Help with First burn

[phantom]

hi All,

After nearly an entire year I finally have a Excel 2000 hooked up and burning wood as we speak... yay

However I have a couple (probably related) problems...

I have a fairly good fire going in the fire box but currently the bypass damper is open and none of the fire is really in the combustion chamber. If I close the bypass damper the fire almost immediately starts to die plus I get smoke coming out of the handle for the firebox door.

Any thoughts?

At the moment burning wood is my only source of DHW and so I've got to get this working so the wife doesn't kill me

thanks in advance

 

[jebatty]

I'm going to assume the gasification side works about the same as a Tarm. If so, start your fire with bypass damper open, draft fan "on," small kindling + small splits, firebox about 1/2 full. When the probe thermometer in the flue reads 400-500F, shut the bypass damper fully. Make sure the primary/secondary air lever between the two burn chambers is set in about the middle. You should achieve nearly immediate downdraft burn into the gasification tunnel, which in turn should move quite quickly into full gasification. Once this is going well (5-10 minutes of good gasification), shut off the draft fan, wait a little while, open the firebox door and add wood to about 3/4 or more full. Shut door, turn on the draft fan, and the gasification should quickly continue.

If not: 1) your wood needs to be dry; if you're not burning dry wood you've got a wood problem that the boiler won't solve. 2) the draft fan damper is closed too much; this is adjusted by a thumb screw and set nut; make sure it opens fully when the fan is on. 3) you're not getting sufficient draft in your chimney; what is your chimney set-up (Class A, what diameter, length, other?); warm especially with high humidity weather can sometimes make it difficult to get a good draft started. 4) by chance is the slot opening between the firebox and the gasification tunnel blocked with something? - remove the blockage.

Dry wood, plus good draft fan pressure, plus good chimney = good fire and gasification. This is not rocket science.

Hope this helps.

 

[altheating]

I am not famillier with the Excel brand, but if it is a gasifier you will need to develope a good coal bed in order for the gasification process to work properly. I find that if you start with real small pieces of firewood (dry firewood), let it roar for about 30 minutes. Pull your bypass closed and see what you have in your gasifiation chamber. If it is not a real clean burn open the bypass for an additional 15 minutes and recheck. Since this is your first burn you are heating all the water from room temperature, it is absorbing tremendous amounts of the heat and the stove is not producing as much with the by pass open, it takes longer. Once the water warms and the stove comes up to temperature the gasification will really improve. You need a good coal bed!

 

[jebatty]

Forgot to mention, you do have boiler return water protection, right, like that provided by a Termovar or similar? This won't solve the immediate smoke issue, but it will result in much more efficient burns and protect the boiler from corrosion problems.

 

[phantom]

Jebatty and alheating thank you guys.

I followed your suggestions and I'm now getting gasification yay!

I think I had several problems.. one I wasn't putting in nearly as much wood as you suggested jebatty, two I don't think I was giving it enough time, and three the thumb screw for the fan primary air was in the wrong way.

Just FYI the wood is dry I got it a year ago seasoned and it's been stacked and covered until now. Yes, I do a have a Termovar, it's the unit they sell which has the integrated circulator.

thanks guys

 

[Eric Johnson]

One thing about gasifiers when you first get them going, is that there is still some moisture in the refractory, and that can impede good gasification for the first couple of burns. Another major factor is that it takes awhile to figure out how to achieve and maintain gasification. I really don't know why that is, but there is a learning curve. You'll find after one season that you're a lot better at getting it to do whatever it is you want it to do. Most guys tend to resist the notion that it would take so long to become proficient at something as simple as burning wood (me included), but there are plenty of subtle things you figure out--many of them apparently subconsciously--as you use the boiler.

So enjoy your new boiler. It's a lot of fun.