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Topics - jrider

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1
Portage & Main / Need new blower
« on: October 16, 2015, 08:06:51 PM »
Went to fire up the opt. 250 for the season tonight and I need to replace the blower.  Where is my best chance of finding one tomorrow so we can be warm tomorrow night?

2
Portage & Main / Best bet for a new 250 nozzle?
« on: September 01, 2015, 08:36:15 AM »
Pretty much summed up in the subject line.  I need a new nozzle for my 250.  What's my best route?  Also, what's involved in replacing it?  I'm good with running a chainsaw but am not the handiest guy in the world.

3
Portage & Main / Blower on Opt 250 making noise
« on: January 07, 2015, 04:28:59 AM »
Title pretty much sums this up.  I go out this morning to load the boiler and I hear a muffled/low screaming sound coming from the boiler.  When I open up the back panels, I can tell it's coming from the blower.  Blower is still working fine, just not sounding good.  Has anyone else encountered this?  Am I looking at a replacement in my near future and if so, is it something I should order from P&M?  Figures this would have to be on my mind during the coldest air of the season.  But this is year 4 and it has run flawlessly up to this point. 
Am also thinking, if I have to order another blower, should I order another pump while I at it just to have around?

4
Portage & Main / New nozzle
« on: August 30, 2014, 06:48:16 AM »
Going into my 4th year with my 250 and my nozzle is shot.  How do I go about getting and installing a new one?

5
Portage & Main / 250 not gassing/running right
« on: January 23, 2014, 11:57:55 AM »
My 250 started acting up about a day and a half ago.  Symptoms: eating up wood like crazy, smoking heavily nonstop, having a hard time keeping up with heating demand, not gasifying.  This is my 3rd year with this unit and have been very happy with how it's performed.  I just gave it the normal cleaning - heat exchange tubes, ashes from the burn box and ashes from the lower secondary burn.  I believe its not getting enough air.  This morning I turned the knobs all the way out today just to try to get it some more air but it hasn't made a difference. 

I have read about some of you taking apart the air box in the back of the unit from time to time to clean it out.  I haven't done anything to this unit besides the general cleaning simply because it has performed like a charm up to this point.  I am also not the most mechanical guy in the world and am really unsure what I will find and what to look for.  Any info or tips you could pass on would be helpful and remember, even though I'm on my 3rd year, taking anything apart on this or tinkering with it is all brand new to me.

6
I am just curious as to how long people have gone without a cleaning.  And how often you are cleaning on average?  I got a little busy and neglectful and went 6 weeks.  I live in NJ and our weather hasn't been that cold until now so I figured I needed to get to cleaning my P&M 250.  The brushes were a little tighter than usual going through the heat exchange tubes but not terrible  Ashes at both ends of the heat exchange tubes were pretty deep but the stove was still burning relatively smoke free.  I burn a lot of partially rotted yet well seasoned wood that is a by product of me selling firewood and try to clean it every other weekend during the heavy burning season. 

7
Portage & Main / Frequency of cleanings - Opt. 250
« on: January 11, 2013, 11:57:23 AM »
Last year was the first year I had an OWB.  I cleaned it out well every Sunday and many days it didn't look that dirty to me.  This year, things were busy when I first fired it up so I wasn't as particular about cleaning it.  I have taken the motto, if its gassifying and not blowing much/any smoke I will just leave it be.  I will be cleaning it this afternoon when I get home and it this will make only the 3rd time this burning season. 

So what I would like to know, is how often folks clean theirs and is it ok to go till when it tells me to clean it (basically when it starts puffing smoke)?

Oh and I have been burning mostly nice and dry yellow pine with a little dry oak oak and gum mixed in.

8
I am a new owner of this unit as of late October.  Its been running great all along.  I clean it regularly and have had no issues until recently.  Yesterday I noticed it smoking a fair amount and it was taking a while for the water temp to climb back up to 180.  It was smoking worse so this morning I cleaned out all of the heat exchange tubes and the ashes in the compartment at the bottom.  Its working better but still not the way it should be or has been. 

I haven't changed the wood I'm burning and its nice and dry, probably all at or below 15% mc. 

The primary and secondary air adjustments have been right where the manual says they should be all along.  Is there something else I should be cleaning/looking at?

9
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / How often do you clean your OWB?
« on: November 28, 2011, 10:38:18 AM »
I recently bought a Portage and Main OWB - the Optimizer 250 (gasification).  I would like to know people's thoughts on cleaning out of the ashes and the tubes.  Its only been burning for 3 weeks now and things look to be ok at this point, just wanted to hear others thoughts.  I hear the tubes are crucial to the gasification running at full efficiency.  Is a little buildup ok or should they be perfectly clear? 

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