# EKO 40 silicon door seals and  the new refractory brick



## huffdawg (Jul 9, 2012)

Anyone using the new seals and refractory brick from new horizon.  If so how long have you been using them.
I have only been using the Eko now since christmas and the refractory is falling to pieces.  I'm hoping the new refractory would  last a little longer.

I am refering to secondary chamber.

Huff


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## woodsmaster (Jul 9, 2012)

Bummer. I've got two years on mine and will order a spare for this winter. I'm not going to change it utill I have to. Mine is getting some wear to it. I had a piece break when I was cleaning and I glued it back on with refractory cement. So far so good. I've also patched the nozzle wear with great luck.


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## taxidermist (Jul 9, 2012)

I just had 1 block break in half this season, they are the factory blocks that came with it. As for the silicone gaskets......I burned them up the first season i used them. Now i just high temp silicone over the rope gasket and it works fine.

Rob


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## stee6043 (Jul 9, 2012)

I've got two season on the silicon door seal (upper only) and hope to get many more.  I am still running the original refractories which are now four seasons...or five....old.  They do show some signs of wear and I fully expect to replace them within the next year or two.  Refractories are a wear item.  But I certainly think they should last more than just a couple of years???


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## huffdawg (Jul 11, 2012)

stee6043 said:


> I've got two season on the silicon door seal (upper only) and hope to get many more. I am still running the original refractories which are now four seasons...or five....old. They do show some signs of wear and I fully expect to replace them within the next year or two. Refractories are a wear item. But I certainly think they should last more than just a couple of years???


 
Well I got barely 6 months and they are crumbling apart. 

Huff


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## maple1 (Jul 11, 2012)

Could you slap together some plywood molds using the old ones as a guide, and make your own with some castable refractory? Getting kind of nervous reading about short refractory life....


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## rkusek (Jul 11, 2012)

Does anyone think the cleaning tool on the EKO may be part of the problem? I've have been real gentle with it the 2 seasons especially after hearing others having to replace refractory or the the nozzle after a couple years. Since then I've been less concerned about getting it 100% clean, and it doesn't seem like there has been hardly any additional wear on those items. This winter will be my 5th season and the last 2 have seen the most use. I was always going to modify it or make another one that would clean with less strokes but I believe the manual emphasizied to use nothing but that retangular tool. Doesn't make any sense to me.  I use a wisk type broom for the end of season cleanups.

I have had to new silicone gasket for about 1 1/2 seasons now and it seems to be holding up well. I may try taxidermist method though when it comes time to replace. Lower door has the original rope gasket.


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## hobbyheater (Jul 11, 2012)

huffdawg said:


> Anyone using the new seals and refractory brick from new horizon.
> I am refering to secondary chamber.
> Huff


http://www.newhorizonstore.com/Products/131-refractory-chamber-eko.aspx Looking at the size of these sections, this is a good price but freight costs to get the sections here will also be high.
Maple1 suggests making your own.  If you are going this route, use refractory needles to hold the new refractory together.  The needles are used at about 1 1/2 to 2% percent of the mix of refractory. These needles are also available from http://www.newhorizonstore.com/Products/129-refractory-stainless-steel-needles.aspx.
http://www.woodheating.ca/ Talk to Gord Bullen.  He is very helpful and may be able to have the sections shipped when he brings boilers out this way thereby saving you some on the shipping costs.


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## timberr (Jul 11, 2012)

I have i 1/2 seasons on the silicon gaskets (upper & lower doors) and they are holding up well. Both my original lower blocks came apart during the final month of burning. I have the new ones, they are a little too tall, need to take a grinder to them to take down the leading edge of the upper portion of the new block so they will fit.


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## hobbyheater (Jul 11, 2012)

rkusek said:


> Does anyone think the cleaning tool on the EKO may be part of the problem? .


 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Loveless-Ch...260867956329?pt=US_Vacuum&hash=item3cbcf11e69

Have used a ash vacuum  for years gentle on the refractory , and no dust into the room .


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## taxidermist (Jul 12, 2012)

huffdawg said:


> Well I got barely 6 months and they are crumbling apart.
> 
> Huff


If you only got 6 mo then i would be on the phone having the company you bought it from ship you new ones for free.


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## stee6043 (Jul 12, 2012)

taxidermist said:


> If you only got 6 mo then i would be on the phone having the company you bought it from ship you new ones for free.


 
+1.  Absolutely.


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## Medman (Jul 13, 2012)

I have used the silicone gasket for three seasons. I had ordered two, but only used one, on the upper door. Toward the end of this heating season, I had smoke in the room again, and found that the silicone gasket had started to crack. I replaced it at the end of the season, and it should be like new!

I rounded off one end of the rectangular tool with a grinder, to scrape out the inside of the lower refractories. Both of my blocks are cracked, but still holding together after four seasons. I have to rebuild the nozzle before the next season; it has gotten really wide in the past year.


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## Eric Johnson (Jul 15, 2012)

My refractory bricks are original, and I've got at least five seasons on my EKO 60. I never move them, which I think is the trick to longevity. They're easy enough to clean around. I think you can make your own with molds and refractory cement.


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## huffdawg (Jul 26, 2012)

I have never moved mine also. I did call Zenon and told him about it and he has warrantied them ,but I had to pay for the shipping.  Will be picking them up in Blaine Wash. on Monday.  Thank you Zenon . So far I have needed  a new controller ,fan capacitor,and refractory in 6 months usage.

Huff


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## Eric Johnson (Jul 26, 2012)

huffdawg said:


> So far I have needed a new controller ,fan capacitor,and refractory in 6 months usage.


 
Those newer EKO controllers don't last. I've blown through two. I'm back with the original which, while not as fancy, hangs in there and does what it's supposed to do. The newer one can be customized a lot more, but it's tough to figure out (esp. with the Polish manual), and what's the point if it dies a few months after you hook it up? One thing mine would do (that the old one never does) was think I was out of wood when it was full. There's an adjustment, but I never could make it work. Simple is usually better with this stuff, IME.


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## taxidermist (Jul 27, 2012)

So far I have needed a new controller ,fan capacitor,and refractory in 6 months usage.

Huiff, Sounds like to me your a little hard on your boiler...... you better let the wife run it all next winter so you dont break it. LOL]


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## rkusek (Jul 27, 2012)

I feel fortunate with my RK2001 having no problems through 4 seasons.  I wonder if they took something that worked and started cheapening up the internal components.  That seems to be SOP with companies today.  I worked for an outfit about 15 years ago that started outsourcing parts from China that had a much higher failer rate then boosted their warranty to "kick the can" down the road and try to re-assure customers.  The funny thing is the Marketing Dept. had us change the display units to reflect the original US parts because the the stuff had "China" written on it and obviously looked inferior in appearance. 

As far as boilers go, It would seem as though someone with a little know how could make their own and that is probably what I would do if mine fails.  I think the Econoburns just have a 2 speed fan and some may even be just on or off.


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## Eric Johnson (Jul 27, 2012)

The RK2001 is the one that works. The RK2001U is the one I had problems with. Zenon said it's probably a blown capacitor, which is probably easy and cheap enough to fix if you know what you're doing and you have the part. Me, I just went back to the original controller.


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## rkusek (Jul 29, 2012)

I guess the RK2001U is the one I have.  Didn't realize the model number was that similar on the Celcius version.  It would be nice to have a spare or a plan to make something that would work in a pinch.


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## Eric Johnson (Jul 29, 2012)

rkusek said:


> I guess the RK2001U is the one I have. Didn't realize the model number was that similar on the Celcius version. It would be nice to have a spare or a plan to make something that would work in a pinch.


 
If the temp display starts jumping around from temp to temp (in the process, clicking), then you've had it. Might be something about my system (grounding, perhaps) that caused two to blow in short order, but blow they did. You could probably get the boiler to work, more or less, with a strap-on stat. It would be nice if they'd put a well in those things. But that would be a good thing to have on-hand just in case.


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## BoilerMan (Jul 29, 2012)

It seems like all the Eastern-European boilers have the same lack of thermowells. Mine is the same, there is one place for a well, ( 1/2" BSP thread) and the other is for the RK2001AT2.....Don't know how that controller will hold up over the long run. I think you could run the boiler fan w/ a strap-on stat and the circulator with the well mounted stat. Use a speed controller to dial the fan to the desired speed, and simply have on-off control, or high / low with two aquastats. It's what I plan to do when my controller craps out if it's not warranteed through NH.

Anyone else have the 2001AT2 

TS


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## Medman (Aug 3, 2012)

As I have documented in another thread, it is an internal capacitor failure that causes the problems with the 2001U.  It is an extremely simple fix that any TV repair shop can do if you dont feel up to it yourself. I replaced mine and had no problems afterward.


https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/67513/

https://www.hearth.com/talk/posts/854882/


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## Eric Johnson (Aug 3, 2012)

Man, Medman, thanks for that. I might have two spare controllers before long.


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## rkusek (Aug 4, 2012)

Sounds like something to stock now in case it fails in the middle of a cold snap.  Same for the probe.


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## Eric Johnson (Aug 4, 2012)

OK, it's that bigger black one on the left under the red power cable cover.  You can see that it's starting to erupt out the top.

Question for Medman: Would replacing it with a 20v capacitor like you did make it more robust. Since I've blown two, I assume it's going to happen again once I get it fixed.


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## mikefrommaine (Aug 6, 2012)

Eric Johnson said:


> OK, it's that bigger black one on the left under the red power cable cover.  You can see that it's starting to erupt out the top.
> 
> Question for Medman: Would replacing it with a 20v capacitor like you did make it more robust. Since I've blown two, I assume it's going to happen again once I get it fixed.




It's fine to replace a cap with a higher voltage.

Do you know what the uF rating is. I should pick one up for my spare parts bin.


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## Eric Johnson (Aug 6, 2012)

2200 uF and 16v is what it says on the capacitor. That's all I know.


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## mikefrommaine (Aug 6, 2012)

Eric Johnson said:


> 2200 uF and 16v is what it says on the capacitor. That's all I know.



Thanks.

Any chance you know the specs of the capacitor on your original rk 2001? I'm wondering if they have changed to lower quality caps or perhaps 16 volts is borderline. When capacitors are are run at or slightly above there ratings they tend to wear out about when your warranty does.


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## BoilerMan (Aug 6, 2012)

Medman said:


> As I have documented in another thread, it is an internal capacitor failure that causes the problems with the 2001U. It is an extremely simple fix that any TV repair shop can do if you dont feel up to it yourself. I replaced mine and had no problems afterward.
> 
> 
> https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/67513/
> ...


 
This is why HEARTH.COM is so great!  Thanks webbie for starting it!  

My 2001AT2 is a bit different inside.  But the power supply is still dampened with the same cap.  2200microfarad but it's rated for 25V instear of 16V so maybe they beefed it up due to the known failure.  The controller runs at 12V.  I'm still going to get a spare.

TS


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## Eric Johnson (Aug 7, 2012)

OK, y'all, I just ordered some 2200uF 25v capacitors and a soldering iron and I'm psyched. A little practice on some old circuit boards and I should be back in business before you know it. What am I going to do with two spare controllers? Who knows? Maybe sell them on Ebay as RK 2001U "upgrades."


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