From OWB to EFM520 Installed in Truck Box

windyhill4.2 wrote:Rob,i figured it out,you have to paint the plywood behind the pipes b4 installing.

You aren't the first one to point that out. I wasn't the one that hung the plywood and manifold, but it doesn't really matter now.

Well Rob, we didn't paint ours for show,but rather to have it finished & reflect light for less electric lighting needed. I do understand the thinking of the house owner to just slap it up & get it done quicker,i was tempted to do some shortcuts to get to the finish line quicker but glad I didn't.We sure are enjoying the lite work load with this system compared to the OWB.

Project update, we finally finished the 4th wall,still have a few tidbits to do & then clean-up & put things away.

Very nice, thanks for the pics. With the cold weather how is the temp. in the boiler room?

franco,we are amazed.. with the 2 inside doors closed,even tho there are air gaps all around them ,i walked into the boiler room this a/m to find it at 68* !! it was 17* outside & windy. This indoor temp even tho we have most every thing insulated quite well with the boiler & pipes.I then opened the coal bin door to allow more air to flow thru there & allow some of the heat into the bin to aid in the coal drying process.Even with the coal bin door open all day with an outside high temp of 28* & WINDY, this evening at 8 p/m the boiler room was 58* ,outside was 18* & windy yet.Most of the boiler room heat is from the fire pot door,the base & the stack,there are a few pieces of pipes & fittings that are not covered.

When I tended the boiler at 8 p/m tonite I set it at 6 teeth & 6 air,i also have the temp on the low limit at 180*,i just went out at 10 p/m to make sure the new settings are working. All seems well & with both boiler room doors closed for overnite (they are very loose fitting so the boiler can breathe) the boiler room temp is at 65* with outside temp @ 16* with breeze. I added 180* of coal to the hopper for the last 24 hrs use in this bitter cold & WINDY weather.The shop has been pulling lots of heat with the low temp & strong winds but I am working in a warm shop.!!

Yes, a cold shop can get really miserable with cold tools and working close to the floor where it is coldest.

I can picture what you went through pitching wood in the snow. Would be nice to compare costs in the spring of the coal versus wood but adding to the wood cost your additional time spent with wood at the normal shop rate. Also making due allowance for any increase in heat. Great that the Crane stove has worked out so well and has kindled an interest in cooking on it.

One bit of redundancy for the boiler room would be a kerosene heater in the event of system or power failure to prevent freezing. Maybe if you see one at the local dump. there have been lots chucked here.

franco,we do have a kerosene heater,i will have to look at clearance issues to see if I can make that work,we also have a generator for power outages. We do have a couple of pics posted showing the mess we endured with snow & tending the OWB. Labor & OWB are 2 words that go together,LOTS of work keeping that thing going ,with the multiple times per day & nite tending it we lost a lot of sleep time last winter. With the EFM we have only been adding coal 1 time per day so far,that may become 2 times per day when the real bitter cold settles in to stay awhile.I generally pull the fines lever & dump ashes in the a/m & just ck.that all systems are as they should be. The p/m is a repeat of that + adding coal. Last nite was the hardest I worked so far for refilling the hopper with it taking 6 buckets @ 30 # each. Compare that to the OWB eating almost 1/2 cord of wood with the wind & temps we have been enduring this week. We would have had to tend it last nite at 11-11:30 p/m & then again at 6 a/m. For us coal heating is a big win -win,better sleep times,less work out in the nasty weather,less work to get the same amount of heat + with the Crane in our cold floored living room keeping that room way more comfy,winter time will be more bearable for us this yr.

180 lbs per day means it is running at 50% output...if and when it starts running flat out you will be a busy bee keeping up with the ashes; 2-3 tubs per day depending on the coal. Still very manageable compared to the wood monster.

Do you keep your shop at room temperature all the time? It might be worthwhile considering a temperature setback at night. A cheap digital thermostat would make sure it was back to 70 by the next morning.

OK so the boiler is working at 50% of its 80% efficiency
while it wouldn't hurt to try a set back overnight, you need to consider the recovery time
{ I have always advocated for trying things that don't cost much] BUT---> if the recovery pushes the boiler closer to its capacity - then all you gained was more work and more coal burned and less comfort

Lyrics from Golden Earing - "Your gonna know when the Bullet hits the Bone"

so back on my soap box
ill once again testify
System balance will give more comfort and economy than jack-rabbiting up and down temperatures
hi load wet systems only benefit from setback when the set backs are for L O N G periods

I should have been more specific with my 50% figure...at 180 lbs per day, it is running at 50% duty cycle at the current feed rate of 6 teeth. There is room for more, but I don't advocate running these things beyond 6 teeth unless it is really necessary.

Sting wrote:ill once again testify
System balance will give more comfort and economy than jack-rabbiting up and down temperatures
hi load wet systems only benefit from setback when the set backs are for L O N G periods

You are probably correct, I just thought it was a free experiment that might net some savings.

Sting raised an interesting concept about potential efficiency problems associated with setbacks, but I think Rob's clarification addresses Sting's point. Setting the temp back at night would not intrinsically change the efficiency of the unit when it is running, and AFAIK would cause it to run for fewer total hours per day (since the heat loss from the building is reduced when the building is at the set-back temp). Certainly there are issues associated with timing the return to the daytime temperature, but I don't see where adverse efficiency impacts could prevent setback savings under the operation as described.

Mike

We used the night time set back for yrs., several yrs. ago I got tired of a cold feeling shop until noon & we have been on the set & forget plan since. This method results in a much warmer feel in the shop without raising the tstat to higher temps. When this cold snap passes & we return to more normal temps,would it be beneficial for me to go back to 5 teeth & 5 air again until we get real cold again ?

Agree with the no setback suggested.

I myself am in a masonry building with 18" thick stone walls and the other sections are 12" of brick on top of the 18" stone. When these walls get cold, they stay cold for a long time.

When I had my Hyfire II in here trying to heat the open 2000+ square foot main area and using a night time setback, as Windy said, that thing would have both burners running full bore from 6:00 AM until about noon to get it back up to temp.

The following year I decided to try the overhead NG infrared heaters, and have never looked back. These babies can be set back at night because of the nature of the infrared based heating. The only draw back is that I can't leave candy bars on the desk unless I want to use a straw to eat them.

I just took the Hyfire II home to use in the garage there.

Rick