EKO 60 standard secondary inlet pics do you see a problem here FIX PICS

[Dave T]

I bought a very good looking used EKO 60 standard, but it appeared like it was being burnt wrong, so when I looked into it further I found a possible reason that the first owner may have been having troubles. It appeares that the secondary inlets adjusters are riding to low to even close off the inlets to the boiler.. So the question is, should the little nut on the end of the secondary adjuster ride below the inlet tube or should it go into the tube?? Dave

 

[leaddog]

its hard to say as you have the panel pulled outso it's on an angle. Measure from the bottem of the panel to the canter of the adjuster and compare the measurement from the bottem of where the panel set to the center of the secondary tube. They should be close, I'd say within 1/2 in or less. I think it will close off but can't say for sure. You should be able to close it and then turn it out about 4turns. also check the primary. The new manual on the new horizon web site gives a better expanation on how to set it.
leaddog

 

[Eric Johnson]

Not sure what you're talking about, but the disk should close off the air supply when the threaded rod is turned all the way in. In other words, the disk is designed to completely block the opening when it's closed completely. With the 60, try 6 turns out. That seems to be the best setting for this boiler.

 

[Dave T]

Good thinking Leaddog I did just that and measured up from the bottom 3 3/4" to the middle of the inlet 2 3/4" to the bolt..I could bend a 90 degree angle on top and make up about 1/2" but will be loosing on bottom anything I give to the top..

 

[Dave T]

Yes it is the case there is about 3/8" wide opening at the top of the secondary inlet that the adjusters never have touched by the looks of the inlets, there are actual indents where the previous owner tried to get them dialed in all the way and did not give up easily even broke the groove on the end of one of the adjuster bolts that the screwdriver fits in to.. Eric your right about used boilers they are a crapshoot, PITA..I can close it up with a 90 on top to move the whole thing up, anybody have a better idea for this??

 

[Eric Johnson]

I glued wire nuts to the ends of the adjustment screws to make it easier to adjust the secondary air on the fly.

I'm not clear on what the problem is, Dave. Do the disks not line up with the openings? If so, why not just drill new holes in the blower mounting plate and make them line up? You'd need to glue or tack weld nuts to the plate for the threaded rods to ride in. Is something bent or is it a manufacturing defect?

 

[Dave T]

I see some warpage in the blower panel but not enough to leave a gap in the opening, you are right when you say new holes and tack a nut on the inside that is a good thought.. I can not say if it is a factory flaw or what, but I don't see any alterations in the panel to throw anything off like this..I don't think the pic showes it good but there is a silver where the adjuster has been diging in the others show the blower panel..Dave

 

[Eric Johnson]

This is interesting. If you notice in the pic I posted, the left secondary air pipe is sticking out farther than the one on the right. What happened was that the tack weld holding the pipe in place broke, and the pipe started walking out, eventually into the air adjustment disk. I had to have it welded back into place, but Dave from Cozy Heat said to just re-tack it, not put a full bead around the pipe. The reason for that, he said, was that if you ever had to replace the refractory mass, you could easily grind a tack weld off to get the pipe out. But I notice that your pipes are welded all the way around. My guess is that the previous owner had the same problem I had, and did a full bead instead of tack welds. I'm guessing that whatever is out of whack on your boiler happened then. Just a guess.

He also said to be careful when repositioning the loose pipe so that the holes in it line up with the holes in the nozzles (or whatever). Could be that the PO didn't line them up right (assuming my theory about rewelding them is correct), which could have caused problems. If you get your air valves lined up and it still doesn't work right, that would be the first thing I'd check. How? I have no idea.

 

[Dave T]

Those welds are top notch if done by an individual, the bottom is not solid there is a gap there in the weld, here is a pic straight into the inlet,You have a good idea that the rework if there was any may be where it all began blower panel is unaltered...Some more pics for the hell of it..Dave

 

[Eric Johnson]

The Standard has a different refractory design than the Super, so it's entirely possible that the secondary air tube design is also different, i.e., welded instead of tacked. Looks nice and clean under the hood!

 

[Dave T]

Eric if you can grind and get your pipe out to replace the refractory, then could I grind my pipe out and replace the refractory to the curved super refractory after mine breaks down?? What would this entail me shipping the boiler back to them or can they send the mass to me for install I don't really see a way of getting new refractory in the door of the boiler.. In the mean time I like SROBs plan of cutting standard fire brick diaginally and not fastening them he has good things to say so far with his fix..Dave
GO STEELERS!!

 

[Eric Johnson]

That's a good question. I really don't know. I think the refractory mass at the base of the firebox comes in a couple of pieces, but I don't really remember what mine looked like when new. And I don't know if the two models take the same part(s). In any event, I don't think you would need to replace it for years, maybe longer. BTW, you might want to consider putting turbulators in your hx tubes. I don't think you can retrofit the cleaner assembly, but turbs would increase your efficiency.

 

[leaddog]

you can take some wire and put a bend in it and run it inside the secondary pipe and see where the holes are and if they are open to the nozzle. On my 80 they were at the 3 o-clock and 9 o-clock left and right. I think they pour the refactory in the bottem as they have plastic tubes in the refactory going into the pipe to keep things lined up and that is one reason they don't burn good untill you have burnt the plastic out.
I would move the adjusters up like eric said. I don't know but there might be a size difference in the front panel between boiler sizes and that is why there is a difference.
As for the turbulators I have a set that we are making up for my sons standard but like mose projects they aren't done yet. Not to big of a deal just time consuming. When we get them done I'll post pic.
leaddog

 

[Dave T]

I have most of the turbulators in place all but 4 I saw on another thread nofossil had some fabed up but another person used chains on the exchanger ports (yet another pic) and I can look up the inlet pipes and see what looks like melted plastic sticking out of the holes.. But I had two pices of concrete show up after moving the EKO in the inlet ports that looked like arrow heads like indians used so I repositioned them all of the way back on the bottom of the inlet pipes..Dave

 

[Dave T]

UPDATE PICS Eric was right move the secondary inlets up to match the inlets of the boiler here is some pics..On one you can see where I used crayon to show where the inlet would hit when cover plate is preaty much totally installed..Fix was drill a hole 1 inch above current inlet holes,JB weld, two 3" long small panhead bolts(to fit factory secondary inlet disc), and 2 nuts to fit each of them..Believe it or not my inlet bolts land(so to speak) inside the EKO 60 fan inlet panel just inside the cover..THANKS TO THIS SITE AND ALL WHO VISIT!! Dave

 

[leaddog]

Those welds are top notch if done by an individual, the bottom is not solid there is a gap there in the weld, here is a pic straight into the inlet,You have a good idea that the rework if there was any may be where it all began blower panel is unaltered...Some more pics for the hell of it..Dave

I can't see for sure but it looks like in the pic that the holes for the air in the tube aren't lined up where they should be in the refactory. Take a flashlight and look and see if the holes are at the 3 o-clock and 9 o-clock position and then take a wire and make sure they are open. If they aren't lined up you will never get good secondary burn.
Moving the screws looks good.
leaddog

 

[Dave T]

I am up and running now so next time I get that cover off I'll check and see if the air inlets are at 3,and 9..Last night I got gasification but it would kinda puff through the refractory of course I had to keep opening the door and seeing what it is doing at the time LOL...Dave

 

[in hot water]

Be sure the heat pipes in the bck are clear, also. Shine a light from the front of the gasification chamber and look down the tubes from the top, with the cover removed.

hr

 

[barnartist]

Eric I notice you put a new gasket around the fan housing plate. My factory one is thin and shot. I should do the same. Got to thinking this thicker gasket would make the air adjustments different than with the factory gasket. You always liked 6 turns, but with the thicker gasket, that would mean they are even farther from the pipes than most, yeah?

 

[Eric Johnson]

That's the stock gasket. That pic was taken when the boiler was almost new. As long as you set your air adjustment by closing it all the way and then backing out a specific number of turns, the gasket thickness shouldn't matter.

 

[barnartist]

your right it would not matter then.

I did not get that gasket with mine. Mine has already become brittle. It looks more like what you might see on a car door, except thinner than that. Oh well.

 

[Dave T]

HR I ran the cleaning tool in the exchangers before I fired it up but it was a cold stove I have some potato skins drying out to clean it next time.. I am getting weak gasification usually yellow flames, blue sometimes but when I open the door it like blows out and then comes back and blows out again..I am using some wood I split up last year and (Barnartist is gonna kill me) siding and structure wood from my 100 year old barn that has fallen in..After seeing Eric's pics I also bought a new gasket I went with 5/8 gray graphite stuff..Leaddog if my inlets are not at 3,and 9 is there a fix for this??

 

[Eric Johnson]

How many turns out are your secondary air disks set at? Should be around 6 for the 60. How about the primary air? Sounds like an air supply problem. And is this after the boiler has reached temp (70 degrees C.) or when it's cooler? 'Cause that's what a cool boiler will do before it gets up to operating temp.

 

[Dave T]

Secondary flaps are at 6 turns out after bottoming them out on the boiler inlets and the primary air is set preaty low about 1" from being totally closed..The fan shrouds are about 1 1/4" open I just got done reading IN HOT WATER's post on make up air so I am going to confirm this is not the problem..The boiler was hot when I tried to work the gasification, it worked best just after I loaded it and brought the chimney temps up, so far chimney temps are very low like 150 or 200 that seems low to me..

 

[Eric Johnson]

I'd give 'er a little more primary air. I know it's a PIA to tear that front plate off again. But that's what I'd try next. Your outlet temps do seem a little low. I'd say something in the 300-400 range is about what I usually get when she's going good. Maybe 500 at the beginning of the cycle.