Coal fire in the auger

My AA130 stopped ashing yesterday. I traced it down to the solenoid and I got a new coil coming for it. Anyway I caught the furnace struggling to heat with cherry red coals in the auger head ready to fall back down the auger. Paranoid me is thinking what if that had run longer and I didn’t catch it. Has anyone here actually started their bin on fire or would the auger keep picking it up until eventually everything burned out.

I can't see how it would travel into the bin. Worst that should happen is the transfer head gets cooked and fire eventually goes out.

I had this happen once a long time ago. It was the first few months of running an Axeman so I didn't know what I was doing yet. It never happened again and I still don't know why it happened the first time.

I remember that the fire seemed to be very high and I could see ash on top. I stabbed the ash a few times with a poker. The ash dropped down and this slug of orange hot coal dropped out of the feed tube.

-Don

Even if the fire made it's way up into the transfer head, it would not survive the tumbling action of the feed tube to get to the bin. That's my opinion.

It won't burn in the tube.

So how does this ash while you wait for the replacement solenoid part?

Typical operation is feed tube/auger is in sync with leaving ash flow.

Jumbo clinker getting stuck on ashing sled and unnoticed might get you a backed up fire into the transferring head...but it might take intervention to get that clinker dislodged.

I had it happen once.... can't remember what happened. It can not burn down the auger for a few reasons. Even if it could, the coal in the bin cannot burn.. Coal must have air moving from underneath and a pile of coal lacks just that.

That’s reassuring to hear. Thanks. To answer the question of ashing while I wait for the part I shut the coal furnace down until I get the part. I have an oil boiler sitting adjacent to it that I can run its always In operation to heat the hot water and is just a matter of opening and closing some valves.

I got the new coil today. Back up and running.

I have a temperature high limit switch on my EFM auger tube that calls me if it overheats.

It only called me once for this. I had run out of coal in my super sack (which was really dumb of me, since it holds multiple weeks worth).

I was glad it called. It was like 3 am, and when I opened my 2nd floor bedroom door, you could smell something was wrong.

I held my breath ran into the cellar and checked the carbon monoxide detector reading. It was still low and had not gone off yet (it would have also triggered a phone call when it alarmed.

vermontday wrote: ↑

Wed. Mar. 17, 2021 9:55 pm

I have a temperature high limit switch on my EFM auger tube that calls me if it overheats.

It only called me once for this. I had run out of coal in my super sack (which was really dumb of me, since it holds multiple weeks worth).

I was glad it called. It was like 3 am, and when I opened my 2nd floor bedroom door, you could smell something was wrong.

I held my breath ran into the cellar and checked the carbon monoxide detector reading. It was still low and had not gone off yet (it would have also triggered a phone call when it alarmed.

I’m guessing you added that? I’m curious to how it works.

The temperature switch contacts break a monitored circuit on my autodialer. The autodialer calls my cell phone with the message "Alert condition exists" and keeps calling me until I acknowledge it.

The carbon monoxide alarm and a smoke alarm are positioned 1ft from the autodialer. If the autodialer hears a load noise, it calls me and lets me listen to the noise.

For more detailed info, go to my post; EFM 520 Install With Skid/Bulk Bags Feed

Main question: is there a formula for when not calling for heat or hot water for how long on and how long off with out the pressure going up? I myself have rice coal and auto feed.
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What’s going on .....at the start of this last winter I replaced an R883B with an electric one. Right now I have it set for 99 min off and 3 min on and just moved it to 10 min on. Now that we are getting into months we’re you don’t need the heat and go many many hour’s were no hot water is needed and the last two nights the flame went out. Is this just a hit and miss thing or is there an actual formula to keep it light with out it 1) going out 2) with out it raising the pressure in the system/pipes ?

Thanks so much.

We use 1min 50sec every half hour on our efm520.

A common starting point is 2 min every half hour. Some get away with a once every hour setting.