EFM 520 is finally IN ACTION!!
- SMITTY
- Member
- Posts: 12526
- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Location: West-Central Mass
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler
Nice! That's the one I WISHED I had when I was doing the install, lol. Things were looking so grim at one point, I almost gave up and put it up for sale! Glad I stuck with it, especially these past 2 mornings.
- Rob R.
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- Location: Chazy, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr
A low ceiling is no match for ambition and perseverance. That boiler will probably run at an idle most of the time. What are you running for feed & air setting?
- CoalHeat
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I’m glad I did my best to talk you out of giving up on it!
- SMITTY
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- Posts: 12526
- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Location: West-Central Mass
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler
Indeed, Rob! I'm running 4 teeth, 4 air at CoalHeat's suggestion - seems to be right on the money whether it's in the 50's out, or teens, with water temps from 130° to 180°. A 150° high limit worked until it got into the high teens, then the baseboards couldn't maintain 68°-69°, and the house dropped to 65°. A 180° high limit cycles too much above the low 20's outside, and won't run the circulator at all, since the boiler itself heats the house, I learned. I've got the HL at 165° right now, diffs 10° and LL always 20° below the HL.
Yeah, I appreciate all the help CoalHeat!! Saved me a TON of time-consuming experimentation! Got it right on the money the first try! I also appreciate the encouragement when I was ready to throw in the towel! That bitch took a lot out of me, lol. Now she's paying her dues with a warm house.
Thanks, Jkohanski! I appreciate that, and I'm REALLY glad, too.
Yeah, I appreciate all the help CoalHeat!! Saved me a TON of time-consuming experimentation! Got it right on the money the first try! I also appreciate the encouragement when I was ready to throw in the towel! That bitch took a lot out of me, lol. Now she's paying her dues with a warm house.
Thanks, Jkohanski! I appreciate that, and I'm REALLY glad, too.
- Rob R.
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- Joined: Fri. Dec. 28, 2007 4:26 pm
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- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr
I have my dads setup to run the circulators independently of the aquastat. That allows him to set the operating temperature with the low limit setting, which is set at 165F and heats his house fine. The high limit is at 200, but the boiler never gets above 180.
- SMITTY
- Member
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- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Location: West-Central Mass
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler
Interesting! I didn't know they could be wired that way. I'm running the stoker off the oil boiler's L7224U aquastat. I've got the timer to ZR (along with the Boilermate indirect). Did you do that with a 4006 or 6006?
- Rob R.
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- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr
Dad’s Highboy is running a L8124 Honeywell, which is the analog triple aquastat that most boilers used for decades.
My EFM just has an L4006A. I run it at 165 with a 10 degree differential.
If your baseboards don’t seem to put out much heat at the lower temperatures, pop the covers off and see if they need to be vacuumed. It does not take much dust/debris to make a difference.
My EFM just has an L4006A. I run it at 165 with a 10 degree differential.
If your baseboards don’t seem to put out much heat at the lower temperatures, pop the covers off and see if they need to be vacuumed. It does not take much dust/debris to make a difference.
- SMITTY
- Member
- Posts: 12526
- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Location: West-Central Mass
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler
Ahh, gotcha. I remember the 8124 - I've still got the original one from '96 down in the basement. Still works as far as I know! I still have that 6006 you sold me YEARS ago taking care of killing the stoker in the event of a power outage restoration, after the fire has long since died out.
Oh I can guarantee they need a cleaning. Haven't done it yet in 20 years of living here. Problem is, they jammed them in to the carpet decades back before I was here, so I hate taking them off. Turns into an all day ordeal of frustration trying to get them back on again. I get enough of that in the shop these days. One section I took off near the front door in '03 has been falling off every time I walk by it ever since then. Everything is Mickey-Moused in here. I need to find a vacuum attachment that'll not only fit down in there, but scrub, too.
Oh I can guarantee they need a cleaning. Haven't done it yet in 20 years of living here. Problem is, they jammed them in to the carpet decades back before I was here, so I hate taking them off. Turns into an all day ordeal of frustration trying to get them back on again. I get enough of that in the shop these days. One section I took off near the front door in '03 has been falling off every time I walk by it ever since then. Everything is Mickey-Moused in here. I need to find a vacuum attachment that'll not only fit down in there, but scrub, too.
- Rob R.
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- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
- Hand Fed Coal Stove: Chubby Jr
If you figured out how to get a 1000 lb boiler into the basement and then raised it up on jack stands, you can surely figure out how to clean the baseboards. If they have never been cleaned it will make a huge difference, and once you see how much dust and pet hair is in them you will be glad you tackled the job. A regular household vacuum should work, but if the nozzle is too large just tape a piece of pex tubing on the end. Get a stiff bristled paint brush to scrub down between the fins.SMITTY wrote: ↑Tue. Nov. 22, 2022 8:58 pmOh I can guarantee they need a cleaning. Haven't done it yet in 20 years of living here. Problem is, they jammed them in to the carpet decades back before I was here, so I hate taking them off. Turns into an all day ordeal of frustration trying to get them back on again. I get enough of that in the shop these days. One section I took off near the front door in '03 has been falling off every time I walk by it ever since then. Everything is Mickey-Moused in here. I need to find a vacuum attachment that'll not only fit down in there, but scrub, too.
- SMITTY
- Member
- Posts: 12526
- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Location: West-Central Mass
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler
We've cleaned down inside most of them the best we could, and scrubbed underneath the ones we could reach, but they need to be disassembled and cleaned in between each fin. Not sure if that's even possible. Pretty tight squeeze between them.
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If you have a portable compressor, you can blow down with a slim tool while positioning the vacuum at the bottom. Blow and vacuum at once. No disassembly.
- SMITTY
- Member
- Posts: 12526
- Joined: Sun. Dec. 11, 2005 12:43 pm
- Location: West-Central Mass
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520 Highboy
- Coal Size/Type: Rice / Blaschak anthracite
- Other Heating: Oil fired Burnham boiler
Not a bad idea, Franco! I was thinking about that and figured I'd have to do it in warm weather so I could get windows open. But, the vacuum idea is a game changer.