trouble getting my gasifier to gasify!!

[Sam Ralph]

I have had an Attack 45 Profi wood boiler installed for a little over one week and can't seem to get the hang of keeping the really hot flame going in the lower chamber. The boiler is using alot of wood, about 3 loadings a day, and the inside of the main chamber is dripping with creosote/tar. I also see alot of smoke coming from the chimney. When I reload the chamber, the unit smokes teriblely even though I leave the fan (which sucks the air) on and have the by pass open.
Help.

 

[Gooserider]

Moved this to the boiler room, as I'm sure there are LOTS of experts there that can help you out....

Gooserider

 

[Nofossil]

I have had an Attack 45 Profi wood boiler installed for a little over one week and can't seem to get the hang of keeping the really hot flame going in the lower chamber. The boiler is using alot of wood, about 3 loadings a day, and the inside of the main chamber is dripping with creosote/tar. I also see alot of smoke coming from the chimney. When I reload the chamber, the unit smokes teriblely even though I leave the fan (which sucks the air) on and have the by pass open.
Help.

I'm not familiar with the Attack Profi, but there are some common principles.

First, the creosote in the top chamber is normal - not an issue, assuming that it's laid out like the EKO and the Tarm.

Failure to get good secondary combustion is most often caused by wood that's not dry enough. You need really dry wood to get a gasifier started. Try pallet wood if you don't have anything else that's REALLY dry.

There is also a bit of technique involved. I don't know about your model, but the EKO and Tarm have a bypass damper that's open for starting your fire. If you close it and switch to secondary combustion too soon, it's possible to have the problems that you describe. You need a hot fire before switching to secondary combustion.

Finally, there are likely some adjustments for primary and secondary air. Make sure you are getting secondary air - some people have gotten boiler delivered with th secondary air closed off. That would also cause what you're seeing.

Hope this helps - best I can do before coffee.

 

[Sam Ralph]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am now one month into this new situation and have shut down the wood boiler as it has thouoghly coated itself(even the secondary and inside the back through the flue adapter and into the 8" flue which has a thin layer of tar all the way up for 22 feet. The chimney cap was dripping so bad I now have tar on the roof. I have shut the air adjustments down per the rep who sold me the stove and am now thinking it might be that and some problems with the plumbing??

 

[solarguy]

What you maybe seeing dripping out of your breeching is the result of condensation in the flue due to a low stack temperature. Many gasifiers when hooked up in a series with your existing heating system, (no storage) do not run long enough to really burn hot. The flue gas temperatures on many of these installations run around 200 degrees, I've seen stack temps as low as 150. Most of the manufacturers require a stack temperature of 300 degrees but in some cases that does become a pretty hard number to hit when your boiler isn't running flat out. If you're seeing cresote in the gasification chamber the unit is not gasifing.

You may want to throttle down your primary air intakes to give you a hotter stack temperature. You will have to play with all your settings to dial your boiler in & this will take some time. Also check out the mositure content of your firewood. It could be unacceptable for a gasifier.

Bob