Eko 25 problem

[Woodrunner25]

Ok so I'm kinda newer to this whole gasification thing so I was thinking maybe you guys could help me out. Ok so I installed a eko orlan 25 in my garage last year and it ran great and then ran great when I started this year until a couple weeks ago I noticed my chimney getting hotter than usual. So I adjusted the air settings to the new manuals specs and I have a nice blue/white flame but it's still getting Hot? Any ideas on what might be wrong would help alot. Thank you.

 

[hondaracer2oo4]

Heat exchangers clean?

 

[Fred61]

Get yourself an immersion thermometer, drill a hole in the pipe and measure the flue temperature about a foot up from the boiler. Report back to us.

 

[dogwood]

My first guess would be the same as hondaracer2004's, dirty heat exchangers. I have to scour the hx tubes every couple of weeks or so, depending on if I'm burning once or twice a day, or if flue temps start rising. I use a boiler brush, mounted on a rod turned by a drill, which makes the task quicker and less nasty. Flue temps usually drop a fair amount after each scouring.

What does your Eko's manual say your flue temps should run?

Mike

 

[Woodrunner25]

Yep cleaned them out still hot

 

[BoiledOver]

Several things can contribute to this issue. Do you have storage (btu holding water tanks)? Or just the boiler and piping into the house?

1. Dirty exchange tubes - packed with creosote or ash, which restricts heat conduction through the steel into the water
2. Dirty secondary burn chamber walls - Same as above
3. Faulty damper seal - The exhaust damper can get a creosote buildup that does not allow a tight seal, this allows a direct exhaust exit through the flue
4. Air intake baffle adjustment - You stated this has been addressed

Any and or all of the above can create efficiency issues. Also, firewood moisture content must be below 20% to keep these contributors at bay. How about telling this forum a bit more about your system to receive the best of advice. Sure hope you get this thing sorted out.

 

[Woodrunner25]

Manual doesn't have anything about flue temps that I read. But I know last year u could hold your hand on it as long as you wanted but now I can put my hand on it for a little bit and it stgarts to get too hot. Also the further up the chimney the hotter it gets I can't even put my hand on the chimney as far as I can reach up because it's too hot.

 

[maple1]

I would investigate BoiledOvers item number 3.

Is your chimney clean? Some kind of blockage wouldn't help. Like, say, a birds nest up top.

 

[taxidermist]

Insulated chimney pipe?

My guess is your damper door is not closing all the way or your burning really good but seasoned wood

 

[BoiledOver]

Flue temperatures should be monitored. In my Eko25 the flue temps (internally 12" up from the boiler) are in the zone of 380-420F, Any higher than 420F indicates an exchange tube cleaning is necessary. Here is a link to an affordable unit.

 

[Woodrunner25]

I do have a storage tank but it's only a 75 gal. Water heater. My wood moister is right around 10% and I thought it was to dry so I though some in that I had outside that was at 15-20% and still running hot. I don't have a damper the people that put the chimney in said I didn't need one. I didn't get the exchange tubes clean because I didn't have anything to fit down them. I'll see if I can get something to clean those out tomorrow.

 

[Fred61]

The "hand test" is not reliable enough for checking flue temperature. You must know what the temperature is and then go from there.
The average 'tough guy" and that includes the members on this forum, can hold his hand on a metal surface that's about 110 degrees. That's not very hot.

 

[BoiledOver]

I do have a storage tank but it's only a 75 gal. Water heater. My wood moister is right around 10% and I thought it was to dry so I though some in that I had outside that was at 15-20% and still running hot. I don't have a damper the people that put the chimney in said I didn't need one. I didn't get the exchange tubes clean because I didn't have anything to fit down them. I'll see if I can get something to clean those out tomorrow.

Too bad about the 75 gallon storage, it is what it is though. If at all possible, upgrade to at least 500 gallons.

Sounds like you are in good shape with your firewood.

The damper in question is the exhaust bypass flap in the back of your primary firebox. Put a light in your firebox right up to the bypass flap, close the flap and then pull the access hatch from the exhaust chamber and see if there is any light showing at the flap. It is another area besides the secondary combustion chamber and exchange tubes that require regular maintenance.

Do your exchange tubes have the twisted turbulators in them? If yes, have you been using the cleaning handle? If the exchange tubes are empty and haven't been cleaned in a while, cross your fingers. Without large storage your boiler may idle frequently and that can cause creosote. The tubes in my Eko are silly as heck. Four of the tubes take the round bristled brush very well but the other two require a good deal of force to get the same brush up and down them.

 

[Fred61]

The guys here have been trying to help you troubleshoot the problem based on the information you gave them in post #5 in which you said you had cleaned the tubes and now you're saying you don't have anything that fits.
So, which is it? There can be several reasons for excessive flue temperature. The first one is to clean the tubes and if that doesn't cure the problem you go on from there which you can see by the suggestions made thus far.

 

[maple1]

I do have a storage tank but it's only a 75 gal. Water heater. My wood moister is right around 10% and I thought it was to dry so I though some in that I had outside that was at 15-20% and still running hot. I don't have a damper the people that put the chimney in said I didn't need one. I didn't get the exchange tubes clean because I didn't have anything to fit down them. I'll see if I can get something to clean those out tomorrow.

You seemed to say you cleaned the tubes in post 5? So yes or no?

Also I think I would also be worried about being able to hold my hand on the flu pipe - but also not sure where you were holding your hand exactly. Like Fred said, it doesn't take much heat before you would not be holding your hand on a pipe. If it's on a chimney, you shouldn't be feeling much. Pipe, yes.

 

[Woodrunner25]

When I said I cleaned them I ment I cleaned them with the twisted turbulators that are inside them but I pulled the hatch on the top of the boiler off and there still not the cleanest so I'm going to get a brush and try to clean them better. I'm also ordering a temp gauge for the flue to test the temp. Maybe it's not getting any hotter than it's suppose to and I'm just worrying about nothing. I was wondering if that was the damper you were talking about and yes I did look at it when I took the cover off the top and it seemed to be sealed good but I'll try the light trick to make sure tomorrow when I'm cleaning the tubes out.

 

[BoiledOver]

When I said I cleaned them I ment I cleaned them with the twisted turbulators that are inside them but I pulled the hatch on the top of the boiler off and there still not the cleanest so I'm going to get a brush and try to clean them better. I'm also ordering a temp gauge for the flue to test the temp. Maybe it's not getting any hotter than it's suppose to and I'm just worrying about nothing. I was wondering if that was the damper you were talking about and yes I did look at it when I took the cover off the top and it seemed to be sealed good but I'll try the light trick to make sure tomorrow when I'm cleaning the tubes out.

The twisted turbs are better than nothing but are not the best thing for keeping the tubes clean. I removed the turbulators before the boiler's first fire and hung chains into the tubes to slow the exhaust flow. After the permanent turbulator removal, a plate is required to cover the hole in the side of the exhaust chamber.

Your first big cleaning may be a big chore but if you stay on top of your maintenance you will be a happier camper. Having 1,000 gallons of storage allows for flat out hot burns every time, this leaves nothing but a fine ash layer on the internals. Brushing ash is much simpler than dealing with creosote.

Daily service consists of stirring the ash bed in the primary firebox, brushing the 2 sidewalls in the secondary combustion chamber, check the tunnel for ash removal and then starting a new fire. Ending the burn before all coals are burned away makes for an easier start tomorrow. Early in the boiler experience, I did not stir the ashes and allowed it to become a bed of packed ash with a 4 or 5 inch deep slot over the nozzle. Now, with the stirring procedure, the total ash output has fallen. Must be there is unburned ingredients embedded in the ash.

A thorough cleaning happens when the flue temps say so. A week to 15 days depending on heating demands. This includes pulling the chains from the tubes and giving the tubes a good brushing, right down to bare metal, replace chains and inspect the exhaust flap and its seating position. Clean the disc and seating if needed. Removing all refractory components from the secondary combustion chamber and brushing all water jacket panels. Remove all ash from the lower chamber and replace refractory components.

 

[Fred61]

As Boiledover said above, get rid of that mess that actuates the turbulators. If you have enough build-up of crud so the turbs actually contact it, you are a year behind on your cleaning regimen. Those tubes should be clean steel with a thin coating of white fly ash coating the surface.

Unfortunately you have more of a challenge than most of the gasser operators here because you have inadequate storage capacity unless you have a huge heating load which would keep idling to a minimum.

I think your problem is dirty fire tubes. Not because of your "temperature test" but because you ran it for a year without cleaning it. If your bypass damper is gummed up it should be wire brushed and you should confirm that it has a slight wobble. The wobble allows it to perfectly mate with the machined surface.

 

[taxidermist]

When I said I cleaned them I ment I cleaned them with the twisted turbulators that are inside them but I pulled the hatch on the top of the boiler off and there still not the cleanest so I'm going to get a brush and try to clean them better. I'm also ordering a temp gauge for the flue to test the temp. Maybe it's not getting any hotter than it's suppose to and I'm just worrying about nothing. I was wondering if that was the damper you were talking about and yes I did look at it when I took the cover off the top and it seemed to be sealed good but I'll try the light trick to make sure tomorrow when I'm cleaning the tubes out.

Insulated pipe?

 

[Fred61]

Ending the burn before all coals are burned away makes for an easier start tomorrow

The only unburned charcoal that is disposed of is the last cleanout of the season. Before each daily fire, I rake the ashes out into a sieve and save the charcoal. Handy stuff for lighting tomorrows fire if you happen to burn too much before you shut down your daily fire.

 

[Woodrunner25]

I guess I was under the understanding that to clean those tubes all I needed to do is work that lever but after seeing how dirty those tubes are after using that they seen kinda worthless. Thanks for all the help I'm gonna get it cleaned up tomorrow and see how it runs then.

 

[hondaracer2oo4]

Can you explain how you measure the moisture content of the wood with your moisture meter?

 

[Woodrunner25]

Stick the prongs in the wood

 

[hondaracer2oo4]

Ok, now I understand why your measured reading is so low. You will need to first split the piece and the take a measurement on the fresh wood exposed. Probing the exterior wood gives you a really low number. I have never seen 10% mc content wood.

 

[Woodrunner25]

That is with the wood split and from the side but it's been split for a while so I'm sure the moister is probably higher in the middle.