EFM 520...How Long???

MATTHEW D. · Post by **MATTHEW D.** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 8:38 am

freetown fred wrote:Nice fix up on that one MD. Yeah, it seems that professional pride got misplaced somewhere along the line. Good to see some (YOU) still practice it Ya run a nice bead dude
MATTHEW D. wrote: On that note of yearly inspections, this is major problem I come across. Look at it this way, I can take my truck to a mechanic for the yearly inspection and he said I checked everything and its all looking good..not problems. Even though it makes funny sounds and sputters....the mechanic said its fine and thats the way it should run. So I drive away backfiring smoke filling up the street. I accept the fack that this is the way it should run...my buddy the mechanic said so. This same scenario has been happening with people coal stoker for the last 30 years. They accept what they are told and never get a second opinion. I call it a LOST TRADE, working on coal stokers. Probably can be said for a lot of trades today. There are more people on this web site that know more about coal stoker than the so call professional driving around the coal region. Their egos are to big to admit the don't know coal(the so call professionals). I tell every person who burns coal, Ask your service person one question......do you burn coal in you home. If he doesn't.... get a second opinion from someone who does burn coal

Thanks Fred on the welding.....but I have to give credit to Oaks Welding from Minersville. I like working with him because his does one thing..he welds...and takes pride in his work

whistlenut · Post by **whistlenut** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 8:56 am

Matt. do you ever add the extension flange with the repairs? That makes it a REALLY nice repair that will never be a problem again. I do understand that the old tankless is not compatible, so that adds more $$$ to the upgrade. We do the extension flange on ALL the AA's we rebuild......and only wish they did that at the factory way back when...... As you know the new EFM's and AA's come standard with the extension.
Kudos to your welder, terrific preparation and execution. He IS a craftsman! Sooooo many boilers, sooooo little time! You provide a great service for your customers, and your 'part-time' business will keep expanding as the word spreads.
Not only do you allow folks to keep a familiar friend in the basement, you improve the life expectancy of a quality heating unit, before they 'junk' it in favor of a 99.73% efficient gas unit.......and get hammered for 12 grand for the 'privilege'!

They can't see the forest, the damned trees are always in the way!!!!!!!

Post by **Rob R.** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 8:59 am

whistlenut wrote:That makes it a REALLY nice repair that will never be a problem again.

Yes indeed, the extended mount is slick...that's why I had one welded on my '81 520. Only thing to be aware of when retrofitting this mount on an older boiler is the proximety to the aquastat well. If you use a remote mounting kit for the aquastat, or an extended well, it isn't a problem.

stovepipemike · Post by **stovepipemike** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 9:49 am

stovepipemike wrote:
Matthew,I know for certain that the boiler has been leaking since Hector was a pup.I'm certain about that. Good Luck with the repair,you are doing those folks more of a service than they know. Mike
Matt ,To answer your question about who was Hector was is an easy one. Hector was a medium sized mutt style dog that my father- in- law brought home when he was a pup in the midst of the Great Depression.As the story goes Hector would not cross or be near any outside cellar door.Apparently he was hanging around shops looking for a handout and got kicked down open steps and badly hurt. Thats when Pop got him and nursed him back.Hector the pup bonded with my father -in- law who was a kid himself.Hector could climb a round rung ladder,put out cigarettes,and play games with the kids.Hector was very protective of the family and apparently really had it "in" for the mailman.The problem was that outside the family commands meant absolutely nothing to Hector because he only spoke German.Hector was legend in the family and his story goes on yet today. Mike

MATTHEW D. · Post by **MATTHEW D.** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 1:57 pm

Nice job with the extension Rob. Like whistlenut said, it add extra $$ to the job. Most of these jobs start like this......I get a call for a stoker cleaning....they ask how much....I say $60/hour, its a good 2hours to do a good job and inspect everything.....they reply... well thats crazy for a stoker cleaning, my guy is a lot cheaper.....well how's that guy working for ya....there's a reason why you called me.....Make a long story short I have to convince these people for about $120.00 you won't regret the service.......So what I'm saying is adding any bells or whistles to the back of the boiler is out of the question. Most of these jobs people are expecting a cleaning and end up major repairs. If the back of the boiler looks like this, there is a good chance so do the grates, coal pipe, etc. I feel like I'm becoming the bearer of bad news. But then these same people that questioned my $120 cleaning say fix everything I have the money. I don't know

Flyer5 · Post by **Flyer5** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 3:03 pm

MATTHEW D. wrote:Nice job with the extension Rob. Like whistlenut said, it add extra $$ to the job. Most of these jobs start like this......I get a call for a stoker cleaning....they ask how much....I say $60/hour, its a good 2hours to do a good job and inspect everything.....they reply... well thats crazy for a stoker cleaning, my guy is a lot cheaper.....well how's that guy working for ya....there's a reason why you called me.....Make a long story short I have to convince these people for about $120.00 you won't regret the service.......So what I'm saying is adding any bells or whistles to the back of the boiler is out of the question. Most of these jobs people are expecting a cleaning and end up major repairs. If the back of the boiler looks like this, there is a good chance so do the grates, coal pipe, etc. I feel like I'm becoming the bearer of bad news. But then these same people that questioned my $120 cleaning say fix everything I have the money. I don't know

When I had my service station I had a woman bring her car in. It would die randomly and not restart for a while then would be good for weeks then do it again. All the obvious things were changed, module, computer etc.. Long story short I found the issue I probably had 30 hrs total but charged her for 10 it was something stupid at a connector up under the dash. I found it by driving everywhere with my breakout box hooked up and other tools. I died right in the middle of a bridge of coarse didn't want to move it so I did my trouble shooting right there. Found it and could repeat it so I knew it was good. No parts.
Well I gave her the bill and she was mad because of the price at first and said her uncle only charges $40 for troubleshooting. I asked why she didn't take it to him, she said she did and he couldn't fix it and it was like a light bulb went off in her head. But he did replace $800 in parts. She was a customer of mine for years after.

MATTHEW D. · Post by **MATTHEW D.** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 3:21 pm

Good story.......i guess its the same story in every business.........

Wiz · Post by **Wiz** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 6:29 pm

I tell every person who burns coal, Ask your service person one question......do you burn coal in you home. If he doesn't.... get a second opinion from someone who does burn coal

Very good advice Matt. it's best to get second opinions. Just surprised that people can be so gullible on the obvious problems. Didn't leak when it was new so why in the heck is it ok now

rubicondave33 · Post by **rubicondave33** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 8:35 pm

Too bad you're 200 miles from here, that's the kind of work I like to see!

I'm afraid I'm going to have a problem like that on mine...

Post by **Rob R.** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 8:36 pm

rubicondave33 wrote:Too bad you're 200 miles from here, that's the kind of work I like to see! I'm afraid I'm going to have a problem like that on mine...

Does the tankless coil gasket leak?

SteveZee · Post by **SteveZee** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 8:57 pm

Beautiful job!

rubicondave33 · Post by **rubicondave33** » Thu. Nov. 29, 2012 9:00 pm

Rob R. wrote:
rubicondave33 wrote:Too bad you're 200 miles from here, that's the kind of work I like to see! I'm afraid I'm going to have a problem like that on mine...
Does the tankless coil gasket leak?

I see some rust on the jacket... I run year round though and am hopeful the constant heating is helping to prevent any major leaks, not sure though.

Dennis · Post by **Dennis** » Fri. Nov. 30, 2012 7:55 pm

rubicondave33 wrote:
Rob R. wrote: Does the tankless coil gasket leak?
I see some rust on the jacket... I run year round though and am hopeful the constant heating is helping to prevent any major leaks, not sure though.

During your summer shut down and clean out investigate more thoroughly.It would be better to visit Matt at the hotel/bar instead of a costly repair bill.

oilman · Post by **oilman** » Sat. Dec. 01, 2012 12:01 am

[quote="Rob R."]This issue isn't isolated to coal boilers. There are plenty of oil boilers with leaky tankless coil gaskets as well. Usually if it becomes bad enough the service guy will suggest a new boiler rather than any kind of repair. I think it is part of a general trend towards throw-away equipment and unskilled repairmen.

You can say that again. Or twice actually.

CoalHeat · Post by **CoalHeat** » Sat. Dec. 01, 2012 10:05 pm

Nice! Thanks for posting the photos.