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[UPSGuy03]

Hi all ! New guy here with a e classic 1450 up and running about a month or so. Love the site and info .. great resource !
All has been great love it !
But heres where it goes south. about a week or so ago i started noticing water and a clearish brown mix running all the way down my stack (16 ft) and it was also dripping from the raincap/spark arrestor.
i figured no big deal its just condensation right ? well now its way worse .. and im getting smoke leaking from around the inspection cover and sometimes from inbetween the stacks ! the fire keeps going out ... it wont hold my high temp (190) and the reaction chamber temp is pathetic ... so i take off the cover and let it run for a few minutes and bam temp starts to go up in both water and chamber.
the cap is too far away to see clearly enuff if the screen is clogged and i havent been able to do the mirror peek up the stack yet will do this tomorrow.
anyone else see or hear anything like this ? i mean its only been a month?

[Roger2561]

Hi all ! New guy here with a e classic 1450 up and running about a month or so. Love the site and info .. great resource !
All has been great love it !
But heres where it goes south. about a week or so ago i started noticing water and a clearish brown mix running all the way down my stack (16 ft) and it was also dripping from the raincap/spark arrestor.
i figured no big deal its just condensation right ? well now its way worse .. and im getting smoke leaking from around the inspection cover and sometimes from inbetween the stacks ! the fire keeps going out ... it wont hold my high temp (190) and the reaction chamber temp is pathetic ... so i take off the cover and let it run for a few minutes and bam temp starts to go up in both water and chamber.
the cap is too far away to see clearly enuff if the screen is clogged and i havent been able to do the mirror peek up the stack yet will do this tomorrow.
anyone else see or hear anything like this ? i mean its only been a month?

Welcome to the Forum, UPSGuy03.  You'll find lots of information and people willing to help out.

I do not have the E-Classic 1450, I have the E-Classic 1400 but their operation is similar.  When I hear that the fire goes out and the reaction chamber isn't getting hot that tells me that it's starving for air for one reason or a multiple of reasons.  I do not have the rain cap or spark arrester on mine.  I feel the chances are minimal of sparks getting out the chimney.  The reaction chamber will burn anything that's not burned during the primary burn.  During the off season I put a bucket of the chimney to keep rain water out.  Are you confident the primary air holes in the firebox are free of creosote buildup; not plugged by anything and are you getting good air flow in the firebox?  Are the primary and secondary solenoids operating as they should?  These are just a couple of areas to look for the problems.  Plus, your operators manual has a wealth of information of how to troubleshoot the problems.  Let us know how you make out.  Roger 

[Jwood]

Welcome to the best forum on the web great group of people here!

[UPSGuy03]

thank for the replies ! yes i have been reading and reading for a few days now and im confident everything from the firebox to the inspection cover is fine.. i did the mirror test and its too dark im gonna have to wait till its light out to see all the way up. but the main reason i suspect the stack and or cap is last night i let it run with the inpection cover off and it ran like a champ all night ! so i got a buddy coming over with a bucket truck and ill scoot up there tomorrow night and get a closer look and maybe take the screen out of the cap if thats what it is .

[PapaTango]

I'm also new to the forum and have been running my new E1450 for about 5 months now throughout the summer, heating dhw.  Got a large demand for hot water with 4 kids in the house. I do not have a rain cap on my stack and I have had no issues with build up or problems (even during summer rain storms, the thing still ran like a champ). I inspect the stack from the clean out every two weeks and haven't seen any problems. If it were me I would just keep your rain cap off of the stack and like Roger said put a bucket on it in the off season.  Those are my thoughts from a new guy. Hope you are able to diagnose the problem.

[Roger2561]

PapaTango & UPSGuy03;  I'm going on my 4th season with my E-Classic 1400 so if you don't mind I'd like to share with you some of my experiences with it.  There are a few things that you need to pay attention to during the heating season in the CB unit.  If you don't, at very least you'll be scratching your head wondering why the fire keeps going out, the water not holding any heat and you'll be outside at 1:30 in the morning in 15 degree weather taking care of the problem (don't ask how I know about the 1:30am problem).  Every couple of weeks before I stoke it for the day (generally around 6:00am on Saturday morning) I remove all of the red hot coals and put them aside to reuse to get the fire rekindled, I take a piece of very stiff wire and make sure the primary air holes are clear; they are free of creosote buildup.  Every 4 to 6 weeks I remove the primary air solenoid (found in the back of the E-1400 inside the air box, not sure where it is in the E1450's) and clear any creosote build up in the 90 degree elbow and tube leading to the fire box.  Having said all that, you'll have to learn what works, what doesn't work for you.  There is a bit of a learning curve with these things but when you get the hang of it, it'll be your best friend, but creosote build up is worst enemy.  If you have any questions holler away I'll do my best to help you out.  Roger

[PapaTango]

Roger,

Thanks for the advice...I've been using that method as well to keep the hot coals to re-kindle the fire after clean out.  I give it a good cleaning every two weeks which includes a thorough cleaning of the primary air holes.  On the 1450 the primary air holes are on three removable plates on each side of the fire box.  These plates can be removed by acorn nuts which exposes the entire primary air channel along the side.  I take them off to clean out the channel every two weeks.  It's a bit of a pain but ensures that the channel is clean.  Does the 1400 have this similar set-up?

I've also learned from this site about removing the primary air solenoid and giving it a good cleaning.  I've only done it once now, but will take your advice and clean it out about once a month.  The solenoid is also located in the back in the air box on the 1450.

You are right that there is a learning curve, but by reading posts on this site it has helped speed up that curve.

I appreciate all the help.  Thanks

[UPSGuy03]

hey thanks for the info ! I just came in from outside... filthy... but couldnt wait to report that it WAS the stupid screen ! i had shut it down yesterday figuring better not do any damage till i get it sorted out so it was cool when i came home from work tonight . i had been thinking all day what i could send up the stack just to bang on the cap and see if any crud came down. Well i had some pex left over from the install so i sent it up to the cap and tap tap a whole bunch of crud came down... and as luck would have it so did the screen ha ha ! so shes all fired back up now and temps are climbing so i think i got it ! woo hoo thanks guys for the warm welcome and all the info !

[Jwood]

Glad its up and running!

[Roger2561]

PapaTango - The 1400 does not have the removable panels like the 1450's.  I wish it did however.  It would make cleaning the air holes much easier.  In order to clean mine I have to fish a piece of stiff through each hole and run it back and forth trying to get out as much creosote as possible.  Good luck with your OWB.  Do hesitate to ask if you have any questions.  Roger

[5050racing]

I have a e1450 also love it but things I learned and learning,with that much build up sounds like your wood is not dry enough,do u have a moisture tester,they say 25% or less is best!all the air hole on the sides!remove covers and clean out now and then!reaction chamber keep clean and many other things,keep posting and we all learn!great forum!

[5050racing]

What does the ash consist of in the 2 access door by the stack and down in the area around the reaction chamber?should be nothing but gray dust the finest dust you can imagine?these are just things to help us all how to operate these complex pieces of steel

[Roger2561]

I have a e1450 also love it but things I learned and learning,with that much build up sounds like your wood is not dry enough,do u have a moisture tester,they say 25% or less is best!all the air hole on the sides!remove covers and clean out now and then!reaction chamber keep clean and many other things,keep posting and we all learn!great forum!

505racing - Do you think I may be splitting my wood too large?  Generally it's 6 to 8 inches and some it 10 inches in diameter.  When I load it for the 12 hour time period I mix the sizes so not everything is 10 inches nor 8 or 6 inches.  Everything is 24 inches long.  The last time I checked the moisture content it was around 18%.  The next grapple load I get I'll split it a bit smaller in diameter to see what happens. Thanks, Roger

[5050racing]

I don't know it all but we can all help each other,did you split it then test moisture in the middle,last year I had 19/20" pieces long by 6/8" dia dry and the only problem was
Had reaction chamber start to fill up in 2/3 weeks burning all hard oak ash so I just keep it clean ,and it can be done while running the unit just switch it off for a bit to drag it out

[5050racing]

This year I will be burning 24" long wood,not burning yet not cold here yet let u know when I fire it up how the longer wood burns