as long as it doesn't go below -20 degrees outside. And if it does, I can just turn up the HI limit to compensate.

That's it for this week!

-Don

 
Olllotj
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Posts: 558
Joined: Thu. Sep. 04, 2014 10:01 am
Location: Western NY 14141
Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KB-8
Coal Size/Type: Buckwheat
Other Heating: Utica Propane Hot Water

Post by Olllotj » Sun. Aug. 21, 2016 8:30 pm

Interesting the many differentals used in the heat calc, as well as the lower high limit. :idea:

Lots of good info here to let soak in.

Thanks for sharing.
Last edited by Olllotj on Sun. Aug. 21, 2016 8:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Sun. Aug. 21, 2016 8:32 pm

Some day you need to feed that Van Wert some buck.


 
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StokerDon
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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. Aug. 21, 2016 9:01 pm

Rob R. wrote:Some day you need to feed that Van Wert some buck.
Not a bad idea! If we have a cold Winter, I may try some. I may need it, all these radiators I'm hook'in up to it could put a serious drag on the little boiler.

-Don

 
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StokerDon
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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. Aug. 28, 2016 7:16 pm

Meter reading today, 2305.3 - 2292.9 = 12.4 hours x 11.0 = 136.4 pounds for the past 7 days, 19.5 pounds per day.
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Gofer hole.
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The floor is pretty dry now. What will the toads do???
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Only one very small hole in the bag! It works!
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The bag is not very full so we will leave it in for another week.

-Don

 
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StokerDon
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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. Sep. 04, 2016 7:52 pm

Meter reading today, 2316.9 - 2305.3 = 11.6 hours x 11.0 = 127.6 pounds for the past 7 days, 18.2 pounds per day. That might be the lowest coal per day yet!
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I got another pan and bag ready.
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Did the swap.
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Still got a few small holes in the bag but none in the bottom.
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Pretty good! Just a tiny bit of ash in the pan!
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One thing I have noticed. This is not the cleanest way to get ash out of your house. Since the bag is in the boiler, it gets fly ash on it. When you pull the bag out of the pan, a good bit of ash dust goes into the air.

-Don

 
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StokerDon
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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. Sep. 11, 2016 8:54 pm

Meter reading today, 2330.2 - 2316.9 = 13.3 hours x 11.0 = 146.3 pounds for the past 7 days, 20.9 pounds per day.
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The Gofer hole is really big now.
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We will leave the ash pan/bag in there for another week.

I just picked up a VA-800 stoker and I got the ash diverter with it. As soon as I can figure out how to get it in the BairMatic without burning myself, it will go in. That will help keep the ash from hitting the side of the pan/bag.

-Don

 
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StokerDon
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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. Sep. 18, 2016 7:43 pm

Meter reading today, 2341.6 - 2330.2 = 11.4 hours x 11.0 = 125.4 pounds for the past 7 days, 17.9 pounds per day. I don't think I have ever broken into the 17's before!
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For some reason I ended up with a bunch of holes in the bag this time?
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I tried to put the VA-800 ash diverter in. The firebox in the BairMatic is a couple inched to narrow for it to fit. I guess I will have to make one.

-Don

 
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StokerDon
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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. Sep. 25, 2016 6:53 pm

Meter reading today, 2354.3 - 2341.6 = 12.7 hours x 11.0 = 139.7 pounds for the past 7 days, 19.9 pounds per day.
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I removed the two 3 column radiators from the system. I now have 5 radiators in place, ready for plumbing!
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-Don

 
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StokerDon
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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. 02, 2016 8:11 pm

Meter reading today, 2365.4 - 2354.3 = 11.1 hours x 11.0 = 122.1 pounds for the past 7 days, 17.44 pounds per day. That's a low one.
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Only a few tiny holes in the bag this time. I think I am done with the contractor bag experiment. It seems to work well enough if you can't dump your ash in your yard.
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The Gofer has been hard at work. That bin used to be full!
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This weekend I took apart some of the supply and return plumbing to install the headers that will connect to the radiators. The headers are 1.25" with .75" branches, 4 branches each, 2 headers for the supply and 2 for the return. So that gives us 8 supply and 8 return branches. These things are a little longer then I thought they would be. I had to use an elbow between each header to keep them away from the center beam of the house.
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The living room is on a separate zone. This will be controlled by the thermostat and a zone valve. The other radiators will be controlled by the TRV's.

An Extrol 90 is part of the plumbing plan, I hope it fits in there! I was trying to fit my Extrol 30 in there also, but I don't think I have enough room.

Next weekend I hope to finish this part and get the PEX run to a few of the radiators. Then I might be ready to make some heat. Hard to believe, here it is October and we have not even come close to needing any heat down here. Warm and humid, I'm think'in about turning the AC on again!

-Don

 
unhippy
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Post by unhippy » Mon. Oct. 03, 2016 12:59 am

StokerDon wrote:Hard to believe, here it is October and we have not even come close to needing any heat down here. Warm and humid, I'm think'in about turning the AC on again!

-Don
Ummm...you do realize what sort of winter you just ordered for yourself with that comment... :D


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