Shear Pin Issues With EFM 520, Ready to Throw in the Towel

 
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mooseman100
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Post by mooseman100 » Thu. Mar. 23, 2017 5:56 pm

So I have posted that I have had issues with shear pins snapping. I am using the factory pins from EFM dealer. I currently have dierezo buck in the pin, about 3 tons of it. I have a brand new short worm with new bushing on it coming out of the boiler. It then attaches to a longer worm that goes into a dog house just outside of the bin. Both tubes are the blue factory tubes and they do butt against each other in the factory coupler. There is 2 1/2 flights of the worm extending out the bottom of the tube. This sits right at the edge of the dog huose and main bin. The dog house serves the purpose of allowing me to remove the auger if main bin is full. There is a sliding door that goes up and down between the main bin and dog house.
Today is the third pin to break this year. I bougtthis boiler from Pacowy 6 years ago. I have had ar least 3 shear pin breaks every year and most often I do not catxh it until fire is completley out and then have to break out the acetylene torch and relight.
Previuosly the lower tube was a ipece of pvc pipe. This year when I replace the worm I noticed the pvc had eroded inside the coupler and of cuorse was creating a place for coal to get caught and stuck. Fixed that and still problems
If it was outside now I would have already put holes in it with my 500 rifle!
If any body has ideas I am game, or you just may see a come and get it post


 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Mar. 23, 2017 6:43 pm

Well, if you are ready to give the boiler away, you will have no shortage of takers.

Whatever your problem is, it is simple.

Have you ruled out oversized coal? Rocks?

Are the two auger pipes tightly and square ly fitted? If one is cut crooked, it will create a gap that the coal catches on.

Is your pot tube inserted the correct depth into the pot?

Is the pot auger in the correct position relative to the pot? If someone has cut the clutch shaft or used a different coupler, it can change the position of the auger. Pictures of the auger in the pot would help.

 
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Scottscoaled
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Post by Scottscoaled » Thu. Mar. 23, 2017 6:59 pm

Boy,,,,,,, it takes an awful lot to break one of those pins. Usually a rock. Or a piece of metal runs up the auger. I got one in a trade that had a 1/4-20 x 1.5" flathead screw going around in the auger. Did you take off the pot auger and make sure there was nothing happening there? Take it all apart. Put the pot auger and tube back together checking it as you go. You should be able to turn the auger with finger pressure on the end if every things good. If that is good, put the extension on with the tube and see if it still turns freely. One more question. What gauge is your extension tube? How thick is it?

Oh,, and if you are getting rid of that boiler, I want to be first in line. ;)

 
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mooseman100
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Post by mooseman100 » Thu. Mar. 23, 2017 7:57 pm

Rob,
It maybe rocks. Although when I have taken coupler apart I have never seen any rocks. Coal is stored in 1 ton grain bags setting on pallets. I have a special pallet I built with a hole in the middle so I can lift pallet above bin door with skid steer and open bottom of bag for coal to spill out into chute. So I have to transfer from storage pallet to filling pallet. This is all done on gravel driveway. I have been extra careful last few times, but one coild sneak past.

The two auger pipes do butt together. It may not be perfect, but the gap is 1/8" or less and not all the way around the pipe. Is that still too much?

Not sure how deep tube shoild go into pot. I built this 6 years ago with out ever having seen one except for you tube. When I tore this apart in dec to repair pot worm. I loosened the bracket and replaced gasket where tube goes into boiler, tube would not go in nay further.

Your last question I assume is asking about the hsirt shaft on the drive side and the coupler that attaches the short 8" ish shaft to pot worm. I can take some pictures and try to figure out how to post them.

Thanks
Rob R. wrote:Well, if you are ready to give the boiler away, you will have no shortage of takers.

Whatever your problem is, it is simple.

Have you ruled out oversized coal? Rocks?

Are the two auger pipes tightly and square ly fitted? If one is cut crooked, it will create a gap that the coal catches on.

Is your pot tube inserted the correct depth into the pot?

Is the pot auger in the correct position relative to the pot? If someone has cut the clutch shaft or used a different coupler, it can change the position of the auger. Pictures of the auger in the pot would help.

 
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mooseman100
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Post by mooseman100 » Thu. Mar. 23, 2017 8:07 pm

Scott,
The extension tube is the blue efm tube, I got from scrapper, so I beliece it is the proper one. Before the pvc was schedule 80. Which of course has a smaller imterior opening.
I have not taken the pot auger off since I put it together 6 years ago after I bought it from Pacowy.
I can say it has never turned free,y with my fingers. I would have to grip it with hand and turn it.

I don't know of anybody in the winchester va area who has one of these beasts, so I have put this together with advice from here and yiu tube videos. Could find nobody to come this far south and install one.

Thanks for your post
Scottscoaled wrote:Boy,,,,,,, it takes an awful lot to break one of those pins. Usually a rock. Or a piece of metal runs up the auger. I got one in a trade that had a 1/4-20 x 1.5" flathead screw going around in the auger. Did you take off the pot auger and make sure there was nothing happening there? Take it all apart. Put the pot auger and tube back together checking it as you go. You should be able to turn the auger with finger pressure on the end if every things good. If that is good, put the extension on with the tube and see if it still turns freely. One more question. What gauge is your extension tube? How thick is it?

Oh,, and if you are getting rid of that boiler, I want to be first in line. ;)

 
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Scottscoaled
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Post by Scottscoaled » Thu. Mar. 23, 2017 8:19 pm

Well don't go getting rid of it for the wrong reason. There are not many machines out there that run as good as an EFM's do. There is probably just something that needs a little tweeking to give you the performance you need. Hang in there. When heating season is over we can go thru your machine and figure out what is wrong. Why do you start your fire with an aaxcetalene torch? There is a much easier way.

 
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mooseman100
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Post by mooseman100 » Thu. Mar. 23, 2017 8:34 pm

I cant imagine easier lighting. I hold the torch in 3 spots to form a triangle 120 sexonds each spot and done. I tried the wood in pot thing and then coal on top, that seemed very cumbersome
I ma comsideri g selling this old fitzgibbons unit and buying new if somebody would come this far to install
Scottscoaled wrote:Well don't go getting rid of it for the wrong reason. There are not many machines out there that run as good as an EFM's do. There is probably just something that needs a little tweeking to give you the performance you need. Hang in there. When heating season is over we can go thru your machine and figure out what is wrong. Why do you start your fire with an aaxcetalene torch? There is a much easier way.


 
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windyhill4.2
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Post by windyhill4.2 » Thu. Mar. 23, 2017 8:50 pm

Everyone keeps pointing to steel or rocks caught in the auger..

I think it is the towel you threw..
It got tangled & wrapped tight in the tube..
That will be a blast to remove :gee: toothy

 
ben
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Post by ben » Fri. Mar. 24, 2017 7:43 am

I had the same problems last fall constantly breaking sheer pins. My unit was installed in 2008. Is your coal dry?
My problem was the bin pipe was rusted and corroded in side causing grinding of the coal.
I use rice. I also had too much auger exposed. Since I corrected the exposed auger to 2.5 flights and replaced the bin pipe (cost $10.60)
My unit is running perfect! Be patient. These guys will help you on this forum. I was able to fix this problem myself and I am not a plumber or anything close to being handy to fix things.
I would try getting some dry bagged rice.

 
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Post by Pacowy » Fri. Mar. 24, 2017 8:42 am

Sorry to hear of the trouble you're having. Like others my first thought would be the rocks/gravel issue. Even the coal itself could be stressing the auger, depending upon the sizing. EFM spec is for rice; many have successfully used buck, but big buck with some oversized pcs might not work so well. Might want to use a screen on the feed bin to catch rocks/debris/oversize pcs before they get to the auger. x2 on sc's thought to check pipe ID's. Also, flighting of extension should match pot auger, auger shaft should have no bends, and exposed end of auger extension should be clear of the bottom of the feed bin and any obstructions. How long is the extension?

Mike

 
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CoalHeat
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Post by CoalHeat » Fri. Mar. 24, 2017 9:20 am

If there are no issues with the feed system-all parts are in good condition and properly assembled then it could very well be stones in the coal or as P said buck that is oversized. I tried buck but don't use it any longer, went back to rice. I see no advantage using buck size over rice, especially since the EFM is designed for rice. The sounds from the auger pipe are noticeably louder on buck then rice, that's telling me it's working harder to feed the coal.

Why not get a few hundred pounds of rice and run that through the boiler and see if the shear pin issue stops.

 
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Post by jimg » Fri. Mar. 24, 2017 9:24 am

ben wrote:I had the same problems last fall constantly breaking sheer pins. My unit was installed in 2008. Is your coal dry?
My problem was the bin pipe was rusted and corroded in side causing grinding of the coal.
I use rice. I also had too much auger exposed. Since I corrected the exposed auger to 2.5 flights and replaced the bin pipe (cost $10.60)
My unit is running perfect! Be patient. These guys will help you on this forum. I was able to fix this problem myself and I am not a plumber or anything close to being handy to fix things.
I would try getting some dry bagged rice.
I don't want to admit how much I paid for a bin pipe from an EFM dealer. That blue paint must be expensive!

Jim

 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Fri. Mar. 24, 2017 11:01 am

CoalHeat wrote:If there are no issues with the feed system-all parts are in good condition and properly assembled then it could very well be stones in the coal or as P said buck that is oversized. I tried buck but don't use it any longer, went back to rice. I see no advantage using buck size over rice, especially since the EFM is designed for rice. The sounds from the auger pipe are noticeably louder on buck then rice, that's telling me it's working harder to feed the coal.

Why not get a few hundred pounds of rice and run that through the boiler and see if the shear pin issue stops.
Since he has pins shearing occasionally and not all the time, I would suggest running rice an entire season.
A couple of days of running may show hopeful results but would not be conclusive.

Reading the thread I don't see why the OP is running buck v. rice, the preferred and recommended size.

I would imagine that choosing a particle size distribution would have a major impact on equipment design. If they wanted to move buck around v. rice the design likely would have been different.

I have a Hitzer 503..purchased, partially, because of the lack of a great deal of moving parts. Sure, the wifey has to stack and restack coal pallets and move the coal into the house and put each coal into the stove. More work v. the EFM but overall due to the lack of mechanical issues (besides broken grates, some welding here and there and the hopper issues and the fans needing replaced) it likely evens out.

The switch to all rice might be the ticket.

 
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Post by mooseman100 » Fri. Mar. 24, 2017 11:25 am

Funny, I was wondering where that towel went!!!
windyhill4.2 wrote:Everyone keeps pointing to steel or rocks caught in the auger..

I think it is the towel you threw..
It got tangled & wrapped tight in the tube..
That will be a blast to remove :gee: toothy

 
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Post by Pacowy » Fri. Mar. 24, 2017 11:30 am

davidmcbeth3 wrote:Reading the thread I don't see why the OP is running buck v. rice, the preferred and recommended size.

I would imagine that choosing a particle size distribution would have a major impact on equipment design. If they wanted to move buck around v. rice the design likely would have been different.
AFAIK the S-20 stoker on the 520 originally was named that based on it's ability to burn 20 lb/hr of buck. After some amount of customer experience in using it, EFM recommended rice-only. My understanding is much of the change was driven by fume issues that arose (esp. when no extension auger was used), but I could imagine others had feed issues with big buck or even a small percentage of oversized pieces in smaller buck.

Mike


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