Fire was out

[Roger2561]

Hi all, When I left for work this morning I was a bit uneasy thinking I hadn't put enough wood to last though the day in the OWB.  When I got home from work, dang (not the actual word used) the fire was out.  When I opened the firebox door imagine my surprise when I saw most of the firewood I put in it this morning was still there.  Not much burned.  I figured the primary air holes had plugged a bit so I stuck my head in the firebox to have look and they looked okay.  The way CB made my OWB is there is a switch on the lower left between the inside of the door that when it is pressed, it will open the primary elbow to allow air into the firebox.  So, I pressed the switch and it sounded like something was blocking the air.  So, around to the back of the OWB.  I open the air box and all looks okay until I grabbed the primary air solenoid.  The nut and bolt connecting the solenoid to the plate on the elbow had rotted thus blocking any air from getting into the firebox.  Initially I thought the primary solenoid had failed and I don't have a replacement for it (Note to self - Purchase replacements parts soon) After hunting around my work shop for a bit, I found a 1/4 20 nut and bolt, reconnected the plate to the solenoid, reconnected the assembly to the bracket, I tested it to be sure it worked.  Yup, it works.  I rekindled the fire, got it up to temp and turned the thermostats back on and I'm toasty warm once again.  Tomorrow I'm going to the hardware store to pick up some 14 20 stainless steel nuts and bolts to have on hand - just in case...  To all of the CB owners, it would be wise to inspect those nuts and bolts on the primary and secondary solenoids for any signs of corrosion.  Actually, I plan to change all of mine during the next thorough cleaning - next week.  Roger 

[jhellwig]

Is the bolt exposed to the elements or temperature extreams? Must have been a cheap bolt.

[Roger2561]

Is the bolt exposed to the elements or temperature extreams? Must have been a cheap bolt.

The only elements the bolt is exposed to is the creosote that creeps in the elbow due to operating at a bit cool because of warm ambient air temps.  Once the outside temps fall into the 20's and lower and stay there, the creosote buildup will all but disappear due to it cycling more.  It idles quite a bit right now.  As for it being a cheap bolt - perhaps.  But the stainless steel should take care of that for me...I hope. 

[thecfarm]

Sure can't expect a company to put in good bolts.  :  Those SS ones should last.creosote is hard on stuff.

[AsaG]

Is the bolt exposed to the elements or temperature extreams? Must have been a cheap bolt.

The only elements the bolt is exposed to is the creosote that creeps in the elbow due to operating at a bit cool because of warm ambient air temps.  Once the outside temps fall into the 20's and lower and stay there, the creosote buildup will all but disappear due to it cycling more.  It idles quite a bit right now.  As for it being a cheap bolt - perhaps.  But the stainless steel should take care of that for me...I hope.

Been here and done this.  The SS hardware should do the trick.  While in there, check the plate too.  In my case the plate had nearly corroded through so I made a SS plate to add to the bottom of the existing.   One of the changes I noticed with the later production E-Classics is CB now makes the plates out of SS and uses SS hardware.  If yours are bad, there is now an easy replacement option.  I thought I had made a "heads up" post about this problem last season but I don't get on here too often and can't find it now.  Good luck!

[Roger2561]

AsaG - Thanks for the heads up about the plate.  I'll definitely keep an eye on it.  In the mean time, I'll scrounge around for some SS plate and cut a couple of extras for the "just in case" scenario.  As for the bolts you posted about last year, I vaguely remember someone making a comment about it now that you mention it.  Did you notice if the corrosion was as bad on the secondary plates, or was it primarily the primary?  Roger

[AsaG]

Roger,
The primary was much worse than either secondary.  The secondaries were pretty clean and probably in good enough shape to have been left alone but since I already had the plasma cutter out, I made SS plates for them too.  I've since sold that 2400 to a friend  who really wanted to upgrade his Classic while not ending up divorced over finances and he's extremely happy with how it's working.  I see this person on a daily basis and he'll let me know if something goes wrong!  The plates on my 3200 have a small (approximately 1/16" wide by 3/8" long in a small semi-circle) "slit" cut in them.  I presume this keeps a very slight amount of air moving through the inlet elbows to help prevent condensation build-up.  I'll watch how this works and post an update at a later date.

[Roger2561]

Roger,
The primary was much worse than either secondary.  The secondaries were pretty clean and probably in good enough shape to have been left alone but since I already had the plasma cutter out, I made SS plates for them too.  I've since sold that 2400 to a friend  who really wanted to upgrade his Classic while not ending up divorced over finances and he's extremely happy with how it's working.  I see this person on a daily basis and he'll let me know if something goes wrong!  The plates on my 3200 have a small (approximately 1/16" wide by 3/8" long in a small semi-circle) "slit" cut in them.  I presume this keeps a very slight amount of air moving through the inlet elbows to help prevent condensation build-up.  I'll watch how this works and post an update at a later date.

On another forum I frequent, there's an owner of an E-Classic 1400 just like mine and what he did was hang a paper clip over the edge of the elbow.  With that small air gap he says he doesn't have any trouble with creosote build up in that area anymore.  Now, learning that CB has cut a small slit in the plate, I'm going to give the paper clip trick a try and see if that helps my creosote build up problem especially in the primary elbow.  Due to the amount of creosote build up I have to clean that dang thing at least once a month.  It would be great if I didn't have to worry about that anymore.  Roger   

[AsaG]

On another forum I frequent, there's an owner of an E-Classic 1400 just like mine and what he did was hang a paper clip over the edge of the elbow.  With that small air gap he says he doesn't have any trouble with creosote build up in that area anymore.  Now, learning that CB has cut a small slit in the plate, I'm going to give the paper clip trick a try and see if that helps my creosote build up problem especially in the primary elbow.  Due to the amount of creosote build up I have to clean that dang thing at least once a month.  It would be great if I didn't have to worry about that anymore.  Roger

Great idea!  I will pass this information on to the new owner of my 2400. Even if the SS plates withstand creosote and condensation, it's got to be shortening the life of the elbows and their connection stub on the water jacket.  If the paper clip trick works, it will be worth cutting a slit or replacing with the CB replacement parts.

[bobby s]

Roger, please keep us posted on your results with the paperclip. Sounds interesting...

[Roger2561]

Roger, please keep us posted on your results with the paperclip. Sounds interesting...

Bobby - I'm going to try to remember grab a couple of paperclips from work.  I did such a great job of putting my stash in such a safe place, I even cannot find them.   :-\   I hope to put the paperclip in place over the weekend.  I'll post the results.  Roger

[Roger2561]

Is the bolt exposed to the elements or temperature extreams? Must have been a cheap bolt.

The only elements the bolt is exposed to is the creosote that creeps in the elbow due to operating at a bit cool because of warm ambient air temps.  Once the outside temps fall into the 20's and lower and stay there, the creosote buildup will all but disappear due to it cycling more.  It idles quite a bit right now.  As for it being a cheap bolt - perhaps.  But the stainless steel should take care of that for me...I hope.

Been here and done this.  The SS hardware should do the trick.  While in there, check the plate too.  In my case the plate had nearly corroded through so I made a SS plate to add to the bottom of the existing.   One of the changes I noticed with the later production E-Classics is CB now makes the plates out of SS and uses SS hardware.  If yours are bad, there is now an easy replacement option.  I thought I had made a "heads up" post about this problem last season but I don't get on here too often and can't find it now.  Good luck!

AsaG - How thick a piece of SS did you use for the plate?  I'm going to order to SS online and cut my own pieces on my plasma cutter.  Plus, I'm guessing that if I cut the pieces square instead of round, it shouldn't make any difference as to the operational aspect of the it, would it?   Roger

[AsaG]

AsaG - How thick a piece of SS did you use for the plate?  I'm going to order to SS online and cut my own pieces on my plasma cutter.  Plus, I'm guessing that if I cut the pieces square instead of round, it shouldn't make any difference as to the operational aspect of the it, would it?   Roger

I used 1/8" just because I had it on hand.  3/32" or 1/16" would probably last a lifetime and save some $$$.  Square plates should work provided the corners don't run interference with other stuff in there.  It was my OCD that forced me to make 'em like the originals.  ;D