EFM520 Motor Lacking Strength to Push the Auger

 
ringodeathstar
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Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM DF520

Post by ringodeathstar » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 1:18 pm

Hello,

I am new to living in cold weather and have never used coal before so please bear with me. I've done quite a bit of searching on this forum and watching videos online for solutions, but can't seem to find an example and solution to my problem.

I have an 11-12 year old EFM Emmaus DF520 coal boiler for steam. We've been running the system pretty reliably for the last week but this morning the system stopped working.

The lever that catches the teeth was stuck, so I manually cranked it and unstuck the lever. I turned the system back on and the motor and system was not running as usual; it seemed very sluggish compared to normal. When I flipped the lever back over and once it caught the teeth on the auger system it slowed down and then stopped moving, almost as if the motor didn't have the strength to push and pull the auger as normal.

I'm not sure if I am describing this accurately, but I also have a 20 second video that I have attached that is probably more helpful.

Please advise. Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Attachments

IMG_0252.MOV
.MOV | 20.2MB | IMG_0252.MOV


 
lzaharis
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Post by lzaharis » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 1:58 pm

You need a new identical electric motor as soon as possible.

How close are you to Marks Supply or EFM to buy a new electric motor??

 
ringodeathstar
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Post by ringodeathstar » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:02 pm

I'm in rural Northern Maine. Not entirely sure where to get one of these items.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:08 pm

That stoker looks like it has been neglected for a long time. It sounds like the motor is failing, but it is also possible that something in the stoker is bound up and making the motor work really hard. The entire stoker drive assembly is dirty and dry, so I would start by totally disassembling the drive assembly and cleaning the parts with solvent. Lube everything with clean oil and see how it runs. If no improvement, replace the motor.

 
lzaharis
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Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:10 pm

Let me ask you these things important things first;

How does the fire look, is it filling the entire burn pot??

Do you pull the fines lever every day to dump
any coal fines out of the burn pot?

 
lzaharis
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Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:17 pm

I cannot play the video as I do not have that player.

Here is the EFM owners manual if you do not have one if you have a doghouse in your coal bin it would be a good idea to check the bottom of it for any rocks that may be stuck near the tube.

Attachments

DF520-Installation (1).pdf
.PDF | 1.3MB | DF520-Installation (1).pdf
DF520.pdf
.PDF | 4.3MB | DF520.pdf

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:24 pm

lzaharis wrote:
Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:17 pm
I cannot play the video as I do not have that player.

Here is the EFM owners manual if you do not have one if you have a doghouse in your coal bin it would be a good idea to check the bottom of it for any rocks that may be stuck near the tube.
If you could watch the video you would see that the stoker runs hard even without the auger engaged. It just needs some troubleshooting, some overdue maintenance, and perhaps a new motor.


 
ringodeathstar
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Post by ringodeathstar » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:35 pm

lzaharis wrote:
Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:10 pm
Let me ask you these things important things first;

How does the fire look, is it filling the entire burn pot??

Do you pull the fines lever every day to dump
any coal fines out of the burn pot?
The fire looks good and looks similar to other youtube videos I've watched. When the system was running earlier everything was running nicely and the house was heating up to temperature.

I have no idea what the fines lever is. Assuming it's the big blue lever? I just moved into this house and all of this is completely foreign to me. Apologies for my ignorance.

 
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Post by ringodeathstar » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:37 pm

Rob R. wrote:
Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:08 pm
That stoker looks like it has been neglected for a long time. It sounds like the motor is failing, but it is also possible that something in the stoker is bound up and making the motor work really hard. The entire stoker drive assembly is dirty and dry, so I would start by totally disassembling the drive assembly and cleaning the parts with solvent. Lube everything with clean oil and see how it runs. If no improvement, replace the motor.
It's very possible it has been neglected. I just moved into this place less than 2 months ago and have never used any heating systems like this before so it is a steep learning curve.

Good to know about the maintenance and disassembly. I'll see if I can find out anything on youtube on how to actually do everything you mentioned.

 
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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:38 pm

Or possibly a new coupler... I could not tell if the fan/motor was spinning normally in the video.

 
lzaharis
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Post by lzaharis » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:39 pm

Push and pull the fines lever a couple of times to let any fines drop out of the burn pot and
come back to us quickly and let us know if that helps.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:42 pm

nepacoal wrote:
Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:38 pm
Or possibly a new coupler... I could not tell if the fan/motor was spinning normally in the video.
That is a good point, fan could loose on the shaft or coupler loose as well.

 
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nepacoal
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Coal Size/Type: Buck

Post by nepacoal » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:49 pm

Rob R. wrote:
Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:42 pm
That is a good point, fan could loose on the shaft or coupler loose as well.
The motor sounds like it's staying steady at a fixed RPM unless there's something else running in the background...

 
lzaharis
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Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 3:10 pm

ringodeathstar wrote:
Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 2:37 pm
It's very possible it has been neglected. I just moved into this place less than 2 months ago and have never used any heating systems like this before so it is a steep learning curve.

Good to know about the maintenance and disassembly. I'll see if I can find out anything on youtube on how to actually do everything you mentioned.
======================================================================================================

You are going to love steam heat when it gets colder and the wind starts howling up there.

Has anyone showed you how to blow down the boiler once a month and add water as needed
or is the water feeder an automatic one with the low water cut off switch?

 
lzaharis
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Joined: Sun. Mar. 25, 2007 8:41 pm
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker KAA-4-1 dual fuel boiler
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Coal Size/Type: rice
Other Heating: kerosene for dual fuel Keystoker/unused

Post by lzaharis » Fri. Nov. 25, 2022 3:22 pm

I hope that he or she comes back and lets us know if
the issue was excess fines in the burn pot.


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