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1

Portage & Main / Re: Big decision, big project but no dealer to help.

« on: February 19, 2014, 07:44:22 PM »

Hi there, I own a 250 and just letting you know what I heat with it . I am heating a 3600 sq.' home plus a two car garage ,my domestic hot water, plus a 1200 sq.' two story shop. all buildings are fairly well insulated . I heat them all to 20 degrees C. day or night. ( I hate puttering in a cold shop) So far the 250 has performed well under this heat load. I burn a lot of crapty spruce in the fringe season and birch, maple, and oak during those - 30 C days and nights with no problem at all. With the crapty wood ,I would load three times in 24 Hr. ,but with the dry hardwood just twice a day unless there is a lot of wind then there is a mid day top up. I am located in northern Ont. north of Elliot Lake.

Smeegs

2

Portage & Main / Re: Creosote

« on: January 06, 2014, 05:29:36 PM »

I do have a heavy creosote build up in my air box, all the hardware is coated and a 1/4 inch build up on the floor of the air box. I have cleaned all the moving parts and checked for good contact on the damper valves ensuring that the best seal is obtained with what is there, would adding a rubber gasket surface to the inlet air damper off the fan help? I even ran a bead of hi-temp silicone around the outside of the air box to stop any leakage. I never had a problem with this last season , but this year is different. The heat load is more than adequate , heating 3600 sq' home , 2 car garage, domestic hot water and a 2400 sq' work shop. the stove keeps up fine in minus 20 -30 C. with generally only two feedings of seasoned oak morning and night. I am very happy with heating it does, I just want to solve the creosote problem in the air box. Is there a best method to clean out the creosote from the air box with out using solvents while the furnace is in use?

3

Portage & Main / Creosote

« on: January 02, 2014, 08:53:51 AM »

I have had a problem with a build up of creosote/ tar build up in my fan air box . I have resealed the fire box door gasket along with the reaction chamber door gasket as well so no air leaks are possible. But when I inspect the air box above the fan there seems to be a lot of heavy smoke when the OPTI 250 is at an idle. All of the flapper valves seem to be operating correctly and surfaces have been cleaned and inspected regularly with each cleaning. Is this normal? If not , how do I correct this issue?
Smeegs

4

Portage & Main / Re: firebox door seal/gasket

« on: December 19, 2013, 09:54:14 AM »

I tried the High Temp silicone over the old gasket , applied a generous amount so that that silicone was level with the door chime, smoothed it out with a small putty knife, let it set up for an hour ,then applied baking parchment paper over the silicone in a narrow strip making sure the paper overlapped the silicone a inch on each side, closed the door and fired up the furnace with enough wood for the day and letter run, so far no leaks. This summer I am going to repeat the process but I am not going to close the door until the silicone has cured for a few days , I think that will produce the best gasket.

5

Portage & Main / firebox door seal/gasket

« on: December 16, 2013, 04:24:40 PM »

Has any one changed their firebox door gasket? Size of fiberglass rope 3/4"? Can you change it right on the furnace without removing the door while the furnace is at a idle or is a complete shutdown required? I would like to clean and change the gasket while the furnace is at an idle so I do not have to have a complete restart, will the high heat affect the gasket cement before it drys or will it bond the gasket to the door chime?