My EFM WCB24 Hand-Fired Boiler Was Wasting Coal

 
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windyhill4.2
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Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both

Post by windyhill4.2 » Fri. Jan. 15, 2016 5:43 pm

stoker-man wrote:I can't get stove coal nearby. I'm thinking that pea might work well. With the price of oil only slightly higher than the equivelant of coal, I'm getting my tank filled this summer.
Pea is smaller than nut,you are thinking the wrong way. That unit needs bigger coal,not smaller stuff. 30-40 miles to Ginther where you can buy stove or stove/egg mix.


 
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pine grove coal user
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Hand Fed Coal Boiler: H. S. Tarm, model 202, 1980
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Coal Size/Type: Pea, from Little Buck mine
Other Heating: New Yorker oil burner which almost never runs, thanks to the Tarm!

Post by pine grove coal user » Mon. Jan. 18, 2016 8:01 pm

Since you like experimenting, I urge you to try the pea size coal. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but it really did the trick for me. One other thing, use the poker as little as possible. Unless I have klinkers to deal with I only use the shaking of the grates to get the ash into the pan. Does the WCB-24 have tapered sides that keeps the grates from working well?

 
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stoker-man
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Post by stoker-man » Wed. Jan. 20, 2016 4:53 am

Yes, the sides are tapered to about half the width of the burning box. It's interesting that if I fill the box with the sifted coal which ranges from pea to rice, it results in a fantastic burn and lasts easily 8 hours. The sifted coal also has waste in it, since I only spend a minute picking out the larger junk. I will try some pea since it doesn't matter if some falls through the grates.

 
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hotblast1357
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Post by hotblast1357 » Wed. Jan. 20, 2016 6:53 am

i burn strictly pea in my new yorker with no issue of it falling through, just don't over shake it.

 
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windyhill4.2
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Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
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Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both

Post by windyhill4.2 » Wed. Jan. 20, 2016 9:05 am

stoker-man wrote: I will try some pea since it doesn't matter if some falls through the grates.
That quote sounds like you enjoy sifting. I would use bigger coal & eliminate the sifting,but we all enjoy doing different things for relaxation. :)

 
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stoker-man
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Post by stoker-man » Thu. Jan. 21, 2016 4:05 am

windyhill, I see your boiler uses a blower. Did you know that my WCB does not have a blower? Only natural draft controlled by a hand damper? It's easy to sift coal; harder to be sifted as wheat :)

 
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windyhill4.2
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Stoker Coal Boiler: 1960 EFM520 installed in truck box
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Coal Size/Type: 404-nut, 520 rice ,anthracite for both

Post by windyhill4.2 » Thu. Jan. 21, 2016 7:42 am

stoker-man wrote:windyhill, I see your boiler uses a blower. Did you know that my WCB does not have a blower? Only natural draft controlled by a hand damper? It's easy to sift coal; harder to be sifted as wheat :)
Yes I do realize that & that is another reason why I can't see pea working well in that unit. If you have a very strong drafting chimney there may be no problem,but burning pea will slow down the draft & burn especially after ash starts to build on the grates. It seems like that would result in more unburnt coals in the ash. BUT, there is one way to find out, try pea size coal & see what happens.Not many naturally drafting coal furnace threads to follow,so yours is a unique one to watch. :) ~~~~~ Harder to be sifted as wheat ? I do not understand that statement,what am I missing ? :notsure: :confused:


 
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hotblast1357
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Post by hotblast1357 » Thu. Jan. 21, 2016 7:52 am

When burning pea, just give it more air.

 
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stoker-man
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Post by stoker-man » Thu. Jan. 21, 2016 5:00 pm

I have the air inlet shut when the water temp is about 180. I adjust the manual damper in the flue pipe to maintain about -.05 WC. The stack stays between 100 and 150 and 5 scoops, which is less than a 5 gal. bucket, lasted 11 hours today, leaving me enough glowing coal to restart without kindling.

Sifted as wheat is a little bit of lingo the the King of England, James, might have said.

 
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pine grove coal user
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Location: Pine Grove, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: H. S. Tarm, model 202, 1980
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Coal Size/Type: Pea, from Little Buck mine
Other Heating: New Yorker oil burner which almost never runs, thanks to the Tarm!

Post by pine grove coal user » Sat. Jan. 23, 2016 1:08 pm

I have my baro set at .06 and have no problem with the air getting though the bed of pea coal.
Everything I have read is that tapered sides with coal is a problem, that the sides should be straight down.
So it sounds like a design problem with the EFM. My Tarm works much better than what you describe. Of course it also has a Samson controller so controlling the air is more automatic than with the hand dampers.

 
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pine grove coal user
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Joined: Tue. Feb. 24, 2009 8:50 pm
Location: Pine Grove, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania
Hand Fed Coal Boiler: H. S. Tarm, model 202, 1980
Hand Fed Coal Stove: Reading 'bucket a day' stove in storage, waiting for attention
Coal Size/Type: Pea, from Little Buck mine
Other Heating: New Yorker oil burner which almost never runs, thanks to the Tarm!

Post by pine grove coal user » Sat. Jan. 23, 2016 1:12 pm

One more thing, have you tried only using the shaking the grates and not using the poker?
Or are you using the poker because the ash hangs up on the tapered sides?

 
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Post by stoker-man » Sun. Jan. 24, 2016 5:55 pm

Mine also has the Samson aquastat controlling the air flap. I also use a manual damper in the flue to keep the draft around neg .05.
The coal never burns to much ash. Much of it stays large and that's what jams the grates. One piece of coal is all it takes to jam them.

 
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Post by stoker-man » Fri. Feb. 05, 2016 8:14 pm

Here's a picture of the coal being reburned after picking out the large waste. It burns much hotter than new coal.

The nice thing about taking a few minutes to sift it is that there is very little waste to get rid of. The fine ash is used on the garden or put on the lane.

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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Fri. Feb. 05, 2016 8:19 pm

How deep is the coal bed? Looks very shallow.

 
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Lightning
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Post by Lightning » Fri. Feb. 05, 2016 9:34 pm

Rob R. wrote:How deep is the coal bed? Looks very shallow.
I thought the same Rob. He should run at least 8 inches deep, I'm thinkin.
I have mine heaped 12+ inches deep at the center but using stove size.


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