Soon to be EFM 520 owner
Bought a round door 520 from a co-worker...I was looking a the manual for the DF520 and they recommend the use of both of the return tappings...is this the same for the unit I'll be picking up?...is it absolutely necessary to run into both?...thanks for all the info...I'm sure I'll have many more questions.
Mike
Mike
- coaledsweat
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 13763
- Joined: Fri. Oct. 27, 2006 2:05 pm
- Location: Guilford, Connecticut
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 260M
- Coal Size/Type: Pea
Not necessary but it keeps the belly cleaner and evens out the flow.
- CoalJockey
- Verified Business Rep.
- Posts: 1324
- Joined: Sun. Mar. 09, 2008 11:18 am
- Location: Loysburg, PA
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Several EFM 520 refurbs...one 900, one 1300 mega-stoker
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: (2) Warm Morning Stoves
Congratulations on the new addition to the family. You will be well pleased, the EFM units are built like a tank and will provide many more years of steady heat with a few new parts. Any questions, fire away. We are coming into the slow time of the year for traffic here on the coal board but die hards and hard heads such as myself will still check in often.
Will be excited to see the photos
Will be excited to see the photos
- 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
Congratulations on your fun new toy!
It depends on how old it is. Somewhere around 1960-1962 EFM switched the 520 from fire tubes to wet plates. The plate boilers are pretty much the same except when they added the DF option. This is when they switched to the large square door.
It is if you want to get the most out of your new boiler. The real question is, why would you NOT want to run both?
If you only use one return port you will likely end up having one hot side and one cool side on the boiler, that's not good. Running into both returns will equalize side to side boiler temps and a bypass will equalize top to bottom temps. If you hook it up like the manual says, you can't go wrong.
-Don
Lots of info to digest...lol....I bought it sight unseen...I know..bad decision but the guy that bought it was as picky as myself..and I found it for him..but he can't use it at this point so he figured he'd let it go to me..it was under pressure when he picked it up so I know that will be ok..
- franpipeman
- Member
- Posts: 689
- Joined: Fri. Jan. 11, 2008 4:27 pm
- Location: Wernersville pa
- Stoker Coal Boiler: efm 520 stoker fitzgibbons pressure vessel
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: harman, russo
- Coal Size/Type: rice
- Other Heating: alpine propane condensing boiler radiant floor
both return maximizes your surface area heat exchange. .
- Rob R.
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 17981
- Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
- Location: Chazy, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr
Using both returns is preferred, but if you are only going to put a moderate load on the boiler and run it on 4-5 teeth I would not loose sleep over it. Some guys pipe an equalizer between the supply header and one of the return ports, and I've seen others pipe up a separate loop for a plate heat exchanger (for DHW).
Check out this old thread, it has some good discussion about return piping:
Piping the Returns on an EFM
Check out this old thread, it has some good discussion about return piping:
Piping the Returns on an EFM
lol...that's almost a loaded question....house is well insulated 1300sqft ranch with full finished basement below grade...boiler will be in insulated furnace room attached to 30x30 insulated pole barn with radiant in floor heat...heat pumped 130 feet to house...my wood boiler does the job..it is a royal 5260....(I think)...with supposed 150k btu rating....only switching because I'm getting tired of staying up till 11 to make sure I got fire when I wake up for work in the morning when it gets into the single digits...other than that...my pole barn needs more insulation in the ceilings before hooking it into boiler I could easily get 12-13 hr burn times....
- 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
Is that a "HighBoy"?
Looks pretty Sweet, WOW!
Looks pretty Sweet, WOW!
- Rob R.
- Site Moderator
- Posts: 17981
- Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
- Location: Chazy, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr
No, it is not. Highboy's have the domestic coil mounted in the front of the boiler, and an extension on the base for the ash door.
I agree that the exterior looks sharp. If the heat exchanger and stoker look the same way, it is a very nice unit.
Well...I have to take it apart in order to get it through my man door into the furnace room...soooo....I just hope there aren't any surprises...I did also extra pot sections for spares. The mechanics work nice and smooth...the guy had a plug on the end to show everything works as it should. I just couldn't pass it up for $1900....
Working on tearing it apart to make sure everything is as it should be.... domestic coil had a couple burst points ....cleaned n soldered and it should be good to go...no onto the fire pot.....the ring that keeps the sections in place where the lower gasket goes...is this something special or..... because mine was disinterested....help would be appreciated....
Mike
Mike
- nepacoal
- Member
- Posts: 1696
- Joined: Wed. Nov. 21, 2012 7:49 am
- Location: Coal Country
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4 / "Kelly" and an EFM 520 at my in-laws
- Hand Fed Coal Boiler: Harman SF-260 - retired
- Coal Size/Type: Buck
Mark's Supply in Shenandoah, PA. Great guys that should have everything you need.
They have a website, but you have to call to order.
http://www.markssupply.com/
Contact Information
Mark’s Supply
230 S. Main Street
Shenandoah, PA 17976
Call us at
570-462-0748
They have a website, but you have to call to order.
http://www.markssupply.com/
Contact Information
Mark’s Supply
230 S. Main Street
Shenandoah, PA 17976
Call us at
570-462-0748