CO alarm EFM 520

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Soupy6914
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Joined: Fri. Feb. 02, 2018 9:21 am
Location: Buffalo, Ny

Post by Soupy6914 » Tue. Mar. 13, 2018 10:44 am

So I got my EFM up and running a few days ago. All was going well until 4:30 this morning. I woke up to the sound of the CO alarm going of in basement. Went down to look it was right around 40 ppm had peaked around 152ppm. I checked the burner pot and the bed of coal was deep inside the pot and a real small lazy flame, I check the hopper barrel and it was pretty much empty. So I filled it back up turned the auger by hand to get more coal in the pot. 10 min later everything seemed to be back to normal. Including reading of 0 ppm. So I assume that because a ran low on fuel the flu gas could not maintain enough heat to rise and so I lost draft resulting in the CO.

I’m basically just looking for confirmation that you guys agree with me. I also am wondering what you do when you shutdown for the summer do you have the same problem when you let the fire go out. If you run all summer do you have a hard time with draft due to the warmer ambient air temps.

Thanks
Scott

 
fifthg
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Location: southern anthracite field,Schuylkill County,Pa.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: warm morning # 500
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Post by fifthg » Tue. Mar. 13, 2018 11:32 am

The CO was following a path of low resistance through,and due to,the empty worm tube.Had the hopper and tube stayed full,gasses would find it easier to go out the stack.
On the next question,you will have to wait for the answer based on your unique draft conditions.Time will tell.Likely to be a non-issue...If you have trouble,a draft-inducer will cure it.


 
Pacowy
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Location: Dalton, MA
Stoker Coal Boiler: H.B. Smith 350 Mills boiler/EFM 85R stoker
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Post by Pacowy » Tue. Mar. 13, 2018 11:33 am

If you let the coal get so low that it stops feeding the fire you can get the results you describe, none of which are good. In addition to CO in the house, you can damage the stoker by running the fire too low in the pot.

Until you have a good handle on how much coal you're using, you should check and top off the barrel at least once a day. Especially if you aren't using a 4-5' bin auger, you should have a tight cover on the barrel. In summer most users have no trouble holding the fire, except for those who cut the feed so low it doesn't maintain the draft. Keep coal in the barrel and set the air so the stoker has about a 2" ring of dead ash after a long burn - no hot coals going over the side, but no dead ash over the air holes.

Hope this helps.

Mike

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