Smokin EKO

[mousebndr]

I agree with the others that it sounds like bridging. With storage and fan on 100%, I would think you would have a max burn time of around 4 hrs (if bottom of tank is still 50C). Triangle shapes 20-25cm wide to 30cm long is like 9in x 12in. which is too big around. Eko manual says max diameter is 7in. and length is 23in. My prefered size is about 4in x 20in. or about 10cm x 50cm. Others here say a playing card size for the face of the split. Since I never cut perfect length logs in woods, I always try no to cut them a few inches shorter than the max. Even then, it seems I still get a 23-24in piece every now and then and it goes at the very top of the loading at an angle. My bridging problems disappeared when I went to the smaller splits. Plus the wood dries out quicker too. One word of warning however, I could see where really small splits that were very dry could be a problem (huffing & puffing) on a system without storage that has to idle a lot but with storage that should be less of a concern. A couple winters ago (no storage), I had to mix some wetter wood (25%) on the top 1/2 of a load of small splits that were really dry tp prevent huffing and puffing. All that said, I think if you split your pieces to 1/2 or 1/3 of what they are, load evenly, and see what burn times you get.

It could be the burning out the initial moisture in the refractory too like Eric said. I do remember the first few burns being that way. What are your pump start settings? I think many of us here found settings like 165 (pump on) and 160 (pump off) or something similar help achieve and maintain good gassification. The default settings are much less than this.

Thanks guys.

Well the smaller wood splits have made a difference, I still get about 6 hours but I don't get much bridging. I have to poke it about an hour into the burn to settle all the pieces but after then seems to run OK. I get max temps of about 84/85C (185F) is that normal?

One thing I have noticed is that the front blow hole (in the refractory) is always a smaller flame than the back blow hole.

When is was cool today I stuck my fingers in the blow holes and was able to feel some of the original plastic tube in there from when the refractory was cast, but air still seems to come though OK. In fact I would say it comes though more than the back, but hard to tell

Any ideas on how to clean those holes out?

 

[taxidermist]

Thanks guys.

Well the smaller wood splits have made a difference, I still get about 6 hours but I don't get much bridging. I have to poke it about an hour into the burn to settle all the pieces but after then seems to run OK. I get max temps of about 84/85C (185F) is that normal?

One thing I have noticed is that the front blow hole (in the refractory) is always a smaller flame than the back blow hole.

When is was cool today I stuck my fingers in the blow holes and was able to feel some of the original plastic tube in there from when the refractory was cast, but air still seems to come though OK. In fact I would say it comes though more than the back, but hard to tell

Any ideas on how to clean those holes out?

Glad to hear we are getting somewhere.... I to have a 60 and I only run 1 blower with the shutter at 100% open (like a eko 40) I find I get less wash/bridging with 1 fan. I have even blocked off the front nozzle(blow hole) at times. I would Launch your pump at 170* that seems to be the sweet spot for the 60.

 

[heaterman]

Smoke comes from one thing and one thing only. Incomplete combustion. That however can have a number of causes.

In your case I would guess that if your wood is actually at 17% MC you probably don;t have enough air going into the firebox to support how fast your wood load wants to burn. Increasing fan speed or opening an air shutter may cure your problem. Wood that dry is going to want to take right off. You might try mizing a stick or two of "greener" wood in with your load and observe to see what happens.