EFM 520 Install With Skid/Bulk Bags Feed

stoker-man wrote:Here is what can happen if your air and feed ratio are off too much:

Pictures of a Burned Pipe and Worm Due to Improper Feed/Air

When the stoker has been running hard for 30 minutes or more, look for a small dark spot in the center of the pot. It can range from black unburned coal or a black/red spot in the center. The ash ring should also be about 1 1/2" to 2" wide around the ring at this time. That would be considered ideal.

Yea Aluminum tube suck I use S.S. I have been burning this unit for 2.5 years 24/7 365. The auger tube is cool to the touch .

My farther burned his 350 for 30 years on buck neaver had to replace pot tubes as well as all my aunts & grandparents in their 520's for over 45 years .

Like I said not all coal is the same you need to set it up for what works for the coal your using some coal need more air to burn other's need less. Maybe if you had some experience on burning more then one size coal and more then one brand of coal you might know this & b.t.w I am still on the first shear pin that was put in three yares ago and I burn Buckwheat Must be doing something right and all the other parts look like the day they put in NEW.

Well, "Cindy Ashley" will call my cell phone if she is "feeling hot".

Cindy Ashley what my wife named the boiler last year when I spent so much time in the cellar putting it in. We have a temperature sensor on the auger that will call through the autodialer if it exceeds setpoint.

I look forward to the call, it will make my wife more jealous!

I finally got a chance to read this entire post. What a great job of
installation and storage system. Neat, clean and to the point.
Nice looking house too.

TSB

Thanks.

Someone asked me why I used two 2" x 8" s along with the 2" x 4"'s for the skid cross pieces. I used 2" x 8" s for each end in case I needed some kind of corner post system above the skid later.

Now that I have seen there is no need for corner posts above the skid to help hold the bag open while filling, etc, they are not needed.

You could either use all 2" x 4"'s for the cross pieces or use the two 2" x 6' s for the center, screwing the angle irons for the slide gates to the side of them instead of to the sides of the 2" x 4"s. As most of the weight is centered, this would give it added strength.

On a side note, the 1" x 14" tunnels created above the slide gates have an added unanticipated function. To dry the coal out, leave the bag top skirt open and air flows into the side tunnels and up through the bag. Once the coal drys out, tie the bag top skirt closed and you have a dust free feed system.

Thanks for the question.

Attached is a parts list for the skid-bulk bag feed, both in this post as well as an easier to read xls format attachment.

The parts for the skid is per skid. If you want an entire 4 ton truckload of coal, you would want to build 5 skids. This would allow you to leave one on the auger box still feeding the boiler while the others were being filled.

Again, the bags are 35 in x 35 in x 51 in high, full open top with skirt and either a spout bottom or no opening bottom. You are going to cut off the bottom spout anyway.

The list is for pressure treated for all boards that come in contact with the wet coal (or you could do all PT). I would use the 2 in x 8 in PT for center cross supports that the two angle irons for the slide gates are screwed into, and deck the rest of the cross supports with the 4 2 in x 4 in.

Have Home Depot cut the plywood to size on their panel saw. It's free and saves you time. Have the steel supplier cut the plate steel to size as well.

Again, for assembly details refer to the beginning of the thread under pictures with descriptions. When you get into flickr, scroll down to see text descriptions below the pictures. Again, the flickr pictures are of the 1st skid assembly. The newer skids have the double side rail supports with laminated plywood in between, magic slider gate supports and a larger rectangular hole for the coal.

The parts list includes brackets to make the "temporary" auger tube support. You don't have to make this, as the auger box will hold up the end of the auger pipe. However, it is nice to keep the auger tube from moving should you accidently oversize your auger box hole. The end of the auger screw tip is roughly 4" off the floor.

Anyone interested in seeing our setup first hand can contact me.

Quantity Item Where used Supplier
Items for Boiler, auger box
21 3” x 6” x 1-7/8” cement bricks Under boiler perimeter and center Home Depot
2 9-1/4” x 16” x 3/16” thick steel plates Auger box side plates Steel Supplier
2 2” x 10” x 13” PT wood Auger box ends Home Depot
4 7” Steel shelf brackets Auger box end supports Home Depot
2 4” x 4” x 48” PT wood Guide rails Home Depot
4 3” x 3” Right angle steel brackets Auger tube temporary supports Home Depot
4 3” x 3” Right angle steel brackets Guide rail end screw downs Home Depot
1 3” x 3” Right angle steel brackets Skid stop Home Depot
5 1/4” x 3/4” bolts Auger tube temporary supports Home Depot
5 1/4” nuts Auger tube temporary supports Home Depot
1 2-1/2” two hole strap Auger tube temporary supports Home Depot
1 can Boiler putty To seal around auger hole EFM
15 Concrete screws Fasten brackets to floor Home Depot
1 Pallet jack , 26-3/4” f to f outside, 14-1/4” inside Minimum 2,500 lb rating used?

Each Skid Requires;
2 4” x 6” x 48” PT wood Lift rails Home Depot
4 2” x 10” x 48” Support rails Home Depot
2 9-1/8” x 48” x 1/2” plywood Support rail laminate Home Depot
2 tubes Loctite PL Premium construction adhesive Support rail laminate Home Depot
2 2” x 8” x 48” PT Center cross rails (to screw L iron to) Home Depot
4 2” x 4” x 48” Cross rails Home Depot
2 1-1/4” x 1-1/4”” x 48” steel angles Slide gate supports Home Depot
2 14” x 24” x 3/16” thick steel plates Slide discharge gates Steel Supplier
2 1” dia “Magic Sliders” Gate leading edge lift rail support Home Depot
1 48” x 48” x 3/4” thick PT plywood, w/14” x 15” hole Skid top Home Depot
1 24” x 24” x 1/2” thick PT plywood, w/15” x 16” hole To screw bag to skid top Home Depot
1 35” x 35” x 51” bulk bag, w/ full open skirt top Bag U line or King Bag
8 5” nails to attach first layer support rail to lift rail Home Depot
1 lb #8 x 1-5/8” Deckmate screws Assembly Home Depot
2 lbs #9 x 3” Deckmate screws Assembly Home Depot
2 1/4” x 1-1/2” bolt Slide discharge gate handle Home Depot
4 1/4” nuts Slide discharge gate handle Home Depot

Attached is a plan view boiler - skid layout sketch showing space required for the skid setup. It is shown with the auger on the right side of the boiler. The auger can come out of the left side as well on an EFM.

Use the following link for a video on the EFM 520 boiler system;

I saw Vermont Days setup and changed out a skid for him . It took about 4 minutes total to put another months worth of coal in place. He pays his daughter to take out the ashes so it is maintainance free for him. Any problems the cell phone calls. Best setup I've seen.

I completely agree that he has a great system!

And, whether or not you have a boiler with an auger or EFM's AF series hot-air furnace with auger, this method would be ideal for either.

I have noticed on the you tube of this exceptional installation a sensor , that appears to be a aquatstat type device , on the coal pipe auger tube. Is this being used as a device to determine wether the coal tube has ignited coal and is wired to cease all operations as a safety logic?

i have found my answer on the previous posts already. wow .

If anyone is still interested in a no monthly fee autodialer, the updated version of what was mentioned earlier in this post is called a SENSAPHONE. It's made in PA near philadelphia. You can order from Amazon or from the company directly. My parents had one for their vacation home back in the 80's. I have a new one that works great! Has all kinds of sensors.

The autodialer can call up to three phone numbers. It will keep calling until one of them call back to acknowledge the alarm.

As it will call on a high sound level, I mounted a CO monitor and smoke detector within a foot of it. When you call it back it allows you to listen to what is going on. See attached pictures.

I have tested it by holding the boiler door open long enough for the smoke detector to trigger. The autodialer promptly called my cell phone.

The next project is to install a Logo programmable relay to replace the outfire timer. Instead of running the stoker a few minutes every hour regardless of how many times it already ran during the hour, it will reset to start timing up again anytime the stoker comes on before the hour timer times out. This is outfire plan A, plan B is to wire the thermocouple I have monitoring the bottom of the burn pot temperature to a controller to pull on a dump zone heat valve if the pot temperature goes lower than 225 F.

Mounting a micro switch on the fines pull lever would allow the Logo programmable relay to call me if my daughter forgets to pull the fines lever or by association, forgets to take out the ashes that day.

The Logo can also be programmed to display daily stoker run times, which when compared to heating degree days could show efficiency.

It can also be programmed to pulse on heat to heavy loads such as large cast iron radiator zones so they don't drag down the boiler temperature or overshoot on room temperature.

But the problem with these next projects is there is no motivation to implement them. They are all wouldn't it be nice, as the boiler and my daughter have performed their jobs flawlessly as is.