Anyone Having Out Fires
- BigFoot
- Member
- Posts: 137
- Joined: Tue. Dec. 22, 2009 3:41 pm
- Location: 102 Marchak Lane Greenfield PA
- Stoker Coal Boiler: AA130
- Coal Size/Type: PEA
I had two out fires in a week ,all seams gook with boiler,even cleaned the chimney ,got to go get some more charcoal and get her going again ! My fire is olny for hot water maybe my temp/setting and timer is to low and timer set to long to keep it going at summer time !
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- Site Moderator
- Posts: 11417
- Joined: Wed. Nov. 05, 2008 5:11 pm
- Location: Kent CT
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: V ermont Castings 2310, Franco Belge 262
- Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood Modern Oak 114
- Coal Size/Type: nut and pea
You should have a manometer to see exactly what your chimney draft is, which is most likely the cause of the problem. Using it to set temperature and timing for minimum draft I think is the best course.BigFoot wrote:I had two out fires in a week ,all seams gook with boiler,even cleaned the chimney ,got to go get some more charcoal and get her going again ! My fire is olny for hot water maybe my temp/setting and timer is to low and timer set to long to keep it going at summer time !
- mozz
- Member
- Posts: 1365
- Joined: Mon. Sep. 17, 2007 5:27 pm
- Location: Wayne county PA.
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 1982 AA-130 Steam
My AA130 was about 95% out a few weeks back when temps were in the 90's here for a week. I just happened to catch it and saved the fire. I had my baro weight set all the way to L which was from the winter and I usually move it over to H in the spring time to get a little more draft but forgot this year. My timer is set as low as it will go, maybe 30 seconds each half hour.
My DF520 usually goes out for a day or two when the temp is over 90 and the humidity is insufferable, so I expected a problem about a month ago during that hot spell. Well, the boiler went out at least three times since then. I adjusted the feed, the water temps, and the draft. I cleaned out the inside of the boiler and did a laundry list of other things. Right now, I have the water temps between 140 and 190 and the feed is at three clicks. The only other problem may be the coal----the ashes seem to be very heavy. If I can't maintain a fire now, I may trade in my Cadillac for a Pinto.
- Rob R.
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 18009
- Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
- Location: Chazy, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr
If you have an EFM 520 that experiences outfires, I recommend you reset everything to EFM's recommended settings and go from there. I have NEVER had an outfire using their recommended settings...but I have tried to outsmart the system a few times and experienced a few outfires.chlop wrote:My DF520 usually goes out for a day or two when the temp is over 90 and the humidity is insufferable, so I expected a problem about a month ago during that hot spell. Well, the boiler went out at least three times since then. I adjusted the feed, the water temps, and the draft. I cleaned out the inside of the boiler and did a laundry list of other things. Right now, I have the water temps between 140 and 190 and the feed is at three clicks. The only other problem may be the coal----the ashes seem to be very heavy. If I can't maintain a fire now, I may trade in my Cadillac for a Pinto.
Also, if you have poor draft, poor coal, or both...you will have problems with whatever coal burning appliance you are trying to use.
Baseline settings for a 520: 160 low, 200 high, 10 differential. 4 teeth feed, 4 air (or a touch more), 2 minutes every half hour on the timer. My boiler has been running all summer with those settings, trouble-free.