I have been burning the EKO60 for about eight years, pretty much without any incidents or challenges. Well into last year's heating season, it was not gasifying very well. I am very confident it is NOT a wood moisture problem. My cement around the back nozzle has crumbled and has probably doubled the size of the opening of the nozzle. I placed fire brick in the bottom of the EKO in an attempt to replicate the original size of the opening. That seems to help, but it still smokes some. I ordered a new door gasket, but have yet to install it. The large fan assembly panel on the front of the EKO doesn't seem as tight as it once was. I have had to add additional screws to try to seal that panel better. I know I have addressed three possible areas for the cause of the my problem. Lastly, I do have 800 gallons of water storage in an open system, so the boiler pretty much runs at full bore at all times. I am not opposed to building a new fire everyday to achieve the cleanest burn and limit the cycling of the fans. Any suggestions for solutions would be appreciated.
Smoking EKO 60
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Check to see if you collapsed the front panel when you tightened it up as that could restrict your secondary air, I saw, early on that this could be a problem and screwed "standoffs" through the panel in order to keep a fixed distance from the inner wall.
Have you checked to see if the secondary air passages are blocked? If your nozzles are pretty warn it seems possible your secondary air is perhaps restricted or perhaps plugged up?
The added screws were done a few years ago and it did not change at that time. If I had done that recently, that would have made sense. Thanks for the comment.
I won't have time tonight to check that, but that should be easy to determine whether or not the air is getting thru. I'll check it tomorrow sometime and respond. Thanks.
I tend to agree with Stee. Unless Eko is much different from Tarm, the nozzle/tunnel assembly is complex. I replaced that on my Tarm this summer, and operation/gasification is much improved from what it was before.
My back nozzle is really worn, in fact it is essentially worn out on the sides. It was covered by firebrick the majority of the winter. As I had stated , I took a large firebrick from an old fireplace and cut a hole in it the size of the opening of the nozzle. Sorry to say there is not much material left on the sides of what used to be a nozzle. On one side there is corrosion of the refactor cement beyond the outer perimeter of the nozzle. The opposite side of the back nozzle is plugged in the furthest hole. I looked at the New Horizon Corp nozzles and they appear to be wider than the ones I have. They don't give any measurement. The front nozzle seems to be in fine shape and is not plugged. I blew everything out with a compressor. I am wondering if my neglect has caused damage beyond repair.
Don't let the refractory erode. Replace the nozzle.
Look for my thread on changing out the nozzle.
I would post a link but I'm at the auto dealership getting my wife's car serviced and they just called my name.
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Look for my thread on changing out the nozzle.
I would post a link but I'm at the auto dealership getting my wife's car serviced and they just called my name.
Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk
Thank you for the link, I had actually tracked it down when you has sent a post via your phone yesterday. Since I am very skeptical about the condition of the refractory in my boiler, I think I'll only replace the back one. I am actually getting natural gas next spring so I don't want to throw too much money at a boiler that might be flawed. It is a shame that those nozzles don't go in without significant alterations. There is a youtube video from a guy with an EKO and the holes his replacement nozzle didn't even line up up. This boiler owes me nothing, it has paid for itself several times over, but I'm still hesitant to throw money at it. The right side of the back nozzle opening didn't even appear to have holes anymore, that is, in the refractory area. There was air coming thru but there were no single holes. Possible the new nozzle would tunnel the air adequately, but I'm skeptical. Thanks for your help.
If your back nozzle is non-functional why not cap it off and run on only the front nozzle this year? You could also run on a single fan at that point. You won't get the output but you'll get a better burn.
There is another guy around here that did exactly this for a while with his 60 or 80. It wasn't due to a damaged nozzle but it seemed to work great for him...
There is another guy around here that did exactly this for a while with his 60 or 80. It wasn't due to a damaged nozzle but it seemed to work great for him...
Check behind your front panel, I had mice build a nest out of acorns and leaves in mine one year (it's in an out-building). Needless to say, it didn't gasify well at all...
I run my EKO 60 on 1 nozzle and 1 fan. -I just don't need the btu's of both. It burns just as well this way.
BTW: it won't cut the output in half. It will be about an eko 40 with a larger HX area (more vertical HX tubes). In theory it should transfer more heat into the boiler water. A 40 has 1 - 1"x8" nozzle, a 60 has 2 the same size as I recall.
I run my EKO 60 on 1 nozzle and 1 fan. -I just don't need the btu's of both. It burns just as well this way.
BTW: it won't cut the output in half. It will be about an eko 40 with a larger HX area (more vertical HX tubes). In theory it should transfer more heat into the boiler water. A 40 has 1 - 1"x8" nozzle, a 60 has 2 the same size as I recall.
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Thank you for the suggestions, I ordered one nozzle, but am wondering if I should should cancel it as I just put in the order then I read the two posts. The wood in the back of the boiler has always burned much faster than the front. I am thinking that the draft is much stronger in the back of the boiler as it has a much shorter distance to travel to the HX tubes. Does any one know which nozzle was blocked? front vs. rear. Thanks again for the suggestions.
I have run one nozzle and fan for years. I always blocked off the front as you tend to throw the wood to the back of the boiler. Instead of running two fans at 50% I run 1 fan at 100% so basically just like a Eko 40
I have my work week in (semi-retired) so I guess I'll get going on this. I do think the back nozzle left functioning would be best, but since it is the worn one, it will have to be blocked. I'm on top of a hill and have a good draft so using front one should be fine. BTW, I did cancel my order for the nozzle. With my water storage, I should be fine. Thanks for all the input, I'll repost with my results. I'm sure burning the front of the boiler only will result in a much smokier reloading process. O'well.
Perhaps it's the cost of the nozzle that's keeping you from replacing it or perhaps you feel it's too deteriorated to make the repair worthwhile.
I'm wondering if the replacement process in your mind seems like a nightmare. It's not that difficult of a job once you get into it if you can get your hands on a tile saw.
Anticipation is always stronger than the reality of a situation.
That's the philosophy I apply when my wife heads out on a shopping trip. I always tell her "remember, wanting is better than having".
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I'm wondering if the replacement process in your mind seems like a nightmare. It's not that difficult of a job once you get into it if you can get your hands on a tile saw.
Anticipation is always stronger than the reality of a situation.
That's the philosophy I apply when my wife heads out on a shopping trip. I always tell her "remember, wanting is better than having".
Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk
Money isn't really much of an issue, as I had stated, the EKO owes me nothing. But I'm hesitant to get a new nozzle and not being able to make it work (fit). I did get a call from the gas company yesterday morning and they are going to try to be hook up natural gas yet this fall, they had stated that it would not be till spring initially, but they gave no guarantees. I should mention that my wife who is an RN, is really tired of the whole wood burning thing. I had three pretty serious sinus infections last winter, more than likely due inhaling smoke when loading the EKO.
I just put the boiler back together and I am burning, I'm curious to see how a single nozzle will work, especially because it's the one closest to the door. Hopefully my good draft will help.
maple1
Minister of Fire
If done when needed, there shouldn't be much smoke spillage, as there wouldn't be much in there left to smoke when you open the door - ideally just a pile of coals. I can usually open up, load up, and close up before the fresh wood starts burning.
I have read quite a bit that one of the few design flaws of the EKO is that the top of the boiler's fuel chamber is essentially level with the top of the door opening which allows the smoke to take the path of least resistance which is out the door when opened. In other words, it would be nice to have a space inside the fire chamber that would be higher than the top of the door. It's not a huge issue, but I'm certainly glad Zenon's wife told me not to install the unit inside my house. I would have been divorced by now!
I have been burning for several hours now and all is well. It's the best it has burned for some time.
In hindsight, one of my problems with fabricating a new opening above the nozzle with fireback is that I wasn't seeing the damage being done below. The boiler is more than functional now and I very much appreciate all the help. I will just have to make more frequent trips for loading. I'll be fully retired after December, so that won't be a problem. Thanks again.
I felt compelled to reply again as my EKO is burning clean for the first time in quite some time with the eroded nozzle covered up. The reason for my original post was smoke problems, but now I'm realizing that when I reload, there really isn't much smoke at all coming out of the door. So you are correct, there really isn't a lot of smoke if the EKO is functioning properly.
What you read is true Roy .. I now have a froling 40/50 because of that. I have a good used eko 40 for cheap also.
Huff
Sorry, I haven't been to the forum since I last replied. I run on the front nozzle, been doing so for 8 seasons. It doesn't matter which one you block, it will burn about the same.
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