Author Topic: E-classic 2300 bridging (Read 2524 times)

renegadecj · « **on:** December 04, 2008, 05:11:18 pm »

I had an old Central boiler, the 6048, and just upgraded to the E-classic 2300. I do like the lack of smoke emissions, and it appears to be much more efficient, but I seem to have bridging issues. The old 6048 would burn anything you put in it, including large logs (16" diameter) with no problems. I put a variety in the 2300, but it seems to bridge quite easily, and since I am gone all day, sometimes I come home to a boiler which is out.

Has anyone figured out a solution? The paper clip fix worked to keep it from going out on a warmer day, but on the real cold days (it was 8 degrees this morning) I need to load it up, since I'm gone for 15 hrs during the day, and it seems to bridge quite easily. I hate to have to split all my wood...is that the only solution?

stumper · « **Reply #1 on:** December 04, 2008, 05:40:49 pm »

Splitting seems to help, but not eliminate the issue. I split anything 6 inches an up. Lately I have been burning out the front and having a pile in the back. I just reach in with a picharoon and pull it forwarad. I bet if I left it 3 more hours I would be close to out.

logwalker · « **Reply #2 on:** December 04, 2008, 08:46:11 pm »

renegadecj, is it possible your wood is wetter this go-round. I have an old boiler and that happens only when the wood is damp. Joe

renegadecj · « **Reply #3 on:** December 05, 2008, 10:46:14 am »

Quote from: logwalker on December 04, 2008, 08:46:11 pm

renegadecj, is it possible your wood is wetter this go-round. I have an old boiler and that happens only when the wood is damp. Joe

I don't think so...my dealer recommended keeping the wood dry, so I've been really trying to keep a tarp over it, and I know the wood is all at least 2 yrs old.

It seems that because it burns from the bottom, instead of the top, it seems to do this. If I put slash in the old one, it was gone in minutes. This morning, some slash I put on the top was still there from last night...although it went up in flames when I opened the door.

I may have to split some wood...

needful · « **Reply #4 on:** December 06, 2008, 04:02:32 pm »

Hello

My E-2300 is in operation for 3 weeks now and i love it. I have not had that darn oilburner come on once. ( $ 6500.00) every year t'il now.
The bridging is a problem i encountered as well. I find that a mixture of larger and smaller diameter wood works the best. I also started to cut the wood to 30" and that seems to help as well, especially to the problem that the wood in the back burns slower as in the front. If you push the shorter wood all the way to the back then it has less chances to get hung up at the front.
Cheers
Rob

jd7610 · « **Reply #5 on:** January 10, 2009, 04:51:19 pm »

Quote from: renegadecj on December 04, 2008, 05:11:18 pm

I had an old Central boiler, the 6048, and just upgraded to the E-classic 2300. I do like the lack of smoke emissions, and it appears to be much more efficient, but I seem to have bridging issues. The old 6048 would burn anything you put in it, including large logs (16" diameter) with no problems. I put a variety in the 2300, but it seems to bridge quite easily, and since I am gone all day, sometimes I come home to a boiler which is out.

Has anyone figured out a solution? The paper clip fix worked to keep it from going out on a warmer day, but on the real cold days (it was 8 degrees this morning) I need to load it up, since I'm gone for 15 hrs during the day, and it seems to bridge quite easily. I hate to have to split all my wood...is that the only solution?

Hackberry · « **Reply #6 on:** January 10, 2009, 08:20:41 pm »

I'm not sure if this is the answer but, I burn smaller wood, I have some cut to 23" I lay two layers the short way then the rest 30" the long way and build up. Then I stack as much 23" wood as I can in front. Most of my wood is split and I mix up to 8" rounds. Going on my 6th week with no problem. Hackberry

renegadecj · « **Reply #7 on:** January 12, 2009, 12:56:39 pm »

Quote from: Hackberry on January 10, 2009, 08:20:41 pm

I'm not sure if this is the answer but, I burn smaller wood, I have some cut to 23" I lay two layers the short way then the rest 30" the long way and build up. Then I stack as much 23" wood as I can in front. Most of my wood is split and I mix up to 8" rounds. Going on my 6th week with no problem. Hackberry

So you lay 2 layers parallel to the door, and then the balance is perpendicular to the door? Do you push them all the way back?

This has been my one issue with this stove...never once had the boiler stop working due on my 6048, and it seems the bridging is the one issue on these. I bought a thermometer for the inside, but it won't go hot enough to truly measure the true temp, so by the time I know it is low, it is too late.

Hackberry · « **Reply #8 on:** January 12, 2009, 10:31:55 pm »

Renegadecj,

Yes, two layers parallel and the balance perpendicular and all the way to the back with both. Try some split wood, it will work for you. Hackberry

renegadecj · « **Reply #9 on:** January 13, 2009, 08:55:15 am »

Quote from: Hackberry on January 12, 2009, 10:31:55 pm

Renegadecj,

Yes, two layers parallel and the balance perpendicular and all the way to the back with both. Try some split wood, it will work for you. Hackberry

I'll try that...I guess my problems stem from my conversion from the 6048 to the E-classic. The 6048 burn 48"+ logs of any size, and they could have branches sticking out, blending slash, etc. My stored wood is all in that format, so I cut what I need each week. Next year I'll have everything cut down to 24" BEFORE winter!!

Most of my wood is also under 6", so do you think I should split this, or is that size ok?

Hackberry · « **Reply #10 on:** January 13, 2009, 08:39:08 pm »

Renegadecj,

Most of my wood is split. I do mix in some rounds. Just got done loading the stove and only put 5 rounds in out of 16 split ones. Try it with the rounds. If it works your home free, if not, time to split. Let us know if the rounds work. Hackberry

Hackberry · « **Reply #11 on:** January 14, 2009, 07:29:58 pm »

Renegadecj,

I did a test this morning. I loaded the boiler as I always do only I used all rounds 4"-6". Opened her up about 3:00 and all I saw was the Golden Gate Bridge. Looks like you must use some split wood to keep her going.

Hackberry

renegadecj · « **Reply #12 on:** January 15, 2009, 01:12:18 pm »

Hmmm...that could cause a problem, although I guess with all my wood being smaller, I just need to get out the ax and get to work!

Hate to have to split every year. I harvest all my wood from my land, and it is mostly defensible space thinning, so lots of unhealthy small trees. Guess I'll be experimenting with different ways of loading to avoid the bridge, but for now, I guess I will just split!

Thanks for doing a test-just so I know it isn't just me!

Wood Cutter · « **Reply #13 on:** January 15, 2009, 08:38:01 pm »

I am a new member to the forum arena. First off let me say that I am encouraged by the number of people who "love" their E-Classic 2300, regretably I do not share that feeling. I owned a 5648 for seven burning seasons, during which time the only problems encountered were corrected by replacing electrical components. I switched to the E-C 2300 in response to regulatory pressures being applied by both the EPA and NYSDEC. I burn the boiler all year as I use it for domestic hot water as well as heat.
I have had problems with; keeping a fire lit (when using it just for domestic hot water), bridging of wood, inability to open the by-pass, the un sightlyl soot buildup on the stove front above the door and fire bricks falling out of the reaction chamber. Yes, in talking with a factory representative he gave me tips on how to address most of the problems.

What really bothers me is that this stove was put on the market with numerous engineering short commings that were not brought to light at the time of sale. I might add that this was not an inexpensive piece of equipment. To date Central Boiler has not taken the initive to inform me of modifications or measures to fix the problems that seem to be common to the boiler. In every case, I had to call the factory to find out what had to be done. It appears they have a "don't tell if they don't ask" policy. Every stove owner

Hackberry · « **Reply #14 on:** January 15, 2009, 10:23:46 pm »

Wood Cutter, Welcome to the forum! My question to you and other e-classic owners is, where is Central Boiler? They should be all over this site. If I owned that company, the guys that came up with this stove would have to visit this site daily to give some feed back. I am one of the happy ones thanks to this site. The smokey front ticks me off though. What answers did you get from Central about your concerns? Please post. Hackberry

thecfarm · « **Reply #15 on:** January 16, 2009, 08:18:14 am »

Hackberry,do you mean when the smoke comes out of the feed door?I have a Heatmor and mine does the same thing.Drive around and look at the front of other brands.Most do it.They are not set up with a natural draft like a wood stove is.I have 2 blowers in mine to get the fire going.Depends a lot too on what you are burning and how long ago the last cycle was too.I also put 3 extensions of pipe on mine.There is a guy down below where I grew up with a CB unit,2 years old now.He put his inside of a shed and put a hood with a blower to vent any smoke outside.I do see some that don't seem to do it,from all brands.

Hackberry · « **Reply #16 on:** January 24, 2009, 12:03:22 pm »

E-caassic 2300 bridging proublem solved!

I ran two test loads last week to see if I could figure out why round wood bridges. It doesn't if you load the stove with 20" wood and stack it parallel all the way to the top! My rounds were 6"-8", two complete burns and No Bridging! Give it a try guys it works.

Hackberry

dirtyedge · « **Reply #17 on:** January 24, 2009, 04:49:41 pm »

Hackberry,

do you mean stacking the wood parallel with the door?

I tried this the last two days after having bridging issues for the last month and it seemed to work well for me.

It also helps burn the large coals down quicker, I was having issues with the size of the coal bed covering the air holes and after filling like this for a couple days it hasn't been an issue. It makes more sense to load this way as the air can flow between the pieces, unlike stacking perpinidicular to the door if you throw one large log on each side it instantly blocks all of the air flow to the coal bed.

Has anyone else tried this and had any success?
btw all my wood is 20-24" split

Aaron

Hackberry · « **Reply #18 on:** January 25, 2009, 07:42:00 am »

dirtyedge,

Yes, parallel to the door and all the way to the back.

Hackberry

JJ · « **Reply #19 on:** January 25, 2009, 10:36:49 am »

With my e-Classic I was having problem with temp dropping after I loaded wood.
I was loading 30' logs, which would only fit I I loaded in long direction of wood box (peperdicular to door).

After giving some thought, I realize I was blocking off the air inlets with the logs.

Now I find shorter pieces to lay crosswise along bottom, letting the air to flow under.
Also I try to fit in cross wise layer mid-way through load.

Now stove recovers heat faster.

With bridging, I try not lean logs against both side walls. If I leave one wall of stove open, I think it gives the pile room to collapse as bottom burns out.

With the lower reaction chamber, the labels on the stove say to clean it once a month.
The dealer says every 2 weeks.
I find stove cannot make it 2 weeks without plugging up; so I clean out the lower burn chamber every week.

It has been working well for me so far.

JJ

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Author Topic: E-classic 2300 bridging (Read 2524 times)