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[Roger2561]

Hi all, When I left for work this morning I was a bit uneasy due to thinking that I had not put enough wood in the OWB.  Well, when I got home from work the was fire out.  Dang (not actual word I used) burned everything I put in it this morning.  When I opened the door the rekindle it, imagine my surprise to find nearly everything still there barely burned.  My first thought was the primary air holes were plugged.  So, I stuck my head inside the firebox and they all looked good.  The way CB made their OWB is there is a switch in front of the door to the firebox.  When you close the door, it presses on the switch which then opens the  primary solenoid allowing air into the firebox.  So, I pressed the switch and it sounded like something was blocking the air.  Nothing coming through.  It can't be clogged because I cleaned everything thoroughly last week.  I had a brief thought that the primary solenoid had failed and I don't have a spare on hand (Note to self - get replacement parts soon) so I opened the rear where the blower is located and all looked okay until I grabbed the primary solenoid.  The bolt attached to plate that's attached to the solenoid was rotted away not allowing the plate to open thus blocking the air from getting into the firebox.  That bolt must have broke shortly after I stoked the firebox.  After a few minutes of hunting around my shop, I found a quick fix (a quarter 20 nut and bolt).  I reassembled everything, tested to be sure the primary solenoid opened the elbow, rekindled it and now I'm toasty warm in my house.  Tomorrow i'm going to the hardware store to get some stainless steel quarter 20 nuts and bolts.  They shouldn't rot away as quickly.  If your OWB is built this way, I encourage you to inspect the nuts and bolts to both the primary and secondary solenoids for any signs of corrosion.  I didn't inspect them last week during the cleaning.  I'm glad the temps were in the upper 40's today, not in the teens and twenties like earlier this week.  Roger

[coolidge]

 I forgot to turn my blower on last night

[kayakerski]

Thanks for posting Roger. That's good to know.

[Roger2561]

Thanks for posting Roger. That's good to know.

Kayak - I never even gave it a thought that they may be a weak link.  Now I know to look at them periodically to be sure they look good. 

Earlier this morning I took 20 minutes to make sure the primary air holes in the firebox were clear.  I simply ran a a piece of wire through each that was attached to my cordless drill.  It works pretty good. 

How's your 1400 running?  Good, I hope.  Roger

[slimjim]

Roger is creosote a problem in the D box of your unit? I have worked on several and none seemed to have a problem with it, you may have an air leak somewhere.

[baldwin racing]

Hi all, When I left for work this morning I was a bit uneasy due to thinking that I had not put enough wood in the OWB.  Well, when I got home from work the was fire out.  Dang (not actual word I used) burned everything I put in it this morning.  When I opened the door the rekindle it, imagine my surprise to find nearly everything still there barely burned.  My first thought was the primary air holes were plugged.  So, I stuck my head inside the firebox and they all looked good.  The way CB made their OWB is there is a switch in front of the door to the firebox.  When you close the door, it presses on the switch which then opens the  primary solenoid allowing air into the firebox.  So, I pressed the switch and it sounded like something was blocking the air.  Nothing coming through.  It can't be clogged because I cleaned everything thoroughly last week.  I had a brief thought that the primary solenoid had failed and I don't have a spare on hand (Note to self - get replacement parts soon) so I opened the rear where the blower is located and all looked okay until I grabbed the primary solenoid.  The bolt attached to plate that's attached to the solenoid was rotted away not allowing the plate to open thus blocking the air from getting into the firebox.  That bolt must have broke shortly after I stoked the firebox.  After a few minutes of hunting around my shop, I found a quick fix (a quarter 20 nut and bolt).  I reassembled everything, tested to be sure the primary solenoid opened the elbow, rekindled it and now I'm toasty warm in my house.  Tomorrow i'm going to the hardware store to get some stainless steel quarter 20 nuts and bolts.  They shouldn't rot away as quickly.  If your OWB is built this way, I encourage you to inspect the nuts and bolts to both the primary and secondary solenoids for any signs of corrosion.  I didn't inspect them last week during the cleaning.  I'm glad the temps were in the upper 40's today, not in the teens and twenties like earlier this week.  Roger

Thanks for the heads up roger,
I will let my friends know that have these models....what you found out.....
kelly

[Roger2561]

Roger is creosote a problem in the D box of your unit? I have worked on several and none seemed to have a problem with it, you may have an air leak somewhere.

Hi Slimjim - Very good question but the problem of creosote buildup in the elbow will lessen as the ambient temps drop, that's what my experience shows me.  It is idling too much and mine doesn't like that.  The more it cycles, the cleaner the firebox and everything attached.  If there was an air leak, wouldn't I see the water temp creep up a bit during idle?  I'm curious...

[slimjim]

Yes Roger you would likely see some temp creep but the more I work with gassers the more evident it is to me that any air leakage tends to create moisture at the air leak, door gaskets are the biggest culprit, but getting the air dampers to close completly is also very important, reason I asked is the rusted off mounting bolts,were they coated in creosote

[Roger2561]

Yes Roger you would likely see some temp creep but the more I work with gassers the more evident it is to me that any air leakage tends to create moisture at the air leak, door gaskets are the biggest culprit, but getting the air dampers to close completly is also very important, reason I asked is the rusted off mounting bolts,were they coated in creosote

As far as I can tell the doors are closing nice and tight; no leakage visible.  The only place where i have creosote build up is at that elbow where the primary air solenoid is located.  This has been a problem since day one.  There is someone on this site that has a 1400 or 1450 who had the same issues I did.  He said he simply hung a paper clip over the lip of the elbow where the damper sits.  He says he hasn't had any creosote problems since then.  Also, from what I understand Central Boiler is now cutting a small slit in the damper and that supposedly has fixed the problem with creosote buildup.  Knowing what CB is doing, I'll be giving the paper clip trick a shot.  It'll be interesting to see what happening.  Also, I have been told that CB now using stainless steel nuts and bolts as well as stainless steel damper. 

Gotta ready for church.  I'll be back later - mid-morning perhaps.  Thanks for the insight, Slimjim.  I appreciate it.  Roger 

[kayakerski]

Thanks for posting Roger. That's good to know.

Kayak - I never even gave it a thought that they may be a weak link.  Now I know to look at them periodically to be sure they look good. 

Earlier this morning I took 20 minutes to make sure the primary air holes in the firebox were clear.  I simply ran a a piece of wire through each that was attached to my cordless drill.  It works pretty good. 

How's your 1400 running?  Good, I hope.  Roger

All seems to be running well although my coal bed wasn't burning down enough for a few days. I simply let it burn down more than usual and all seems to be fine now.

Gregg

[kayakerski]

Roger is creosote a problem in the D box of your unit? I have worked on several and none seemed to have a problem with it, you may have an air leak somewhere.

Hi Slimjim - Very good question but the problem of creosote buildup in the elbow will lessen as the ambient temps drop, that's what my experience shows me.  It is idling too much and mine doesn't like that.  The more it cycles, the cleaner the firebox and everything attached.  If there was an air leak, wouldn't I see the water temp creep up a bit during idle?  I'm curious...

I never knew about cleaning the primary air elbow last year. It wasn't until I was reviewing my documentation this fall that I came across a paper that talked about it. Good thing I found it! The elbow and tube that goes to the boiler were 2/3's plugged with creasote! Now I know.

How often do you clean that Roger?

Gregg

[Roger2561]

Roger is creosote a problem in the D box of your unit? I have worked on several and none seemed to have a problem with it, you may have an air leak somewhere.

Hi Slimjim - Very good question but the problem of creosote buildup in the elbow will lessen as the ambient temps drop, that's what my experience shows me.  It is idling too much and mine doesn't like that.  The more it cycles, the cleaner the firebox and everything attached.  If there was an air leak, wouldn't I see the water temp creep up a bit during idle?  I'm curious...

I never knew about cleaning the primary air elbow last year. It wasn't until I was reviewing my documentation this fall that I came across a paper that talked about it. Good thing I found it! The elbow and tube that goes to the boiler were 2/3's plugged with creasote! Now I know.

How often do you clean that Roger?

Gregg

I clean mine once a month.  It's ready to be cleaned by then.  It'll be about 1/3 to 1/2 full of creosote.  And that's using firewood that's been drying for 2 years. 

Someone on this forum hangs a paper clip over the edge of the elbow causing a very, very small air gap.  He says he's never had another problem with creosote building up again.  I'll be giving it try as soon as I find where I put the paper clips.  No doubt, I put them in a place where I wouldn't forget where they are. 

[the trailmaster]

Do these paper clips hold the cover open on the primary elbow?  Does it effect back draft chances with extra air?

[Roger2561]

Do these paper clips hold the cover open on the primary elbow?  Does it effect back draft chances with extra air?

trailmaster - Sorry I didn't see your message until this morning.  Unexpected company showed up.

I've been told that the air gap is so small that it doesn't effect the operation of the OWB at all, except it lessens or does away with the creosote buildup in the primary elbow.  Also, on another forum I frequent, a member there owns an E-Classic 3200 and the plate that covers over the top of the elbow is now made of stainless steel (the nut and bolt are stainless steel too) and that CB had cut a small gap in the top of it leading me to believe that there is validity to the concept of the paper clip trick.  Roger 

[the trailmaster]

Roger  Thank you very much    I will certainly look into it.  Sounds promising!!!!!!