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[schoppy]

Yes slim, I was going to clean out the ash and coals in the secondary burn chamber anyway. I will take some pictures and see if I can figure out how to post them here. My 15 year old daughter can probably show me how to do it if I can't figure it out.

Still getting a little dripping out the front door on the hinge side and running down the back. I was tied up today but will look at it soon. I am guessing the warm weather may have as much to do about it as anything with the furnace at an idle quite a bit. Bid cool off starting tonight so that may help too.

[shepherd boy]

Schoppy- running without the lower "horseshoe brick" is fine provided you leave some ash covering the floor of the lower reburn chamber for the flame to hit. Ash is an excellent insulator. It'll smoke a bit more because it doesn't mix as well but you won't damage anything. It's all surrounded by water and the brick just reflects the heat in and forces it to mix. My son's fatherinlaw ran a early model G100 for several months without a horseshoe brick and it was fine. Just not as clean of a burn.
Interestingly the CB Edge models don't have brick down there but their EPA test was dirtier.

[hondaracer2oo4]

What are you guys getting for exit temps from the stack under load? I measured the inside of the flue pipe today with my IR gun. I got 385 degrees with water temp at 166 and damper 100% open. At 173 at 70% open I got 345 and at 177 with 60% open I got 325. To bad I don't know what the combustion temps are inside the secondary at different damper positions. This was 100% oak load on a nice bed of coals.

[mlappin]

What are you guys getting for exit temps from the stack under load? I measured the inside of the flue pipe today with my IR gun. I got 385 degrees with water temp at 166 and damper 100% open. At 173 at 70% open I got 345 and at 177 with 60% open I got 325. To bad I don't know what the combustion temps are inside the secondary at different damper positions. This was 100% oak load on a nice bed of coals.

I don’t believe IR guns anymore, can get all kinds of weird readings sometimes compared to a known source. I have a pyrometer that one of these days I’m gonna drop in the stack and see, my old one hit over 700 degrees with a roaring fire going.

I have my view port made and found a thermowell that will handle 2600 degrees, I’m gonna place it right over the viewport and rig up a data logger of some kind to track secondary burn temps and stack temp.

It got good and cold here a few days ago, was 8F on our way to physical therapy the one morning, dried everything right out in short order. Back into the low fifties again now.

[hondaracer2oo4]

I know that IR guns can by finicky but I seem to have good luck with mine. You have to follow some basic rules and it seems to be accurate. http://www.westsidewholesale.com/amprobe-ir608a.html?keyword=Google_Shopping&gclid=CJuf0OHFrskCFYP1HwodiV8Fpg     That is the one that I have. When you place it right onto the black fittings leaving the boiler it reads the exact same temp that the Siemens control reads on the boiler. When I measure pex I place the sensor right on the pex, when I measure copper I wrap the copper in black electrical tape, it reads the exact same number as the pex does when I do that. When I shoot the wall right next to my indoor thermostat it reads the same as my thermostat reads. Im not sure if mine is just higher quality then some other products out there but it seems to be accurate. 

[mlappin]

I know that IR guns can by finicky but I seem to have good luck with mine. You have to follow some basic rules and it seems to be accurate. http://www.westsidewholesale.com/amprobe-ir608a.html?keyword=Google_Shopping&gclid=CJuf0OHFrskCFYP1HwodiV8Fpg     That is the one that I have. When you place it right onto the black fittings leaving the boiler it reads the exact same temp that the Siemens control reads on the boiler. When I measure pex I place the sensor right on the pex, when I measure copper I wrap the copper in black electrical tape, it reads the exact same number as the pex does when I do that. When I shoot the wall right next to my indoor thermostat it reads the same as my thermostat reads. Im not sure if mine is just higher quality then some other products out there but it seems to be accurate.

Good to know. Mine was a freebie my father in law and brother in law used to use to check tire temps on the stock car.

Weather is goofy here, if it was anything like the last three years I’d be getting a good workout on the G400, if the long term is anywhere near accurate I may let it go out and use the waste oil boiler to heat the water at night before bed. Back to it using the purge cycle once in awhile as not enough heat load when its in the mid 50’s today.

[schoppy]

Thanks slim for helping with my G400 issues and to you mlappin for getting back to me on my questions. Sent pictures to Ryan at the factory about the issues, hope he gets back to me soon. My biggest concern is the vertical rear refractory block with the crack down the middle. The crack has spread to about 1" wide at the top and the hottest flue gasses can go directly out the back now. The front refractory block has also split wider right out to the retaining angle irons but that crack has mostly filled with ash. The temperature has cooled off here but it is also supposed to warm up to 50 by next weekend again.     

[mlappin]

May let mine go out by the weekend, low in the 50’s.

I’ll just heat water with waste oil at night for little heat and free DHW.

[schoppy]

Hey mlappin, did you shut down your G400? How much creosote buildup are you getting inside your primary in this mild weather or what are you doing to prevent it?

I let mine go out last night hoping the new parts would show up today but no luck. Called the factory to see where they are since I was told on December 1st they would get them right out and then a week ago I was told the same thing. Today I found out they haven't even shipped yet but should be going out next Tuesday, I sure hope so. Now the weather is supposed to get closer to normal by the end of next week so it will be a little iffy to leave it off for a day for the silicone to set up.

Can't say I'm impressed right now!   

[mlappin]

Given the amount of flow the nozzle has to the secondary burn chamber it would take a lot more than a 1” crack to loose most of the hottest gasses right up the heat exchanger tubes. That and the fact that the gasses will expand when ignited.

When it was actual winter here everything was peachy, today I power washed equipment in short sleeves. I let it burn out this AM, and will restart once it cools back off.

When it was under an actual load creosote was not an issue, once it warmed up I found in my case instead of filling the front and back of the firebox if I took the same amount of wood required for a twelve hour burn and just stacked it in the center it worked much better. But, most of my wood was ran thru a fire wood processor and is cut 17-18” long, which works out just fine for placing wood in the back, then another stack in the front and long pieces on top of that, with milder weather I just placed the same amount right in the center over the nozzle. Another problem I have in mild weather is I have 450 gallons of thermal storage in the shop so when it’s warm and the house thermostat resets to 67 for night, it’s a LONG time between calls for heat, not so much when it was starting to feel like winter here. I’m thinking of adding a solar controller to the shop plumbing so when the stove temp drops below 170 the waste oil boiler FPHE pump stops circulating so the 400’s water temp will drop faster from 170 to 160.

I’m curious though, what is the silicone for? I went back thru several of your posts and didn’t see any mention of it till the last one.

I had zero problems with creosote or dripping out the front until it just got to warm to even need the stove running. Wife and I are sleeping with all bedroom windows open a few inches tonight and enjoying the fresh air while we can.

[schoppy]

Right from the start my venter mounting plate in the rear leaked creosote down the back of the stove. This makes a real mess. My venter plate does not seal real well on the sides, there is about a 3/16" gap on the right side and about 1/8" gap on the left side when the plate is touching at top and bottom. I have to pull this gap closed with the dogs on each side to get it to seal and I am not sure how tight the seal is then on the sides.

Last week after I had loaded the unit and shut it down, it woofed just as I was leaving my building and blew out the gasket to the venter plate in the rear and even forced the float out the top of the unit! Scared the s**t out of me. Talked to slim about this and it may have been just unlucky timing of the unit loaded up gases, hot and the venter coming on at just the right time to cause it to woof. A friend of mine with a central boiler gasser has had his do the same thing too.

Anyway, after talking to slim he suggested using a thin coat of high temp silicone on the new rear gaskets they are sending me for the venter plate. The problem here is leaving the unit off for 24 hours for the silicone to cure completely. By next weekend the temps are supposed to get back to near normal so I'll run up the temp in my shed before I shut it down. I have other heat sources for everything else. First I have to wait until the parts arrive to do anything.

[mlappin]

Okay gotcha, haven’t had the woof thing yet, usually only try to load it after it’s been off for quite awhile or when it just starts again.

I’m wondering in these shoulder times if the creosote powder that Heatmaster offers will help any?

The other thing I did when it was warm was only load enough to keep it going for a few hours, but I have the fortunate situation of working from home so having to load several times thru the day isn’t a problem and yes I realize not everybody is so lucky.

Worked tonight in the shop in a t-shirt with the doors open.

[schoppy]

Haven't heard of the creosote powder before, may have to ask about it next time I talk to the factory.

I am burning real small loads now in this warm weather also. It doesn't stop all the creosoting but seems to be helping some.