PB105 Creosote Problem

[AndrewChurchill]

For the past two months I've been having an issue with creosote plugging up my combustion fan. It has built up so bad on the mounting plate that it has stopped the fan from spinning.

At first I thought the bulk pellets I bought last year had absorbed some moisture, but after burning new bagged pellets for the past two weeks I heard the fan hitting creosote build up again. Although the build up wasn't as bad as when I was using the bulk pellets.

I've cleaned the ash pan, secondary ash pit, and the vent.

Has anyone else experienced this with their PB105?

Thanks,
Andy

 

[787MH]

My guess is that you need to increase the boiler min temp.
Mike

 

[Former Farmer]

No problems like that on mine.

Andrew, do you have your boiler in manual or auto mode? Could it be that your PB105 is idling too much and not generating enough heat to keep things cleaner? I have mine in auto the majority of the time, oak installed, and oat connected.

How is your pellet storage area working for you?

 

[AndrewChurchill]

My min boiler temp is 140F and it's been that way for the past three years so I don't think that's it. For the past two years I have been running in manual with no issues. However, this year I got one of the new 15 fin ignitors and I have been running in the auto mode for most of the past two months. The couple of weeks I ran in manual I had the same issues with creosote as I have been having in Auto mode.

I also have the OAK and OAT installed.

 

[RobC]

I had same problem with an OWB. When there was a back draft it would push smoke out through fan while fan was off. This situation would get worse when the door seals needed repair. The fire would smolder and allow for that much more smoke to be available to migrate out the fan.
Could either of those items be a problem ?
Rob

 

[AndrewChurchill]

Rob,

I don't think that's the issue since the PB105's fan stays on until well after the fire is out.

 

[Former Farmer]

Andrew,

I cleaned the boiler today and had an excessive buildup on the fan as well. I wouldn't have called it creosote though. I am wondering if it is from all of the damp weather that we have had lately. Much higher humidity and temperatures than normal. With the OAK installed, I am pulling in the higher humidity air and the boiler has been idling more because of the higher outside temperatures. I will have to see what the next cleaning brings.

 

[AndrewChurchill]

It's definitely creosote. It's a black runny film that coated the fan blade and mounting plate.

 

[Sting]

for some reason the auto mode has reduced your combustion temp.. fiddle with the combustion air

 

[AndrewChurchill]

Sting,

Unfortunately, there isn't a way that I'm aware of to adjust the combustion air on the PB105. It's all controlled by the control board automatically. The only way to increase air intake would be for me to hook a fan up to the air intake port and blow air into the port like a supercharger.

 

[Former Farmer]

Andrew,

There is the pot that is adjusted to set the draft on the venting.

The following is copied from the owners manual.

Draft Test Procedure
After the venting is completed, the firebox low draft will need to be checked and possibly adjusted. After removing the 3/8” bolt from the draft hole shown in Fig. 9, insert the draft meter tube. The hopper lid must be latched during this test. (It is recommended that the draft meter have a scale of 0 to 1” WC.)
Turn the feed adjuster to “Test”. this will start the combustion blower and allow you to check and record the High Draft ______ - IWC date _______ The maximum draft must not exceed -.85” W.C. Some form of vent restrictor may be needed. (There is no control board adjustment for the High Draft)
After the first 60 seconds the “Test” mode lowers the combustion blower voltage to the Low Burn voltage. (The “Test” mode cycles the voltage from high to low every 60 seconds).During this lowered voltage cycle the Low Burn Draft must be checked and adjusted if necessary. The recommended low draft setting should be between -.25 & -.35 IWC. Depending on the amount of vertical rise, it may not be possible to get a low draft reading in this range. In this case, a maximum low draft of -.55 is acceptable.
The adjustment screw is through the small hole to the right of the Igniter Light. See Fig. 10. Adjusted Low Draft is __________ -IWC.
Don’t forget to turn the feed adjuster off of “Test”.
Do not operate if the high draft exceeds -.85” W.C.

If you adjust the draft, would it increase the combustion airflow as well?

 

[Bobber]

Same exact problem here. PB105 that has been religiously cleaned. It is just over a year old and I have been through 4 igniters and 1 combustion motor, but since then, has been working pretty well. I have used the same Vermont Wood Pellet Company pellets since the beginning.

Then I went to clean the boiler this weekend and the entire inside of it was covered with creosote. I don't even know how I'm going to get it all out, it is everywhere and it won't scrape off. I had a heavy buildup of it in the burn pot and the burn pot is now bulged and cracked, right above the igniter. The vent cap is almost entirely plugged with creosote and the combustion fan is covered as well. This all happened in a week’s time.

I'm contacting the dealer tomorrow.

 

[AndrewChurchill]

The gasket around the burnpot is bad. I've got one on order. I suspect that once that's changed my creosote issue will be resolved.

 

[ghangac]

Andrew,

Did you replace the gasket around the burn pot, and did it solve your problem?

Greg

 

[AndrewChurchill]

I've ordered a new gasket but it hasn't come in yet. However, I did go to my local hardware store and bought a 1/2" x 54" window gasket and put it around the metal rim the hopper closes against and that seems to have helped a lot.

The smoke coming out of the exhaust is my cleaner and hopefully after I give the boiler a good cleaning the issue will be resolved completely.

 

[ghangac]

Sounds good, Looks like you figured it out. Lets us know how its running after you get the factory gasket installed.

Greg

 

[AndrewChurchill]

I removed and cleaned the combustion motor this morning. It had a heavy coating of ash on it but no creosote this time. However, the ash was pretty well packed under the fan blades as well as on the blades themselves.

I took a small round wire brush and cleaned the blades and mounting plate under the blades, cleaned the area where the combustion fan mounts, and emptied the ash pan.

After firing up the PB105 the smoke was even more noticeably cleaner than after putting the extra gasket on yesterday. I can still see some white smoke, but it's faint. I noticed when I emptied the ash pan this morning that there was creosote around the ash pan door's gasket.

I'm going to get some more of the gasket material I got yesterday and do the same thing to the ash pan gasket and hopefully that will be the cure for my creosote problems.