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1
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: Cleaning OWB
« on: May 09, 2013, 09:20:43 AM »
Rodger,
I too was having a hard time with the welded seams, then the light bulb went on! I went and got a hold of my handheld angle grinder and attached a wire wheel brush. I went over every square inch of the firebox and reaction chamber, it shines like new. Coated everything down with oil and put her back together again.
My main area of concern was that inside of the air channels. I tried using a shopvac and leaf blower, but I’m still unsure if I got it all. What do you do to clean your air channels at the end of the year?
I too was having a hard time with the welded seams, then the light bulb went on! I went and got a hold of my handheld angle grinder and attached a wire wheel brush. I went over every square inch of the firebox and reaction chamber, it shines like new. Coated everything down with oil and put her back together again.
My main area of concern was that inside of the air channels. I tried using a shopvac and leaf blower, but I’m still unsure if I got it all. What do you do to clean your air channels at the end of the year?
2
Plumbing / Re: Domestic Hot Water Temperature
« on: January 28, 2013, 04:04:02 PM »
New valve installed, we’ve got hot water coming out our ears. Problem solved, for now anyway! 
3
Plumbing / Re: Domestic Hot Water Temperature
« on: January 21, 2013, 11:04:54 AM »
Thanks for the help guys, I'll post an update when I figure this thing out.
4
Plumbing / Re: Domestic Hot Water Temperature
« on: January 21, 2013, 06:04:35 AM »
Let me clarify a few things….
First, the plate was used due to the extremely close proximity of the hot water heater and the gas furnace. In order to use a sidearm I would have needed to move the hot water heater, thus re-plumbing and re-ventilating the unit. I didn’t want to open a can of worm so to speak, so we used a plate.
Second, the plate seems to be working extremely well. The piping between the plate and the T&P valve is EXTREMLY hot, as is the nipple coming out of the top of the hot water heater below the mixing valve. Touch these for more than half a second and they’ll blister you hand, believe me I know.
Third, I’ve drained several five gallon buckets of water from both the T&P valve and the drain at the bottom of the tank. The water is scalding hot, bucket after bucket after bucket.
First, the plate was used due to the extremely close proximity of the hot water heater and the gas furnace. In order to use a sidearm I would have needed to move the hot water heater, thus re-plumbing and re-ventilating the unit. I didn’t want to open a can of worm so to speak, so we used a plate.
Second, the plate seems to be working extremely well. The piping between the plate and the T&P valve is EXTREMLY hot, as is the nipple coming out of the top of the hot water heater below the mixing valve. Touch these for more than half a second and they’ll blister you hand, believe me I know.
Third, I’ve drained several five gallon buckets of water from both the T&P valve and the drain at the bottom of the tank. The water is scalding hot, bucket after bucket after bucket.
5
Plumbing / Domestic Hot Water Temperature
« on: January 20, 2013, 07:13:51 PM »
Looking for some advice on domestic hot water temperature….
My OWB water temperature set point is 190°. I have less than a 1° temperature drop over approximately 175’ run of ThermoPEX. I haven’t measured the water temperature out of the T&P valve on my hot water heater, but it’s very hot. Needless to say the plate heat exchanger is doing it's job! My problem is the water temperature at the faucet, all of them. Again I haven’t measured this temperature, but I would describe it as a little better than luke warm. In my opinion the only thing standing between me and nice hot water is the Honeywell AMX Series mixing valve. The valve was installed per the manufacturer’s instructions, and I’ve even pulled it a few times thinking it was dirty or clogged with some debris. Does anyone have any advice, or experienced something similar?
I’ve attached a few images for reference.
My OWB water temperature set point is 190°. I have less than a 1° temperature drop over approximately 175’ run of ThermoPEX. I haven’t measured the water temperature out of the T&P valve on my hot water heater, but it’s very hot. Needless to say the plate heat exchanger is doing it's job! My problem is the water temperature at the faucet, all of them. Again I haven’t measured this temperature, but I would describe it as a little better than luke warm. In my opinion the only thing standing between me and nice hot water is the Honeywell AMX Series mixing valve. The valve was installed per the manufacturer’s instructions, and I’ve even pulled it a few times thinking it was dirty or clogged with some debris. Does anyone have any advice, or experienced something similar?
I’ve attached a few images for reference.
6
Central Boiler / Re: Nitrite Levels
« on: January 16, 2013, 06:32:40 PM »
NITRITE LEVEL UPDATE - 1/16/13
Per my Central Boiler Dealer and Central Boiler Corporate, water samples (Well/Hot Water Heater/OWB) were taken and shipped over night to Central Boiler. The boiler was then immediately (11/2/12) drained, filled, and flushed – TWICE! The system was then refilled with soft water and Corrosion Inhibitor Plus. Levels immediately returned to normal ranges, and have continued to stay there.
Central Boiler has since gotten back to me with my water test results. Their telling me that my water (out of the well) is excessively hard, with very high levels of iron. I find this very hard to believe, as we have no other signs of hard water/iron in our day to day lives. I’ve been in homes with iron problems. You can smell it when you turn on the faucet; you see the stains in sinks/toilets. We’ve never seen any of these things in our home. Anyway, their telling me that my excessively hard/iron filled water eventually overtook the Corrosion Inhibitor Plus and started to corrode inside the furnace. I find this all a little much, and have sent water samples to the Wisconsin State Lab for my own “independent” test.
At the current time all is well, we LOVE our boiler, and look forward to more cold weather!
Per my Central Boiler Dealer and Central Boiler Corporate, water samples (Well/Hot Water Heater/OWB) were taken and shipped over night to Central Boiler. The boiler was then immediately (11/2/12) drained, filled, and flushed – TWICE! The system was then refilled with soft water and Corrosion Inhibitor Plus. Levels immediately returned to normal ranges, and have continued to stay there.
Central Boiler has since gotten back to me with my water test results. Their telling me that my water (out of the well) is excessively hard, with very high levels of iron. I find this very hard to believe, as we have no other signs of hard water/iron in our day to day lives. I’ve been in homes with iron problems. You can smell it when you turn on the faucet; you see the stains in sinks/toilets. We’ve never seen any of these things in our home. Anyway, their telling me that my excessively hard/iron filled water eventually overtook the Corrosion Inhibitor Plus and started to corrode inside the furnace. I find this all a little much, and have sent water samples to the Wisconsin State Lab for my own “independent” test.
At the current time all is well, we LOVE our boiler, and look forward to more cold weather!
7
Central Boiler / Re: Cleaning E-Classic Heat Exchangers?
« on: January 16, 2013, 06:02:22 PM »
Thanks for the info guys. My E-Classic 2400 has two large vertical heat exchanges connecting the reaction chamber to the chimney box/T area. I guess they don’t get that dirty, and thus don’t require a lot of maintenance!
8
Central Boiler / Cleaning E-Classic Heat Exchangers?
« on: December 05, 2012, 01:25:04 PM »
How are the E-Classic owners out there cleaning the fly ash out of their heat exchangers? 
9
Central Boiler / Re: Nitrite Levels
« on: October 29, 2012, 09:15:00 AM »My wife and I purchased a Central Boiler E-Classic 2400 last April. It was professionally installed by a certified Central Boiler dealer. I took a few vacation days away from work to “oversee” everything, and help out with whatever I could. Our E-Classic ties into two forced air furnaces as well as our hot water heater, all of which previously used natural gas. The dealer and I added the correct amount of Corrosion Inhibitor Plus to the boiler, and then immediately filled the system with softened water. My initial water test was excellent (pH - 9.0 / nitrite - 25 drops). I re-tested the water again at 30 and 90 day with the same results (pH - 9.0 / nitrite - 25 drops). I fired up our boiler on Tuesday for the first time. Prior to doing so I again tested our water. Our pH level was still at 9.0, but to my surprise and shock our nitrite level was 2 drops by nitrite! I thought I must have done something wrong so I retested, again 2 drops by nitrite! Now I was a little freaked. I went in the house and re-read all of the water testing directions. I even washed the test tube with a mild dish soap thinking there could have been a carryover of chemicals from previous testing. After rinsing the test tube I again re-tested the water, and again the result was 2 drops by nitrite. This being said my water is crystal clear, showing no signs of rust or corrosion. We haven’t added any water since the initial fill, nor has the system lost any.
We’ve called our dealer who is apparently out of town for a few days. We’re expecting his call sometime early next week. We’re hoping our test chemicals have gone bad and a new test kit will solve all our problems. Any ideas out there?
My dealer brought out a new test kit on Saturday (10/27). We both re-tested the water and we’re still at 2-3 drops by nitrite, WTF is going on! My water has now turned a very light brown, almost like ginger ale. My dealer is absolutely beside himself, never seeing anything like this in his 14 years as a Central Boiler dealer. The way I see it I have two options. Flush and re-fill the furnace now (I would need to completely shut down, as I’ve been burning since 10/2), or add enough Corrosion Inhibitor Plus to get my water back where it needs to be, and then flush and re-fill the furnace in the spring. Any thoughts/advice?
10
General Outdoor Furnace Discussion / Re: My central air is coming on ?
« on: October 29, 2012, 08:57:37 AM »Lets call your old thermostat "thermostat A"...New one added to your system "thermostat B"
On thermostat A look for the G marked terminal, it should have your A/C wire hooked to it....REMOVE the wire going to the G terminal on Thermostat A.....
Next take the wire that is running from thermostat B (W marked one) and attach that to the "now" empty terminal G on thermostat A....wa'la your done---you will have the reverse the 2 wires in the spring for the A/c to work....there's other ways you can do this--but this is the easiest way.
Basically, the G terminal on a thermostat is the fan activation wire----when you do not unhook the A/C wire from thermostat A when you hook up thermostat B to it---the thermostat B wire backfeeds the A/C system and turns it on.
I'm a picture dunce on this forum..sorry
Why not just trip the main A/C breaker for the winter months and leave the thermostat wiring alone? This way the system operates as it should, and there’s no need to flip flop thermostat wires every spring and fall.
11
Central Boiler / Re: Nitrite Levels
« on: October 04, 2012, 01:46:48 PM »I too would wait on the new kit. Did you keep it outside? My dealer told me to keep it inside controlled because they do go bad in weather rapidly.
I’ve kept everything in the house since the boiler was installed. I did notice that at the time of delivery the owner’s manual and test kit were inside the firebox. Per the date on the nameplate located on the side of the boiler the unit was a little over a year old by the time I took ownership. I’m assuming the owner’s manual and test kit had been in the firebox ever since the boiler shipped from the factory…
12
Central Boiler / Nitrite Levels
« on: October 04, 2012, 09:06:02 AM »
My wife and I purchased a Central Boiler E-Classic 2400 last April. It was professionally installed by a certified Central Boiler dealer. I took a few vacation days away from work to “oversee” everything, and help out with whatever I could. Our E-Classic ties into two forced air furnaces as well as our hot water heater, all of which previously used natural gas. The dealer and I added the correct amount of Corrosion Inhibitor Plus to the boiler, and then immediately filled the system with softened water. My initial water test was excellent (pH - 9.0 / nitrite - 25 drops). I re-tested the water again at 30 and 90 day with the same results (pH - 9.0 / nitrite - 25 drops). I fired up our boiler on Tuesday for the first time. Prior to doing so I again tested our water. Our pH level was still at 9.0, but to my surprise and shock our nitrite level was 2 drops by nitrite! I thought I must have done something wrong so I retested, again 2 drops by nitrite! Now I was a little freaked. I went in the house and re-read all of the water testing directions. I even washed the test tube with a mild dish soap thinking there could have been a carryover of chemicals from previous testing. After rinsing the test tube I again re-tested the water, and again the result was 2 drops by nitrite. This being said my water is crystal clear, showing no signs of rust or corrosion. We haven’t added any water since the initial fill, nor has the system lost any.
We’ve called our dealer who is apparently out of town for a few days. We’re expecting his call sometime early next week. We’re hoping our test chemicals have gone bad and a new test kit will solve all our problems. Any ideas out there?
We’ve called our dealer who is apparently out of town for a few days. We’re expecting his call sometime early next week. We’re hoping our test chemicals have gone bad and a new test kit will solve all our problems. Any ideas out there?
13
Central Boiler / Re: E-Classic Gas Ignition Kit
« on: March 01, 2012, 04:11:29 PM »Ohh...... I wonder why portage and main and empyre don't have to send out propane kits to there customers?
Central Boiler doesn’t need to send gas ignition kits out to their customers, its part of a promotional sales event. With any new technology there’s always a learning curve, and obviously people are still getting to know these new gasification furnaces. My question for you is why you are commenting on Central Boiler furnaces if you’re so hopped up on Portage & Main / Empyre. Seems like your just busting balls to me….
14
Central Boiler / Re: E-Classic Gas Ignition Kit
« on: March 01, 2012, 03:48:45 PM »Sounds like there having a lot of problems with fires going outNo, They're having problems with people learning how to use them!
15
Central Boiler / E-Classic Gas Ignition Kit
« on: February 29, 2012, 05:05:31 PM »
Central Boiler is currently offering a free gas ignition kit with the purchase of an E-Classic furnace. The installation of this kit, along with the line and tank are of course extra. Just curious if anyone has experience with these, and if they’re worth the extra cost/hassle? 
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