E-Classic 2300 -working out the bugs

[No Smoke]

We have been burning since late Oct. and have used over 20 cord. Heating large building but not as large as some are heating with less wood use... Have replaced seal on door and have concerns about creosote building up on the damper. Has anyone removed pipes in the bottom of firebox for better air? Has anyone removed firebrick? How much of it? We are having problems getting water temps in the boiler up to 180/5. Using oil boiler to help it keep up. Something seems off- Also....on state of Maine woodstove and woodsmoke website I see they state that the E-Classic is rated at 160,000BTU's over an 8hr period whereas the Central Boiler website states the unit replaces 800 gallons of heating oil per month and has a heating capacity similar to the CL6048 - when looking at the CL6048 it states that it is rated at a max of 500,000BTU. Any thoughts on this?
Would appreciate any suggestions for improving my E-Classics performance!

 

[ken999]

Wow...20 chords?? How big is the building you are trying to heat? When I get mine this week the dealer told me to remove the firebrick from the sides of the firebox. CB is no longer using them on any new 2300's as they were restricting the heat transfer into the water jacket. Call your dealer and verify this, but it's what I've been told to do with mine.

160k sounds like the EPA's rating of the unit. Did the Maine website do there own testing or are they working off the EPA's rating?

I've already called the factory and talked to the tech's a couple of time's about how to approach the install. They have been very helpful. You might want to give them a call as they likely can give you a hand with your boiler.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[flyingcow]

my neighbor has a e-classic. Mid sized house. It works well for him. I also know a guy that has a 6048. Big, poorly insulated house burning 30++ big hardwood sticks a day. It's a huge beast compared to the e-classic. They're very different stoves. Both will run at 185 easily. Not much help.

 

[No Smoke]

Actually we started out with 55 cord and it is over half gone as of today...it was 20 cord a month ago.....the E-Classic is just eating our wood without giving us enough heat to get the water temps up- can take hours to gain 10 degrees- it just doesnt heat- our dealer is saying the same thing- he is in touch with the company and they are sending 'parts'...... we turned it off today to go back to our oil burner....the wood costs money too.....and we are not gaining anything from burning it.....

 

[ken999]

Where are you at John?

 

[ezoffshore]

20 cords??????????? holy crap. I am heating 1800 square foot house and 1500 square foot barn and have used roughly 5-6 cords since October. House temperature set at 75 and barn at 50. No problem keeping 180 deg water in in when in was -10 deg.

 

[stee6043]

I have to believe you have a plumbing issue? Or heat exchanger issue? People around here could heat for four years with what you've burned in half a season. Wow. Give us more details on your setup...

 

[No Smoke]

We were out of town yesterday with work but found that the dealer had been there and replaced some parts- we watched it last night and it was not going through the wood like previously- and the temp was up to where it should have been.....we had been having a hard time getting it up to 140- so this was a pleasant suprise.....If this keeps up we will be happy!! Expect to hear from the dealer today and will tell you what he replaced-

 

[ken999]

I'll be interested to hear.

Could we get some more specifics on your install?

How much ThermoPEX did you bury? Is the ground wet? Did you underdrain the Thermopex? What size line did you run? Do you have baseboard heat or forced air in the building you are trying to heat? Your burning dry wood I assume.

Did you notice if the dealer removed any firebrick from the sides of your boiler?

 

[No Smoke]

125 foot run and buried 110 feet in sandy soil 2 foot down- dry ground-seems to be holding the heat- as far as we can tell maybe losing a couple degrees - no snow melt or problems there- it is 1 inch pex

Cast iron registers- 50 plate heat exchanger inside oil boiler- about oil boiler rated at 250,000BTU - only 2 circulating pumps inside building to the registers.

Burning dry wood- beech, hardmaple- stored under a roof

1 pump on outdoor furnace and 1 pump from heat exchanger to oil boiler-

Dealer removed all firebrick from the sides of the furnace but left the bottom bricks along with the bottom grates/pipes (ours has 3)

Dealer put on a bigger squirrel cage on the blower and he cleaned the chimney door which was not closing properly - said he spent 45 min. inside the stove to do this- the handle was too short to close the door so we have unhooked it and are waiting on parts.

Last night was minus 20 filled at 8:30 pm-full and at 7am it was gone and temp was 138 degrees- oil was on inside- smoked more today---temps came up okay today but not as fast as the other day-

Waiting for parts- not using chimney door at all for fear of creosote building up and holding it open again-

Will keep you posted!!

 

[eco-one]

well john hows the stove woking now after all the new goodies?

 

[adenowski]

Wow..

I have been looking at Central Boiler's products, because I'm replacing (this spring) a home designed OWB that came with the house and is for s*%#..

The house (built in the 60's with out remodeling) is over a 1500 sq ft ranch style with huge windows. I'm looking to supply heat to the full basement and 20'x30' attached guarage (which isn't getting any heat supply at all). Currently burn about $4000 worth of LP for the heating season.

I was either going to get the 5036, as my brother-in-law has one and likes it but only heats a 1000 sq ft house, or get the e-classic 2300. I thought the 2300 was more efficiant, with less smoke.

But if it's a wood hog, I'm not too sure I would like to spend the extra cash for the 2300.

People on this forum are talking about a "cord" of wood they are using. Is this a "FULL CORD" or "FACE CORD"

20 cord is a lot of wood if its a full cord, and the heating seasone isn't over.

Feed back would be great, as I don't have that much land to cut wood from, about 20 acres of mine and lots of county land I can go to. But making 20 full cord of wood in one year is a lot of work and time. Sure would love to have some summer/fall time to drink a little beer with friends and family.

Thanks,

Anthony D

 

[WILDSOURDOUGH]

Wife and I love our 5036. This is our 3rd year with it.
First year, we were living in basement with un-insulated ranch above- burned many-many tons of wood. (radient in basement slab) could barely keep basement 55.
Now with ICF foundation and SIP ranch (2320 SqFt on each level) finished- hardly use any wood, will not be eight cord this winter. It is HOT in the basement...floor is cooking! Main floor stays at 68-70, day and night without any source (have no heating source on the main floor- only radient from the basement slab). Must be working, as my 91 y/o mother-in law is walking around in just her night-gown.

Someone asked about the wood... I just cut up two tri-axle loads this summer (got them last January), this is a 2 years supply- but I am going to get one load next month...just to keep ahead. We just throw the 3-5 'huge' chunks in, 1-2 times a day... 5:30am, 5pm.

Themo says it's 14 outside, basement floor is 101, air temp in basement is 74.8, main floor is 70.4

 

[No Smoke]

Our E-Classic is working much better and the water temps are staying up! the new parts seem to have helped so much- we have had some minus 20 degree temps and lots of snow. Our dealer is still watching things and has temp gauges all over the place- a new part keeps the flew/damper closed tight- before it could ride up and leave a gap for air loss- the bigger blower seems to help too-along with the re-piping in the cellar with the inside water storage and heat exchanger- and the firebrick on the sides is now out- the door seal was replaced- still a little smoke leaks out....
Bugs are being worked out of our unit and so far it is much better!

 

[larry4406]

I am interested in the E-Classic 2300. I have been surfing this site and another site for quite some time http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php?board=50.0 This other site seems to have a lot of E-2300 users. Apparently this unit is having teething pains. In particular, the threads on the other site dicuss:

- the fire bricks have been falling off (apparently new units are being shipped without)
- failure of bricks (cracking and loosening) in the reaction chamber
- Cracking of welds on the draft door

Is this unit really that bad?

 

[heaterman]

I am interested in the E-Classic 2300. I have been surfing this site and another site for quite some time http://www.forestryforum.com/board/index.php?board=50.0 This other site seems to have a lot of E-2300 users. Apparently this unit is having teething pains. In particular, the threads on the other site dicuss:

- the fire bricks have been falling off (apparently new units are being shipped without)
- failure of bricks (cracking and loosening) in the reaction chamber
- Cracking of welds on the draft door

Is this unit really that bad?

I have a gut feeling that many folks will see these types of problems with a lot of brands that are trying to make EPA compliant units. I see some design carry over from the OWB companies in the products they are bringing out and in a lot of areas they will not work real well. The firebrick on the E-Classic being a good example. The unit needs the fire brick to maintain high heat in the fire box but the design sorta dictates that it won't last. Removing the firebrick will probably bring new meaning to the term "unintended consequences". The basic Euro gasification design like Econoburn, Tarm and Eko, while it's not perfect, does work well and has been proven to be relatively trouble free. Those units will likely stay in one piece pretty well.

 

[Johnbull]

Has anyone give thought to the possible consequences, good or bad, if one were to try using a large cast iron grate w/legs upon which to place the wood load thus giving a "opening" under the load as the exhaust gases travel to the "combustion chamber" on the E-Classic?

It appears to me that the more airflow around the stack perhaps the better the burn. I saw this in part because the back of the wood stack does not seem to burn as efficiently or thoroughly as the front and sides.

Craig Ormsby

 

[logjammed]

hi Johnbull , as long as the existing grates stay clear you would not need anything else. I have noticed sometimes on a refill hot coals will compact and plug up, so i have got in the habit of poking down through after filling. no problem

 

[AOTO]

I have a Sequoyah and I was just wondering the same thing. The bottom holes on this unit also gets plugged up. I think there are 4 or 5 openings for the air to go down. Usually the unit will get up to heat (181F) pretty fast and when it doesn't, I move the ashes and embers away from the center. That usuall does the trick. I was debating on trying to use a grate of some sort to bring the embers and wood up a little bit too. Funny, I was just thinking that last night and here it was being discussed. I too have burnt way too much wood this year...probably 8 cords since 12/06. They love wood.
Does anybody know what the display on a E2300 Classic means when it beeps and says AL1 ?

 

[Johnbull]

About a week ago after a monthly cleaning I decided to experiment by taking my large cast iron fire grate from our indoor fireplace and set it inside the E=Classic. This heightened the wood load about 3” above the opening to the combustion chamber and placed the actual burn zone parallel to the air openings. It would appear at least so far that I am getting a more thorough burn all the way around the wood stack and using less wood. Likewise, the creosote build up doesn’t appear as bad. Very little ash on the floor of the firebox. Initially appears to be a more efficient burn and no plugging of the opening to the combustion chamber. No problem with the fire going out either in this configuration.

Anyone else out there willing to experiment a little with this? We are in a relative warm spell right now so I’m only able to guess at the usage issue. Would be interested in any additional comments or attempts by others to use a grate.

One other question; is CB going to notify existing users about the removal of firebrick? Is it OK to remove the brick on recently purchased units and are any other modifications needed. I don’t want to do any damage. I do know that CB made a repair kit for the bracket which holds the rod on the bypass door. I received that via my local CB dealer who installed my units.

Craig Ormsby
Martinsburg PA

 

[No Smoke]

STILL FRUSTRATED WITH THE DARN THING
Circulating pump doesnt seem to work right- dealer said he was checking it but have not heard back from them-on install the worker installing frowned at it....think he saw something wrong....he doesnt work there anymore....dealer moved pump from inside to the outside furnace and it appears to be a problem...the door seal was changed and door readjusted but still leaks...... unit requires so much babysitting- and our electric bill is double last years- yes, rates went up but jeesh- 130 or more a month and no one lives in this building- we do keep a new energy star fridge going and turn lights on inside when we are there a few days a week.......Im blaming the stove- water is heated with gas- so have no idea what is drawing so much elec.
could it be the fans? the pumps?
To be fair it did seem to be working way better than when I started this topic..... and we were afraid it was too good to be true.....then today happened....we are back on the oil burner.... seems like every time we do a cleaning we wait for it to go all to hell....and it does more often than not! Tonight our E-Classic is for sale......will see what the dealer says in the morning.....

 

[kuribo]

You have to wonder how much research and testing they did on these before they took them to market. Telling owners to remove the firebrick from the sides of the firebox seems like something they should have figured out earlier rather than later. Seems like they rushed these to market to cash in on the rise in oil prices and the "gasification" buzz word without thorough testing...

 

[heaterman]

You have to wonder how much research and testing they did on these before they took them to market. Telling owners to remove the firebrick from the sides of the firebox seems like something they should have figured out earlier rather than later. Seems like they rushed these to market to cash in on the rise in oil prices and the "gasification" buzz word without through testing...

BINGO!

 

[No Smoke]

Now we have worked through some of the problems - and it has made for a long winter ......someone just said that there is a $2,000- rebate if your now buying a new E-Classic ??!?!?!........maybe we newbies sort of got it stuck to us!??!?!?!?! Anyone else hear this????

 

[heaterman]

Now we have worked through some of the problems - and it has made for a long winter ......someone just said that there is a $2,000- rebate if your now buying a new E-Classic ??!?!?!........maybe we newbies sort of got it stuck to us!??!?!?!?! Anyone else hear this????

I heard through the grapevine that CB had tons of inventory left over and they are trying to move them out.