New EPROM For AF Integra?

[RKBAGUY]

I have a '91 Integra running version 2.5 of the EPROM and I'm wondering what the $80 upgrade to version 3.5 would do for me. I would like to see a higher RPM out of the combustion motor and I think that's one of the improvements, but would like to hear from someone in the know.

Thanks in advance!

 

[smwilliamson]

I have a '91 Integra running version 2.5 of the EPROM and I'm wondering what the $80 upgrade to version 3.5 would do for me. I would like to see a higher RPM out of the combustion motor and I think that's one of the improvements, but would like to hear from someone in the know.

Thanks in advance!

3.5 allows for auto ignition so it has a delay after initial feed and the start up procedure is a bit different

 

[RKBAGUY]

So, no increase in combustion fan speed?

 

[smwilliamson]

So, no increase in combustion fan speed?

none

 

[Flammam]

I just installed the 3.5 ver2 in my 94 integra. I would suggest you do it the stove is running much cleaner now at low settings. I have to disagree with Mr. Williamson, there is a increase in combustion fan speeds at low settings.

 

[Mt Bob]

Totally agree with flamman,higher rpms at start up and at low settings,so much had to turn trim pot to set of lowest settings.Also the once an hour self cleaning really keeps pot much cleaner.

 

[Mt Bob]

Actually I cannot say in your case.If you look in repair manual,a 2.4 has same speeds as a 3.1,but nobody has tested/speced the 3.5.My stove had a prom befroe the 2.4,Have to ask what series he took out.BUT just the self cleaning feature is worth it,I have run 12-14 hours without doing a quick scrape on pot,and heat exchanger stays much cleaner.Right now both my stoves have been running since sunday aft,but accentra shuts off sometimes during day,integra mostly running all the way down.

 

[smwilliamson]

Actually I cannot say in your case.If you look in repair manual,a 2.4 has same speeds as a 3.1,but nobody has tested/speced the 3.5.My stove had a prom befroe the 2.4,Have to ask what series he took out.BUT just the self cleaning feature is worth it,I have run 12-14 hours without doing a quick scrape on pot,and heat exchanger stays much cleaner.Right now both my stoves have been running since sunday aft,but accentra shuts off sometimes during day,integra mostly running all the way down.

Austraflamme uses trigonometry to calculate the RPM of the convection blower based upon the readings from from the digital optical air flow sensor that measures flow rate, density and temp of the incoming air against the RPMs of programmed voltage signals. The third point of data comes from hall sensors mounted onthe inside of the combustion motor balance. While you may think that a EPROM chip is somehow enhancing operation of the stove and want to disagree with me, you would still be wrong. EPROM 3.1 and 3.5 only extends the start up timing from 15 minutes to 16 minutes from EPROM 2.5 and allow for the use of an igniter. Within the EPROM are the known voltage data ranges and timing sequences. The rest of the logic for the controls exist is chips T1 and T3 which are not changed.

 

[Mt Bob]

At min. burn and max burn the combustion,auger and convection are supposably fixed rates.Page 16 of troubleshooting manual.Just from personal experience I think the combustion blower was higher at any setting under 1/2 on the heat setting.

 

[skibumm100]

From what I see on Page 16 of the Integra manual from 3/15/1995, EPROM 2.4 combustion blower motor voltages ranges from 38-50V, EPROM 2.5 & 2.5A range from 40-52V and for EPROM 3.1, the range is also 40-52V.
It would appear that there is a difference in minimum and maximum speeds between EPROM V2.4 and V2.5 or V3.1. I have no information on V3.5. I have noticed my Integra V1 has been burning pretty dirty at the lower settings. The glass has been getting dirty very quickly. I have the auger feed trimmed down all the way but I think I will need to remove the side panel and raise the combustion blower trim until we get into colder weather and I can run ona higher heat setting.

 

[RKBAGUY]

Wow. Maybe I should have chosen a less controversial topic, like politics or religion. ;-)

 

[skibumm100]

Wow. Maybe I should have chosen a less controversial topic, like politics or religion. ;-)

Troublemaker.

 

[Mt Bob]

Bob,
Going off topic a bit. The newer Integra's allow for a 0 to 300 min self cleaning range. I've always kept our stove at the factory set , every , 60 min clean . Just today I decided to change the setting to an every 100 min clean.( Your above post seemed timely ) For no other reason then I wondered if I was over killing with the once per hour cleanings . I vacuum the trey and wire brush the slight layer of ash inside the pot each day. Once again its hardly needed. Long story short . Should i just leave the Rika at the every hour cleaning ?
Thanks

Never had the pleasure of running a rika v2 long term,perhaps someone else can help you,but if I had to shut off stove and clean everyday I would not own it.Mine has been running since last sunday,1 time a day I crack door and scrape pot,shut door before smoke comes out.The cleaning cycle works very well for being an older style stove.

 

[Mt Bob]

Troublemaker.

When I installed updated prom last year it increased the min burn air a lot.Before could never go all the way down(tall chimney),could only go to 1/2 from all the way and first mark.With new prom,setting on min,fire was like blast furnace yet would go out because of burning pellets too fast.After some tinkering on both pots(made mine externally adjustable)can run on low for 12-14 hours,crank up to med once a day.Tried to get a good balance of heat/cleanliness and amount of heat wasted up the stack.Burning ligs this year,made a small adj to auger,and have not touched it.

 

[skibumm100]

I gave mine a good cleaning, pulled the lower plate, vac'd it all out and tweaked the air pot all the way up. My auger time pot is now all the way down and air pot is all the way up. We'll see if it keeps burning good at lower levels. Of course it runs really well when it's first cleaned out. There was quite a bit of ash under the pot. I hate that about this stove. The ash was all the way up to the bottom of the burnpot. Of course that screws up the combustion. I wish the plenum was much deeper. I was going to make a spacer ring to move the pot up 1/2" but, after looking at it closer, it won't work without butchering the stove and I don't want to do that. I'm still going to make a split ash pan so I can empty it on the run. Gotta get the welder out to do that one.

 

[RKBAGUY]

... tweaked the air pot all the way up. My auger time pot is now all the way down and air pot is all the way up... There was quite a bit of ash under the pot. I hate that about this stove.... I was going to make a spacer ring to move the pot up 1/2"

Done the same thing myself with the pots, hence my question about the EPROM in the hope that it'd help. I tend to run my stove on the lower settings and have to pull a cake out of the burn pot once per day. Yes, it can still run longer without doing so, but I wonder about efficiency.

As to the spacer, I thought the same thing. A friend owns a machine shop and has aluminum bar stock in the proper diameter, so making a 'collar' to lift the burn pot 1/2" wouldn't be a challenge. However, that would change the area in which the pellets fall. In a stock configuration, the pellets tend to dump in the pot toward the front end (presumably why they have that high front lip), so I wonder if changing the height of the burn pot might have an adverse effect.

 

[skibumm100]

I think it would be OK. As long as the pellets land in the pot it should work. That's how I picked 1/2". I was going to use a short section of 304L schedule 10 pipe, probably 3" or 4" and then make it fit the pot. The problem is the way the holes are located in the pot around the sides. They would all be blocked by the spacer ring. If you look at the way the pot sits in the stove, it pretty much sits on a horizontal plate. The holes around the sides are in the plenum below the plate. If you make a ring to raise the pot, those holes would be mostly blocked. All of the air would have to come through the bottom of the pot. Might still work, though.

When I checked the pot this morning, there was no ash cake in the pot. It doesn't have time to accumulate an ash bed as the pellets are burned up and the ash is blown up out of the pot. Before adjusting the air trim, it was accumulating ash and it had a dark pile of ash in the pot, still hot underneath. That may have been causing the cake.

 

[RKBAGUY]

Having a machine shop at my disposal makes experimenting on something like this fairly easy - it'd be a simple matter to just have air channels cut along the inside walls of the collar, but that starts being a lot to ask of a friend for something that can be easily solved with a $90 EPROM replacement.

 

[Mt Bob]

You guys are great! This burn system was designed in the early 80's,built in the mid-late 80's(for europe markets),imported here for the NA market in the late 80's,and people are still looking for ways to make them better! I congradulate you guys,and will follow.If this keeps up we(austro) owners will have as good a rep as whitfield owners.Thought about rasing the burnpot some years ago,never did(lazy).Have been running 2 pots for about 5 years,pull out pot,dump pan,already have pellets lighting with gell in 2nd pot,suck gunk under pot mount out,insert 2nd pot,shut door.Has worked well for years.Thoughts on the burn pots,I still run the original,and the 2nd newer(has the slot for the ignitor).The old pot has a higher outer(glass side) edge.I think(opinion here),the old pot keeps the glass cleaner longer.Also had thought about a lower cleanout tube,to vacuum out crap under pot,a split ash tray,and other crazy stuff?Since been fixing stoves for others(and seeing other designs), and learning about european heating and theory,they are the same with their cars,they expect to maintain them daily,and well.When I put the latest eprom in last year,I got to do lots of tests,All burning was way cleaner.Combustion fan speeds were way higher.(mr williamson will dissagree,but he has not heated his house with one for over 14 years.Right off the bat the new prom produced so much combustion air the fire would go out on min.,and noticed much less heat at everything below 1/2 settings.Probably was done for emmisions.Ran the pots up and down(easy for me as I converted my board,so I have 2 knobs on the outside of board,can post info if interested).Ran stove low(original specs)and high.reached the conclusion that somewhere inbetween(personal preference) to judge ash buildup vs wasted heat out the stack/dirty window,etc,allows for easier living.I have been running this stove and the accentra 8 days straight(been cold here),could never do that with the old prom.

 

[skibumm100]

Hi Bob,
I would be interested in how you wired up the external pots. I keep a little eyeglass screwdriver on the mantle for the auger pot adjustments but I had to remove the side panel to get at the blower pot. I think you said the newer EPROM had the self-cleaning cycle programmed in. That would be a nice feature if it works well. I have (2) control boards. The one that came with my stove is a V2.4 and the one I got from my buddy’s dead Integra is a V2.3 EPROM. I'm thinking of upgrading. Sounds like the stove runs better with the new one.