Necessary to clean ash from top chamber of Econoburn?

[jashcroft]

I fired up my Econoburn 150 for the first time on Nov. 16th. I have been very pleased with the performance so far. I have a question for those who have been buring one for awhile. Should I clean any ash from the upper chamber during the burning season? It seems like there is a bed of ash building up that isn't necessarily "hot" (if that makes sense). In other words, there's a hot bed of coals but under that there's white ash that seems to build up. Hopefully that makes some sense. I'm still trying to get a handle on how much wood I need to add to keep the most efficient fire burning. I don't have a choice most of the time being that I leave for work in the morning and don't return for 10 hours so I fill it up before I leave then again when I get home. When I'm home on weekends I try to add just enough wood to keep a hot fire burning. Sorry, I'm rambling a bit here. I guess I'm just looking for tips/suggestions from more experienced folks.

FYI. I currently do not have storage.

Thanks

 

[NNYorker]

I never clean anything from the top chamber. I'm in the same boat as you-no storage. I have a fire poker that I usually stir whatever remains in the top to expose the hot coals - paying attention to the front portion near the door- usually a fair amount of charcoaled wood remains there. If you have a good bed of coals you don't need to do anything. If you have excess ash just push it down the nozzle and clean out the bottom chamber.

With this weather I have yet to fully load the Eco and this in turn produces less ash in the top. In your case and in mine when the weather turns cold 24/7 more ash in the top. You definitely seem to be on the right track with your burning/loading with no storage. I do the same when I am home. You will be amazed how much easier this is next year with a year of burning under your belt. This year I have much better wood (seasoned). This year with a tiny amount of remaining coals this is my routine: add a couple pieces of paper or a small piece of cardboard , three/four handfuls of wood chip/bark , 3-4 of my smallest splits. Close top door, open bottom door, leave bypass open, when surface mount thermometer reads 200-250* close bottom door and raise set temp above boiler water temp (fan turns on). Wait 5-10 min. and close bypass and let the gasification begin.

All times are approximate and are guaranteed till you actually get to your boiler. Side affects may include warm home, warm fuzzy feeling in the gasification observers stomach, happier spouse, and less drainage from your wallet.

 

[wantstoburnwood]

I only clean my top chamber out after the burning season. I also have no storage . Most of any ash ends up in the bottom chamber so everyday I just take a dustpan of ashes out to keep the door clear. This is my second season with the econoburn and it is much easier to control the amount of wood according to heat load . Yes definately happier wife a nd happier wallet with no oil consumption.

 

[gradwell]

Hey gator21, Fellow Western PA'er! I too have just fired my Econoburn actually mine on the 28th. Have been very pleased with performance as well. I also must load mine heavily due to work and therefore am forced into an idle situation quite frequently. This seems to have caused a SERIOUS amount of black gooiness that I assume is creosote that lines the entire interior of the upper chamber. Do you experience the same situation with yours? I do not notice this same situation in the flu when I look through the Barometric damper, but definatly in that upper chamber.

 

[jashcroft]

Hey gator21, Fellow Western PA'er! I too have just fired my Econoburn actually mine on the 28th. Have been very pleased with performance as well. I also must load mine heavily due to work and therefore am forced into an idle situation quite frequently. This seems to have caused a SERIOUS amount of black gooiness that I assume is creosote that lines the entire interior of the upper chamber. Do you experience the same situation with yours? I do not notice this same situation in the flu when I look through the Barometric damper, but definatly in that upper chamber.

I do get some creosote, but not too bad. It definitely happens the most on warmer days when it's in an idle situation more often. The type of wood I'm burning also affects how much creosote I see. Locust, oak, ash......not much creosote. Cherry or black birch....more creosote.

The ideal situation would be to add just enough wood to keep a hot fire burning, but when I'm not home all day I'm forced load it up. Not sure if there's a solution to this. The good news is that I'm getting great burn times, the house is nice and toasty, the wife is happy and my wallet is heavier! At this point it's just really fine tuning. The unit is working outstanding so far!

 

[gradwell]

I now have my slabs heated up as well and your right, the wife loves it! When I cleared my property, I had a good deal of cherry and with these warmer temps, that is what i have been burning. So maybe that is why I am experiencing some extra creosote. My only big concern is again that when I load it up, It idles alot. Everything I keep reading says that this is not optimal, but like yourself I have no option. When you fill your firebox, how far up are you filling it? I am only filling 3" below door and getting about 3 hr burn times with cherry. I only fill it this far as I am new to burning wood and am still very nervouse about it. Hopefully, with experience, comes confidence! Other than trying to figure out little things like this, and getting over my nervousness, I agree with you that the unit has done an outstanding job. If I could just get the nerve to pile the wood in there to allow longer time between loadings, I would be much happier as getting up several times a night is getting old. I appreciate your insite.

 

[twitch]

gradwell
I too was nervous when I first started burning in my Tarm last year. I waited until a cold weekend to really load it up in the morning so I could be there to keep an eye on it. Took me a little longer to be comfortable with loading it up in the morning and heading off to work, but no worries now.

 

[jashcroft]

I now have my slabs heated up as well and your right, the wife loves it! When I cleared my property, I had a good deal of cherry and with these warmer temps, that is what i have been burning. So maybe that is why I am experiencing some extra creosote. My only big concern is again that when I load it up, It idles alot. Everything I keep reading says that this is not optimal, but like yourself I have no option. When you fill your firebox, how far up are you filling it? I am only filling 3" below door and getting about 3 hr burn times with cherry. I only fill it this far as I am new to burning wood and am still very nervouse about it. Hopefully, with experience, comes confidence! Other than trying to figure out little things like this, and getting over my nervousness, I agree with you that the unit has done an outstanding job. If I could just get the nerve to pile the wood in there to allow longer time between loadings, I would be much happier as getting up several times a night is getting old. I appreciate your insite.

When I leave for work, I fill to about the half way point on the door. When I'm home and can tend it more often, I fill it to just below the door opening. I have been burning mainly good cured ash and locust. I've gotten as much as a 13 hour burn times during milder weather! During colder days I've gotten at least 8 hours when buring the good stuff. I've never had to get up in the middle of the night to load it. I normally got to bed between 10-11 pm and leave for work at 6 am. The fire has always been fine in the morning when I check it. On the other hand, I burned some cherry when I was home one day and was lucky to get 5-6 hours of burn time and that was just mixing the cherry in with the good stuff. The type and seasoning of the wood you use definitely makes a difference. I've started cutting/splitting wood for next year so it has plenty of time to dry out and cure.

 

[gradwell]

Thanks guys, I cut, split and stacked my wood 2 years ago when I cleared my property for building (about 10 full cords). Mainly all Cherry and Oak. Cut and split 4 more this summer to get ready for next year. Problen is that my rows are stacked 4 deep and all of my oak is in the back, so I am stuck with the cherry for now with an occasional rogue pieces of oak mixed in. If I could get 6 hours burn time I would be happy as I dont sleep all that much anyway. As I said, it is just getting old getting up several times a night to reload. Did I mention that my outbuilding where the Boiler is is about 300 feet from my bed which makes it even less exciting! LOL I will start trying to load a little more wood in the evening and see if I can gradually gain my confidence. I know this just means more ideling. Is there any concern with the creosote build up inside the firebox? Such as potential for run away fires etc. (my nervouse/precautionary self coming out). I know that creosote in the flu could potentially be dangerous, but I dont know about the firebox. Havent noticed any in the flu just yet. Thanks again for your help.

 

[jashcroft]

Thanks guys, I cut, split and stacked my wood 2 years ago when I cleared my property for building (about 10 full cords). Mainly all Cherry and Oak. Cut and split 4 more this summer to get ready for next year. Problen is that my rows are stacked 4 deep and all of my oak is in the back, so I am stuck with the cherry for now with an occasional rogue pieces of oak mixed in. If I could get 6 hours burn time I would be happy as I dont sleep all that much anyway. As I said, it is just getting old getting up several times a night to reload. Did I mention that my outbuilding where the Boiler is is about 300 feet from my bed which makes it even less exciting! LOL I will start trying to load a little more wood in the evening and see if I can gradually gain my confidence. I know this just means more ideling. Is there any concern with the creosote build up inside the firebox? Such as potential for run away fires etc. (my nervouse/precautionary self coming out). I know that creosote in the flu could potentially be dangerous, but I dont know about the firebox. Havent noticed any in the flu just yet. Thanks again for your help.

I don't think there's much concern for creosote in the fire box, but I'm not sure about the flu. I'd like to know the answer to that question myself.

Question for you. Is your outbuilding fully enclosed?

 

[gradwell]

It is fully enclosed. I have a 50X30 Polebarn fully insulated R-19 in walls, R-38 in ceiling and insulated radiant concrete slab. This is where the Econoburn is housed.

Concerning creosote, I believe the concern is with clogging the heat exchangers in the back of the unit. I operate the turbulator handle on the side of the machine every morning, but I dont know how effective it is on creosote. From what I have read, I think it is difficult to get creosote in the flu pipe with these gassifiers. I do know that when people get chimney fires, it is caused by dirty stacks coated with creosote. I am not sure what the ignition temps are for this event.

 

[willworkforwood]

To the new EB owners, welcome to the forum! Don't worry about ash in the top chamber - as mentioned earlier just poke the excess down the nozzle into the bottom chamber. A thin layer of creosote is normal and expected in the top chamber - take a look at this thread for more info https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/46872/
The best way to run without storage is smaller fires as mentioned above. I always keep close track of the upcoming temp and wind, and load according to that. Unfortunately those having no one in the house for long periods during the day will need to do full loads (get storage). You can load to the top and leave for the day without concern, assuming that you have a (tested) overheat loop piped in for power outages or pump failures. Gradwell's comment about creosote on the heat tubes is dead on - you do not want that to happen. It will reduce boiler efficiency and result in a nightmarish cleanup project (trust me on that one :sick . Poorly seasoned wood is probably the only way for this to occur - with 2 year old splits you are golden. There are 2 tip offs for creosote on the tubes - the turbulator handle will begin to have restricted travel, and you might also see some creosote forming on the BD (fly ash is ok - just brush it off). Happy burning and good luck with your boilers.

 

[altheating]

Working o nmy 4th heating season with my EBW200. I have found that the ash build up in the top chamber can and will amount to approximately the same amount of space as three pieces of firewood. I may not cause a problem with the temps at or about average, but when the temps get to well below zero you may need those extra two or three pieces of firewood. I recommend to all my customers, clean the top chamber about every month and a half or so. One note on the cleaning. Make sure that the gasification nozzle does not become plugged with dead ash while cleaning! The ash will form clinkers that can easily fall into the gasification nozzle and plug it.

 

[jashcroft]

Working o nmy 4th heating season with my EBW200. I have found that the ash build up in the top chamber can and will amount to approximately the same amount of space as three pieces of firewood. I may not cause a problem with the temps at or about average, but when the temps get to well below zero you may need those extra two or three pieces of firewood. I recommend to all my customers, clean the top chamber about every month and a half or so. One note on the cleaning. Make sure that the gasification nozzle does not become plugged with dead ash while cleaning! The ash will form clinkers that can easily fall into the gasification nozzle and plug it.

Thanks for the info. That's pretty much the conclusion I came too. It's really not a problem now, but if it starts getting really colder I would like the extra room. I will follow your advice and clean the top chamber in a few weeks.

 

[pybyr]

my opinion/ suggestion--

gasification combustion is in part created/ sustained by the hot refractory

Ashes make a fairly good insulator- why have an insulator between your bed of coals and the refractory- can't help things much.

As others mentioned, just sweep the ashes to the center, make sure nothing is clogging the nozzle, and then clean them out of the bottom chamber

 

[flyingcow]

I don't have an EB ,but the designs are similar. When i clean out the bottom chamber, I take a few coffee cans of ashes out of the upper chamber. I got to find a square box about the same size, it'll be a little easier. I may not scrape it completely clean , but its quick and easy. I agree with the ex government lawyer(pybr,Sorry i outed you!) It acts a an insulator.Minor but it does. Also agree with the other posts about making room, now winter has arrived. The can is quick and easy, that's what I'm all about.