My husband and I bought an Orlan Woodfired boiler in the spring, had it installed and are now ready to fire it up for the heating season. We are having a great deal of frustration however in keeping it going. Any and all suggestions/help would be most appreciated!
orlan wood fired boiler
- Thread starter la boucheron
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Nofossil
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la boucheron said:
Welcome to the forum and to the boiler room.
Lots of Orlan owners here. There are a few things to check right away:
1) Is your wood dry? These things are impossible to start with wood that isn't really dry.
2) Sometimes, they come from the factory with the air adjustments all wrong. Remove the plate that carries the fan(s). Behind that plate you'll see two shutters that can be used to adjust airflow into the primary chamber. These should be open at least halfway. On mine, they're open all the way. There are also two threaded shafts in the fan panel that adjust the secondary airflow. Reinstall the panel. Loosen the adjusting nuts and gently tighten until the plates bottom out. Then, back out about 4 full turns. That should get you to a good starting point.
Eric Johnson
Mod Emeritus
I'll second the dry wood suggestion.
What happens when it goes out? Does the fan stop or does the fire just become extinguished? Is there smoke when you burn? Do you get good gasification when it's running?
What happens when it goes out? Does the fan stop or does the fire just become extinguished? Is there smoke when you burn? Do you get good gasification when it's running?
The husband here... with almost all burns I get a good deal of smoke. The wood is dry (too dry?) I get gassification for short periods but it seldom keeps it up. I can get it up to an idle temperature only when there is not a demand on it (valves to pool and house off) There are times when it will shut the fans off at a time when I think it shouldn't. It is a frustrating situation at best! I have adjusted the fans openings to everything from 1/4 open to full open and that has not seemed to work. I will open the screw vents a little more. Thanks for all the help and advice. Heating season is almost upon us and we want to get on top of this.
Eric Johnson
Mod Emeritus
Try screwing the secondary air screw adjusters all the way in and then backing them out 6.5 turns. That seems to be the sweet spot setting for the 60s. Also, you might want to take off the blower mounting plate and check the primary air inlets. Sometimes they come from the factory completely closed, and you'll never get enough air to support combustion if they're closed.
My EKO-60 keeps burning however initially it did not get enough air so gasificatin was difficult to achieve. I took the front cover off , the one the fans are mounted on, and the two air sliders were closed so I opened them 1/2 way open. Then I set the fan shutters about 1/2 to 2/3 open. Then I set the secondary air screws all the way in then backed out 4 turns. I load the EKO with about 1/2 full of split spruce, dry, and light it off. I let it burn for about 20 minutes before I closed the bypass damper and turn the control switch and fans on. It takes a little while longer to get gasification. The boiler needs to be pretty warm to get gasificaiton.
I had a Danfoss install and it restricted the water out let too much so I removed it and now it runs better but this is mainly because I have two 500 gallon propane tanks as buffer tanks. If you don;t have storage, then some type of boiler return water protection is a good idea and I think it also helps the boiler get up to temp and gasifiy quicker. Hope this helps....
I had a Danfoss install and it restricted the water out let too much so I removed it and now it runs better but this is mainly because I have two 500 gallon propane tanks as buffer tanks. If you don;t have storage, then some type of boiler return water protection is a good idea and I think it also helps the boiler get up to temp and gasifiy quicker. Hope this helps....
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La boucheron here - thanks to all who have responded to our queries - the system is seemingly starting to do what it's supposed to do and we are feeling some measures of success. Merci encore! 
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