EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Rob R. · By: **Rob R.** On: Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:30 pm

vermontday wrote:I remove the live coals from the fire pot to completely shut the stove down to allow me to remove and clean the exhaust pipe once per year. It also allows me to check the air holes in the burn pot.

To each their own. At the end of the season I just shut the power off for 24 hours and vacuum the coal/ash out of the pot once the fire is out. If I can't wait that long, I open the ash door and let the air bypass the pot...it goes out in a few hours that way. Like you, I check the burn plates and clear any blocked holes. For a mid season cleaning I just put ashes over the fire and wear welding gloves.

vermontday · By: **vermontday** On: Thu Apr 12, 2012 7:41 pm

Our oil boiler is shut down for the winter while we run the coal boiler. The oil boiler's flue is disconnected as we only have one chimney hole.

Since our coal boiler makes all our domestic hot water in the winter and the oil boiler does it in the summer, I make a quick flue switch.

I also like to run the coal boiler hard just before shutting down so the chimney is warm. This keeps the boiler under a good negative while cleaning.

It only takes a few scoops with the ladle to get the live coals out. Looks really cool (or hot?) when you do it.

EnergyManager · By: **EnergyManager** On: Sat Apr 14, 2012 1:22 pm

Just out of curiosity did you ever consider building it completely out of wood instead of the bags. A 4 x 4 x 4 cube would hold a ton and one half of coal. I realize the bags are reasonable but a couple sheets of plywood and some treat 2 x4 for infrastructure would not have been much more. I would have also lined it with plastic, Tyvek or something and a sealed lid.

One enhancement would be to put a simple pulley with a weigh on top of the coal on the inside and an indicator on the outside to visually show the change of coal without opening . Other options, tempered glass visual indicator on side, or a piece of pvc pipe which goes across the box inside placed in a slot and falls as the coal is used with an outside the box indicator. This shows the level. All simply made and inexpensive.
Short ton = 2000 lb
volume = 2000 ÷ 52 = 38.5 cu. ft. per short ton

vermontday · By: **vermontday** On: Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:07 pm

You could make wooden boxes, but I prefer the bulk bags for the following reasons;
For me, they were free, the only cost was dumpster diving to get them and then washing them out.
They have flexible sides, so when you lay the coal truck chute into them, it matches for varying chute angles.
They don't require any reinforcement to take the hoop stress. You would probably have to band wood.
You can visually see and feel where the coal level is in them.
If you want to get all the coal out of them before switching skids, you simply roll down the sides like a turtleneck.
When the sides are rolled down, you have direct level access to the coal to easily hoe it into the middle.
They should last a long time, as they are not exposed to sunlight and you are not picking them with a crane.
They are rot proof.
When they are empty, they visually do not take up as much room in your basement.
The top skirt and drawstring work in low ceiling hieght basements, a lid may not.
They easily hold 1-1/8 tons. If your basement window is high enough to use the top skirt, they will hold more.
They are simple.

vermontday · By: **vermontday** On: Sun Jun 17, 2012 9:26 pm

Just an update for those reading this thread, I rewired my superstor zone valve off a separate relay so it does not pull in with the triple aquastat on the boiler.

This results in the boiler stoker not coming on until the boiler water temperature reaches the low limit. This made a world of difference with the boiler now running at the low temperature end instead of being near the high limit all the time.

This allows me to run the outfire (hold fire) timer more often with no worry of heating up to the high temp limit. I now am using a setting of 60 minutes for the outfire timer with it running the stoker for 4-1/2 minutes. I am experimenting with different times to see which setting uses less fuel. At this setting with a family of 5 using hot water, it runs for 2-1/2 hours per day, using a little over 18 lbs per day of coal, at a cost of under $3.

The dump timer is set at 70 minutes and it is set to run the stoker for 20 minutes. As it would only come on if the high limit was preventing the stoker from running on the outfire timer, it never has to come on anymore, saving fuel.

Both timers will reset to 0 if there is a natural call for heat.

I am running 3 teeth, 3 air, 150 LL, 200 HL.

I also updated the LOGO program so it counts and displays the outfire daily stoker calls, counts and displays the dump zone daily calls (0 lately), and instead of monitoring the ash time based off calender hours, it bases it now off stoker run hours. This is nice because it only runs 2-3 hours a day in the summer, so it is set to call my cell phone when it reachs 10 hours, which is less than 2/3 full on a bushel basket. It is programmed to only call me on ash removal between the hours of 6 am to 10 pm.

The LOGO ash timer resets every time the fines lever is pulled. If I had it to do it again, I would just wire in a momentary switch to reset the ash time. This would allow you to pull your ash lever more often in the summer without resetting your ash timer to 0.

Besides total stoker run hours display, the LOGO also displays the daily stoker run minutes for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, so you have time to compare them to heating degree days in winter.

Attached is the updated program. If anyone wants a copy of it, I can send it to you.

vermontday · By: **vermontday** On: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:07 pm

Just an update on my summer settings, 30 minute outfire time with a 2 minute stoker time, 4 teeth, 4 air, 140 low limit, 210 high limit, 10 differential and no foil on baro damper.

Again, the advantages with the LOGO timer are;

It saves fuel and wear and tear on the boiler by resetting to 0 time anytime there is a natural call for heat.
It saves fuel and wear and tear by the ability to set longer outfire times in the winter.
It has a circuit for a dump zone to prevent outfires.
It counts daily outfire and dump calls, allowing you to tune your stoker to enough stoker time to prevent outfires, but not so much that it has to dump.
It has a circuit for controlling a draft inducer if you need it, saving fuel by only running the draft reducer when required and then only bumping it intermittently to keep the fire going.
It alerts you to long term maintenance intervals for chimney and boiler cleaning.
It alerts you if you forget to take the ashes out.
It displays daily stoker run minutes so you can compare with heating degree days to check the system setup or fuel efficiency.

It does all this in the same type of non-volitale memory as the Honeywell new triple aquastats.

Attached are some screen shots;

vermontday · By: **vermontday** On: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:20 pm

Attached is the wiring diagram;

vermontday · By: **vermontday** On: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:23 pm

Attached is instructions for the wiring diagram;

LOGO Inputs.pdf: (32.57 KiB) Downloaded 18 times; Select:BBcode: [nepafile=36006]LOGO Inputs.pdf[/nepafile]

vermontday · By: **vermontday** On: Sat Aug 11, 2012 2:44 pm

Attached is the finished program for the LOGO. I cleaned it up from earlier in the year and added features.

Again, if someone buys a used LOGO (see version recommended in the thread above), they can send me their LOGO and I can load this program onto it for them.

vermontday · By: **vermontday** On: Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:06 pm

Hopefully, these individual screenshots of the program will be easier to see.

vermontday · By: **vermontday** On: Tue Aug 14, 2012 7:51 pm

You don't have to know the above program to change parameter setpoints on the LOGO screens, anymore than you would have to know the program behind the Honeywell digital triple aquastat to change boiler temperature settings.

For example if you wanted to change the outfire time from 30 minutes to 40 minutes, you just use the arrow buttons on the LOGO to change the setpoint.

Attached are instructions on how to change a setting;

McGiever · By: **McGiever** On: Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:30 pm

Being the Tinkerer that I am, I have taken up the kind offer to have *Vermontday* program the LOGO! that I acquired and had sent to him.

Picked the LOGO! up on ebay, used, for a good price.

Looking forward to putting it to the task this upcoming season.

McGiever · By: **McGiever** On: Sun Dec 09, 2012 9:48 pm

Well, I did install the LOGO!.

I am very please with all the features that *vermontdays* has incorporated into this all-in-one controller.
One feature I yet need to take advantage of is the dump zone feature. I am planning that out now and will get the piping parts and start it soon.

Besides the various functions the versatile LOGO can control, it logs, records and displays those events to be viewed on the numerous screens for counts and total duration etc.

I doubt there's anything out there better suited for the coal boiler application.

EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed

Re: EFM 520 Install with skid/bulk bags feed