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241

General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Coal in an E-Classic 1400?

« on: November 13, 2011, 01:19:26 PM »

Hello again,

The simple question is, can one safely burn coal in an E-Classic 1400 to augment the wood supply?  If I can make my wood supply last longer into the season I'd probably consider it, but I need to know if it's safe for me the operator and the OWB.  I'd like to hear your thoughts and concerns.

Thanks so much.

Roger

242

Plumbing / Baseboard noise

« on: November 13, 2011, 12:07:02 PM »

Hi all, You have been so helpful with helping me troubleshoot the problem of keeping fire in my OWB, I figured that now the fire problem is solved, I'd hit you up for some help with the baseboard noise in one of the zones in my house.

I have 3 zones, each operated by their own zone valves connected to seperate thermostats.  The zone in my bedroom is making a weird kind of sound.  When it calls for heat I hear what I call the usual ticking sound but that is short lived.  The other sound I hear from the baseboard, sounds like someone is constantly crinkling paper.  It is loud enough that it interrupts my sleep.  As soon as the heat is satisfied and the zone valve shuts down, the noise stops.  any ideas?

Thanks, Roger   

243

Central Boiler / E-Classic 1400 Operating Like a Champ

« on: November 11, 2011, 11:44:05 AM »

Hi all,

Just a followup on the problems I was having when I first started using the OWB.  It's running like a champ.  I ran into a glitch on Tuesday morning (the fire was out, but that was my fault).  I rekindled it and it has been running ever since.  I set the temp differential to 5 degrees so the the blower turns on at 180 and off at 185.  I also am using the pulse feature.  I have it pulse for 30 seconds every 15 minutes.  This seems to be doing the trick during this "heat" wave for I have not lost the fire since I started operating it this way.  I know that when the weather turns to a more seasonal range I'll have to revisit the settings.  So, thanks to those who chimed in with friendly advice and encouragement. 

I am amazed of how efficient (I can't spell, okay?) this thing operates and how little ash is left.  I looked inside the reaction chamber last evening around 5:00pm when I was adding some firewood to the firebox and there was very little ash in it and the stuff that was there was glowing red hot.  Now I see first hand how great this thing is and uses so little firewood.

Roger   

244

General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Are people afraid of work?

« on: November 10, 2011, 11:04:13 AM »

Hi all,

I work at an Ivy League college, a technician in an engineering department.  When I mentioned to some of my colleagues that I purchased and installed an OWB, the responses I received was amusing/amazing.  I firmly believe that many people are getting lazy.  I'm in my 50's and I have more energy than a lot of my colleagues some of who are more than half my age.  They can not understand how I enjoy cutting, splitting and stacking wood.  Well, for me it mental therapy.  After dealing with a bunch of spoiled brats all day, it's quite nice to take out your frustrations on a wood pile.  Any thoughts, anyone?

Roger       

245

Central Boiler / Giving it another try

« on: November 06, 2011, 03:14:15 PM »

Hi all,

Well, I made some changes to the water temperature differential to see if it'll make a difference for me.  As some know, in the past the fire would go out during the warm weather days causing me to wonder what I was doing wrong.  A couple of folks recommended that I change the temp differential so I did.  I should know if it made a difference.  It was set at 10 degrees so I lowered it to 5 degrees.  I hope it works.   Tomorrow the outdoor temps are to be in the upper 40's to lower 50's so that should be good test for it.  I'll report my finding when I get a few minutes tomorrow night.

Roger

246

Central Boiler / Computer Interface to OWB

« on: November 02, 2011, 06:55:24 AM »

Hi all,

Does anyone know if Central Boiler have available an interface from their OWB to a computer say like my home?  This way I can monitor the settings from inside the house or if I'm work and make changes to the setting no matter where I am as long I have a computer handy. 

Thanks,

Roger

247

Central Boiler / HELP!!!!

« on: November 01, 2011, 05:52:04 PM »

Okay, this thing is screwy.  When I got home from work this evening the CB E1400 Classic OWB was indicating Fire Out again.  Yup, when I open the door sure enough the fire had gone out.  The air holes are clear, the wood is dry (2 years old)...the usual culprits seem to be okay.  So, again, I removed everything from the fire box and rekindled the fire.  As like last night, I had a nice roaring fire within 20 minutes.  The water temp was slightly over 150, the reaction temp was approaching 700.  Now this is the part the part I don't understand.  Why would the water boil over from the fill location when it is only 150 degrees.  When I checked the water level at the site tube, it filled to the point of coming out the top of the tube.  When the furnace was first installed the water level was about an inch from the top of the tube.  Where is all this extra water coming from?  There is absolutely no way for extra war to get in it without a water hose and that's in the basement of my house.  As I stated previously the furnace was installed by a professional contracted through the dealer.  Any ideas?  Thanks in advance for your help.     

248

Central Boiler / Newbie - Need assistance

« on: November 01, 2011, 11:46:01 AM »

Hello all, I'm  new to this forum.  In early sept. 2011 my new CB E1400 Classic OWB was professionally installed.  On Saturday this past weekend I decided to fire her up for the first time.  Although I have operated wood stoves for the better part of my life, the OWB is completely foreign to me.  After getting it fired up, all was going well until I went to check on it Monday evening after work.  I can only stoke it 2 times per day due to living alone and working up to 10 hours a day.  I noticed on Monday evening that the fire had gone out.  Opening the door I was a bit surprised to see unburned wood, about 2/3's of what I placed inside before leaving for work remained.  After careful inspection I noticed that through my unfamiliarity with this type of unit, I let too much ash pile up and blocked a part of the air flow holes.  After unplugging and clear the ash from the clean out door, I restarted the fire from scratch.  It lit up with ease.  It took perhaps 40 minutes for the water temp to reach 180.  This is where I noticed a problem; the water was boiling over.  After a couple of hours of trouble shooting I as able to rectify the problem which was not related to the OWB, it's with the zone valve circuit control area.  This morning when I checked on it, I noticed the boil over again.  I know where to look for the problem and solved it.  But, what surprised me is that it looked like the fire was nearly out, but the water temp was 175.  After placing 5 moderately sized logs on the fire and making sure the air holes were not blocked, I closed the everything up and headed for work.  My question is, what should the temp be in the reaction chamber if everything is operating properly?  I should add here that the out door night time temps are in the lower to mid 20's and day time is close to mid 40's.  Am I putting in too much wood for the outdoor temp swings, perhaps not enough?  The wood is not being completely burnt.  Also, I have been reading that there should be "ash" in the clean out area, but mine looks more like coals approximately the size of a dime.  Is this considered ash and is it normal?  As I said, I'm new to this type of wood heat and I do not know what's normal or not.  Any and all advice is welcome.  Thanks, Roger