That sounds funny coming from a guy heating a neighborhood with a 1960 EFM.windyhill4.2 wrote:Better to buy a new unit than to go with an old refurbed unit with unknown life expectancy !!
More seriously, I don't really buy into the "newer is always better" concept as it applies to coal equipment. IMO some of the older stuff had advantages in materials and features vs. the newer stuff, and can offer excellent value and lengthy, reliable service. We heated our last house with a 1962 EFM 900, and are now in our fifth winter heating our "new" house with an EFM 85R conversion stoker believed to be from the 1950's. I think we're closing in on 200 tons of total burn, and have needed to replace a total of 2 feed auger pipes and a small handful of shear pins.
Mike