Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers WITH EPA-Certified Models => Portage & Main => Topic started by: willowbk on November 15, 2013, 06:51:02 PM
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hey guys, i purchased my 250 this summer and have had it runninng about 5 or 6 weeks. i'm not located near any dealers(3hrs) so its hard to always track brian/r.e. down w/ questions. thanks to this site i have worked out alot of the issues i have had up til now. my main question is about the water/steam that comes from the fill neck, i have had a full level since i got it running and never noticed any steam coming from that gauge/neck area. lately i notice it coming out on regular basis, not alot but enough to form drips on the gauge cover over head. in speaking w/ various powers that be they mentioned to go up to 195 and back it off when you noticed the steam, however today boiler was firing at 181 and i was getting that vapor from the neck. so what is normal, is there any harm to making steam? i'm assuming you are just burning off the storage and it would mean filling more often.
i havent had to fill since starting and current reading is just under full mark.
also i have done everything adjustment wise on lower refrac door and i'm still getting moisture drips on cement below door. use silicone/new gasket? furnace has born on date of may 2012. it was nice of them to ship me a stove over 14 months old,wasnt happy about that, but thats another day. thanks for the input.
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OK sounds like somebody is not real happy with Brian at this point, in his defense, he is extremely busy with his end of P+M, please direct your questions and comments to me, on this forum so that we can help others with the same issues, thats my job! The small amount of steam that you are getting is not a problem at all, I would rather see it all day long than one of our units being run cold, most people can go to 190-195 without seeing steam but as the temps outside drop you will see more steam, just keep an eye on the water level, there is about 30 gallons of water above the crown point of the boiler, you will not hurt it by getting a bit low on water. As far as the door gaskets, yes please change them to the new silicone coated gaskets as they seal much better, PM me with your contact info and I will see that you get the replacement and I will give you my cell # for quick contact allthough I prefer to do troublshooting here as it will help someone else. As far as the boiler being over a year old, it is exactly the same as the boiler coming off the line today as it was last fall, we are not the huge manufacturer that can ramp up production in a moments notice, if we were you would have paid a far higher price as it costs lots of money to pay all those guys to stand around all summer waiting for the customer to make up his mind, we try to keep a healthy balance, I will be waiting for your PM
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another question
noticed tonight when fan shut when came to temp i got smoke coming out from fan thru the 1/4" opening. i've had trouble with flap shutting perfectly but still the smoke is coming back into the air box is that normal, seems like would be an issue over time. i know the liquid creosote is an issue when that builds up in there. just looking for some input.
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Do you have creosote built up on the flapper so it doesnt seal good?
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No you should not be getting either, you have an air leak somewhere!
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slim jim i sent some emails w/ pics as well as other email address.
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Thanks Willowbk,Sorry for the delay, I've been on the road since Friday in upstate Vt. with very limited service, I'll be speaking to Brian today. Can you call me, I would like to find out what happened.
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i got my 250 in july 2013 been using it for about a month and noticed i have smoke coming out around the door where wood is loaded any ideas if this normal and if not how to go about fixing.
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Brandon, all the doors on the 250 are easily adjusted, the hinge side of the door is done by loosening the 3/4 inch jam nuts on the hinge and tapping the bolts, the welded part of the hinge is slotted, move it about 1/8 inch at a time and retighten then try the door. the latch side is even easier with a 9/16 wrench adjust the rod that latches the door, you should already have the new rope gasket, if not let me know or call Brian.
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ok thanks i will tighten tomorrow it leaks on the latch side and i have what looks like a rope gasket but it is about 1 inch thick by 2 foot long how does that work because whats on the door looks a lot smaller
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Is it our replacement gasket or off the shelf?
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it was given to me when i purchased stove from champaign coal and stove urbana ohio, its about the size of a quarter around and about 2 ft long
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2 feet long,thats not enough and is it orange silicone coated, you will need 130 inches for the 2 front doors.
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no did not get that the one i got is white and looks like a cotton rope. i will have to call brian about it i have to call him anyways about a new door lock
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OK, if you have any more questions, I'll be here.
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slimjim
got a minute and replaced the front door gaskets, was happy to find how easy it was to install.
i used a dental pick w/ a right angle hook to it and it worked perfect. i hooked one of the ends and pulled it out,it just came right out. installing new one was just as easy, spent a few minutes cleaning and installed. although that part was good i have discovered my nozzle is not doing so well. the edges are gone and the gap is double or more than what it was. it seems still to be gasing fine, but getting more stuff falling thru slot. i know of the issues w/ using metal in the slot which hasnt been done and being careful loading, so a little dissappointing, i have only run about 2.5 cords thru it. i would hope it would be replaced/warrantied but thinking i shouldnt count on it.
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It is a wear item, not sure if Brian will send you another, they should last much longer than a year, most people are getting 3 years out of them.
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slimjim
i understand the wear item, but 2 months is a little odd. i read up quite abit about what not to do around the nozzle area so i made sure to stay away with anything metal. i've only run 2.5 cords thru it,my would is under 20% so i'm relating it to the leaking door gaskets or a bad nozzle batch. i will try to run it by brian, but i've been down that road and it usually turns in to the dead end with out a cul-de -sac. if you have his email could you pm it to me,i have misplaced it.
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Go get some 1" firebrick at the hardware store and place them so they "close the gap". You will need to cut a couple but that's what I have been using for a few years now, easy to replace also. I don't have the replaceable nozzle in mine.
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thanks coolidge,will do, after my try with the boss, i understanding closing the gap part, not quite sure on what to cut or needs to be cut. i'm assuming leave old nozzle in place and place new bricks on top of old nozzle and make my funnel/opening with new bricks. thanks
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Yeah, my original nozzle didn't last more than a year either. It was the replaceable kind, but the new nozzle is showing signs of degrading after only one month of use. I'm experimenting with a 1/4" steel plate with a nozzle slot cut into it. Has anyone else tried a metal plate nozzle cover?
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It's going to melt!
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That's what I thought at first, but it hasn't yet. I've been running it for several weeks already, and I'm really pushing it with -25C to -30C temperatures these days. Didn't P&M supply a stainless steel insert to protect their nozzles at one time?
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Not that I was ever aware of, they did use steel on the prototype, it did not last.
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I was thinking of making one that was more of a round hole kinda tapered like a tornado, maybe with some ripples to get a good mix of wood gas and air.
It is still just a thought.
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What could possibly go wrong, it's a pretty forgiving stove!