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16
Central Boiler / Re: Did your CB lose Firestar communication last night?
« on: February 01, 2020, 11:46:37 AM »So from what it sounds like, all data is sent to a CB server first then you look the html page up?
HM is working on something similar, from a dealer standpoint it would be great to see the data before ever leaving for a service call.
Basically that. Realtime display on the control panel for water temp + reaction chamber temp + current load burn duration, and reporting in to the server every 1-10 minutes (seems to report more when temps change rapidly). Login to a page and see either a dashboard with last-reported values + current local temperature (from a web service, not a sensor on the unit) or a graph of the logged values over last 4/8/16/24 hours. Tabular display of logged values with the ability to go back day by day in history on graph and data tables. It's really nice, from the operator's POV.
There's an "Allow my dealer to see my data? Yes/No" option on the account settings page, not that I have seen the dealer side of things.
17
Central Boiler / Did your CB lose Firestar communication last night?
« on: January 31, 2020, 06:20:00 AM »
Just checking here to get an idea if it is my side, or theirs. My boiler lost communication with Firestar around 6:15PM EST yesterday. It briefly came back at 8:55PM, and has been down since then. The website was also down on and off during the night, and I received some extra "your furnace has lost communication for an hour" alerts, but the website is back up now and my boiler still isn't reporting.
Anyone else?
EDIT: And it is back. Offline from 11:42PM until 11:17AM. Nevermind, I guess.
Anyone else?
EDIT: And it is back. Offline from 11:42PM until 11:17AM. Nevermind, I guess.
18
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: January 23, 2020, 05:43:31 AM »
Thank you both again so much!
Pointblank, your description sounds identical to mine, so I bet that'll work. Roger, I've been doing exactly that with the poker/scraper at the low part of the channel too, after reading something on the support site about creosote drain holes in the channels, so hopefully that'll put me in a good place to get it done this spring. I'll pick up a handful of replacement bolts/etc too. These are extreme enough temperatures I'm sure I can count on more than a few sheared bolts going forward.
Pointblank, your description sounds identical to mine, so I bet that'll work. Roger, I've been doing exactly that with the poker/scraper at the low part of the channel too, after reading something on the support site about creosote drain holes in the channels, so hopefully that'll put me in a good place to get it done this spring. I'll pick up a handful of replacement bolts/etc too. These are extreme enough temperatures I'm sure I can count on more than a few sheared bolts going forward.
19
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: January 22, 2020, 04:12:56 PM »I've used a large screwdriver to pry out the side channels. I start at the back of the stove and work it out toward the front. Might have to tap it in with a hammer to get it started. Just be careful not to bend or deform them. Once you get it started they come right out.
As far as the acorn nuts, if they give you trouble, try heating them up with a small torch. Snapped a few off myself at first. Creosote seems to work its way in them and a propane or map gas torch loosens them right up. Use some high temp anti-seize when you reassemble and they'll come out easier next time.
Thanks, Pointblank! They're only really held in place by the washers and nuts, right? So when prying them out, has it mattered whether you work from the top of the channel or the bottom, or just do both the whole way until it pops free?
I think the middle acorn nut was cross threaded on mine at delivery, it turned pretty easily about 3 rotations and then locked right up on me. Next time I'll give it some heat if it starts to resist, and thanks for the tip on anti-seize, that makes perfect sense.
20
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: January 22, 2020, 10:37:36 AM »
Glad to see the forum back up!
Maybe a week or so ago, I decided it was time to take a look at the primary air channels. Air flow felt reduced when I hit the 'ignition air' button and stick my hand in my firebox - plenty of air from the front, not so much from the side air channels. And that's where I started to have a bit of a problem.
While opening the front primary air channel, the one just below the door, I managed to snap the carriage bolt in the middle. The left and right acorn nuts came off just fine, the middle one snapped the bolt. So I have a piece to replace. No big deal, it does not seem to be reducing burn performance.
But for the side air channels - how do you get the metal air channel pieces off? I was able to remove the acorn nuts and washers on both sides, but I simply could not budge the channels themselves. For the front air channel, I shoved my fingers in the air holes and was able to wiggle it loose eventually, is it just the same kind of procedure for the side ones? Maybe I screwed up by putting the front air channel back on before trying to remove the side ones, maybe it needs to be out of the way for them to be removed. I have a feeling I have a minor blockage in there. I think I can make it through the rest of the season and just deal with it in the spring, but I may still need some tips on how to get those channels removed.
Maybe a week or so ago, I decided it was time to take a look at the primary air channels. Air flow felt reduced when I hit the 'ignition air' button and stick my hand in my firebox - plenty of air from the front, not so much from the side air channels. And that's where I started to have a bit of a problem.
While opening the front primary air channel, the one just below the door, I managed to snap the carriage bolt in the middle. The left and right acorn nuts came off just fine, the middle one snapped the bolt. So I have a piece to replace. No big deal, it does not seem to be reducing burn performance.
But for the side air channels - how do you get the metal air channel pieces off? I was able to remove the acorn nuts and washers on both sides, but I simply could not budge the channels themselves. For the front air channel, I shoved my fingers in the air holes and was able to wiggle it loose eventually, is it just the same kind of procedure for the side ones? Maybe I screwed up by putting the front air channel back on before trying to remove the side ones, maybe it needs to be out of the way for them to be removed. I have a feeling I have a minor blockage in there. I think I can make it through the rest of the season and just deal with it in the spring, but I may still need some tips on how to get those channels removed.
21
General Discussion / Re: Get to know me!
« on: January 09, 2020, 11:17:03 AM »
Posting here enough now I may as well introduce myself... I'm 39, married 12 years, living in NW Vermont near St. Albans. Originally from the San Joaquin Valley in California where we burned wood first in a fireplace then a couple of insert stoves as I grew up, then moved to Vermont with a brief detour in Connecticut near New Haven. 6', 140, so probably the scrawniest guy here. The glasses do auto-darken. Give me a glass of rye or some peated scotch and I'm happy. Long hair I've managed to avoid burning in the boiler but my eyebrows and way-too-gray-for-my-age beard have not been so lucky. I spent most of last winter collecting and dumping buckets of water pouring into my basement through bad drain tile underground lines and I just want my heat to work and not need babysitting.
I've burned down one outdoor wood boiler and have had ridiculously bad luck with oil boilers (4 years in this house and I'm on my third one, the cast iron keeps cracking). It seems to be due to make up water from invisible leaks in the in-slab radiant. Finally lost the radiant in the last garage due to leaks so I have a Reznor hydronic heater going in down there in a week and a half.
Just about 12 acres here, almost all of it hayed pasture land. Need to buy up some of the adjacent woods to feed this beast. Even buying wood, it's still cheaper than multiple heating oil fills through the winter. Five laying hens, one rooster, one 70 pound mostly-beagle mutt that turned 3 a week ago. No kids. One tenant that was more work than all of them until she took off without paying the last month's rent in October, but at least she's not leaving the garage door open just to have a convenient place to smoke and increasing my wood usage any longer.
Quit smoking maybe 4 years ago by switching to vaping. Day job, I sit around and type on computers and keep databases up and running, working in the snow sports industry. My woodshed is falling down, one of these days I'll have to tear apart collapsed roof and walls to get to my firewood, because the guy who built this place might have been a concrete guy but he didn't put in drainage so these concrete slab walls are cracking and collapsing inward. A nice pile of wood gives it support at the beginning of the season, but we know how those don't last.
I've burned down one outdoor wood boiler and have had ridiculously bad luck with oil boilers (4 years in this house and I'm on my third one, the cast iron keeps cracking). It seems to be due to make up water from invisible leaks in the in-slab radiant. Finally lost the radiant in the last garage due to leaks so I have a Reznor hydronic heater going in down there in a week and a half.
Just about 12 acres here, almost all of it hayed pasture land. Need to buy up some of the adjacent woods to feed this beast. Even buying wood, it's still cheaper than multiple heating oil fills through the winter. Five laying hens, one rooster, one 70 pound mostly-beagle mutt that turned 3 a week ago. No kids. One tenant that was more work than all of them until she took off without paying the last month's rent in October, but at least she's not leaving the garage door open just to have a convenient place to smoke and increasing my wood usage any longer.
Quit smoking maybe 4 years ago by switching to vaping. Day job, I sit around and type on computers and keep databases up and running, working in the snow sports industry. My woodshed is falling down, one of these days I'll have to tear apart collapsed roof and walls to get to my firewood, because the guy who built this place might have been a concrete guy but he didn't put in drainage so these concrete slab walls are cracking and collapsing inward. A nice pile of wood gives it support at the beginning of the season, but we know how those don't last.
22
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: January 09, 2020, 09:29:23 AM »
I am back in business. It was the fan.
Once the old fan was removed, a quick look inside the case showed a clearly visibly broken wire in the motor winding, just dangling loose. Worked fine for almost three months but must have had some kind of weak point. Excellent service from my dealer! He arrived with a large air compressor in tow as his next job after mine was a water blowout on another customer's 15yr old boiler so that the leaky firebox can be welded, so they sure seem like a full service dealer. Such a huge difference from where I was before with the Sequoyah and no support due to an out of business manufacturer.
Once the old fan was removed, a quick look inside the case showed a clearly visibly broken wire in the motor winding, just dangling loose. Worked fine for almost three months but must have had some kind of weak point. Excellent service from my dealer! He arrived with a large air compressor in tow as his next job after mine was a water blowout on another customer's 15yr old boiler so that the leaky firebox can be welded, so they sure seem like a full service dealer. Such a huge difference from where I was before with the Sequoyah and no support due to an out of business manufacturer.
23
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: January 08, 2020, 10:19:36 AM »Does your FireStar fan indicator light show the fan is on? If so, then unplug the fan and use a multimeter in the harness connector to see if power is present. If you have 120V present make sure you are getting good fan wire connections in connector. If so you likely have a bad fan motor. I would expect fan would be covered under warranty if your furnace is less than a year old like other electrial components. Should be easy fix for your dealer. Let us know what you find out on Thursday.
Thanks both boilerman and RSI! I removed the harness and checked it out with the volt meter, and I see 120.4V coming out of the controller going to the wire harness when it tries to power the fan so the controller looks good, at least. I also tried kickstarting the fan with a can of compressed air to see if it could power, but not start it, but no luck there. Just a brief spin from the air then nothing. So I think I am pretty confident something is shot on the fan.
I'll post an update tomorrow.
24
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: January 07, 2020, 08:20:37 AM »Oh man, that sucks. I hope it's only the fan not the controller. If it is the controller, it's an easy unit to change. Don't ask me how I know. Is the digital display lit up on the controller? Does your manual offer any troubleshooting options to try while you're waiting for the dealer to show up? Also, I know with my Edge 550 I can go to the CB site where they have an online troubleshooting guide. It helped me a bunch when the power supply on my controller fried due to 3 power surges from a fallen tree. All you have to do is input the serial number of your 750 in the box and they have many options from which you can pick the one that closest resembles the trouble you're having. It will walk you through how to narrow down the problem and how to rectify it/them. Good luck. I hope you are heating your home sooner rather than later. Roger
The model-specific troubleshooting guide has been really helpful, but not many options to follow for the fan after checking to make sure the blades turn freely. The only other thing left for me to do is pull it off and check it with the multimeter, but I can't get a replacement part here any faster than the dealer can so it'll probably just frustrate me more to find out it's just a simple capacitor I don't have around to replace.
The controller appears to be fine, the display lights up, it is still reporting up to firestar online, the LEDs light up white and red as the stepper motors move the air intakes and I can see they are actually moving. It could be the electrical in the controller just for the part that feeds that fan, but we'll see. The dealer should have replacements for both parts on hand, and better to get to know them now than during the middle of a -20F run of weeks.
25
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: January 06, 2020, 06:10:11 AM »
Well, time for my first attempt to see how good my dealer is. My combustion air fan died overnight. It was running when I loaded it at 1:00AM, wake up at 7:00AM and I see the boiler says it has been running for 5 hours, and is sitting at 160F. I figure all my wood burned faster than I expected, but then I walk out there and it is quiet. Opened up the airbox and no obvious issues there, the fan looks clean, hasn't melted, no wires are loose, airbox not full of soot.
So I have it sitting there, bypass open, for now, while I've got a message in to my dealer via the Central Boiler support site. Unfortunately no spare fan onhand and I guess this could be the firestar controller itself, rather than the fan.
EDIT: They'll be here Thursday morning. A few more days than I'd hoped for for service, and Wed night will be pretty cold. But I've got heating oil for backup. Looks like ordering a spare fan would be $190 or so after shipping based on my first few checks so I think I'll let warranty play out here and see if they can hook me up.
So I have it sitting there, bypass open, for now, while I've got a message in to my dealer via the Central Boiler support site. Unfortunately no spare fan onhand and I guess this could be the firestar controller itself, rather than the fan.
EDIT: They'll be here Thursday morning. A few more days than I'd hoped for for service, and Wed night will be pretty cold. But I've got heating oil for backup. Looks like ordering a spare fan would be $190 or so after shipping based on my first few checks so I think I'll let warranty play out here and see if they can hook me up.
26
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: December 20, 2019, 05:18:33 PM »
St. Albans, up in the NW corner, just about 15 miles south of the Canadian border and about as far from upstate NY. Cold, but the lake moderates it, and the last couple years the southern part of the state has had it worse than us on cold and snow pretty frequently.
27
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: December 20, 2019, 02:45:15 PM »
I really appreciate your comments, just hearing that your vent cap has moved a bit makes us both feel better. I so wish I had been able to see what she saw, but it was so brief even going to grab me from another room, I wouldn't have caught it. This was the first 1700F+ reaction chamber temp I've seen, I think the previous peak was around 1620F or so. I'm already running low on my seasoned wood and using a bit more greener wood than I wanted to and I'd expect that to reduce temps in the reaction chamber, not increase them, but I probably added 25% more wood than I ever had before. More wood than usual plus a really clean firebox I guess makes for some serious heat transfer down that mixing chamber.
If you ever find yourself in northwest Vermont and want a look at a 750, give me a ping!
If you ever find yourself in northwest Vermont and want a look at a 750, give me a ping!
28
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: December 20, 2019, 06:18:37 AM »
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you too!
So here's a new one that happened this morning. I did not see it. I loaded up a lot of wood last night since temps were around 0 with winds, pretty similar to what you described. My wife woke up an hour before me, and when I got up she told me she thought she saw "for about five seconds, a LOT of black smoke, like the when the old boiler burned down" coming out of the vent cap. She also says she saw smoke that appeared to be coming out the front, at the loading door.
I go out and look, no active steaming at the moment. Check the Firestar XP logs, the max water temperature logged overnight was 196.6F (my setpoint is 190F, reaction chambers peaked up at 1710F around 5:00AM so it really managed to overshoot), so we reached the hottest water temperature and hottest reaction chamber temps I've seen since starting this 750. It was running, or had just finished, a brief pulse cycle at the time she noticed steam and/or smoke coming out of the vent.
My vent cap is askew. I can see some very light slow evaporation of water out of the vent cap, very minor, nothing like if the water was boiling. The sight gauge still shows the water level at the full line at 180F when I checked it.
So I'm not sure if I did partially boil the water at some point and the vent cap did its job, or what. I've bumped my setpoint back down to 188F, and I probably won't add that much wood again for a while. I don't get what could be exiting the vent that would be black, unless a downdraft from the pulse was just mixing with steam or there is some leftover shipping oil protectant up in the top of the water chamber that I managed to sizzle off.
I looked at the front door, everything looks fine, no evidence of a smoke leak during a burn or any smoke curling of the stickers or anything like that. I guess smoke overpressure inside could blow back through the air chamber where the fan is, as a possible source for smoke coming out the front. I'll open that up soon and take a look. It was perfectly clean two days ago so if it is sooty that would indicate something.
Edited again to add: Opened it up, firebox looks fine, still a little wood in it. Air chamber looks fine, not sooty, nothing melted, no evidence of any backdraft through it. Reaction chamber looks fine. All door seals look fine with no apparent air leaks. It's a mystery.
So here's a new one that happened this morning. I did not see it. I loaded up a lot of wood last night since temps were around 0 with winds, pretty similar to what you described. My wife woke up an hour before me, and when I got up she told me she thought she saw "for about five seconds, a LOT of black smoke, like the when the old boiler burned down" coming out of the vent cap. She also says she saw smoke that appeared to be coming out the front, at the loading door.
I go out and look, no active steaming at the moment. Check the Firestar XP logs, the max water temperature logged overnight was 196.6F (my setpoint is 190F, reaction chambers peaked up at 1710F around 5:00AM so it really managed to overshoot), so we reached the hottest water temperature and hottest reaction chamber temps I've seen since starting this 750. It was running, or had just finished, a brief pulse cycle at the time she noticed steam and/or smoke coming out of the vent.
My vent cap is askew. I can see some very light slow evaporation of water out of the vent cap, very minor, nothing like if the water was boiling. The sight gauge still shows the water level at the full line at 180F when I checked it.
So I'm not sure if I did partially boil the water at some point and the vent cap did its job, or what. I've bumped my setpoint back down to 188F, and I probably won't add that much wood again for a while. I don't get what could be exiting the vent that would be black, unless a downdraft from the pulse was just mixing with steam or there is some leftover shipping oil protectant up in the top of the water chamber that I managed to sizzle off.
I looked at the front door, everything looks fine, no evidence of a smoke leak during a burn or any smoke curling of the stickers or anything like that. I guess smoke overpressure inside could blow back through the air chamber where the fan is, as a possible source for smoke coming out the front. I'll open that up soon and take a look. It was perfectly clean two days ago so if it is sooty that would indicate something.
Edited again to add: Opened it up, firebox looks fine, still a little wood in it. Air chamber looks fine, not sooty, nothing melted, no evidence of any backdraft through it. Reaction chamber looks fine. All door seals look fine with no apparent air leaks. It's a mystery.
29
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: December 19, 2019, 11:19:10 AM »
Thank you Roger, this is a great guide! I started out removing too much ash, I think, and had multiple cases of the fire going out overnight until I allowed more to accumulate. I think I just went too far that direction and let it get too full. I have definitely been running the hooked poker tool through the ash bed twice a day. You are exactly right about the air holes in the panel just below the door, mine must have the same configuration as your 550 as they are indeed much lower than the ones on the side channels. I'm so impressed at how clean the heat exchangers in the rear have been staying.
No problems hitting 1300+F now after cleaning out the firebox. I had misread the instructions and was thinking removing ash from there was the "complete firebox cleaning" procedure more reserved for the end of the season than as a during-use maintenance. I won't make that mistake again.
No problems hitting 1300+F now after cleaning out the firebox. I had misread the instructions and was thinking removing ash from there was the "complete firebox cleaning" procedure more reserved for the end of the season than as a during-use maintenance. I won't make that mistake again.
30
Central Boiler / Re: Replacing Sequoyah E3400 with CB Classic Edge 750 HD
« on: December 18, 2019, 07:02:18 AM »
Time for my first big cleaning. Reaction chamber temperatures have been dropping quite a bit. I was getting 1400-1600F the first several weeks, then for a few weeks it was peaking around 1200F, and now it has been having trouble reaching even 800F. Cleaning the reaction chamber ash out helped the first time, it hasn't been helping since. I let the fire go out overnight and the heating oil kicked on to replace it. Yesterday I tried splitting a bunch of wood smaller than I had been using and that helped it to get up to 950F or so, but still not where it should be.
I figure I will start with the primary and secondary elbows, but I suspect I am going to need to remove the primary air channels and check those out too. Or I've just allowed too thick a coal/ash bed to build up after over-reacting the wrong direction to having it go out on me a couple times due to small loads in shoulder seasons. Heat exchanger tubes still look great, just a little fly ash in the chimney tee, but I am definitely getting a bit of crusty creosote buildup in the firebox near the primary outlets. Not enough to cover the holes, but I don't know what is inside those channels yet.
If any of you have seen this specific behavior before I'd be interested if you know what fixed it most directly.
Those wire harnesses attached to the stepper motors are locked in good, may try just cleaning it without disconnecting them (after cutting power at the breaker). Cold days coming up tomorrow.
EDITED TO ADD: I think it was just too much ash and coal piled up in the firebox. The weather went downhill faster than expected so I didn't have time to do all the maintenance I wanted, but the secondary charge tube looked fine and so did the elbows, I did not make it to the primary air channels. But I have it humming along above 1000F now on wood that is basically kindling, so it seems like the firebox cleaning was what I needed.
I figure I will start with the primary and secondary elbows, but I suspect I am going to need to remove the primary air channels and check those out too. Or I've just allowed too thick a coal/ash bed to build up after over-reacting the wrong direction to having it go out on me a couple times due to small loads in shoulder seasons. Heat exchanger tubes still look great, just a little fly ash in the chimney tee, but I am definitely getting a bit of crusty creosote buildup in the firebox near the primary outlets. Not enough to cover the holes, but I don't know what is inside those channels yet.
If any of you have seen this specific behavior before I'd be interested if you know what fixed it most directly.
Those wire harnesses attached to the stepper motors are locked in good, may try just cleaning it without disconnecting them (after cutting power at the breaker). Cold days coming up tomorrow.
EDITED TO ADD: I think it was just too much ash and coal piled up in the firebox. The weather went downhill faster than expected so I didn't have time to do all the maintenance I wanted, but the secondary charge tube looked fine and so did the elbows, I did not make it to the primary air channels. But I have it humming along above 1000F now on wood that is basically kindling, so it seems like the firebox cleaning was what I needed.