EKO door hinge broken

[Tony H]

Late one evening when to put a load in the EKO for the overnight burn and when I went to close the door it wouldn't latch right and was leaking a bunch of smoke past the gasket , this would not due. Opened the door and tried to relatch and the door was kind of hanging down so I looked at the hinge and found the washer/bushing thats was welded to the mounting ear on the boiler was broken.
Figured I might be able to rig it at least to go thru this burn as I had a full load of wood in the boiler.
Tried to hold / prop the door with some pipe and loosen the door and rebolt it down back in the original position however the bolt was too tight and began to round off as I tried to turn it.
Yikes this was not working at all and the temp was rising fast in the boiler because I could not keep the door closed. I decided it was time to get the wood out of there ran inside and got the fireplace tongs pushed a wheelbarrow up by the door and unloaded some wood until it was so smokey I couldn't see or breath and the fire was still going strong so I got the snow shovel and threw a bunch in until the fire died out. The temp got up over 99 C for a bit and I wondered if any thing was damage everything looked ok and was down to a safe temp so I went to bed.
In the morning I took another look and there was some water leaking out the top of the air scoop and some dripping from the overflow
after tightening the scoop top I looked at the hinge and discovered the nut was in bad shape and the washer was broke.
Decided I better get some new nuts and clean off the remains of the washer that was still welded to the ear also I had a new gasket so might as well put that on while everything was shut down . Got it all assembled and everything is working well , still have to weld in the washers to keep the hinge from moving in it's slot but it looks good for now.
It appears after many operations of the door the stress broke the washer and allowed the hinge to slide out of place.
Got everything working and got lucky that the heat

 

[Eric Johnson]

I hate unloading burning wood from the boiler. Happens to me about once a season for various reasons. Fortunately, my boiler is right next to the back door of the barn, so I can just use the tongs/shovel/whatever to toss them out into the snow.

 

[taxidermist]

I hate unloading burning wood from the boiler. Happens to me about once a season for various reasons. Fortunately, my boiler is right next to the back door of the barn, so I can just use the tongs/shovel/whatever to toss them out into the snow.

Another good reason not to put the boiler in your house!


Rob

 

[WoodNotOil]

Tony H

Sorry to hear of your troubles. I have heard about problems with the Eko doors before, but I think it was mostly gaskets. This would be a great comment or part of a review for my boiler database. If you have a moment, it would be great if you could add it to your specific model. Link is in my sig. I hope your welding goes well, and sounds like the gasket may have needed replacing anyway. Good luck!

 

[willworkforwood]

It was a nice day. The Sun is bright, temps are up, and wood usage is down. Then comes this nastygram from Tony about doors breaking. Now I have to run down to look at the door, and figure out if the parts are coming from the Big Box or the Brown Truck (raise your hand if you're not going to at least glance at your door). Tony, I'm glad you got your door working, but there's just too much to worry about with these boilers. I'm about ready to pull the plug, just like the Adobe guy.

 

[stee6043]

It was a nice day. The Sun is bright, temps are up, and wood usage is down. Then comes this nastygram from Tony about doors breaking. Now I have to run down to look at the door, and figure out if the parts are coming from the Big Box or the Brown Truck (raise your hand if you're not going to at least glance at your door). Tony, I'm glad you got your door working, but there's just too much to worry about with these boilers. I'm about ready to pull the plug, just like the Adobe guy.

Seriously? Seems silly to me. This is the first I've heard of any door hinge problems. Folks that don't enjoy a bit of a challenge from time to time really have no place heating with wood, in my humble opinion. Whether it's a freak airlock in your heat exchanger, a saw that won't start for no apparent reason or a maul handle that broke splitting a 2" piece of balsa wood - heating with wood is WORK. It's not a free lunch. That's what I love about it. Get's me off my office-job arse and rarely let's me get lazy.

 

[WRVERMONT]

 

[WRVERMONT]

By the looks of the door bolts on a EBW, you would have a tough time breaking them.

 

[NNYorker]

I'm guessing there is a slight bit of sarcasm in willworkforwood's post..........WRboiler, I agree with that bolt thing!

 

[Tony H]

Yes I think I'll put the thing out for the trash tonight .... lets see if one of those hefty flex bags can take a 1500lb boiler :lol:

Just for clarification the bolt did not break the bushing / washer the welded on the mounting ear to locate the bolt broke and so the boiler side of the hinge would slide in the 1+ inch opening in the mounting ear. Then when trying to remove the nut (also welded a little) I rounded it and had to use a bolt out and dremmel to clean it up.
This was not a huge issue but was the first time I had to unload a boiler full of wood. Like someone said it was about time to replace the gasket anyway the unit is about three years old and so I had ordered one and had it in the shed ready to go.
I used 12mm lock nuts on the back of the boiler side hinge and tightened the heck out of it so it looks like it should be fine til I get a new bushing welded on.
I did find out the glycol mix was not good enough to prevent freezing but the bypass around the termovar and switch to run the pump on direct ac kept the water at 70F or so because I left it running thru the HX just to see what it would do.

 

[willworkforwood]

Yep, just trying to have a bit of fun on this one. Should have added a :lol: to show I was not actually considering going over to the dark side. It's fortunate that I already have a good job because it doesn't look I'll be getting Conan's spot %-P

 

[hkobus]

It was a nice day. The Sun is bright, temps are up, and wood usage is down. Then comes this nastygram from Tony about doors breaking. Now I have to run down to look at the door, and figure out if the parts are coming from the Big Box or the Brown Truck (raise your hand if you're not going to at least glance at your door). Tony, I'm glad you got your door working, but there's just too much to worry about with these boilers. I'm about ready to pull the plug, just like the Adobe guy.

Seriously? Seems silly to me. This is the first I've heard of any door hinge problems. Folks that don't enjoy a bit of a challenge from time to time really have no place heating with wood, in my humble opinion. Whether it's a freak airlock in your heat exchanger, a saw that won't start for no apparent reason or a maul handle that broke splitting a 2" piece of balsa wood - heating with wood is WORK. It's not a free lunch. That's what I love about it. Get's me off my office-job arse and rarely let's me get lazy.

Agree with you Stee, if I wanted ease of use and convenience, I would have installed a compact instantaneous water heater as heat source. I like my freedom from a high utility bill and am willing to take some work in its place. And you got to love it when the town PUC backs in with a dump-truck loaded with wood to support the cause, they save the dumping fees and I have free wood (for a bit of labor to cut and split) Yes we all have our learning curves and set back's, such is life and it goes on.
Sure thankful for this group, always good for help and always ready to return the favor.
To anyone contemplating throwing in the towel: 1 Have a stiff drink and don't give up. 2 Look on the bright side and try again. If this doesn't work start back at 1 and repeat.
This has helped me complete many worthwhile projects, good luck.

 

[Tony H]

I am with you guys , the challenge of installing the system and future addition of storage. Then the scrounging of wood plus the cutting and splitting.
It's the satisfaction of completing a big project plus the great feeling of not being held hostage by the gas company.
Oh and don't forget the toys saws, splitters , trailers, trucks, 4wheelers and tools, life is good.
Wonder how I can generate some electricity .. maybe a windmill .