EFM 700 question settings/coal type

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briankk
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Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 700

Post by briankk » Fri. Jan. 19, 2018 7:07 pm

I've had an efm 700 and have been using it for about 4-5 years. I had been burning a lighter coal that had produced a lot of ash and black soot. I recently (about a week ago) bought 4 ton (I burn about 12-15 ton a year (multi unit building). This new coal burns pretty hot ... and produces less ash. I turned the air down a bit because I heard too much heat can damage grates, but I cannot adjust the setting to lower than 5 clicks. Coal is still fusing together ... and actually there seem to be more of it fused together ... which makes me believe it's burning too hot. Ash ring is still around 2-3 inches.

For 4 years I had been burning Trevorton coal .. it is light, softer, and makes a lot of ash. The coal I'm burning now is Sherman coal .. very clean, large pieces of buck. I was told of an even better quality coal ... tamaqua ... and was thinking of using that ... but I'm told this coal is even better than the sherman coal ... and I'm worried the ash content will be TOO low ... and burn even hotter.

My question is: will coal that produces "too little" ash actually "burn" or "warp" the grates? This was suggested to me by my coal hauler ... but he's not readily familiar with EFM 700's. I really want to start using better quality coal ... but I also don't want to warp or burn my grates. Am I being too concerned? Is 5 clicks too much for deep vein coal with high BTU? Should I be concerned that there are "lumps" of fused ash? Air setting is right in the middle. Fire looks good, now burning very clean... but definitely hotter than it was with the dirty coal.

 
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Scottscoaled
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Post by Scottscoaled » Fri. Jan. 19, 2018 9:42 pm

Your burning lower ash coal actually makes no difference at all. The coal will still burn at 2500 degrees or more. Doesn't matter how much ash. Your grates are air cooled. The air blowing thru them cools them enough to handle the higher temperatures. You can increase your coal feed until the fire won't stay in the pot. Increase air as you increase feed. Increase air until your ash pans are light.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Sat. Jan. 20, 2018 7:13 am

Some coal will produce clumps of ash, as long as the clumps are not hard and don't pull burning coal out of the pot when the fall off, I would not worry about it. Go for the low ash coal, adjust the air to get the ash ring right, and enjoy handling less ash tubs.


 
briankk
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Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 700

Post by briankk » Sun. Jan. 21, 2018 1:12 pm

Thanks fella's ..... much appreciated.

 
Phil May
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Post by Phil May » Mon. Jan. 22, 2018 11:24 am

5 feed and 4.5 air is a good place to start tunning My 700 eats whatever I feed it with only little adjustment.

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