Another efm 520 family member

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Canaan coal man
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Post by Canaan coal man » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 9:44 am

So my journey in the last 7 years has brought me from rice stoker, to hand fed antique and now I’m going to set my house up with an efm df 520. I bought this unit from a member in ny. Picked it up Saturday and with the help of a few friends got it all down in the basement. I’m going to need some guidance in the install and bounce some ideas off more experienced members. I do have a plumber buddy that will be helping me with the install as well. My plans are to remove my old boiler and install this unit. I want to install the oil gun as well for when we need to go away for the weekend.
I’m going to probably put the install off till spring of 2020 so I can get all the parts I need together.
I know for a fact I need to track down a domestic coil for the boiler not sure if I’m gonna do 5gpm or 7 gpm and the oil gun plate with safety switch.
This unit has digital timer and aqua stats but I may need a low water cut off ??
I’ll post some pics tonight.
I look forward to this nice little project.


 
coaledfeat
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Post by coaledfeat » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 9:57 am

Good choice CCM, Now to use a barrel or bin auger? where to get rice? Use oil gun on 520 or tie into existing unit? Lots of help here on the site for EFM owners! Measure twice!!!! Good luck.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 10:40 am

You should be able to locate a complete oil package from someone. The prices for new parts are scary, so try to find as much as you can second hand. The installation doesn't take long if you focus on it.

 
CapeCoaler
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Post by CapeCoaler » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 11:13 am

Oil for the Weekend?...
Should an ash bin not fill in 3 days?...

 
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Canaan coal man
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Efm 520
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Coal Size/Type: Stove And Nut

Post by Canaan coal man » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 11:21 am

CapeCoaler wrote:
Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 11:13 am
Oil for the Weekend?...
Should an ash bin not fill in 3 days?...
I want a dedicated backup plan Incase we’re away or I’m un able to feed the unit. While my wife is fully capable of pooring a bag or so of coal and swapping ash pans, I want her to be able flip the oil gun door/switch and turn on the oil gun in case we ever need to.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 11:30 am

Something else to keep in mind, if your heat load is not huge and you have adequate electric service, an electric boiler can be a great alternative to the oil package. Automatic backup and no flue requirement are nice perks, plus you can lose the oil tank.

 
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Canaan coal man
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Post by Canaan coal man » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 12:05 pm

Rob R. wrote:
Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 11:30 am
Something else to keep in mind, if your heat load is not huge and you have adequate electric service, an electric boiler can be a great alternative to the oil package. Automatic backup and no flue requirement are nice perks, plus you can lose the oil tank.
Yes but I would assume there would be a large cost in that? With not much pay back as a secondary unit?


 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 12:51 pm

About the same cost as a new oil kit. Cost to run is not an issue for an occasional weekend.

 
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Canaan coal man
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Post by Canaan coal man » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 1:44 pm

Rob R. wrote:
Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 12:51 pm
About the same cost as a new oil kit. Cost to run is not an issue for an occasional weekend.
I thought electric boiler was like 4500$?

Maybe I’m confused On what I need to run an oil gun on a df 520 boiler. I assume I had to get a factory flange with the safety door then wire in my old oil gun? If I’m missing something please let me know. I’m new to efms.
If anyone can clue me on to a parts list I’ll need for the proper oil gun instillation and operation. That would give me a list of stuff to start collecting.
I have a becket gun I’ll get the model # tonight I may need to swap nozzles to acomidate for the efm.
I have one 8” x8” flue this is kinda why I would like to have an complete working oil system on my 520 and run one boiler.
Yes the electric boiler is a grate plan for me as I am handicapped with one flue. But I would have a hard time spending money one a “backup unit”. When I can run my efm with 2 fuel sources.

My current boiler is a 1956 American standerd severn. It’s a tank. And while in working condition, I have know Idea how long it will last.

 
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coaledsweat
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Post by coaledsweat » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 2:25 pm

It will probably last longer than you will. Leave it there, problem solved and you have 100% backup. Not an iffy changeover on a dual fuel.

 
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Canaan coal man
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Coal Size/Type: Stove And Nut

Post by Canaan coal man » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 2:39 pm

coaledsweat wrote:
Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 2:25 pm
It will probably last longer than you will. Leave it there, problem solved and you have 100% backup. Not an iffy changeover on a dual fuel.
One flue is my problem with having 2 boilers.

 
lzaharis
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Post by lzaharis » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 3:06 pm

I can tell you from personal experience that you will want to leave the existing boiler in place and leave the oil/gas burner port cover in place on the coal stoker.
A smaller external shell and tube heat exchanger is much easier to deal with too. Mine lasted until I had the handfed ripped out.

My "brand new" standard equipment hot water domestic coil failed last fall and a new one is $308.00+ tax + freight from keystoker.
The one thing to keep in mind is that the external domestic hot water coil is not exposed to any excessive heat temperatures as they are plumbed in series with the hot water circulator to the heating zone(s).
The external wound copper domestic hot water coils will be much more expensive than the shell and tube domestic hot water heat exchangers.

"You" cannot simply flip a switch to go from coal to oil or oil to coal to do this.

Leave the existing oil boiler in; replace the plumbing to tie it in parallel with the coal stoker and leave the circulators on the oil burner. All that is needed is to switch flue pipes close valves on the coal stoker to physically separate it from the water flow and open valves on the oil burner.

The other option is to have a separate complete plumbing system for the coal stoker with a separate triple aquastat and circulators and installing a dump zone. You could use a big radiator in the basement for the dump zone or a zurn garage heater.
(this is the less aggravation method of plumbing and you still have heat)

With a dual fuel unit you either have to remove the burner and put the port cover back on or stuff the oil burner tube full of high temperature insulation to protect the burner nozzle and prevent it from being plugged with fly ash.

The metal on the burner nozzle still corrodes even with the high temperature insulation protecting it.

Using my installation as an example with an old oil burner and mounting flange the fumes from the oil burner backed up through the oil burner tube and then into the blower housing and into the home. It is much more noisy than my buderus was too.

Foolishly I believed all the information about my dual fuel unit and drank the kool aid and in the end I should have left my beautiful Buderus Logana G204 boiler in place and just used an AHS S130 as it would have been simpler and less costly in the end.

I could have just ripped out the old hand fed and the old plumbing and had the new piping installed and then slid the S130 in its place and had heat in 2 days.

All I would had to do is simply switch flue pipes and shut the power off to the boiler I was not going to use to use either the coal stoker or the oil burner as I had 2 circulators and All I would have needed to do is shut the valves off to the boiler I was not going to use as the piping is simply tied together with the valves and Tee connections.

If you can learn from my mistakes all the better for you.

 
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Post by coaledsweat » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 3:27 pm

Canaan coal man wrote:
Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 2:39 pm
One flue is my problem with having 2 boilers.
Powervent the oil burner.

 
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Canaan coal man
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Posts: 822
Joined: Thu. Nov. 08, 2012 12:37 pm
Location: East Canaan, CT
Stoker Coal Boiler: Efm 520
Hand Fed Coal Stove: A little cubby coal stove in the basement
Baseburners & Antiques: Glenwood #6
Coal Size/Type: Stove And Nut

Post by Canaan coal man » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 4:06 pm

I was under the impression that the efm “oil kit” all I have to do is open the burner shield door and flip the gun on? Seems simple enough for me? But I may not fully understand the function of the efm 520 oil kit.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 4:35 pm

Canaan coal man wrote:
Mon. Aug. 19, 2019 4:06 pm
I was under the impression that the efm “oil kit” all I have to do is open the burner shield door and flip the gun on? Seems simple enough for me? But I may not fully understand the function of the efm 520 oil kit.
Your understanding is correct.

As for the cost of an electric boiler, I priced a 40k btu unit for my house a few months ago and it was about $1400.


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