1980 EFM 520 Worm/Auger Is Jammed

Gman · Post by **Gman** » Tue. Oct. 13, 2015 9:09 pm

Thanks to everyone for their input. Unfortunately, time did not permit me to pull this thing apart before I had to get back home (2 hours away) with my family. The decision was made to add the oil gun to the unit to switch over to oil so my mom does not have to deal with the ashes going forward. The local heating company will be out in a week or so to do the conversion work so they will ultimately service and rectify the situation. I will update the group when I find out what was causing the jam. This a great forum. All the best to everyone.

Post by **Richard S.** » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 5:22 am

You're buying the gun or already have it? The cost of the oil is going to be a lot compared to the coal. As far as I know it's not very efficient with the oil, certainly not compared to regular oil burner. That's more of a convenience thing so you can switch it to oil if you were going on vacation for a week.

If she is an area with gas it might be the time to consider moving to a new gas boiler, in a few years it will pay for itself over the cost of oil.

That coal boiler can be sold and has a lot of value, even if it's 40+ years old. How much depends on the condition, if it's in good condition it's not pocket change..

Post by **Rob R.** » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 5:29 am

If you don't intend to burn coal again I would consider replacing the entire boiler. A brand new oil boiler isn't much more than the cost of the EFM oil kit for the 520, and noticeably more efficient.

Gman · Post by **Gman** » Wed. Oct. 14, 2015 11:28 am

Natural gas is not available. The intent is to still be able to burn coal. The gun is about 1/2 the cost of a new oil burner. Will not be the most efficient way to go, but she will probably not stay in the house too long. It solves the problem of dealing with ashes and I think the coal stoker will be seen as a value add to the next owner when sold. Thanks

Post by **Richard S.** » Thu. Oct. 15, 2015 5:54 am

Gman wrote: I think the coal stoker will be seen as a value add to the next owner when sold. Thanks

If someone from here was buying the house they would and if they were smart they would use it to negotiate the sale price down.

Unfortunately most people are not aware of the benefits of coal and they are going to have no clue how easy it is to operate an efm stoker. In their mind when they read coal on the listing they are going to envision the guy on the titanic shoveling coal into a boiler. In addition to that the Realtors generally have no clue. Overall it's not a selling point for a house but it should be in particular since natural gas is not available.

If you are going to put the oil gun in I guess you can partly avoid that but the next issue is if the boiler is 30 or 40 years old, that is way beyond the life of most boilers.

If/when you list it be sure to note a fuel price comparison. Don't list it as just coal but something like "Thermostatically controlled automatic coal stoker boiler". I would even include a picture of it so it's clear it's not much different than any other heating unit.

Good Luck.

Gman · Post by **Gman** » Fri. Oct. 16, 2015 7:16 pm

Update: The heating company came out today to do some prep work for the oil tank. There was no rock jamming the worm it was rust and corrosion build up. What is the useful life of this boiler? My grandfather finally converted to oil this summer and his EFM was from the 1960's.

Post by **Rob R.** » Fri. Oct. 16, 2015 7:28 pm

Many of the original EFM's are still running. If yours has been well cared for the service life should be 50+ years.

Jws2017 · Post by **Jws2017** » Mon. Mar. 23, 2020 9:46 pm

Hello

I am new to here and I was wondering if I can get some assistance with my EFM DF520. The auto feed will not turn. It will turn for about 3 mins then stop.

We have tried different things like removing the auger, we manually feed the rice coal. But something is not connecting. It will not allow to auto feed To continuously pull the coal to continue to burn.

Post by **Rob R.** » Tue. Mar. 24, 2020 10:34 am

Jws2017 wrote: ↑
Mon. Mar. 23, 2020 9:46 pm
Hello

I am new to here and I was wondering if I can get some assistance with my EFM DF520. The auto feed will not turn. It will turn for about 3 mins then stop.

We have tried different things like removing the auger, we manually feed the rice coal. But something is not connecting. It will not allow to auto feed To continuously pull the coal to continue to burn.

Welcome. I would start with some basic troubleshooting. Make sure the motor is getting power. If not, there is probably something wrong with you aquastat/wiring. If the motor is getting power and not turning, the motor likely has an issue.

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Tue. Mar. 24, 2020 11:06 am

If the motor always turns when it should and the auger still stops at intermits then look to replace the broken shear-pin.

coaledfeat · Post by **coaledfeat** » Tue. Mar. 24, 2020 11:22 am

In my system there is a second aquastat that shuts off on low temp such as an out fire. I have to overide it to begin stoker operation at cold startup. Keep us posted, good luck. Gary

Jws2017 · Post by **Jws2017** » Tue. Mar. 24, 2020 12:14 pm

Hello, where can I find these pins to change them to try and route out the cause. I would like to try and change the pin to see if this could be the issue. Can you please direct me On how to find the aquastat?

McGiever · Post by **McGiever** » Tue. Mar. 24, 2020 12:49 pm

And what were the results from these steps?

Rob R. wrote: ↑
Tue. Mar. 24, 2020 10:34 am
Welcome. I would start with some basic troubleshooting. Make sure the motor is getting power. If not, there is probably something wrong with you aquastat/wiring. If the motor is getting power and not turning, the motor likely has an issue.

Then you can proceed to here: At about 1:40 into the YouTube video is what you want to focus on...

Post by StokerDon - Another efm 520 family member

Post by **Rob R.** » Tue. Mar. 24, 2020 1:08 pm

Jws2017 wrote: ↑
Tue. Mar. 24, 2020 12:14 pm
Hello, where can I find these pins to change them to try and route out the cause. I would like to try and change the pin to see if this could be the issue. Can you please direct me On how to find the aquastat?

Are you saying the motor and stoker drive is running, but the auger is not turning?

Jws2017 · Post by **Jws2017** » Tue. Mar. 24, 2020 3:07 pm

Hello,

I am looking where to fin the pin to replace.

Rob R, that is correct the motor turns and the sticker, however we cleaned the auger to make sure there is nothing blocking. It will move as if it is pulling the coal then it will stop and the motor and sticker will still run