Added a ton of Reading Anthracite to my bin Saturday afternoon. This coal had been stored outside and had ice and snow with it that ended up in my bin. Occasionally when this happens it "bridges" in my bin and does not feed. So, I was not totally surprised when my stoker seemed to be running excessively on Sunday and upon checking it I discovered the fire was small and almost out. This kept repeating itself throughout the day. I would jam my shovel into the pile and it a little while later the stoker would shut down and seem back to normal.
Towards evening this thing was again running continually and upon checking it I noticed the auger was not turning. I shut it down and tried turning the auger backwards and to my surprise I could not. This thing was so tight I could not turning it either way.
After a few hours of troubleshooting and tearing things apart I determined the problem to be a seized "bearing" on the auger in the burn pot. On this auger there is a round aluminum "bearing" that appears to have a bronze bushing insert that had seized on the auger shaft. Thankfully I was able to get it off, dress up the shaft and get things running again.
So what caused this? Wet coal or normal wear and tear? Or did it get excessively hot due to the coal not feeding correctly? Anyone else ever have this happen?
Any suggestions on how I can make sure this does not happen again?
What a Way to Spend a Sunday. (Repairing My Gentle Janitor)
- Rob R.
- Site Moderator
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- Location: Chazy, NY
- Stoker Coal Boiler: EFM 520
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My guess is that you had a bridge in the bin due to the wet/frozen coal and the fire burned deeply into the pot. Between the fire being lower than it should, and the auger running for hours on end due to unsatisfied demand...things probably got pretty hot. I am surprised it seized up on you, but that is the best explanation I can come up with.
Get all your coal delivered in the summer or fall and don't start burning it until it is dry (or at least drained of excess water).prophead wrote:Any suggestions on how I can make sure this does not happen again?
- Hambden Bob
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- Hot Air Coal Stoker Stove: Harman 1998 Magnum Stoker
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- Coal Size/Type: Rice-A-Roni ! / Nut
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I'd hafta concur ! On the Bright Side,this Dilemma stopped you from crawling into a Dark Bar and Blowing Sunday to Bits while you wait Patiently for the Daytona Race with NA$CAR ! Try the dry route...It always provides dividends...Stay with it,Mate !