efm Bituminous boiler testing is next week

The last test should be to burn some of the Southern Illinois or Indiana bituminous coals. They are low coking coals but high clinkering. If they can be burned successfully in a stoker design like yours, you will have the cats a$$ (and a potential customer). Otherwise I need to keep moving forward with my plans for a Will-Burt style stoker installation where the retort is surrounded by refractory to allow the ash to clinker and be removed in chunks.

Chris

We use Wil-burt timers, but I don't know much about their stoker. There seems to be so many varied soft coals that I wonder if any one stoker can burn them all. The Wyoming coal burned nicer than anthracite. I can't even predict when a unit will be available for anywhere but Wyoming, this year.

So did defunct builders like Iron Fireman make engines for their geographical area and as coal fell out of favor they died and others survived because the coal infrastructure remained???

if yes -- you have a task to fill those shoes -providing stokers for each region.

Maybe its not worth it without coal suppliers - and who wants to supply coal if there is no good way to turn it into heat energy..

Chicken or the egg?

Looks like the design you have burning on Utube would work for Bit coal thats dusty lumpy "clinkery" with only a few tweaks by the local installer.

You need a large customer base to launch a build on or reintroduce a model - a little out of the strike zone isn't bad when coal is only 40 or 80 bucks a ton!

To get coal -- affordable coal -- Ill likely have to screen and crush the stuff that the power company burns so it will work in my little load. Its a possibility - still better than humping chunk wood - but maybe not better than burning the biomass mix that I do now?????

Still watching

The prototype Wyoming bit coal stoker is being shipped to Wyoming and someone out there will be testing and using it over the Winter.

It's too late in the year to produce any stokers for the Wyoming market and there aren't any extra S-20 stokers available anyway.

Next year will be a different story.

Meanwhile, in the near future, testing will be done with a new prototype pot for use with Pennsylvania bit coal.

Stoker man wrote: Meanwhile, in the near future, testing will be done with a new prototype pot for use with Pennsylvania bit coal

I could arrange to have some of our Illinois stoker coal sent for testing. I am currently in the process of building a detached garage/shop and will install insulated Pex to the house with the anticipation of installing a coal boiler in the future to heat both the shop and the house with a water to air heat exchanger. I'd be very interested in an EFM boiler that could handle our coal as it will likely be a lot less expensive than what I was quoted for a Will-Burt S30 stoker and Burnham Commerical 4N63 boiler.

Our coal is highly clinkering, but very low coking, so it won't tend to swell and cake together, but you will have a fun time handling the fused ash.

Chris

How much are the Wilburt and Burnham units?

First, Joe has to determine what type of auger and pot he is going to use and then construct it from scratch. I don't have any timeline on that yet.

Stoker-man asked: How much are the Wilburt and Burnham units?

First, Joe has to determine what type of auger and pot he is going to use and then construct it from scratch. I don't have any timeline on that yet.

Well, the last quotes I had were $4300 for the stoker itself and $7500 for the boiler, both less freight. It's one SERIOUS boiler, 1,500# just for the boiler, 245K BTU gross output rating. But, the stoker is installed into the boiler in the "classic" underfeed bituminous design where the retort is installed through the 'ash pit' door, and the entire pot is surrounded with a cast refractory hearth that comes up to about 1" below the lip of the pot.

This install method does two things - keeps the firebox temperatures high due to minimal air leakage except what is controlled through the fire door secondary air, and gives the as a place to collect and clinker into a ring for "easy" removal.

Chris

OK then. I guess our model will be less than that, but I have no clue at this time.

The test boiler is now in Sheridan, Wyoming and the plumbers are attempting to hook it up.

By the installation delays and questions I'm getting, I get the impression that boilers aren't seen too much out there.

The test boiler has been piped and running for a week now. It is heating very well and there are no problems maintaining the fire or feeding the unit with Wyoming soft coal.

There is interest in the product from those who have seen it in operation and we are in the process of determining production of the unit.

It's been quite awhile, but I've tested Montana soft coal and lignite from North Dakota. Both burn fine using the auger and pipe and the standard pot. Neither makes a clinker and the ash is sort of like a sandy wood ash. The heat output compared to anthracite is no comparison, about 40% less, but the coal is so cheap, you're getting more than your money's worth.

The lignite was very fine and feed by auger very well. The Montana coal was one inch stoker coal and much too large. We are getting some 1/4" sent in for testing, which is 3/8" and finer. There is also some coal from Utah and Colorado coming for testing.

Except for being oversized, I haven't had any problems with it.

what is the btu of the coal your burning ,do you have any pics of the stoker unit it

stoker-man wrote:There is also some coal from Utah and Colorado coming for testing.

Just curious...Where exactly are you getting coal from in these states.

For Mark, use this link to see the unit: Installation of a stoker boiler at efm

To see the test burn, use this link: Western soft coal experiments in the DF 520

For Rockwood, I am only going by what our dealer in Wyoming says. I don't even know if there are mines in UT or CO.

The testing of Alaskan bituminous is now complete. See the efm forum.