Efficiency of a 520 ?'

Hate to drag up a somewhat older thread, but I missed this one. I am burning Lehigh this year in my EFM, and am definitely not completely burning the coal. Love the coal, very little odor, burns nice and hot, the ash is reasonable, and little fly ash compared to say Direnzo. But I would love to see less unburned coal in the ash. What's the secret settings

There are no secret settings. Just adjust the stoker to an appropriate feed rate for the load, and adjust the air to get a 2" ash ring around the fire on long burns.

And get used to the idea that it is normal for there to be some amount of unburned coal in the ash. Unless it's excessive, it's an indication that the fuel/air mix is correct.

Mike

I've had some real good burns with the Lehigh by backing off the feed rate a notch and reducing the air so the fire gets bigger than usual. It goes against the 2" ash rule that usually works. The coal takes longer to burn then most so the lower feed rate and slower air give it more time to burn. It takes considerably longer for the fire to ramp up but when it does it is a bigger, hotter fire that quickly satisfies any zone. I can tell its hotter by opening up the door. It is noticeable. And I don't have hardly any unburnt coal in the ash pan. My coal useage has dropped a lot too. I went from 4 teeth feed 4.5 air to 3 teeth, 3 air. Try it. You might like it.

That would mesh with my seeing less ash, and less coal, in the ash bin when the weather has been colder. I've got an old style stoker, so I am not seeing an easy way of getting it down to three teeth.

Pete

If you have the slotted crank, 4 teeth is as low as it will go.

What are you running for an air and timer setting?