EFM Bituminous Boiler Testing Is Next Week

Richard S. wrote:I don't know about the EFM's but you could do that with mine, when stoker man first posted the pictures I was quite suprised how close they are. Mine has a right angle off the back of the stoker. Little bit more complicated.

Here's brief explanation because I know this picture is terrible, not a lot of light and its from my video cam which doesn't take very good pictures. Anyhow... The motor belt goes to a pulley on the transmission which is not very visible. The transmission directly drives the combustion fan to the left. It also drives the auger which are the front two chainwheels, you'd ahave to change one of these to lower or speed it up. It also drives the "thingy" sticking up that rotates around the fire pot, thats the chain in the background.

Other than the right angle they are almost identical to the EFM's.

The EFM 700 900 & 1300 Are like your Van Wert But the 350 & 520 as a Differen type Feed Ass. Also The 700 900 1300
Have a 2 1/2 Auger & a 3 " Tube To feed Buck Size coal The 350 520 Are a 1 1/2 " Auger & a " Tube For Rice Remember
EFM Patented Goes Back 1908 so Van wert and the rest of the underfed stoker's companines copied that style the Pots are a little different but that is about it If You Look At the 700 900 & 1300 EFM 's you will see that VAn Wert is very close to them

Richard S. wrote:I don't know about the EFM's but you could do that with mine, when stoker man first posted the pictures I was quite suprised how close they are. Mine has a right angle off the back of the stoker. Little bit more complicated.

Here's brief explanation because I know this picture is terrible, not a lot of light and its from my video cam which doesn't take very good pictures. Anyhow... The motor belt goes to a pulley on the transmission which is not very visible. The transmission directly drives the combustion fan to the left. It also drives the auger which are the front two chainwheels, you'd ahave to change one of these to lower or speed it up. It also drives the "thingy" sticking up that rotates around the fire pot, thats the chain in the background.

Other than the right angle they are almost identical to the EFM's.

Ok I can see them pictures clear on a nice new LCD --- but wait

and not to be annoying --- My Iron fireman is also similar as to the single motor - but the single motor has a three step pulley to another three step on the gear drive - so armed with that thought --- if you step the speed up or down with these, you also step the combustion fan speed, and I surmise thats a good thing to match the combustion air to the amount of fuel.... other combustion air adjustments can be made with a door on the fan intake.

So how about bolting an adapter plate under the motor to move it out to clearance and run a set of step pulley's to reduce the speed of the whole business. Combustion air pressure and volume may not be reduced enough to hamper the burn -- I mean this is an experiment right???? And if the combustion air fan needs to be augmented - wouldn't it be easier to hang a larger or second rather than re rig the main proven guts of the stoker?

What the heel am I still doing here... last post and I'm outa here.

Sting wrote:but the single motor has a three step pulley to another three step on the gear drive - so armed with that thought --- if you step the speed up or down with these, you also step the combustion fan speed,

Yes but you'll lowering the coal rate and decreasing the combsution fan both... You proabaly won't have enough air. You'd have to adjust just one or the other, e.g. change the chainwheel on the auger to lower the feed rate. I'm assuming they are workin with the 520 as a base and it doesn't have the chainwheel for the gear so the easiest thing to do would be to adjust the auger size. A lot of the gearing inside is not off the shelf like a chainwheel and would have to be manufactured.

They want to size the feed properly so they can maintain the original parts to the boiler as much as possible. By modifying variuos components to make it work it will only drive up the cost of the finished product. Not something you really want to do in a case like this. I think they are doing it right, they have been at it long enough, they should know what they are doing.

I surmise thats a good thing to match the combustion air to the amount of fuel.... other combustion air adjustments can be made with a door on the fan intake.

Those are the only two adjustments on the efm stoker. Combustion air is regulated with a throttle plate mechanism and coal feed is adjusted by the number of teeth the drum gear moves on one stroke. If the drum speed is set at minimum and there is still too much coal coming in, you have to reduce the size of the worm and pipe. This is why the anthracite coal is drawn in through a 2" pipe. (As an aside, one guy in Mass. replaced his bin feed pipe with a 2" PVC pipe and was able to get 6 years out of it!).

There are no other door intakes or fans involved. One fan; one gear. Very simple.

The experimental unit has a Keystoker motor part and worm to turn the top ring to knock off the ash, but the experiment seems to indicate that it isn't necessary for Wyoming coal, which seems to burn similar to anthracite.

Just for fun...

We could probably cut down on manufacturing costs if we can copy the patent on that motor electrical connection

My Iron fireman has the combustion fan mounted on the shaft of the motor. There is a three step belt pulley to change the feed rate,, but the combustion fan runs at motor speed all the time... There are flapper valves with adjustment quadrants on them for adjusting the air flow..

I didn't like the way the fire died down when the stoker stopped, so I added a second smaller combustion fan that runs full time and keeps the coal bed burning hot, and the coal gets burnt completely.. this is burning anthracite... buring Bituminous is another animal completely,, I didn't like it,, but I had WV coal,, not Wyoming coal..

Greg L
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Another update.

We talked with Mr. Prill and he has a pot that is made for bin fed coal and it looks like we will be using his bin-fed pot for the stoker and the final product will be bin fed. The rest of the unit will be efm production. Not to say that a hopper fed unit won't be produced.

All the other aspects of the testing went very well.

bin-fed

What would be the difference with bin-fed vs a hopper? I am trying to find out just how much difference the coal in WY is than here. I have a miner that lives fairly close that has worked both areas. Just haven't caught up with him yet. I hope this new design of yours will work for me.
Heres what happens when you go 2 days without cleaning out.. Thought I was going to have to get the long bar out and do some damage...

Hello Klinker,, could you post a photo or a link to a line drawing of the stoker and burn pot of your coal burner??? I'm currious about it's design.

Thanks,, Greg L

OH!

That image Klinker Mine -- It takes me back to my mis-spent Youth!

Sting,
I hear ya..when I seen it was almost a complete circle I worked for 15 min getting it out with out busting it up It turned out to be pretty solid, I will have to go hammer time on it. I need to build/find a ball mill to get some of the real solid ones ground up.

Greg,
Cant get in to do a decent picture yet...but it is a (I think) a lump stove converted to a bottom feed with a auger fed hopper
Gary