EKO BYPASS FLAP STICKING

[Kemer]

both mine and my brothers bypass door is sticking from creosote.Has anybody come up with a good fix ? I need to come up with a fix that my wife can handle other than hitting the handle,or bending out of the way and opening the door and hitting the flap with something.It should have a handle closer to the flap.I know idling less will minimize. Any ideas?

 

[Eric Johnson]

I had the same problem last season when the boiler was getting broken in. What I did was to turn the handle around so that you can open the door with the bypass damper closed. It's designed so that you can't open the door when the bypass damper is closed, presumably for safety reasons. All you need to do is drive the retaining pin out of the base of the handle, turn the handle around and put the pin back in. Then you can open the door with the damper closed and poke a stick or your poker in there to push the damper open. No big deal.

The only alternative solution that I ever came up with was to disconnect the chimney connector pipe to get at the stuck damper, but that's a real PIA and a real safety hazard, as you probably won't get the sheet metal screw holes lined up and might be tempted to reconnect the pipe without them.

 

[mhearts]

Being a new EKO 40 owner I have experienced sticking also. I have been experimenting with appling a high temp lubricant to the surface of the damper and the flange to lessen the creosote's ability to act as if it were cement.

First I applied some high temp brake grease to the mating flange. That seemed to work pretty good and eliminate the sticking. It lasted a few days,

Next I bought some high temp moly spray lubrication. I think it was LPS 842 or something like that ..the number meant it was good to 854 degrees. I tried that once so far and that worked very well . I would say it was easier to apply than the brake grease and it lasts longer.. Again it lasted maybe 4 -5 days with no sticking.

Does any one see any side effects from lubing the damper flange?????

Turning the damper handle around is great idea and I think I will do that as well

Thanks

 

[hkobus]

I have the same issue at times. I find there is less sticking when burning dry wood as well as when the boiler temp is alowed to go higher like 80*C on the control. I still want to experiment more with lining the fire box like I did in the bottom, this may increase the temps in the firebox and eliminate the problem.
I like the lube suggestions though and may give that a whirl too.
An engineer friend of mine had a real laugh at the whole bypass assembly, if you look at it when open it covers more then half the opening to the flue pipe. He made some suggestions that I may try this winter, it may also solve the sticky problem.

Henk.

 

[Kemer]

Henk,Please post if you come up with a solution

 

[jebatty]

Not quite the same issue, as I have not experienced any sticking with the Tarm, but when I clean the hx tubes, I also remove (easy to do) the bypass damper door and scrape it to remove any creosote, especially the contact lines between the door and the boiler opening. Very early on I noticed a little creosote that might prevent the door from sealing well, so the scraping ensures a good seal.

 

[solarguy]

This is a typical problem when your boiler is installed without a storage system, especially in the shoulder months.
Try running your fan speed down to 40% or 50% to give you a longer & hotter burn.
A piece of 2X4 is a good "tool" to use to pop the damper open when it sticks.

Bob

 

[WRVERMONT]

As always keep an eye for the dryer wood in your pile. Excessive moisture in wood won't help with this. I've found this problem also seems to go away in time. One more thing. Make sure when the boiler is flat out it runs at higher temps at least for part of the burn.

 

[Kemer]

This is simply poor design period. I'm going to apply good old german common sence to this and fix it once and for all tommorow.My wife dosen't mind tennding to the fire during the day but I'm not going to ask her to pound the door open every time this happens.There should be a turblator handle or somethig like that in the back where it will do some good.When I figure this out I'll be sure to post.

 

[Duetech]

Hi Kemer,
On the EKO 40 Super there is a tube cleaner assembly that, when cycled in a certain direction, prevents the bypass control actuator from working. Cycled the other way a free moving flap is free to open when actuated. If you don’t have the built in cleaner this idea is kind of moot but here goes.
The tube cleaner is a stronger cranking lever than the bypass actuator control. The tube cleaner shaft has 6 welded pivot arms that point towards the heat tubes. When you cycle the handle for the cleaner the pivot arms move up or down depending on cycle direction and move some twisted flat stock blades, that are in the tubes, up or down in the tubes to clean them. So if you were to weld another pivot arm like the tube cleaner arms only near the bottom of the crank bar (pointed back slightly towards the flap) you could connect a small length of (1/4” coil?) chain to the new pivot arm and the bypass actuator bracket that holds the flap so when you cycle the tube cleaner so the pivot arm moves away from the flap and the tube cleaner blades move down, the chain could pop the flap open. Make sure the chain is not too short or it might damage the flap or bracket assembly. There should be no tension on the chain once the flap pops open and the cleaner shaft has been rotated to its full extent. From what I have seen you must leave the original flap control in place and use it to close the flap. On the 40 Super, like I mentioned earlier, the tube cleaner pivot arms will press against the flap to help keep it closed when cycled in the right direction but the original control arm for the flap is spring loaded over center to close and hold the flap in place, and should be left in tact.
Once you have turned the boiler off and loosened the flap you should be able to open the ash door and establish draft to minimize smoke for opening the loading chamber door.

Anything you do like the above might void your warranty. I cannot take any responsibility for the actions you take. I am not trying to encourage you to alter your boiler. I have not done this. I do not have an EKO 60 and don’t know if the design of the EKO 60 will work with this idea. I don’t know if this idea will work at all but you asked for an idea and now you have one.

Another idea is give the wife a gas mask and have her lift weights until she can load the wood and work the flap without any trouble. Another idea connected with that one is once she does all that don’t giver her any flak. LOL
I do know that when the heating season is over I will look hard at this as my wife has a problem with it and I intend to move my boiler out of the garage, where it is now, and into a shed. The shed will not be tolerant of the smoke that the 40 Super puts out because the flap is stuck and I have to open the loading door. Keep warm...Cave2k

 

[applewood]

I'm just working on my EKO 40 install but Henk showed me the sticky bypass problem and I like your solution. If it turns out to be a problem on mine running with storage I'll be getting the welder out.

 

[hkobus]

Hey there Applewood, good to hear from you again. Who did you deal with on the Eko and is this the super you are getting?

 

[Kemer]

Cave2K,That's a great Idea But I'm already in the middle of my own fix. My fix is to extend the pivot out through the side by welding an extension of 3/4 steel rod. I will then have it set up to accept the turbolator handle. This will allow me to have better leverage. I also keep the original flap handle in place. I'll use the original handle until a time that it sticks then I'll slide the turbolator handle on and give it a more direct nudge. Thanks for your reply, it's great that we can share our ideas over the web!
Kemer (Harry)

 

[Eric Johnson]

I thought I was the only one who liked to do things the hard way. Reversing the handle takes about 5 minutes and solves the problem with no welding or other modification.

 

[Kemer]

ERIC Don't you still have to open the door when the flap is closed so you can hit the flap with something? By the time my wife does that she gets a facefull andhitting the handle with something takes a skill my wife dose'nt have.

 

[Eric Johnson]

The only time it happens to me is overnight, so there's usually not much left in the firebox in the morning. If you wanted to load the stove when it still contains a good fire, and the damper is stuck, then I guess it would be a problem. It's never been an issue for me. I never had any luck banging on the end of the handle.

 

[Tony H]

I have had to bang on the end of the handle with an old monkey wrench a couple of times, I think I will be reversing the handle very soon.

 

[markpee]

Thank God you guys are here. I fired my 40 for the first time last night, and besides having trouble getting gasification - though there were minutes of it, my fuel was out and door stuck this morning. There was a ton of cresote buildup and I had to remove the chimney to open the damper. I will be reversing the handle! I am burning a fire in the upper chamber now to try to burn that creosote out. My wood is seasoned, but we had a bad wind and rain storm on Saturday and all of my wood got wet, so I'm thinking I got screwed. I do have a pile of wood that is about 8 years old and most is rotten, it is dry though, and I found some good pieces, so I'll be trying that today. I'll also be powering the fan down to half speed.

Is cresote a typical issue here? I'm a little discouraged with my first burn, although my house is warm and my first wood heated hot shower was awesome! My max temp was 170 last night.

 

[Eric Johnson]

Creosote in the primary burn chamber is perfectly normal. I don't think the amount of creosote in the firebox is directly related to the sticking damper. It's more a matter of location.

Wood that was dry but becomes wet, dries out again very quickly.

Rotten or solid--if it's dry, burn it.

Don't judge the boiler on your first burn. Get a week or two of operation and experience under your belt and you'll see many of your issues go away.

 

[barnartist]

I have had problems in the past as well, but my question is this, are your Eko's equipped with a gasket on the flapper, or is it metal to metal? I have certainly experimented with this many times over the past 3 years. I am told newer models do not have a gasket. Mine did and have had trouble sealing the damper to my liking. Really seems to effect gasification for me with a good seal.

It might take half a season to get onto burning your Eko. You might get frustrated at times during this learning session. I am still learning at the start of year 4 for me.

 

[Eric Johnson]

No gasket on the Supers, which is what all new EKOs sold over the past year in the U.S. are.

 

[Tony H]

No gasket on mine , drove the pin out and reversed the handle ... now I might have to do it on the lower door so it matches and because I can only remember one way to latch the door.

 

[mouchey]

Thank God you guys are here. I fired my 40 for the first time last night, and besides having trouble getting gasification - though there were minutes of it, my fuel was out and door stuck this morning. There was a ton of cresote buildup and I had to remove the chimney to open the damper. I will be reversing the handle! I am burning a fire in the upper chamber now to try to burn that creosote out. My wood is seasoned, but we had a bad wind and rain storm on Saturday and all of my wood got wet, so I'm thinking I got screwed. I do have a pile of wood that is about 8 years old and most is rotten, it is dry though, and I found some good pieces, so I'll be trying that today. I'll also be powering the fan down to half speed.

Is cresote a typical issue here? I'm a little discouraged with my first burn, although my house is warm and my first wood heated hot shower was awesome! My max temp was 170 last night.

We are doing our first burn and having the same problem any suggestions? How did you make out?
Thanks,
MJ

 

[Kemer]

I wanted to wait a few days before I reported in on my fix for the sticking flap.As far as I can see it was a huge success.All I do as practicly rest my hand on the new handle and the flap releases.What I did was remove the side cover,weld on a extension on the pivit point of the flap that excepts the turolator handle.I then drilled a 1 1/2" hole in side cover.The other thing I had to do was make a new plate for the spring.This may sound like a lot of work but really if parts were made ahead of time it wouldnt take longer than an hour or two.I was going to use the same handle for the flap release and the torbolator but now I'll just make a shorter handle.If I were better on a computer I could post pictures or maybe make templates for the spring plate and hole in side cover(I did this for my brother)Any way my wife no longers dreads checking the fire for fear of not being able to open the door and that makes my life easier.