refurbishing a efm 350

i am the happiest person you will ever meet right now. i found a EFM 350 round boiler. from what if read here its a 1960 or 1961 pics will fallow. i was driving to work this morning when i saw what was a top to a efm sitting in the back of a guys truck when stopping for coffee. me being me i asked him what it was. he said it was stuf from a house that he was cleaning up. "he didn't know what it was" so we got talking. i asked what he was going to do with it? he said it was going to the scrap yard. ok i had to do some double talking as to not tip him of that this was a find. well after i bought him his coffee i asked him if i could have it. i finally end the hesitation when i offered 50 bucks for it. he asked where i wanted it. i said jokingly "my house", he said not a problem. well off to my house we went. so we unloaded the boiler and i handed him 50 bucks for the boiler. he said thanks got more than if we took it the the scrap yard. he thought, he was ripping me off. well not a chance on that one. ive got my new boiler and for a cost of a cup of coffee. becuase they unloaded it and took it the the garage for me. i didn't lift a finger except to open the door for them. 50 bucks well spent.

well got home tonight and looked it over some what. i have to admit i really don't know what im looking at. other than its an efm from seeing the pictures and reading post from here. thank you. i love this forum. if it wasn't for you guys i would not have a project on my hands. but that's a good thing. now i can learn and come to love my boiler. and if it breaks i can fix it with out calling someone to do it for me.

well this is the start to a lot of questions. going to start taking it apart tomorrow. ive got a full day a head of me. btw the wife thinks if lost my mind.

DEFINATELY pressure check it, some of these old boilers may sit in houses with no heat and if not drained properly, can freeze and crack. ...Good luck.

Did you get a stoker & base with it? If the boiler is sound and you got a stoker with it...you did VERY well.

i was just looking at it. its all there. stoker is a s15. the worm is too short this will go on the list for new parts it sticks out of the base about two and a half feet. the fire pot is in great shape. ill post pictures of the boiler tomorrow. to dark in the garage right now.

first thing is to get it apart and sand blast all the metal. find out whats thin and needs to be repaired.

Verry good !!! Maybee you wil not need to test your welding skills, pressure test is a must, LOW air pressure. Funny how you can find something when your not looking. They say even a blind squirl can find a nut once in a while. CONGRADULATIONS And for $50 and a cup of coffee, you should be ashamed of yourself

Be carefull taking the DHW coil off the boiler, soak the nuts/studs with PBS or your favorite penetrating oil for a day or so if they don't want to come loose, drilling out broken off studs is just extra work. Use heat if you need to.

The most common corrosion location is under the DHW coil's gasket.

Congratulations on a great deal.

Greg L

LsFarm wrote:Be carefull taking the DHW coil off the boiler, soak the nuts/studs with PBS or your favorite penetrating oil for a day or so if they don't want to come loose,

Do the squirt and soak three days in a row. After applying your choice of toxins, find something (pipe, socket, whatever) and smack the top face of the nut (not the stud) a few times firmly with a heavy hammer. Don't wail on it, just a good smack. You should have no problem removing the nuts on the fourth day.

Wow, what a deal..... Congrats! Time to update your Stove Make/Model on this website
Also.... you may want to take it over to Scrapper and have him rebuild it for you. Better to be safe, than sorry

Good for you! You said you were looking for sub $1,000 stoker and looks like you beat that by a mile. Good luck on the rebuild and look forward to lots of pics as you progress.

Dumb luck? I think not! I know you like to play with a 'fire wrench' so listen up to a fellow who has removed a HW coil or 150. Soak if you like, can't hurt...but the guys who lite the rosebud, NEVER snap a stud. If you look at with a wrench, it will snap off in your hand. All it ever would have taken is proper USE OS AN anti seize PRODUCT, BUT WHO KNEW IN 1946!
Don't be too big a hero and not ask for some advice, and used parts are you best investment. I told you of a place in Ravine, MAKE that contact this weekend. All questions will stop right there.

Did you get the plate number or name and address of the scrapper guy? You might become 'HIS scrappin dummy'! He is still laughing about the deal. You need to lojack his truck and go crusin'!
No doubt about it, you stand tall to pee, not the sit down variety. Good eyes, good thinkin,' very good boiler...and a lifetime of heating comfort....another generation served by General Machine Company products!

You have a pot auger it sticks out 17.5 " from base you can use it with a drum or buy a bin auger with tube and tube coupler
and feed out of a coal bin might need a new pot auger tube as well check pot bushing and pot auger bushing .
also pressure check with water not air air is not safe water is plug all returns fill boiler with water using a pressure gauge on
water feed line can screw in a water drain valve to release water and air also screw in a fill valve on top of boiler supply port
fill it up watch gauge 45 to 65 psi then leave it sit for a day or two if you have leaks you will find out in a hurry .
scrap price 14 per hundred lbs 575lbs for boiler top 80.50 scrap price base 135 lbs 18.90 stoker and pot 214lbs 29.96
Jackets 105lbs 14.70 so scrap price for everything would of been 246.96 cup of coffee and 50 bucks was a very good deal

Now if the base is good pot grates are good motor and gear box is good water coil augers auger bushing pot bushing auger tubes auger coupler thrush washer drum gear check paw feed paw shaft shaft coupler shaft bushing then you will be ahead of
the game if not you will be into this 1500 to 2500 or more until you get all parts plus time .
don't for get all seal gaskets two doors two side and breach panel auger tube opening out of base.

what is the cost for a new auger?

couldn't sleep much. im like a kid on Christmas morning. i can't stop smiling. well just looking it over with my morning coffee. it looks like the burner "fire pot" is in great shape. i know that everything will come apart and inspected cleaned and anti seized when going back together. the old aqua stat is going to need up dating its the old mercury type. i think its the original one from the 60's. i know im getting ahead of my self a little but what type of controllers am i going to need?

tried to spin the motor it's locked up. but being from the 60's it can be refreshed. thank goodness. i keep old tools, my fathers stuff, from when they use to rebuild starters and alternators. he owned his own marina for 30 years got out in 1987. now he builds houses for something to do. in his words. if it takes me all year to build a house, it gets me off the couch and out of your mothers hair. not bad for 78, that can out work me.

BTW the unit was set up for steam. but i know that doesn't matter. well i hope it doesn't?

and yes i did get the guys info and i gave him mine. i told him if he comes across anything that looks like a boiler. to give me a call and ill take a look. i would by them coffee any time i see these guys.

and yes coal berner. it is safer to test pressure vessels with water. ive got the setup for doing just that, at work. what is the testing pressure of this boiler? i mean what is it tested to "pressure" when new? would be nice to get the specs. i know that some pressure vessels are crazy high when testing repairs.

and thank you for all the help, and future help that everyone is giving me on the endeavor. i don't what to rush this. i want to do it right the first time. doing it twice is not an option. never have and never will. it seems to aggravate people these days when you don't cut corners to get it done.

windago wrote: BTW the unit was set up for steam. but i know that doesn't matter. well i hope it doesn't?

Steam will rust faster than hot water. I had a new Utica (yocka) oil burner in steam installed years ago, cast iron section rusted threw in 2 years, must of been a casting flaw, but still I would pressure test (LOW) first and see what you have.

You could have pinholes from rusting through the pressure vessel from the inside, Steam units have 'air' [steam] above the water level. A water boiler has no air in the system, so very little if any rust/corrosion from the inside.

Whistlenut's advice about rusted nuts/studs is valid, I use a very controlable CP airchisel with a blunt tool. I hit each flat on a nut with a few gentle raps, this breakes up any rust structure in the threads, and frees the nut. Heat also works, but the air chisel doesn't require a spark lighter

The fan motor may not be stuck, it may be the gearbox is stuck from old dried grease, or possibly a broken gear.?

Document with photos the whole rebuild, we a love photo documentary

Greg L

Best of luck on your new adventure!!