keystoker vs efm 520

 
firetender
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker K8

Post by firetender » Sun. Mar. 26, 2023 2:39 pm

I have been fighting with my k8 boiler all season. I think I'm doing a bit better than I was at the beginning of the year but still not satisfied. Don't get me wrong the house is always warm, it is keeping 4000 sf of old house and 2000 sf of drafty cellar warm. One thing that really annoys me about the k8 is the amount of unburnt in the ash. It seems the top layer never completely burns unless it is so cold out that it never cycles off and in reality that doesn't happen unless its about 10 below or gale forced winds from the north. I have played with the air, modified the stoker intake as recommended by someone then removed the modification, adjusted the feed, reset it to factory recommendations, tinkered with it again, tried different brand of coal, added buck into the rice, tried straight buck and no matter what I do the waste is there. Also when it is at idle fire when it is warm out the amount of waste goes up considerably . I have been reading on this site and seems the flat grate stokers are known for this unless I am missing something basic. I haven't got to the point of weighing coal and ash, thought about it but with the happenings of life haven't seemed to find the time. So I have been toying with the idea of getting a 520, so a question for you guys running them do the pot burners really burn the coal more complete than the flat grate system? Also how do they preform in the warm weather situation idling am I going to still have lots of unburnt in the ash? I don't run it all summer long, talking about warm fall or spring days. When days are above 30-40 my ash is noticeably heavier. I would like some input if it would be worth my time finding and setting up a 520 before I jump the gun and find out I'm no further ahead....I will admit I have done that a time or two.


 
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nepacoal
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Post by nepacoal » Sun. Mar. 26, 2023 3:13 pm

The weight of the ash definitely goes up during warmer weather with our 520, but it doesn't seem excessive to me. It does not really seem to change as much as our Keystoker does during warmer weather but it's certainly noticeable. We burn both year around...

 
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Retro_Origin
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Post by Retro_Origin » Sun. Mar. 26, 2023 5:04 pm

I actually had near complete burnout during summer operation except with Blaschak which always gave me some partially burnt. Although I don't have any summer burning experience my brother in law has a 520 we lit in October and hasn't gone out since. And that's for heating only, No domestic. He never adjusted the timer feed or air. I might sound like a broken record but I think the pot style does best keeping a fire because it can decrease in size and still have many adjacent areas touching the hot bed, since it's circular. The flat grate gets skinny and then gets dead spots. Guess it depends on your need. I drove over to the keystroker place to get parts and they had everything in stock ready to go, so easy, so helpful especially on the phone. Recently friend of mine had his little keystroker stove feed motor Go dead on a weekend- he called them up and since it was a warm weekend they told him how to limp thru hand feeding it so he wouldn't have to pay and emergency service fee due to the weekend. Then they came Monday- he told me what they replaced and what the bill was. It was very reasonable I thought. Depends on your needs I suppose. There's a lot of efm dealers near me so parts aren't a problem. On the other hand axeman is pretty much mail only unless you want to drive to Williamsport. Be sure to call ahead of time! I haven't even hooked a timer up to my axe yet. I usually fought with my k6 a few times each summer to get it right. I've never heard any complaints about an efm honestly, seems everyone is pretty happy with them. Ok sorry I'm ranting but I jus had too much coffee today!

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Mon. Mar. 27, 2023 8:20 am

The underfed stokers do hold a fire better in mild weather, and as a result may put less unburned coal into the ashes.

Reading your previous posts, I think you should try some different coal before you consider changing the entire boiler.

 
leward
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Post by leward » Mon. Mar. 27, 2023 10:45 am

I switched my son's house from a K6 to a 520 and never looked back. I had very few issues with my 520, and while not huge issues when coal was a 100 a ton, I saw way too much unburned coal in his k6. I messed with everything you have tried. A 520 is way easier to start a fire in to boot. I get virtuall no unburned in either 520, plus the ability to auger out of a large bin makes ours pretty much a hands off heat system. Pull the fines lever every day, and change ash buckets as needed and good to go. I know there are a ton of Keystoker fans, but for my home-- a 520 it is.

 
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kcarr
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Coal Size/Type: Rice
Other Heating: Oil as back up, mostly used for summer domestic hot water

Post by kcarr » Mon. Mar. 27, 2023 1:30 pm

I have had a VA-600 Van Wert Custom boiler for 30 years...
very similar to the EFM 520... Never had a problem... The underfed fire
pots are far superior. If anyone gave me..free.. a brand new "sliding board" stoker as I call them
I would give it to them back and go get a EFM or another under fed firepot.
My Van Wert will hold a fire, with no stoker operation, for a good six to 8 hours.
Very handy when the power goes out for a few hours. My coal is burnt thoroughly
to 100% no problems. You need to run it with good quality coal. If you get
the real cheap stuff, you might not get a good burn. Blaschak and Lehigh
are the best. I run rice coal all the time, easier on the mechanism.
Do yourself a big favor and get a new or used under fed firepot.
No more problems and constant adjusting, light it and forget it...with
better heat!
Ken

 
firetender
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Post by firetender » Mon. Mar. 27, 2023 8:57 pm

Rob R. wrote:
Mon. Mar. 27, 2023 8:20 am
The underfed stokers do hold a fire better in mild weather, and as a result may put less unburned coal into the ashes.

Reading your previous posts, I think you should try some different coal before you consider changing the entire boiler.
Rob, I did end up trying some different coal, I got to the corner in the bin that I had leftover from last year and ran it for a week. It did burn better than the reading that was delivered this year...burn less and produces less volume of ash. I did finally get the reading to burn better by going back to the basics, set air and feed to what manual says then fine tuning the feed. I am still not too thrilled with the reading, I still burn through it faster than the other brands. I been running this boiler since January of 2020 with 3 different brands of coal and the unburnt is always there....unless the boiler has enough load to not shut the burner off for hours at a time then.


 
firetender
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Post by firetender » Mon. Mar. 27, 2023 9:05 pm

Thanks for the input. The other thing that is attractive is the auger feed. I have a coal bin because the first season I got it in bags and I am not a big fan of moving material multiple times. So the auger system would save me from hauling 250 pounds of coal every other day across the cellar to fill the boiler.

 
waytomany?s
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Post by waytomany?s » Mon. Mar. 27, 2023 9:34 pm

So you're burning 125# per day?

 
Scott in nwct
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Post by Scott in nwct » Tue. Mar. 28, 2023 7:07 am

I use a Efm s-15 stoker that is the most reliable piece of equipment I own. Burn all summer as a dehumidifier. I think the chimney is very important for success. Mine is to story’s tall holds a good draft even in hot weather. No out fires. Scott.

 
ben
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Post by ben » Tue. Mar. 28, 2023 8:12 am

I have seen a lot of Key stokers for sale on Facebook marketplace lately.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Mar. 28, 2023 9:19 am

firetender wrote:
Mon. Mar. 27, 2023 8:57 pm
Rob, I did end up trying some different coal, I got to the corner in the bin that I had leftover from last year and ran it for a week. It did burn better than the reading that was delivered this year...burn less and produces less volume of ash. I did finally get the reading to burn better by going back to the basics, set air and feed to what manual says then fine tuning the feed. I am still not too thrilled with the reading, I still burn through it faster than the other brands. I been running this boiler since January of 2020 with 3 different brands of coal and the unburnt is always there....unless the boiler has enough load to not shut the burner off for hours at a time then.
I have no doubt you would be happy with an EFM, because at the end of the day it is a more efficient design...but if your coal is mediocre quality you will still see lots of ash and/or more unburned coal in the ash than you would like.

 
firetender
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Stoker Coal Boiler: Keystoker K8

Post by firetender » Tue. Mar. 28, 2023 3:41 pm

waytomany?s wrote:
Mon. Mar. 27, 2023 9:34 pm
So you're burning 125# per day?
roughly yes. 6-8 5 gal buckets every other day of the reading coal to keep hopper filled. blackshack or atlantic I would average 4-5 every other day. that is with average winter temps.

 
waytomany?s
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Post by waytomany?s » Tue. Mar. 28, 2023 3:57 pm

firetender wrote:
Tue. Mar. 28, 2023 3:41 pm
roughly yes. 6-8 5 gal buckets every other day of the reading coal to keep hopper filled. blackshack or atlantic I would average 4-5 every other day. that is with average winter temps.
K8. Sorry, I thought I saw k6. I didn't think you could force that much through a k6.

 
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nepacoal
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Coal Size/Type: Buck

Post by nepacoal » Tue. Mar. 28, 2023 4:17 pm

waytomany?s wrote:
Tue. Mar. 28, 2023 3:57 pm
K8. Sorry, I thought I saw k6. I didn't think you could force that much through a k6.
Even my little kaa-4 can burn 175 lbs in a day... It would be running constantly, but it would do it without any issues!!!


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