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Who makes a wood fired steam boiler?

delcrossv
delcrossv Member Posts: 2,177
edited April 28 in Biomass

Low pressure, small. Hand fired would be fine for the intended application.

Could a hand fired coal boiler be retrofit to burn logs?

Alternatively, are there drawings of something from the days of the dead men that could be replicated?

Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.

Comments

  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 17,878

    See the attached 90,000BTU

    delcrossv
  • delcrossv
    delcrossv Member Posts: 2,177

    Hot water, not steam. Can one change the trim on those? Doesn't look like it.

    Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.
  • delcrossv
    delcrossv Member Posts: 2,177

    Burnham? Wonder how small it is?

    17458028479463790446134393878113.jpg
    Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.
  • leonz
    leonz Member Posts: 1,543

    1. you can forget about a hand fired steam boiler being small.

    2. do not expect to burn whole unsplit wood or green unsplit firewood

    3. don't expect to build a hand fired steam boiler.

    A coal fired hand fed low pressure steam boiler does not have to be modified to burn firewood. The firewood just sits on the coal grates and burns.

    A coal fired low pressure stoker steam boiler is much more efficient for making steam than a hand fed wood fired steam boiler.

    Current EPA regulations prohibit continuous fired wood burning boilers.

    Decide what fuel you want to burn and whether you are near a coal source and then comeback to ask more questions.

  • leonz
    leonz Member Posts: 1,543

    The smallest Burnham Model 4N steam boiler is model 63.

    It is probably much larger than you need.

    There are very good American made small coal stoker boilers made in Pennsylvania that have either an incline fire grate; rolling fire grate or pot/tuyere stokers.

    delcrossv
  • delcrossv
    delcrossv Member Posts: 2,177
    edited April 28

    Sorry @leonz ,if coal were an option, I wouldn't be asking about wood.

    Small as in BTU. I'm aware firetube boilers aren't physically small.

    I don't think you're correct about EPA, as there are plenty of wood fired HW boilers

    Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.
  • hot_rod
    hot_rod Member Posts: 25,141

    Hurst builds them, probably not in the small size that you need.

    Bob "hot rod" Rohr
    trainer for Caleffi NA
    Living the hydronic dream
    delcrossv
  • delcrossv
    delcrossv Member Posts: 2,177

    WAAAYYY too big. If Royall does steam trim that'd be great. Else Burnham if nobody has another lead.

    Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.
  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Member Posts: 3,854
    edited April 29
    Coal Sidearm.JPG

    Coal (maybe wood) fired, sidearm water heater 🤠 No trim… probably very unsafe… but it's the right size. 😜

    Yours, Larry

    PC7060
  • EBEBRATT-Ed
    EBEBRATT-Ed Member Posts: 17,878

    Call Royall. If they can't do it they are in the business and know who there competition is.

    Could always find an old "😊Snowman in the scrap yard"

    delcrossv
  • delcrossv
    delcrossv Member Posts: 2,177
    Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.
  • leonz
    leonz Member Posts: 1,543
    edited April 29

    How many BTU do you want or need? How many square feet?

    According to the AHS folks the EPA phase 2 regulations these boilers are no longer sold by them for residential use.

    The AHS S130 and S260 can burn sub bituminous stoker coal from Montana and Wyoming. The S260 can make steam.

    Nothing short of the smallest Burnham 4N model 63 hand fed steam boiler with its square foot ratinmg of 790, the net steam MBH rating of 245, The BHP rating/boiler horse power of 7.3 and 253 pounds per hour of steam. The coal stoker for this unit is rated at 25 pounds per hour.

  • BrassFinger
    BrassFinger Member Posts: 12

    I inquired to Burnham about the 4N63 probably 15+ years ago. The price quoted back then was, ahem, eye opening. I can't imagine what it would be today. I was going to pair it with a Wil-Burt stoker and heat with my (somewhat) local Illinois coal when nat.gas. prices went thru the roof after Katrina. The 4N63 was too large anyway for my needs and the total cost was just unrealistic. I ended up refurbishing an old Iron Fireman stoker (ancestor of the Wil-Burt) and an EFM 350 boiler and set it upon a custom base to house the stoker under it. Ran it at the 10lb./hr setting, pumped the hot water 150' to the house from my shop thru the foamed pex and heated 2700 sq.ft. with a coil in the furnace. It worked fabulously well and with amazingly little smoke, soot or smell. The insulated shop was kept nice and warm by just the boiler sitting there.

  • leonz
    leonz Member Posts: 1,543

    Did that beautiful iron fireman stoker have the heavy cast ash cutting ring with the thick fingers in the casting that were rotated by the cam arm that was rotated by the gear that ran off the auger?

  • leonz
    leonz Member Posts: 1,543
    edited April 29

    I wish you had not mentioned steam in your post title as I would have had this information for you much sooner.

    The AHS wood gun comes in 8 models from 100,000 to 500,000 btu with induced draft firing and can burn unsplit chunks if that is what you want to do.

    The E100/100,000 BTU like the others has induced draft, a fire brick lined 2 pass burn chamber with a cyclone ash collector.

    www.alternateheatingsystems.com

  • delcrossv
    delcrossv Member Posts: 2,177

    Seems some of their models do come with steam trim. Thanks @leonz !

    Trying to squeeze the best out of a Weil-McLain JB-5 running a 1912 1 pipe system.
  • BrassFinger
    BrassFinger Member Posts: 12

    No, it was the standard conversion stoker style where the firepot was meant to be surrounded by refractory cement about 1" below the top edge. The ash is allowed to accumulate until it fuses into a clinker so it can be removed in a chunk rather than shoveled.

  • leonz
    leonz Member Posts: 1,543

    The All Canadian Coal Fired Heaters are real pot stoker animals and make a lot of heat.

    delcrossv
  • leonz
    leonz Member Posts: 1,543

    Have you looked any further into the AHS hand fed steam boilers???