EKO no longer heating

[stoney28]

This is my 8th year with the EKO 40 and now I'm starting to have problems. Any days that are in the 20s or lower, the temperature drops throughout the house. The digital readout on the boiler controller says its up to temperature, and the boiler mostly smolders all day. I am, filling it up much less than usual, because the wood inside isn't burning quickly.

I had changed out the controller with a new one so I thought I might have a bad temperature sensor on the boiler, I checked it out with another one and they both read the same.

Temperature and pressure seem to change quickly on the manual gauge I have. I have also seen some water dripping out of the top of the spirovent.

I have no idea what is wrong with this system. I am looking for any ideas on what the problem might be.

Thanks for any input you guys might have.

 

[kchasse]

I don't have an Eko but it almost sounds like your boiler is heating up but not circulating it within the rest of your system. A bad circulator maybe? Do you feel the pump running?

 

[stoney28]

Thanks for the idea. The circulator is next to the furnace, so I had a hard time hearing. I ended up unplugging both of them and then I heard a loud hissing sound from the spirovent. After that was done, I plugged the circulator back in and it sounded like it was working. Do you think there might be air bound up in the system? I did replace an expansion tank this summer, but I refilled the system, and didn't think much of it. I wonder if the spirovent needs to be replaced. (I have hard water and it might be shot after 8 years).

 

[ihookem]

it could every well be air trapped since you opened up the system.

 

[Mike Fromme]

Do you have a Thermostatic boiler protection valve?

If the thermostat inside it goes bad you could be circulating most of the hot water right back through the bypass loop.

 

[stoney28]

Do you have a Thermostatic boiler protection valve?

If the thermostat inside it goes bad you could be circulating most of the hot water right back through the bypass loop.

I have a danfoss(?) 3-way mixing valve. How would I figure out if that is bad?

At the moment, I'm planning on opening up the spirovent tomorrow to see what the innards look like. I was going to go from there. I figure if there is air in the system, it may be because the spirovent isn't purging it.

 

[Mike Fromme]

If the danfoss is not working right your boiler will hit the set point sooner then it did in the past. And will idle a lot more often.

If it's the older style with the four bolt cover you can easily take the inside cartridge out and run the boiler for a burn without it. Assuming you have a way to manually close the bypass loop.

 

[Fred61]

Let me get this straight. Boiler is at high limit and at idle. circulator is running but not getting heat at emitters.
You changed out the expansion tank and refilled the system. Question: Did you purge the loop or loops by running water through 'til it was free of air? Description of the problem indicates you have air in the system.
I don't believe your Danfoss is the problem but tell us if you have a valve on the bypass to throttle the circulating boiler water. If you do, where do you have it set? Those automotive thermostats don't regularly fail but if you drained and refilled the system you could have stirred up some crud however that would usually cause it to be blocked in the open position.

 

[stoney28]

*update*

I opened up the spirovent to clean it out and see if that could purge air better. I found the inside mesh caked with some type of debris and falling apart. The clog was so bad I don't think hardly any of the heated water made it past the spirovent. I have cleaned it out and replaced the mesh. I'm repressurizing the system. (Thanks for the idea about a clog, Mike).

I think you are right, Fred, about the debris and being stirred up, but I think it hit the mesh in the spirovent and got stuck there. It was like caked on muck.

I did bleed the lines after I put in the tank, but I don't know what you mean by your statement about the bypass. I did not empty the entire system (I think), just enough to be able to change the expansion tanks.

I plan on firing it up tomorrow, and I'll let you guys know how it goes.

 

[maple1]

Did you check/adjust the precharge on your new expansion tank? Don't think there was any mention of system/boiler pressures either? With what you have posted there sounds like many potentials for issues.

 

[stoney28]

Did you check/adjust the precharge on your new expansion tank? Don't think there was any mention of system/boiler pressures either? With what you have posted there sounds like many potentials for issues.

The system is now working fine. I think the clog in the spirovent was the issue, but I will update again if something else comes up.

I did not adjust or check the precharge on the expansion tanks (It is labelled at 12psi from the factory). The pressure would rise up to the limit quickly, and sometimes would fall without the temperature changing. I think that was because of the blockage in the spirovent (build up of pressure, then a push through the blockage releasing pressure near the gauge).