Ecotek(sp?) stove window wash system

[coolnuke]

ok , i have an ecotek veronica stove. we love it, keeps the house nice and warm. my question is this:

there are a set of vents inside the cabinet that run up the firebox, on the outside, and into the stove and act as a window glass wash system to prevent ash from building on the window. on medium and above there isn't usually any problem but on low the window soots up quick. i have an idea to put a set of small fans at the inlets of the wash vents and force more air in at low power setting. does it sound like something that would work?
ok discuss!

 

[Lake Girl]

I'm thinking that the veronica is a ductable stove like my Elena ... the vents that run up the outside of the firebox are to feed the secondary convection blower that is installed (on the Elena Air it's under the firebox with air coming from spacing just above the heat exchanger edit: air exits via ducts out the lower back of the stove). The ducting on the Veronica seems to exit nearer the top... not sure where the secondary blower is located... is there one?

We also have a plain Elena and these vents/ducts are not installed on the sides...

 

[Lake Girl]

I've attached a photo of the side venting on the Elena Air with the intake area showing at the top (oval cut-outs). Similar to the Veronica?

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

Lakegirl : Coolnuke is talking about the airwash, not the second hot air output duct that some Ecotecks have.

Coolnuke : On my Elena, the airwash air inlet ports are on the back of the firebox (inside the cabinet), one on each side, a small square hole. Mine also gets the glass dirtier when the stove runs in low. You could try to add a fan to force more air into these airwash inlets, but you might want to slightly lower the combustion fan motor speed parameter, for the P1 power level, to compensate for the air that you are feeding into the airwash. I don't think its all that critical, but you may want to play around with that. Each power level has its own parameter that you can alter, for the combustion blower, the room air blower, and the pellet fuel feed rate.

I don't think trying to add a fan can hurt anything...give it a try, and let us know.

The dirtier glass really does not bother me much, I was rather thinking that I wanted to try to connect a small tube to each of the airwash inlet ports, and connect them to the outside air pipe, so that the airwash air is from outside, rather than using room air.

 

[chken]

Lakegirl : Coolnuke is talking about the airwash, not the second hot air output duct that some Ecotecks have.

Coolnuke : On my Elena, the airwash air inlet ports are on the back of the firebox (inside the cabinet), one on each side, a small square hole. Mine also gets the glass dirtier when the stove runs in low. You could try to add a fan to force more air into these airwash inlets, but you might want to slightly lower the combustion fan motor speed parameter, for the P1 power level, to compensate for the air that you are feeding into the airwash. I don't think its all that critical, but you may want to play around with that. Each power level has its own parameter that you can alter, for the combustion blower, the room air blower, and the pellet fuel feed rate.

I don't think trying to add a fan can hurt anything...give it a try, and let us know.

The dirtier glass really does not bother me much, I was rather thinking that I wanted to try to connect a small tube to each of the airwash inlet ports, and connect them to the outside air pipe, so that the airwash air is from outside, rather than using room air.

So, the air wash air is coming from the room. Does the stove leak a little smoke smell upon startup? My Piazzetta seems to be designed similarly, but the air wash holes are just above the glass itself.

My thinking is the opposite, when the combustion fan is faster, and the fire is hotter, the draft is stronger, and the air wash works better, as it's drawing a small amount of air from the room over the glass. When it's on low P settings the draft is weaker and the air wash draws less air, leading to dirtier window. I may be wrong, but that's what I thought my stove was doing. Maybe Piazzettas and Ecotecks are not as closely related as I thought.

 

[Lake Girl]

Lakegirl : Coolnuke is talking about the airwash, not the second hot air output duct that some Ecotecks have.

Learn something new every day ... Noted those opening but didn't realize that was the airwash inlets (not mentioned on schematics just figured they were structural). That would explain why ash build-up on the window occurs faster on the right side (facing the stove) as it competes with the convection blower for air...

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

Chken : We all agree : At a higher power level, when the combustion fan is running faster, the airwash works better. That is true of any stove brand/model, with an airwash system.

I don't think I get any start-up smoke/smell from the airwash inlet ports, as the combustion fan is always pulling room air through them (start-up smoke can't go backwards through the airwash ports)

Off topic : I examined a Piazzetta stove today...really nicely made.....a bit better than the Ecoteck Ravelli. Both are similarly quiet. The only negative I observed is that the Piazzetta took significantly longer to get hot enough so that the room blower turned-on. That's because the Piazzetta had a much smaller flame than the Ecoteck, during the start-up period.

 

[coolnuke]

the air wash holes are physically above the fire box, but there are 2 external ducts on either side of the firebox on the outside that draws in room air thru the external duct and into the airwash header. the exhaust fan draws on the firebox as well as the OAK connection and the AIR wash header, so no smoke in the house. pretty cool idea actually.

i added 2 pictures of the air wash duct. gonna try a small fan on the ducts as well a lower the combustion fan at low speed.

 

[chken]

Chken : We all agree : At a higher power level, when the combustion fan is running faster, the airwash works better. That is true of any stove brand/model, with an airwash system.

I don't think I get any start-up smoke/smell from the airwash inlet ports, as the combustion fan is always pulling room air through them (start-up smoke can't go backwards through the airwash ports)

Off topic : I examined a Piazzetta stove today...really nicely made.....a bit better than the Ecoteck Ravelli. Both are similarly quiet. The only negative I observed is that the Piazzetta took significantly longer to get hot enough so that the room blower turned-on. That's because the Piazzetta had a much smaller flame than the Ecoteck, during the start-up period.

Thanks, the blower starts when the exhaust temps reach 176F/80C but can be adjusted to come on earlier by about 20deg F/10C, or later .

 

[chken]

the air wash holes are physically above the fire box, but there are 2 external ducts on either side of the firebox on the outside that draws in room air thru the external duct and into the airwash header. the exhaust fan draws on the firebox as well as the OAK connection and the AIR wash header, so no smoke in the house. pretty cool idea actually.

i added 2 pictures of the air wash duct. gonna try a small fan on the ducts as well a lower the combustion fan at low speed.

Definitely different than my stove. Good luck with your experiment.

 

[Lake Girl]

Back of the Elena - airwash inlets just above the inspection port/clean-out.

 

[coolnuke]

Back of the Elena - airwash inlets just above the inspection port/clean-out.

thats a small opening. lol.
will see what the fans do to keep the glass cleaner.

 

[coolnuke]

so here are the 2 window air wash rigs i made. pretty simple, just a 1.5 x 1.25 copper fitting, squeezed the 1.5 end into a rectangle that fits over the stove pipe fitting. the fans are just small fans from radio shack run on 12 vdc. i will clean the stove tonight and see how long the window stays clean. will let you know.

 

[Lake Girl]

How hot does it get on the stove body? Cooper being one of the more efficient materials for heat transfer - it could toast those plastic fans as I would think it is hotter on the back side of the fire box than in a computer or electronics application.

Keep us posted...

 

[coolnuke]

How hot does it get on the stove body? Cooper being one of the more efficient materials for heat transfer - it could toast those plastic fans as I would think it is hotter on the back side of the fire box than in a computer or electronics application.

Keep us posted...

where the fittings attach doesn't get hot. it take in room air and before naturally convection drew the air up and into the stove. hopefuly with the fans more aor will flow when on a lower setting.

 

[chken]

so here are the 2 window air wash rigs i made. pretty simple, just a 1.5 x 1.25 copper fitting, squeezed the 1.5 end into a rectangle that fits over the stove pipe fitting. the fans are just small fans from radio shack run on 12 vdc. i will clean the stove tonight and see how long the window stays clean. will let you know.

Looks quite promising!

 

[coolnuke]

Looks quite promising!

will see in a few days. just did a bi weekly cleaning since it has been cold the last few days. it hasnt turned down to low except at night when the thermstat tells it to drop. at least the window was still pretty clear.

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

Looks good ! Do you plan to control the fans with the Wii controller??

Maybe add a few flat washers between the plastic fan body and the copper plate, on the mounting screws, to space the fan body off the copper, to reduce heat transfer to the fan.

What are the dimensions of the fan? Wondering if they can blow enough air volume thru the airwash inlet ports.

 

[coolnuke]

Looks good ! Do you plan to control the fans with the Wii controller??

Maybe add a few flat washers between the plastic fan body and the copper plate, on the mounting screws, to space the fan body off the copper, to reduce heat transfer to the fan.

What are the dimensions of the fan? Wondering if they can blow enough air volume thru the airwash inlet ports.

the controllers were just on the block when i took the pictures . lol
the back of the stove and this inlet pipe doesnt get that hot so i dont see a need to insulate the fan. the fan is only 1.5 in x 1.5 inch square. since the orginal air wash is natural draft, i would think any additional air flow would be a plus!!

 

[Lake Girl]

Curious to see if the extra air will interfere with the burn quality ... or just keep the door glass cleaner!

 

[coolnuke]

Curious to see if the extra air will interfere with the burn quality ... or just keep the door glass cleaner!

so far the window is still clean, just a slight haze on it. i think it is working pretty well so far.

 

[coolnuke]

its been a week since i cleaned it last, the glass is slightly cloudy but not as bad as it has been before the air wash fans were installed. i think they are a success!!

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

I will have to try this on my Elena......but my airwash inlet ports are shaped differently than your rectangles (where a shaped copper pipe fitting easily can be attached).