What Does a Stoker Mechanism Look Like?

Chris,

The only time I ever see smoke out of the chimney is on startup. There is very little smoke when the fire box is burning good. I can open the firebox door to remove clinkers without any smoke coming out.

Greg asked about ash removal and since I have not run long enough I went and asked Jim (he has been burning coal in a stoker for 20 years) and he said I don't have to worry about ash it all melts and fuses together into the clinkers.

Hi Harry, so instead of having an ashpan to empty, you remove clinkers from on top of the fire pot???

Greg L.

Thats correct. The ash melts into a ring around the fire pot. I have to remove ring about 8" dia 2" high 2-4 times a day.

Chris,
When my stocker is running good (meaning I have not disturbed the fire) I notice little to no smoke, just heat.

I have never had thick black smoke like you discribe.

Chris,
Here is a shot of my stack. See, no smoke.

Is the stack is the prefab one at the 'corner' of the two roof sections? I thought I could detect the faintest whiff of smoke, but on second look that was just a smudge on my screen....

That's really impressive. Looks like Combustioneer had bituminous burning nailed down really well. Too bad they quit making them.

Chris

There is some smoke. The stack is 304 Stainless, now it is black. I can not tell you why my stove burns clean, but it does.

The firebox limit is 200 degrees so that can't be it.

I would definitely expect SOME smoke from bituminous, and what you are experiencing would make burning it 'friendly' to the neighborhood, etc.

When we burned it in our hand fired furnace, I recall covering my Mom's freshly washed car in stringy soot particles, and I, of course, was the one who had washed it. I wasn't pleased.

And then, I could tell you about having to help Dad clean all that junk out of the chimney, all 40' of it. I looked like a coal mine exploded. It was not pretty.

Keep that stoker stoking!

Chris

Excellent pictures and descriptions!

iron fireman in my basement when we purchased our home.
do not know if it still works. reference pictures.
free for anyone who can dismantle & clean up after removal
location: Memphis,tn.901 272-7742 / email:[email protected]

Couple more I found on the internet, KA6 stoker

LsFarm wrote:More EFM stoker photos

Is that a Buick in the last photo?

LsFarm wrote:Here is the 'Cadilac' of under feed stokers. This is an EFM unit. It is desigined for anthracite. There are more air holes to feed the fire and the mechanism is adjustable to feed coal at ten different rates from 2.5 to 25# of coal per hour.

These units are still in production in EFM boilers.

This Stoker unit is a EFM S-15 Stoker Out a AF-150 Hot Air Furnace Not The S-20 out of a AP - 520 efm or a DF - 520
Also some of the Early Production AP-350 EFM used this stoker unit . With a differnt Mounting Plate a Flat Plate .
Not the Curve one like in the Photo. The curve Plate is on the Hot Air furnaces only. AF-100 AF 125 AF 150.
This stoker unit has a feed rate of 4 to 7 teeth Max 10 lbs Per Hr. to 17.5 lbs Per Hr. 100.000 to 150.000 BTUH Max
The S-20 Stoker unit has a feed Rate from 1 to 10 teeth 2.5 lbs per hr. to 25 lbs per hr.
To see the Photo's Look at the 4th & 5th Post in the begining of this thread .