eko-40 fine tuning question

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bernard

Member
Sep 17, 2008
39
central maine
I have been burning for 2 1/2 seasons with an eko-40 with 500 gallon storage. My primaries are set at 3/8 " secondaries at 3 1/2 turns fan opening at 60 % and fan speed at 70%. It seems to run good it gets up to temperture and charges the tank no problem. I usually run it at 185. burning mixed hard wood year and a half old stored in basement since fall. I don't have a moisture meter but I think it's pretty dry. I notice I have alot of unburned coals mixed with the ash when I clean out the lower chamber about every two fires...is this normal? Also there seems to be alot of white smoke coming out of the chimney...steam? Maybe the wood is not as dry as I think. Just wondering what settings other eko owners are using.
Thank for your imput,
Dave
 
I run my primaries at 1/2"-secondaries 3.5 turns out-fan shutter 100% and fan speed 100% at startup and then after it gets going I turn the fan speed down to 70% or 80%.
I usually have smokefree burns. I think its hard to avoid not getting any coals down below,some will aways fall through the nozzle at the end of the burn.But you should have more ash than anything in the lower chamber.
 
White smoke is usually steam, particularly if it dissipates within a few feet of the chimney. Steam is good, all wood has moisture.
 
I usually had charcoal in the secondary chamber when I used low btu hardwoods or pine. For some reason the denser hardwood coals seemed to hover over the nozzle rather than shoot through it and die in the leeward portions of the secondary cumbustion chamber. Perhaps you could try sorting your woods and see if one particular typ of wood is generating the coals and or smoke/vapor.
 
Have you visited the sticky in the boiler room with a very similar title to your thread? Mucho information there on tuning and what has worked for what people. One key I found useful when pouring through that thread back in the day was that comparing settings between one another is really "most" useful if you have the same boiler and live in roughly the same geography. My two cents...
 
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