Need Service for Coal Boiler!!!!

[kittiy]

I live in North East Pa. I just bought a house that has a large boiler system in it. Beautiful system. all baseboard hot water heat.. mostly cast iron.. house was built 1962 boiler bought 1981 I believe.. It's a coal boiler.. EFM out of Emmaus, Pa. I have everyone and their brother who will service the oil burner installed in it but no one will come near touching the coal end. Currently set up with a worm and a 55 gallon drum filled with rice sized coal.. I was told it ran for years up untill the previous owners husband couldn't move the coal anymore due to old age. approx 15 years ago... I know it still worked.. he even had back up augers stored. So.. Long Question short. Who can I contact to inspect this beast and show me how to use it.. Oil is burning up too much a day.. Would rather have the constant and consistant warmth of a coal fire..

I have even contacted EFM dealers in the area Mountain fuels etc... none of them will do anything with the coal aspect.

 

[Jim K in PA]

Welcome to the Boiler Room.

I have an EFM oil burner and they are very well made units. What is wrong with the coal side? It is apparent you have a stoker, and there are only a couple of things there that need attention. Feeder/shaker, auger, blower fan, and controls. Have you called EFM back to tell them that their dealers don't know their product? I have spoken with EFM directly and they were very helpful and accomodating this homeowner with an ignition diagnosis. They faxed me service manual excerpts that their techs use. Perhaps they can give you the service pages for your coal burner.

My first suggestion is to check the coal hopper and auger to make sure the rice coal has not compacted into a solid mass. If it has, just dig it all out and break up the lumps. Oiled coal keeps the dust down, but it can get sticky if too much oil settles in the bottom of the hopper. Have you applied power to the auger/feeder/fan? Clean everything real well and reload and relight.

 

[kittiy]

I have not tried anything with it. It really needs an inspection. This is my first year ever even playing with coal ( installed an old vigilant wood/ coal in my mother house. Still working out the kinks on that one). I know the barometric damper is bad.. who ever tried to look at it last put the stupid thing in upside down. I have the manual for it. Downloaded it from the net. But.. Is till know so little about these things... that well.. I don't know enough to know what I don't know.. If you have heard that saying before. Now I am handy but at the same time I don't want to burn down my house or be with out heat. ( stupid woman who sold us the house removed the parlor coal stove from it and gave us pennies for the error) so this is my ONLY source of heat.

I have not told EFM about thier sorry excuse for dealers.. EFM directly has been very helpful and good.
The boiler seems in good shape. I will find containers to empty that drum.. check the oil and coal levels. How ever I don't know if I can turn on the fan or auger with out messing with the oil burning. Iknow it has a switch on the back side of the stove one side for coal and the other for oil. I just really need someone out here to throw me in to the water and give me a few pointers.. Like I said I'm pretty handy but there is more at stake here than a toy around car or shed. I don't even know how to find a coal guy... EFM gave us a number for home heating association.. which I called... got an answering service and never a reply call back. I tried to find them by address and I could not do that either.. 4 offices at their address.. none marked as theirs. Some people told me to go through my local coal suppliers.. I have only found one. They weren't very helpful other than throwing a couple of bags in the back of my truck.

So... A route, starting point, or general lead to find someone to come to the house and give me a hand anything will be better than what I have at the moment.

 

[Jim K in PA]

I may have someone I can refer you to. Where are you located? I can give you the contact info for a very good service man that I am pretty sure has some coal fired boiler experience. If not, he can certainly get you farther along than you are now.

 

[Ncountry]

http://nepacrossroads.com/ This is the coal burners version of Hearth.com. I am sure that someone there would have a good answer for you.

 

[LeonMSPT]

I belong over there too... found my way there because of burning coal. There's lot's of people over there with those EFM boilers, some combo some just coal... sound like god equipment.

 

[hayrack]

Go to nepacrossroads.com there will be more people there that can help you. It is a great source for coal burning. Someone there should be able to help you