EFM 520 SULFUR SMELL

Hi guys. I had a rebuilt EFM 520 installed last april. since it got cold i have been having problems with a sulfur smell coming out of the barrel and into my living room. Its been causing some concern as i have children and i'd like to find a way to stop it. Any info would be appreciated. The guy that installed it is kind of hard to get ahold of so i've come here. Thanks

Well there certainly is good reason to be concerned.. That sulfur smell most likely has Carbon Monoxide with it which can be deadly if there is enough exposure. I hope you have 2 or 3 carbon monoxide detectors in the household. I suggest hunting for the problem and solving it without fail, immediately. It should be shut down until you can work on fixing the problem. Firstly, the chimney should be checked for a blockage or breeches and a manometer needs installed permanently to make sure there is always negative pressure in the chimney/flue pipe.

Don't take unnecessary risks with carbon monoxide.
If you don't have any detectors, get at least two of them ASAP.

Please keep us informed of your progress so we can help fix the problem...

As lightning said.... if you do not have CO detectors, shut down NOW. It's a dumb way to die & a lousy way to have your children die too. Sorry if I'm harsh, but around here we worry about it.

I've heard the EFM's need a certain distance of auger from the boiler and a certain amount of coal in the hopper at all times. If the hopper is too close to the boiler or if the barrel is near empty it can feed back some odor. And, of course it needs constant and proper draft. There is no way to guess. You need to buy or borrow a manometer. A Dwyer #25 is the way to go. Do NOT get the #27! eBay is the place, or straight to Dwyer direct at 800-872-9141. It may be cheaper that way. I don't think they show on their website any more, call & ask for a #25.

we have 2 co monitors. they have never gone off. the barrel is very close to the furnace, maybe 2 feet. even when the barrel is full, we can still get the smell. its the only source of heat i have, so shutting down may be out of the question. the installer said there was plenty of draft when he put it in. i have close to a 30 ft. chimney. i will try to upload some pics of the install today after work. i will work on getting a manometer.

It is possible there isn't enough draft. I have a in line fan on the flue for mine, perhaps a fan is needed for you.

You are running just the pot auger, which is not recommended by EFM for this very reason. You can usually get away with it if the air is set not much over 4, and you burn rice (not buck) size coal. If you haven't already, I'd set the stoker at 4/4 and see what happens.

Also, plugged holes in the burner plates or plugged holes in the end if the pot auger can contribute to this.

Rob R. wrote:You are running just the pot auger, which is not recommended by EFM for this very reason. You can usually get away with it if the air is set not much over 4, and you burn rice (not buck) size coal. If you haven't already, I'd set the stoker at 4/4 and see what happens.

Also, plugged holes in the burner plates or plugged holes in the end if the pot auger can contribute to this.

Rob,
What do you mean by just the pot auger? Are talking about the length? When it was installed, my coal bin had oil tanks in it. They have since been removed. Should I get a longer auger and take it into the coal bin?

Just another thought, and I apologize if I am just spouting off random things here, but I am trying to get you guys all the info that I can. I recently changed coal suppliers. I was getting coal in bags from a hardware store, but switched to getting delivery from Superior. Is that something that could have an effect on the operation of the stove?

Dude!!!! I feel for you man. If you have a short auger (your barrel is close to your boiler) and you are burning Superior buck, then you are not really telling every one how bad it is. I had the same experience. The smell was horrific. The only good thing was that I was able to empty the 55 gallon drum and fill it with something else. I didn't have the room to put extra auger on. I immediately got rid of the Superior and got something else. You could see the fog coming up thru the buck. If you want to use the Superior because it is a great produce, which it is, then you will have to extend your auger by at least 2 feet. If you have the room or a bin close by then you will have better results going even longer. Since I moved my boiler to a area with more room, I was able to take a worn out starter auger(pot auger) and put it backwards and extended the auger about 2'. Cut off the straight shaft part and leave just the flighting. It now works fine with buck. But not at the higher settings.

By pot auger I am referring to the auger and tube that goes directly into the stoker, the "bin auger" is what attaches onto the pot auger with a coupling. The factory pot auger tube is just over 2' long (25.5" I think). If you added a bin auger, you would be much less likely to have problems with gasses going back through the tube.

Also,if the new coal is larger in size, it will not back as tightly in the pipe and make it easier for gasses to flow back into the drum/bin. Some people try burning buck size coal with just the short auger and quickly discover that fumes leak out of their drum/bin.

One more thing, if you decide to add a bin auger...make sure the pipes are squarely cut, and join with no gaps inside the coupler. Steve Wilhelm in Pine Grove will have the parts you need.

Glad to hear that you have functioning CO detectors, they make this a 'comfort complaint' not a safety issue.

Do you pull your ash lever once a day? too many fines and or cloged air holes in the grates can cause a backup of air in the auger pipe.

Some coals do have more sulphur than others, so It could be the coal, but it is an indication of something else not being right.

I'd suggest following Rob's suggestion, make sure your air is at 4 or less,

Also, double check that your chimney flue doesn't have an accumulation of fly ash in the elbows or on any horizontal stretches,
fly ash can clog up a pipe in less than a month with some coals and burning conditions.

So:
Check air setting
Check flue pipes
Get a manometer

And, since you said that your coal bin is now available, it would be much better if you have a longer auger in your
setup, so yes it would be best to extend the auger and use the coal bin.

Hope this helps
Greg L

Heat isn’t working at all now. The experts have been called. Looks like we’ll be getting to the bottom of this shortly as this has now jumped outside my realm of understanding completely. I believe that the air is set at 4 or 4.5. I do pull the ask level once a day. My son did let the ash pile up a little the other day. He didn’t get the pan out when I asked him to so it was pretty full. I had to pull some out off the floor of the until with a shovel.


News at 11!

Anthracitemight wrote:Heat isn’t working at all now.

Can you be more specific?

I no longer have heat going to my radiators. I still have hot water in my sinks. I called the guys who installed the unit and they are coming out to go over the system.

Anthracitemight wrote:I no longer have heat going to my radiators. I still have hot water in my sinks. I called the guys who installed the unit and they are coming out to go over the system.

That just sounds like your circulator pump(s) stopped working.


Keep us posted. I ASSume they are coming today ???



Rick