Newbie and Need Help

I am a city girl and recently (like 2 weeks ago) purchased a 1901 Victorian in PA. I was supposed to get a tutorial about my coal stove from the owners but yeah that never happened. I was able to get coal delivery (rice) 2 weeks ago and the house has been nice a toasty warm. Today I went in the house and it was freezing. There was no flame but you could hear the furnace humming like it is on. It is automatic. I called a company for service and now I am waiting. I don't think it is anything serious but we are not living in the house( I do go everyday as we are doing work) so after reading on the forum it could be a number of things. What would be the best advice you can give to a newbie? What should I concentrate on learning about first. There is so much material on the forum and I do not know where to start. As a note- I also have oil heat as well and another manual coal furnace if the electricity goes out. I put a picture of my furnace I do not have the model now. Hopefully the picture can give everyone an idea it is not the best sorry. Any help would be appreciated as I feel like I am lost right now.

PA Queen,

It would really help if you had a better picture. Or could at least get the make and model number of the heater. A lot of the manufacrturers have posted their manuals online.

Also if you could post where you are located, it is possible that a member lives close by and could give you that tutorial that you so desperately need.



Rick

It looks like an EFM 520 in the picture. Step 1 is to post your location so we can refer you to an EFM expert in your area. There are plenty of folks familiar with your model boiler that can diagnose the issue, and give you some lessons.

-Rob

I am in Easton, PA. I have already called Arnie & Hitzel (SP) they are not taking new clients. I called Union Fuel Company and they have not called me back. I called Keller and they said no one can come out after I waited 3 hours. I am at a loss.

Is there still unused coal in the bin?

I have done business with this man before, he has the knowledge and parts required to get an EFM up and running:

Steven R Wilhelm Furnace
270 Tremont Rd, Pine Grove, PA 17963
(570) 345-6302

If you read through this other thread there are a few other EFM dealers mentioned that might also be able to help: Auger Help ... I'm freezing

Note that a lot of these guys are busy and might not get your messages until late, thankfully you have oil heat to keep you warm while you wait by the phone.

In the meantime, you can check for obvious things. Like coal not covering the end of the auger, the auger not turning, etc.

-Rob

Thanks for the info. I have no heat and if I have oil I don't know how to turn it on. I will keep callin around and read the thread thanks.

PAQueen wrote:Thanks for the info. I have no heat and if I have oil I don't know how to turn it on. I will keep callin around and read the thread thanks.

I sent you a PM (Private Message) At the top of the page is a box looking like an envelope. Click on it and you will get to them.




Rick

Ric386- Just emailed you pic. Thanks.

Enhanced pic


Sorry guys, that's as big as I can make it.

EFM. Looks like it has the DF feature installed..

Yep Chris,

That is what it is. I emailed her the instruction manual for her and the husband to go over. I told her to come back if she has other questions. I also explained that it is a little different with coal but that they will love it. And that to fire the oil burner will take more than just throwing a switch.

I hope the manual gets them back on line.



Rick

What a difference a day makes. Thank everyone for their help. Here's an update.

-Realtor connected with someone who came out around 9pm to service. Started a simple fire with our stuff and charged an arm and a leg. Hubby spoke with a several people who gave him good information and talked with the past owner who gave us additional information and explained what all the equipment was for that she left. Hubby stayed for 2 hours watching the fire and then left. Many prayers went out that the house would heat up so that my newly stained floors would dry and be ready for second coat tomorrow.
-9am 2/2/11 Woke up and watched several Youtube videos on starting a fire and looked over the manual. Went to the house hoping and praying there was heat in the house. Got there and house was freezing cold no flame. Hubby and I started a fire WOW! and between the two of us got a nice red glowing ring going around the pan like the past owner told us about. Followed the instructions on youtube and my first fire came alive.
-In order to start the fire we needed to figure out how to access our rice coal to put on top of the charcoal. Finally figured out where it was lol and guess what? The room was filled with coal but the bin was empty. Oh so that what the rake is for in the basement. Raked coal into the bin and after 20 minutes I started to hear the coal moving through the pipe. The sound that I thought was coal being pushed in was actually the auger. I know that sounds now so all yesterday no coal was being pushed into the stove. And of course none was pushed in after the fire was built that night.
-Went upstairs and closed all pocket doors to close everything off.
-Checked the furnace and there was fresh black coal on top and no flame. I panicked because I thought that my husband came down and put some more coal on top. He said he didn’t. We could not see where the coal was coming from (there was a hot flame in there) so we just assumed that the coal was fed in. Poked around at the fire and it was nice a red underneath. Good sign.
-Waited another hour and checked the radiators. They felt room temp hubby said good sign as yesterday they were freezing cold to the touch. Checked the coal again and it was nice and hot. Left the house praying that it stays lit, that we figured everything (well almost everything) out and that my floors would dry so that when the floor guy came he could keep working.

I hope that this post does some other newbie good. I am feeling more comfortable and I actually started a fire so I am on cloud nine right now. I see some little tools that I need already so I will get them this weekend. How long do you think it will take to know the chill off the house. The thermostat was set for 75 degrees and the house is about 4,500 square feet.

Congratulations on your progress. Read the manual cover to cover, and start reading the posts in the EFM section of this forum. You will learn what the parts are called, and how to service the unit. I don't know who the guy was that built a fire and never checked for coal in the bin, but that is shameful. I still think you need a "coal guy" to stop by and give you some lessons. You wil need tonight how to change the stoker settings, change a shear pin, clean the boiler, etc.

If your house has cast iron radiation it may take hours to get comfortable, and overnight to really "level out".

Now that you have the EFM running, do you know how to pull the fines cleanout lever and change the ash tub?

-Rob

You are very lucky to not have frozen any pipes in the house !!

4500 square is a big place.. it may take an hour plus before the baseboards or radiators get up to temperature, and depending on how cold the house was and how cold it is outdoors, it may take several hours to heat up the house..

I'm a bit confused by some of the description of your fire.. Once you have a fire in the pot, and fresh coal is feeding in from below, with the thermostat calling for heat, you should see nothing on the top of the firepot but red hot coal, a little ring of ash around the outer edge of the pot, just before the ash falls off into the ashpan. you might have a slightly darker center in the fire,..

If you see black coal on top, there is a problem.

On the stoker assembly there is a vertical handle, this handle moves a ring at the bottom, underside of the firepot,, it opens a ring of slots to let fines, [which are very fine, sand-like coal grains ] fall out from under the curved air-supply plates in the firepot.. IF this lever has been pulled to open the slots, and not pushed firmly back into place, the combustion air will escape below the firepot, the fire will not be hot, and the fire will not heat the house..

So when you look in the door to look at the fire you should see a 12" or so diameter disc of fire with tall blue-white flames a foot or more above it, this is if the stoker is running. When the fire is idling, you won't see much flame or red coal.. but your unit will be red for several hours..

Can you take a photo of what you see through the square door on the side of the boiler??

Greg L