Outdoor Wood Furnace Info
Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers WITH EPA-Certified Models => Portage & Main => Topic started by: jrider on January 23, 2014, 11:57:55 AM
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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.
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I don't have time to give you a more detailed answer right now but I'm going to guess that your secondary air flapper is creosoted (stuck) closed. It's the smaller of the two flappers on the bottom left hand side of the box. Also could be that the primary is stuck open (excess wood usage) & secondary is stuck closed (not gasifying).
I'll be able to give a lot more detail late tonight - but based on your symptoms, I'd start there.
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What does your nozzle look like? Is it worn out? If you haven't replaced your nozzle in 3 years it may be time.
Has your wood changed at all? Are you using from a pile that might not be as dry?
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Thank you both for your responses. As soon as I got home from work and while it was still light out I took the cover off the air box. Remember this is my first time looking at it so I didn't know what I was looking for or at for that matter....sad I know but as stated tinkering with moving parts/electronics isn't my thing. What I did discover was that a small bolt was out that belonged to the flapper that covers the entry way to the burn box and the flapper wasnt moving freely on its own. I put the bolt back in and cleaned up the flapper and let ER rip and it seems to be back to its normal self. Now I just have to tinker around with my air flow knobe since I turned them all the way out this morning.
And now after taking that apart, it doesn't scare me as much but if something big really goes wrong I will be out of my league.
I am very thankful for all the people who post solutions on this site for idiots like me! Keep on burning!!
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Gas on my friend!
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jrider
would be helpful to check that air box from time to time to help avoid some simple issues. just checking/greasing moving parts and checking bolts. my small flap bolt fell off and left flap wide open and got a creosote water bath back there. yukk!