Strong sulfur smell - why?

Post Reply
 
mof1964
Member
Posts: 256
Joined: Sun. Dec. 28, 2008 4:24 pm
Location: Denver Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Coal Chubby

Post by mof1964 » Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 1:03 pm

Good afternoon all,
the past couple days we have been occasionally smelling a strong sulfur smell in the house. Today i came home at lunch and it was really strong. Went down to the boiler and looked in the bin( 55 gallon drum) lifted the blanket off and looked in and it smelled stronger and it looked hazy in the barrel.

The barrel was about half full. I filled the barrel to the top and put the blanket back over and have gone upstairs. It seems to smell less to me.

what could be goiing on here? Also, we are burning more rice coal this year than we ever had. Always had loose buckwheat in the past but have more bagged rice this year.

Mitch

 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17979
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 1:15 pm

Likely a symptom of poor draft or blockage in the auger vent holes. Time to shut down and give everything a good cleaning and a look over. Clean the flue pipe, etc.

 
User avatar
kcarr
Member
Posts: 106
Joined: Mon. Feb. 21, 2011 10:52 am
Location: Quakertown, PA
Stoker Coal Boiler: Van Wert VA-600 Custom & Probably the only guy in America with my Stoker Boiler in my Den.
Coal Size/Type: Rice
Other Heating: Oil as back up, mostly used for summer domestic hot water

Post by kcarr » Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 1:28 pm

Mitch,
Keep that coal supply barrell full and lid on... I think I heard EFM's are sometimes vulnerable to some coal gas back feed through the worm pipe.
Check integrity of your smoke pipe, when was the last time you
cleaned out the fly ash? Hope you do not have
any critters stuck in top of chimney. In these last few days outdoor temps have been
warmer and thus less chimney draft. Make sure your CO detectors
are working and maybe a good idea to keep basement window cracked open.
Ken

 
User avatar
Scottscoaled
Member
Posts: 2812
Joined: Tue. Jan. 08, 2008 9:51 pm
Location: Malta N.Y.
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520, 700, Van Wert 800 GJ 61,53
Baseburners & Antiques: Magic Stewart 16, times 2!
Coal Size/Type: Lots of buck
Other Heating: Slant Fin electric boiler backup

Post by Scottscoaled » Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 2:53 pm

Are you using more auger length than just a pot auger?

 
mof1964
Member
Posts: 256
Joined: Sun. Dec. 28, 2008 4:24 pm
Location: Denver Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Coal Chubby

Post by mof1964 » Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 5:34 pm

Just got home from work and the upstairs living area smells much better. Basement still has a bit of the odor.
I have not done a clean out of the unit since before firing it up in November.
Draft has never been an issue in the past or only cleaning after the season is over.

CO detectors all read 0 - one in the room with the stoker, kitchen on main floor and the upstairs by the stairs betweenn the bedrooms.
I am running the long auger setup.
Auger vent holes Rob? the ones in the pipe?


 
User avatar
Rob R.
Site Moderator
Posts: 17979
Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
Location: Chazy, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr

Post by Rob R. » Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 5:43 pm

Yes, but I would check all the easy stuff first.

Make sure you don't have a big piece of coal or a piece of wood down by the mouth of the auger - it can obstruct the feed and prevent the auger from filling with coal the way it is supposed to.

 
mof1964
Member
Posts: 256
Joined: Sun. Dec. 28, 2008 4:24 pm
Location: Denver Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Coal Chubby

Post by mof1964 » Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 6:50 pm

If there was a piece of wood in the way of the auger would it change the way the fire looks in the pot due to not feeding properly? Would the smell go away if the barrel is filled?

If i have to take things apart and inspect i will but hope to avoid that.

 
User avatar
freetown fred
Member
Posts: 30293
Joined: Thu. Dec. 31, 2009 12:33 pm
Location: Freetown,NY 13803
Hand Fed Coal Stove: HITZER 50-93
Coal Size/Type: BLASCHAK Nut

Post by freetown fred » Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 7:22 pm

Not an EFM genius but--I'm thinkin YES & YES!! :)

 
User avatar
oliver power
Member
Posts: 2970
Joined: Sun. Apr. 16, 2006 9:28 am
Location: Near Dansville, NY
Stoker Coal Boiler: KEYSTOKER Kaa-2
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Hitzer 50-93 & 30-95, Vigilant (pre-2310), D.S. 1600 Circulator, Hitzer 254

Post by oliver power » Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 10:11 pm

If it were my KEYSTOKER boiler......... I'd start by checking pipes are clean. With the warmer outside temps, I'd up the size of my idle fire a little (more heat = stronger draft). Also, a little less combustion air. And keep the hopper full. Those are the things I have done to remedy any sulfur smell I had in the past.

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Tue. Apr. 03, 2018 7:13 pm

mof1964 wrote:
Mon. Apr. 02, 2018 6:50 pm
If there was a piece of wood in the way of the auger would it change the way the fire looks in the pot due to not feeding properly? Would the smell go away if the barrel is filled?
If something was blocking the end of the auger it would reduce the feed rate. So, yes the fire would look different. It would also reduce the amount of coal in the auger pipe, this makes it easy for combustion gas to come out into the barrel. When that happens, filling the barrel won't help much. The auger pipe has to stay full to block the combustion gas.

-Don


 
mof1964
Member
Posts: 256
Joined: Sun. Dec. 28, 2008 4:24 pm
Location: Denver Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Coal Chubby

Post by mof1964 » Fri. Apr. 06, 2018 11:50 am

So after Monday's post and me filling the barrel we have not smelled the sulfur smell till mid morning today. I went into the basement and the fire in the pot looks normal and just shy of half a barrel was consumed since Monday so it wouldn't appear that between the coal consumption and the normal looking fire that those 2 things are not issues?

I filled the barrel and put the blanket back over the barrel. I did turn the air up slightly to see if that helps.

 
User avatar
StokerDon
Site Moderator
Posts: 7486
Joined: Mon. Nov. 11, 2013 11:17 am
Location: PA, Southern York County!
Stoker Coal Boiler: Gentleman Janitor GJ-5, Van Wert VA-600, Axeman Anderson130 X3.
Hand Fed Coal Furnace: Harman SF3500 reduced down to 3 grates connected to its own plenum
Coal Size/Type: Rice, Chestnut and whatever will fit through the door on the Harman
Other Heating: Noth'in but COAL! Well, Maybe a little tiny bit of wood

Post by StokerDon » Fri. Apr. 06, 2018 6:38 pm

How far down can you run the barrel before you start getting the smell?

-DOn

 
User avatar
McGiever
Member
Posts: 10130
Joined: Sun. May. 02, 2010 11:26 pm
Location: Junction of PA-OH-WV
Stoker Coal Boiler: AXEMAN-ANDERSON 130 "1959"
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: BUCKET A DAY water heater
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Warm Morning 414A
Coal Size/Type: PEA,NUT,STOVE /ANTHRACITE
Other Heating: Ground Source Heat Pump and some Solar

Post by McGiever » Fri. Apr. 06, 2018 11:49 pm

Food for Thought ;)

If you ever seen a Combustioneer Bituminous Under Fed Stoker Air Furnace you would notice a 3/8" or 1/2" plastic tube routed from blower box back into the covered hopper compartment.
That is their solution, to just have the contained hopper under some positive pressure anytime the fan runs.
I suppose it even helps some having that tube even when it is at idle too.

 
mof1964
Member
Posts: 256
Joined: Sun. Dec. 28, 2008 4:24 pm
Location: Denver Pa
Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Coal Chubby

Post by mof1964 » Sat. Apr. 07, 2018 2:34 pm

I can run the barrel down about half way till we start to smell the sulfur smell.

Post Reply

Return to “Stoker Coal Boilers Using Anthracite (Hydronic & Steam)”