EFM Adjustments

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billw
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Post by billw » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 10:45 am

I got my system started yesterday. It stayed lit overnight. I'm running 4 teeth and 4 air right now. I've got a couple of questions about running this as efficiently as possible. I looked in the firepot this morning. There is a small circle of burning coal, maybe 5-6" diameter and ash on the outside of it. The ash is piled a couple of inches higher than the burning coal. Is this normal or do I need to move up the feed rate? I don't want the flame to burn down to the auger.

I checked the ash bucket this morning. The bottom isn't completely covered yet. I did notice some unburnt coal (maybe shale, I don't know) I figured this was part of start-up and getting the feed rate adjusted. When it first started yesterday it ran continuously for a couple of hours. It had to heat the water in two boilers and I had two zones runnning. I'll get some pictures tonight when I get home.

 
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LsFarm
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Post by LsFarm » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 11:09 am

Sounds normal to me, the low portion in the middle will raise up when the fire is 'working'.. How often is your timer set to run?? Right now it probably is running only on the timer.. just in idle, 'keep fire' mode.

Greg L..

 
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billw
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Post by billw » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 11:17 am

Greg,
I've got the timer set for 2 min/half hour. If the temp stays the same this weekend I'm going to try to back it down. This way if the fire goes out I can get it re-lit in the morning. I guess now is the time to play with the adjustments to find what's best for fall/spring. Glad to hear it's normal. I was expecting the fire/ashes to be pretty level.

 
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coal berner
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Post by coal berner » Mon. Oct. 06, 2008 3:20 pm

billw keep the timer on 2 min every 30min. Knock the feed to 3 teeth and the air to 3.5 or 4 and see if you still have
unburnt coal in the ash The unburt coal could be from your first start up but if you see it again slow the feed rate and add
air it is not that cold out yet to have it on 4 teeth & 4 air but when it does get cold set it back to 4 teeth & 4 air
you will have to play around with it until you find the sweet spot for your set up chimney draft and so on 4 teeth and 4
air is a good starting point go from there also what do you have your L8124A set at low and high set point you can also
adjust that to a bigger diff. and set point for warmer weather then readjust for the colder weather 40 to 50 degrees

from the low to high is a good start for warmer weather if you start having outfires then make it 30 degrees but you
should not have that problem with the timer set for 2 min every 30 min. next time when it calls for heat look at the fire and see how high it is don't stick your face into the door to close :lol: where is the black spot in the fire in the middel the ash will be 2 to 2.5 " thick on the pot ring when firing On idle the fire will be small in the center with ash all around it but when it is firing the fire will grow where the ash was and the flames will be hitting the top of the firebox then when it stops stoking it will be back to a small fire again with ash all around it from what you are saying I don't see a problem just maybe you are feeding to much coal for this warm weather put it to 3 teeth and 3.5 or 4 air and see if the coal all burns up Have fun playing :)


 
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Post by stoker-man » Tue. Oct. 07, 2008 10:14 am

As long as the center of the pot is a little darker than the rest, you should be OK. An average ash ring might be 1 1/2- 2 inches wide and maybe the same height. If you see the dark spot and have a high ash ring, it's because the coal is a little soft. If it clinkers, it's definitely softer.

 
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billw
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Post by billw » Tue. Oct. 07, 2008 10:46 am

Set the system to 3 teeth and 3 and a half air last night. I checked the ash this AM, doesn't look like a bunch of unburnt coal but I'm not seeing that dark spot in the middle of the fire. Does that mean I need to increase the feed rate? I'll get some pics tonight of the ash and fire.

 
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coal berner
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Post by coal berner » Tue. Oct. 07, 2008 3:32 pm

stoker-man wrote:As long as the center of the pot is a little darker than the rest, you should be OK. An average ash ring might be 1 1/2- 2 inches wide and maybe the same height. If you see the dark spot and have a high ash ring, it's because the coal is a little soft. If it clinkers, it's definitely softer.
Anthracite Red ash will clinker do to the high Iron content in the vein of coal white ash does not have high Iron in it that's why it will not clinker also different coal in different veins will have higher and lower Fuzion temp points some coal will fuzz at 2200F to 2500 F other will go to 2800 or more before it will fuzz together it all depends on the Iron content in the coal when it was formed what you are saying would apply more to Bituminous coal Not to Anthracite coal Yes anthracite can and does weigh more in the Northern field per cubic ft by a few lbs but that could be do to more bone formed in the coal and other factors like higher pressure & temps when it was being formed bone is rock with a small % of carbon in it Do to being formed with the coal that's why it will burn but not to ash it is harder and heavier then coal he is a post about red ash Vs white ash Red Ash or White Ash

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