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Eclassic 2300 air holes blocked

Started by firechief, November 23, 2013, 12:23:17 PM

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JJ

Hi DAP
When I load wood, I always make sure that the down draft is not blocked by a log, by kitty cornering few pieces of wood over the hole.
Also I concur with DrB, coal bed should cover the hole.
Also I only load enough wood for 12h, which is about a 1/3 load in fire box currently (one full wheelbarrow).
Too much wood, and it can bridge, leaving the wood out of contact with coal bed.
Takes a little experience, as it is not same as regular wood stove.  Hang in, I think you are getting there.

          JJ

stumper

It is vitally important to keep a good bed of coals.  If I let mine get down to just two peices of wood I have lost most of my coals and will have issues.  I always load enough wood to get me through the next 12 hours plus another 4 to 6 so I keep my coal bed.

DAP

Thanks for the comments.  This evening when I get home I will make sure holes are clear,  leave the coals in the center,  stack the wood a little differently and not as high.

holder73

DAP, I have a idea that may help you out, do you have the firestar electronic control panel?  My unit is a eclassic 1400 so I wasn't sure, but I think they are the same control panel, if so, what is your air pulse time set to?  This is the function that turns the fan on every so often to keep your coals/fire lit.  The factory default setting for this is to run for 60 sec. every 30 minutes.  My experience was that this was way too long in between pulses to keep the fire lit in my OWB.  One of the first things I did when I started it up last year (my first season) was change this setting, some valuable info. I learned on this forum after my fire went out the very first night.  I changed mine to run every 5 minutes for 50 seconds.  May sound like a lot, but the fire never goes out this way unless the coal/ash bed gets really thick and air flow is blocked into the reaction chamber.  I have ran it this way in August just heating domestic hot water, which has very little heat draw and it will still stay lit with loading it once every 24 hours with a few pieces of wood.  This may be over kill for heating season when there is more heat draw, which makes the fire burn more, but I don't want my fire going out in the middle of the night.    If you don't have the manual that tells you how to change this setting, let me know and I can walk you through it in detail.  Hope you get it working right!

DAP

holder73 thanks for the tip.  I don't have the manual so I am at a loss on making any changes.  I believe it does have the firestar controller.  The only thing I know for sure is the water temp is set at 190 degrees and that is only from watching the boiler kick off at 190 degrees.  It would be great if I could check the frequency and duration of having the fan on and valve open.

Roger2561

DAP - Holder may onto something here.  I too have the E-classic 1400 with the pulse set to run every 5 minutes for 50 seconds.  Running it this way ensures the coals are always hot.  As the winter progresses here in NH and it stays cold and load demand increases I'll change it to 8 or 9 minutes for 50 seconds.  If you get a copy of the manual from Central Boiler, I think you'll learn a lot of how these run.  Roger
Roger

holder73

DAP, here are the steps for making changes if you have the Firestar controller.  On the top left you will see the Menu button, hold down the Menu button for 10 seconds to enter setup mode, the display will change from the water temp. to display 1.  Press menu again and it will show the current setting for control variable 1. use the up or down arrows to make changes to this setting, then press menu again to return back to 1.  Once back to 1. pressing the up or down arrows will move you to through the other control variables.  There are 3 control variables you might want to change here in setup mode and they are numbered 1. 2. 3.) 
1. is the water temp. differential, factory default is 10 degrees, this defines the range from the water temp. setpoint in which the system can idle.  So if you are set at 190 then once you drop to 180 it will kick on and heat back up to 190.
2. is the idle "pulse" timeout, factory default is 30 minutes, this is the one I recommend changing to 5 minutes and see if it helps your problem.  This determines how often the fan turns on to keep the fire/coals lit while in idle.
3. is the idle "pulse" length, factory default is 50 seconds, this determines how long the fan runs when it turns on in the idle pulse, i recommend leaving it on 50

So to change your idle pulse time, simply hold down menu for 10 seconds or until 1. appears, then push the up arrow to get 2. on the display, push menu again and it will show your current idle pulse setting, push the down arrow to change it to 5, press menu again and up arrow to 3. press menu again to check that this setting is on 50.
Just a note not doing anything for 10 seconds will take you out of setup mode and water temp will display again.  To change the operating temperature of the OWB, press menu and it will show the current setting (190 in your case, maybe?) 185 is the factory default, hold down menu and press the up or down arrows to make changes to the water temp. setting.  The manual does not recommend operating below 185 to help reduce condensation in the firebox but it is adjustable from 170 to 195.
Hope these instructions are clear, its not as hard as it sounds once you get some hands own experience with it.  Let me know if you have questions or if this helps

firechief

Woke up yesterday morning, thought the house felt a little chilly.  Told the wife that something is wrong with the OWB. Sure enough, went outside to find my Taco 007 shot again. This is my 5th heating season and believe it or not, my 5th Taco pump (I'm beginning to see a pattern here).
Not really sure what the issue is, I'm past believing Taco had a bad bunch of pumps made.  Being they have a 3 year warranty, I've never had to buy a new one.  Problem now is my original dealer was booted by Central Boiler for not selling enough.  They were a 15 minute one way trip.  My new dealer is now a 1 hour one way trip.  So after 2 hours driving and a new Taco 007, I'm back in business. If it wouldn't have been for the warranty I would have never made the trip.  Seriously considering switching to a different brand pump and trashing the Taco brand.  I've heard of others here on the forum that have switched with success.  Not really sure what the issue is with these. I have an E Classic 2300.

That being said, I will put a plug in for my new dealer Topeka Seed and Feed in Topeka, Indiana.  Jody and Janet were very knowledgable and friendly, enjoyed my visit with them. Just wish they weren't so far away!

thecfarm

I run the same ones on my Heatmor,Taco 007. They have been on there at least 4 years. At one time I had 013. They was pushing the water too fast and when it came back to the pump it was pushing the fins. I don't know,sounds good. Bit as soon as I went to the 007's the problem went away. Sorry to hear of your problem.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

DAP

holder73 thanks for the instructions.  Its seems straight forward so I shouldn't have any problems changing the set point.  This morning the stove is still running however the water temp was down to 177 and the reaction chamber temp at approximately 220.  I loaded more wood in the firebox and before leaving for work noticed the water temp up to 187 degrees and the reaction chamber temp at 1,430 degrees.  I would think the reaction chamber temp is really low at 220 degrees and surprised that the fire started up again. 

Firechief,  I have been to Topeka at the store you are talking about.  There are some good people there.  Its about 45 minutes one way for me.

firechief

Hey DAP

Didn't see where you were from until now.  I'm just here in Mishawaka, run through your town quite often.

upsnake

Dap - I have a 1400.

Water temp of 177 and reaction of 220, depending on the time in the burn cycle seems completely normal to me.
The reaction chamber when not actively burning is going to cool down to about the same as the water temp.

The question is how fast does it start to climb once the fans come on.
If it climbing good then it is working perfectly normal. :)

Logging logginglogging

On my Eclassic 2300 I clear the air holes with a screwdriver, when I clean my stove and scrape my firebox every 3 weeks.
daily I use a garden how to clean off the shelves and the front of the air holes when I do this, I spread coals around near the freshly scraped holes, and it causes the goo to ignite, I use a shovel against my switch to keep the blower going, and it burns all that goo right out, looks like a blow tourch coming out of all the air holes.

DAP

firechief,  its good to see someone in the area using this forum. 

Thanks for the comments from everyone.  The last couple of days it looks like the 2300 is working as it should.


holder73

 I had a idea to get a propane torch to clean the air holes on my eclassic 1400 , found one one eBay and northern toolhttps://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=position"> Note:Please read the Forestry Forum's postion on this company in $30 range, 24 inch torch wand with 5 foot hose to hook to standard 20 pound propane tank, wondering if anyone has tried this, thought it might work good to burn out the creosote, what u guys think?

beenthere

Are you thinking the torch will get the creosote hot enough to burn it?

Let us know how it works..  ;)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

thecfarm

I've got one of those. Works good to start brush fires and to get rid of ground hornets. I have no idea if it would work or not. I would think it would take 5-10 minutes.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

holder73

Yeah, I had thought it would just burn up the creosote, hadn't thought about how long it would take, just thought it might beat sticking my head in there with the screwdriver, I will give it a try over next couple weeks and let you know how it works, I maybe thinking too much again, could be dangerous!, ha

go green

Go to centralboiler.com and watch the refueling tips in the video and brochure section. 
Very important to use poker through the ash bed each day before reloading and keep reaction chamber cleaned out often enough, all the way to the back of the reaction chamber.  Be sure to read the owners manual and maintain the inhibitor level in the water jacket.

Yes if you do get it plugged up, a propane torch could be used to help clean out.  Best if water temp is 190 degrees.  Check the elbow in back.  Once you get it cleaned up it will not plug up again if you use the cleaning rod through the ash bed each day before you reload.  Ash will flow into reaction chamber and not be so deep they funnel creosote into air inlets.  Creosote will move down past the holes into ash bed when lower. 

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