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[gsilus]

Had to write about a recent experience regarding poor performance of my e2300 gasser and a nearly plugged chimney.  Long-story short, MAKE SURE to CHECK your CHIMNEY for built up creosote and fly-ash.  Sounds like an obvious thing to do, but I did not check it for 4 years! I had not checked that part of my boiler since first using it back in2009-2010 heating season, but did just last weekend after having some very frustrating times to get it to maintain heat in not too cold of weather.  After listening to my story on the phone, my dealer told me to make sure and check that ALL parts of the boiler are clear.  I said sure, I'll check them all. Well, the one that I had not checked previously, the chimney, really had a LOT of crap in it.  So, a neighbor and I took down the 2 sections and I rammed a fence post thru it many times to loosen all the crud. Got it totally cleaned and re-installed.  Also, at the same time I installed a new gasket, so that may have helped as well.  Now, the e2300 is back to it's normal good performance and it is a HUGE relief.  I just never thought the chimney would/could get that plugged up and cause such terrible performance.  So, I wanted to post this, in case other folks over time experience decreased performance with their gasser style boilers, so they may not go thru the misery that I did by not doing ALL the recommended maintenance.  I have attached a picture looking downward into the plugged chimney BEFORE I took it down and cleaned it out.

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[Pit Crew]

Wow hard to believe that can buuild up that much in 4 years. I have a CB6048, 2nd year this year. Before start up I went up on the roof to check the chimney. Clean as a whistle... Mine is under carport so I`m able to go up and check. Is there a way you can stick a mirror on a stick and look up from the bottom?

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[Roger2561]

Pit Crew - i see you have a bucket on the chimney of your OWB.  No doubt for summer storage.  When I fired mine up this past fall for the heating season, I had a heck of a time getting it going.  The fire kept going out.  I couldn't figure what the heck happened because it ran so good last year.  One of the things I do for the end the season cleaning is to look up the chimney to remove anything that's been collecting up there  So, I went to my shop to grab a mirror to have look up the chimney just be sure it was clear.  That's when I saw it, I forgot to remove the bucket from the chimney before I lit it up.  After I removed it, she ran so much better.  Roger 

[racnruss]

How did all that creosote come out of a gasser?  All I've ever seen is hot air and some fly ash.   Once in a while it will smoke for a while if a peice gets in there that is a little green.

[buckgrunt]

Because our wood lot provides firewood for 3 households and I am the only one with an outdoor wood furnace (E-2300), I get all of the crap wood (ie pine, hemlock, softwood etc).  Although it is dry, I find that burning this wood does result in more creosote build-up as compared to buring good hard wood.  My chimney does accumulate more creosote after burning this soft wood. 

[gsilus]

Pitcrew: Yes, simple to check my vertical chimney stack, remove the cover one the elbow, then use a mirror, when it's not firing, so you can see the daylight, if it's not plugged.  Yeh, who would think that with a gasser it would plug up like that, but it certainly did.  My main reason for posting this is to help others that may be frustrated with poor performance and simply overlooked the chimney, checking for obstructions.  It sure is great to have it running the way it was designed 
Glad to see folks are viewing this post, so it reminds them to check their chimneys from time to time.

[Pit Crew]

Yeah Roger, that pic was taken after I finished putting the sides on the wood shed, before starting it for the season. Thats too funny ,I bet you dont do that again.
  Gsilus, I bet you`ll  look up the stack several times this year.
  buckgrunt, You need to change the pecking order... Who cuts most of the wood?

[dwneast77]

Amusing thread.  I did the same things once. 

gsilus, if you look in through the back cleanout of the chimney, do you see a lot of buildup around the bypass door?   I have the early 2300 model and my bypass door was not lined up properly allowing smoke to escape with the bypass door closed.  Called my dealer about it and CB sent me a clamp to re-enforce the V-slot that the bypass door rod rests in.  Tricky to get it lined back up (ie. bent back into place) and clamped but it does work.  Seems I have to check it seasonally to keep it right.

[johnybcold]

Is the forum running out of space the pics say removed by admin to save space?