# Fine Tuning BioMass



## Tennman

My hope is this thread will become a mini BioMass users group. The recent posts about BioMass owners here getting blue flames really prompted my desire to start this because I not there yet. Although our boiler shares many of the generic gasser functions, primary and secondary adjustments are specific to the design. Hopefully we can collectively learn how to optimally operate and fix these boilers.


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## Tennman

From Woodsmaster:

Do you have air adjustments for primary and secodary air? If so try opening the secondary air more and not just a tiny bit ,a lot.
 I run my biomass almost a year before I figured out I didnâ€™t have the secodary air open enough for my wood. I had trouble with 
smoke sometimes and sometimes had trouble keeping gasifacation. I had tried adjusting the air before and adjusted a tiny bit at a time with no luck so I pretty much kept them where they were when I got it. One day I opened the secondary air up a lot and
 havnâ€™t had and trouble with smoke since. I do get some steam but no smoke. I also gained about 30 degrees on my stack temp due to the hotter fire. Somthing to try If you havnâ€™t allready.


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## Tennman

From q-bull:
I just started my 2nd yr with the Biomas 40 & last weekend found the secret for â€œBlue Flameâ€ that seems to be working for me.
 I always seemed to struggle with not enough chimney draft, (probably due to proximity of second story addition,) so I have hung an auxilliary blower motor onto the front of middle door, (removed triangular adjustment plate,) and now run this whenever my draft fan runs.  I do switch it off when opening the door while loading or to fix bridging or blow outs.  I am typically running both fans at 80% and even trying to use up some punky wood I now have the â€œBlue Flameâ€ and 190-193 degree output. (Iâ€™ve not tried to go higher yet until I am more assured of adequate expansion capacity.)  The aux. blower is small squirl cage type, 220v that I am running on 110v so it really does put out much, just what I needed though.


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## Tennman

Tennman:

This I posted in a discussion regarding smoke out the stack. My comments do not imply I've got this thing tuned right, but that I learned, which is counterintuitive, cranking the fan way up to 100% helped short term to give me a hot fire, but I was quickly blowing right thru to the nozzle.

I agree with others that your night time exhaust looks like mine did last nite, mostly steam which given the state of your wood shouldnâ€™t surprise you. Iâ€™m fortunate that I have that little window to tell me the health of the burn when the fan is on. The other sign on the state of the burn is learning to read the exhaust color. Even in the midst of steam, I can tell if there is a faint blue color. That immediately tells me there is an open path thru the coal bed. On my gasser it doesnâ€™t take much of a clear opening into the lower chamber to allow unburnt particles to sneak thru. For me the revelation was when I dramatically cut back on the fan and reduced pressure in the upper chamber. As soon as an open path is created to the lower chamber the pressurized uppper chamber air takes the path of least resistance and very rapidly blows a bigger hole, leading to more smoke, less energy, etc, downward spiral. This year like my first year you are in a Catch 22, since your wood is not seasoned you need to keep the fire hot to burn wet wood which increases the likelyhood of bridging or blow holes. For me last year it was a balancing act to reduce upper chamber pressure (thatâ€™s really what weâ€™re doing by tinkering with vents and fan rpms) to the point youâ€™re wet wood is happy. At the moment with the nicely seasoned wood I have my fan at the lowest setting (50%) which tells me I need to close off a vent somewhere so I have bandwidth to electronically adjust my fan. Now that Iâ€™m maybe a Sophomore at Boiler University I need to re-read the sticky about tuning the EKO because some of the finer points may start to make sense to me. Learning how to place the wood and the sizes of the splits and whether they go on top or bottom all are part of the art of learning your system. But my 2 cents is to play with reducing upper chamber pressure to delay the creation of blow holes. â€œBlow holesâ€ is my term. One of the â€œSeniorsâ€ here may have a better name for it. Can ya wiggle yer toes? Merry Christmas, I gotta go order a replacement backflow preventer. Probably ought to do some work too.


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## Tennman

Ok guys, I've kicked it off. Tonight I'll measure my openings for the 60 and we can start to compare notes. I definitely don't presume my settings are optimal, just better than I've ever had. Might even figure out how to post images.... maybe. 

And, BTW, I certainly hope anyone feels free to provide input. I should have stated that in the first post. Most of what I've learned is from Heaterman and Taxi. So we'll see if this catches on like the "Tuning the EKO" sticky. Although I know there's lots more EKO owners here. Let the games begin.


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## mikefrommaine

Glad you started this thread. I'll post some pics for reference. These pics are of the settings as they came from the factory.


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## Tennman

SO q-bull what I'm currently doing running my fan at 50% to extend reload time, seems opposite to what you're doing essentially supercharging the upper chamber with another fan. I know you have a 40 vs my 60, but you're getting a blue flame and mine is mostly white to orange when it's going good. So you're getting quite a hotter flame.


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## mikefrommaine

Those settings worked ok for me. I found that the upper fire was smoldering and was having some visible smoke out the chimney. 

I have since opened up the primaries to about half open and increased the secondary to 1/3 open, with the fans set at 80% and the front fan shutter barely open.

I'm only in the second week of burning. So still playing around with it, but these settings seem to be working with the pine wood I am currently using. The flame out of the nozzles is fuller and more steady, but not roaring -- unless I crack open the upper door.

With all six zones calling for heat it will maintain 190 on the controller.


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## jhunter19

I have a brand spankin new 40 combo unit.  I can tweak the settings around and get an orange/yellow flame but never anything close to blue.  I have a hard time keeping a 145 deg temp, it goes up to there, the pump kicks in and then quicly cools to around 132.  then about 5 mins later it gets back up to 145 to start the process all over again.  My wood is dry 15-20% (I have a meter).  I just do not think I am getting anywhere near full heat out of this thing.  I have 500 gals of storage and the temp there has never been over 150, even when the house is not calling for heat. It has been pretty mild here in Upstate NY.


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## mikefrommaine

jhunter19 said:
			
		

> I have a brand spankin new 40 combo unit.  I can tweak the settings around and get an orange/yellow flame but never anything close to blue.  I have a hard time keeping a 145 deg temp, it goes up to there, the pump kicks in and then quicly cools to around 132.  then about 5 mins later it gets back up to 145 to start the process all over again.  My wood is dry 15-20% (I have a meter).  I just do not think I am getting anywhere near full heat out of this thing.  I have 500 gals of storage and the temp there has never been over 150, even when the house is not calling for heat. It has been pretty mild here in Upstate NY.



That was happening to me when the system was cold -- took forever to get heat into the distribution system.  I found it worked better if I set the pump to come on at 150 with a hysteresis setting of 10. That way there wasn't any cycling of the pump on and off. And the danfoss bypass could slowly allow hot water into the distribution system without cooling the boiler down too much.


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## taxidermist

mikefrommaine said:
			
		

> jhunter19 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have a brand spankin new 40 combo unit.  I can tweak the settings around and get an orange/yellow flame but never anything close to blue.  I have a hard time keeping a 145 deg temp, it goes up to there, the pump kicks in and then quicly cools to around 132.  then about 5 mins later it gets back up to 145 to start the process all over again.  My wood is dry 15-20% (I have a meter).  I just do not think I am getting anywhere near full heat out of this thing.  I have 500 gals of storage and the temp there has never been over 150, even when the house is not calling for heat. It has been pretty mild here in Upstate NY.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That was happening to me when the system was cold -- took forever to get heat into the distribution system.  I found it worked better if I set the pump to come on at 150 with a hysteresis setting of 10. That way there wasn't any cycling of the pump on and off. And the danfoss bypass could slowly allow hot water into the distribution system without cooling the boiler down too much.
Click to expand...


Mike,
Just looking at the settings in the pic you should open the fan shutter 100% then just use the fan setting speeds to adjust the rest (hence the lazy flame you are seeing)

Like you figured out the primary is set too small open to about half.

That should get you started.
you can use the chart in the eko to get it close. http://www.newhorizoncorp.com/PDF/ekomanual.pdf

Just remember this is for the eko so under 60 it says 50% on fan opening......well we have 2 fans so if you run 1 fan open it 100% like the eko 40 it only has 1 fan.
Rob

Rob


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## mikefrommaine

taxidermist said:
			
		

> mikefrommaine said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> jhunter19 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have a brand spankin new 40 combo unit.  I can tweak the settings around and get an orange/yellow flame but never anything close to blue.  I have a hard time keeping a 145 deg temp, it goes up to there, the pump kicks in and then quicly cools to around 132.  then about 5 mins later it gets back up to 145 to start the process all over again.  My wood is dry 15-20% (I have a meter).  I just do not think I am getting anywhere near full heat out of this thing.  I have 500 gals of storage and the temp there has never been over 150, even when the house is not calling for heat. It has been pretty mild here in Upstate NY.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That was happening to me when the system was cold -- took forever to get heat into the distribution system.  I found it worked better if I set the pump to come on at 150 with a hysteresis setting of 10. That way there wasn't any cycling of the pump on and off. And the danfoss bypass could slowly allow hot water into the distribution system without cooling the boiler down too much.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Mike,
> Just looking at the settings in the pic you should open the fan shutter 100% then just use the fan setting speeds to adjust the rest (hence the lazy flame you are seeing)
> 
> Like you figured out the primary is set too small open to about half.
> 
> That should get you started.
> you can use the chart in the eko to get it close. http://www.newhorizoncorp.com/PDF/ekomanual.pdf
> 
> 
> 
> Just remember this is for the eko so under 60 it says 50% on fan opening......well we have 2 fans so if you run 1 fan open it 100% like the eko 40 it only has 1 fan.
> Rob
> 
> Rob
Click to expand...


I have a Biomass 60 -- two fans. 
So you are saying set the front fan shutter to 50%? And then lower the fan output by  the controller?

Currently I have the front shutter almost closed and the fan power at 80%
Thanks

EDIT
Was just looking at the link you provided and realize the fan set up is different. The biomass has one fan on the front and one on the back, I assume to create a negative draft. The fan on the front shuts off when the upper door opens. The fan on the back has no shutter and runs whenever the boiler is trying to raise the water temp. Hope that makes sense.


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## taxidermist

mikefrommaine said:
			
		

> taxidermist said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> mikefrommaine said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> jhunter19 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I have a brand spankin new 40 combo unit.  I can tweak the settings around and get an orange/yellow flame but never anything close to blue.  I have a hard time keeping a 145 deg temp, it goes up to there, the pump kicks in and then quicly cools to around 132.  then about 5 mins later it gets back up to 145 to start the process all over again.  My wood is dry 15-20% (I have a meter).  I just do not think I am getting anywhere near full heat out of this thing.  I have 500 gals of storage and the temp there has never been over 150, even when the house is not calling for heat. It has been pretty mild here in Upstate NY.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That was happening to me when the system was cold -- took forever to get heat into the distribution system.  I found it worked better if I set the pump to come on at 150 with a hysteresis setting of 10. That way there wasn't any cycling of the pump on and off. And the danfoss bypass could slowly allow hot water into the distribution system without cooling the boiler down too much.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Mike,
> Just looking at the settings in the pic you should open the fan shutter 100% then just use the fan setting speeds to adjust the rest (hence the lazy flame you are seeing)
> 
> Like you figured out the primary is set too small open to about half.
> 
> That should get you started.
> you can use the chart in the eko to get it close. http://www.newhorizoncorp.com/PDF/ekomanual.pdf
> 
> Yeah you only have 1 fan to charge the fire box. The one on the back should turn on when you open the door to pull the smoke into the chiminey.
> 
> 
> 
> Just remember this is for the eko so under 60 it says 50% on fan opening......well we have 2 fans so if you run 1 fan open it 100% like the eko 40 it only has 1 fan.
> Rob
> 
> Rob
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> I have a Biomass 60 -- two fans.
> So you are saying set the front fan shutter to 50%? And then lower the fan output by  the controller?
> 
> Currently I have the front shutter almost closed and the fan power at 80%
> Thanks
> 
> EDIT
> Was just looking at the link you provided and realize the fan set up is different. The biomass has one fan on the front and one on the back, I assume to create a negative draft. The fan on the front shuts off when the upper door opens. The fan on the back has no shutter and runs whenever the boiler is trying to raise the water temp. Hope that makes sense.
Click to expand...


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## taxidermist

Mike the fan on front should be open 100% The fan on the back should turn on when the door is open only. This sucks the smoke out while loading......well thats what it should do LOL. If I remember from the bio 60 i worked on if you hit stop then opened the door the draft fan kicked on. The one on the front pressurizes the fire box so if your primaries are closed down and your fan shutter it closed down you will get a lazy flame in the lower chamber. The secondaries puts air into the nozzles to mix with the hot gases to create the right mix of air and fuel to ignite.     

Too rich(too much smoke) no ignite

Too lean (not enough fuel... no coals) no ignite


Rob


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## mikefrommaine

taxidermist said:
			
		

> Mike the fan on front should be open 100% The fan on the back should turn on when the door is open only. This sucks the smoke out while loading......well thats what it should do LOL. If I remember from the bio 60 i worked on if you hit stop then opened the door the draft fan kicked on. The one on the front pressurizes the fire box so if your primaries are closed down and your fan shutter it closed down you will get a lazy flame in the lower chamber. The secondaries puts air into the nozzles to mix with the hot gases to create the right mix of air and fuel to ignite.
> 
> Too rich(too much smoke) no ignite
> 
> Too lean (not enough fuel... no coals) no ignite
> 
> 
> Rob



On mine the rear fan starts the moment I hit start and does not shut off unless the boiler is to temp or it is out of fuel.
The front fan runs at the same times, but if you open the door it shuts off.


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## mikefrommaine

Here are my current settings. I just opened the fan shutter all the way. Fan power at 80%

The boiler was coming up to temp and stepping the fans down before I could get a good pic of the flame -- it was stronger.

My problem has been maintaining a strong secondary burn -- seem to have to stir the upper chamber too much (and create clouds of smoke in the house). The fire in the the upper chamber often is just smoldering. Though I am burning pine right now - when I tried hardwood it seemed better.


Maybe opening up the fan shutter will help?


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## taxidermist

Yeah thats right! I could not remember for sure......we were talking about how it should turn on only when you open the door but it turns on when you hit start. Anyways try changing your settings to 100% fan opening and 100% fan speed. Then start tweaking as you go. I turn my fan speed down to 50 or 60% when I have a deep bed of coals. But I am always messing with mine. My wife says "cant you leave it alone and set it and forget it" LOL

Rob


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## q-bull

Tennman said:
			
		

> SO q-bull what I'm currently doing running my fan at 50% to extend reload time, seems opposite to what you're doing essentially supercharging the upper chamber with another fan. I know you have a 40 vs my 60, but you're getting a blue flame and mine is mostly white to orange when it's going good. So you're getting quite a hotter flame.



I think I'm just making up for a lack of natural draft from my chimney.  I live on a hill with spurts of very windy conditions so I wanted to avoid going any higher with the chimney.  Last year I had to open the upper door often to get a really strong burn, (starved for air?)  Essentially trying to make a 60 out of my 40 with the aux fan.
Still have a steep learning curve to learn how to adapt to the changing conditions, (wood - barometric pressure - outside temp and now storage to keep charged.)  Guess you could say we're having some fun now!


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## woodsmaster

Here's where i've got my air set at seems to work very good. Only smokes when there is bridging. Do get steam out the chim. sometimes. When I build a fire I put some kindling in and load it to the top before lighting. This the only way Iv'e found to load without getting smoke spillage, it works great. I let it burn for about 5 - 10 min. with the bypass open and the uper door cracked open a little bit then when it's burning good close the door and pull the lever out. The primary is open 1/2 inch. Date on pictures is
wrong.


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## woodsmaster

Here's more


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## dpsfireman

I have found that I can just about eliminate bridging by picking and choosing the size and shape of the pieces of wood that go into the bottom of the loading chamber. I start by putting 2 or 3 short (length of the nozzle or so) round pieces about 1" diameter or so right over the nozzle and then a couple larger pieces on each side forming a cradle. Then I put paper and kindling in the cradle and start the fire. Once it's going enough I put more small round pieces on top of the fire and let it go for a little while before loading it up. For the final loading I still try and put the smaller round pieces in the middle near the bottom and stack the larger irregular pieces on top.

I think this works because the round pieces have less of a tendency of getting caught on other pieces and allows a good bed of coals to develop before the big irregular stuff starts to burn. Also, when I initially start the fire it seems to work best to have both doors opened a bit. This causes a flow up through the nozzle and gets the fire going quickly. Once it is somewhat established I'll shut the bottom door which causes some flow down through the nozzle, warming it up and starting the pieces of wood that were under the paper burning down near the nozzle.

At this point I have learned (the hard way) to close the door and the bypass to test and see if gassification starts. If it does then I finish loading the chamber and I'm done.

Sounds like it takes a long time but start to finish it's 10 minutes or so. I get a good flame in the bottom almost immediately, yellow at first and then changing to blue after a little while.

BTW, I have a Biomass 25 and burn hardwood that has been seasoned for 2 years. One more thing seems to help. Taking the advice I found here I set the circulator turn on temperature to the highest setting which seems to help gassification along.


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## Tennman

Woodmaster, Short on time, but hope to post pics later. My settings are giving me the best performance I've ever had and are far more closed than what I'm seeing or what Taxi is recommending. Primary opening about 3/8" and secondary 3/16". Fan opening very small and I'm running at 50%. But my burns are lasting longer than ever and usually wake up with a good coal bed. I still don't have storage and I really love having a bed of coals in the morning. Hopefully I'll get time to learn about posting pics later. But what's working well for me seems to be far more restrictive than what others are using. This is my goal to generate a better understanding how to tune these things. Although my settings are working I have no idea if it is close to the best. So welcome all comments.


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## taxidermist

Tennman said:
			
		

> Woodmaster, Short on time, but hope to post pics later. My settings are giving me the best performance I've ever had and are far more closed than what I'm seeing or what Taxi is recommending. Primary opening about 3/8" and secondary 3/16". Fan opening very small and I'm running at 50%. But my burns are lasting longer than ever and usually wake up with a good coal bed. I still don't have storage and I really love having a bed of coals in the morning. Hopefully I'll get time to learn about posting pics later. But what's working well for me seems to be far more restrictive than what others are using. This is my goal to generate a better understanding how to tune these things. Although my settings are working I have no idea if it is close to the best. So welcome all comments.




Larry,

With no storage you are looking for just enough flame in lower chamber to ignite the smoke. You are looking for long drawn out heat just like a OWB 

With storage we are looking for running full out hot short fires and storing the BTU's

This takes more air to get the max results. Kinda like a coal forge....kinda lays there and glows until you put the air to it! LOL

Rob


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## woodsmaster

Before I opened my secodary air to where it is It took much longer for me to achive gasifacation on start ups and some days I had trouble keeping it gassing. Now It works much better, I never have trouble keeping gasifacation. On start ups it's gassifing within 10 min. When the boiler gets hot I get some blue flame in the bottom chamber and the refractory glows redish orange.
I've been running the fan at 70%

  Have you cleand the tubes on the back of your boiler? how much of a chore is it to take the turbulators out and put back in ?


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## woodsmaster

Oh and the shutter on the fan don't seem to make much difference in performance to me.


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## bstevens

I've got a biomass 25, I've messed around with secondary and primary openings, fan settings and pump settings. I've got dry wood, even used some old hardwood flooring. I get a flame in the lower, mostly yellow-orange sometimes white but I always have white smoke coming out the chimney. This is frustrating considering I just visaited a friend with a tarm and saw how clean these gassifiers can burn. I emailed the fellow who put the fan on his biomass 40 front door. Hope I don't have to do that but I also hope somebody has some suggestions as to what I can try. Told my neighbors that this would be smokeless and now I'm looking a bit foolish.


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## dpsfireman

Are you sure it's smoke and not steal coming out of the chimney?


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## bstevens

I'm actually just running out the door but yes, I climbed up on the roof (very high) like an idiot just to make sure, had yellow flame at the time and 191 heat, not sure where it's getting through?


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## woodsmaster

q-bull said:
			
		

> Tennman said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> SO q-bull what I'm currently doing running my fan at 50% to extend reload time, seems opposite to what you're doing essentially supercharging the upper chamber with another fan. I know you have a 40 vs my 60, but you're getting a blue flame and mine is mostly white to orange when it's going good. So you're getting quite a hotter flame.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think I'm just making up for a lack of natural draft from my chimney.  I live on a hill with spurts of very windy conditions so I wanted to avoid going any higher with the chimney.  Last year I had to open the upper door often to get a really strong burn, (starved for air?)  Essentially trying to make a 60 out of my 40 with the aux fan.
> Still have a steep learning curve to learn how to adapt to the changing conditions, (wood - barometric pressure - outside temp and now storage to keep charged.)  Guess you could say we're having some fun now!
Click to expand...


If you have to open the upper door to get a strong burn you need to open the air adjustments more. As you said it is starving for air. That's what mine did before I opend my secondary air more. Wouldn't think you should need an extra fan on it.


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## dpsfireman

Smoked said:
			
		

> I'm actually just running out the door but yes, I climbed up on the roof (very high) like an idiot just to make sure, had yellow flame at the time and 191 heat, not sure where it's getting through?



Here are the settings I am using on my 25: primary air 9.5 mm, secondary air 8 mm, blower 80%. Note that I am using storage so some of these parameters may not be optimal for use without it. Depending on conditions and the wood in the firebox I run the shutter between 2.5 and 4 on the my homemade scale in the picture below.

BTW, Allan wrenches make great feeler gauges for checking the air settings.


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## bstevens

Thank you, Burning Chunk. I just got back home and put those settings on the primary and secondary. I have a good white flame below but a lot of smoke coming out of the chimney. I can't figure out where the smoke is escaping up out of the boiler and into the chimney? Do you have blue flame and no smoke?


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## q-bull

woodsmaster said:
			
		

> q-bull said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Tennman said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> SO q-bull what I'm currently doing running my fan at 50% to extend reload time, seems opposite to what you're doing essentially supercharging the upper chamber with another fan. I know you have a 40 vs my 60, but you're getting a blue flame and mine is mostly white to orange when it's going good. So you're getting quite a hotter flame.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think I'm just making up for a lack of natural draft from my chimney.  I live on a hill with spurts of very windy conditions so I wanted to avoid going any higher with the chimney.  Last year I had to open the upper door often to get a really strong burn, (starved for air?)  Essentially trying to make a 60 out of my 40 with the aux fan.
> Still have a steep learning curve to learn how to adapt to the changing conditions, (wood - barometric pressure - outside temp and now storage to keep charged.)  Guess you could say we're having some fun now!
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> If you have to open the upper door to get a strong burn you need to open the air adjustments more. As you said it is starving for air. That's what mine did before I opend my secondary air more. Wouldn't think you should need an extra fan on it.
Click to expand...


I could NEVER get a draft going up the chimney by just opening the bypass, had to run the blower to load & stir things up to keep gasifiying.  (This helped lead me to try a pusher fan.)....Another thing that seems to be unique to my system is the lack of a coal bed.  I attributed this to the wood I am burning, (often mostly pine,)  On the ocasions that I did get coals, they would often pile up in the bottom & stop my gassification.  Now, with my aux fan I am burning blue & without generating creosote, (another problem I needed to overcome.) Actualy had to take a heavy bar and smack the bypass open sometimes, (the poker wasn't enough to unstick it even though I was attacking the top of the flap.)  Coals, when made, get burnt up when they fall thru.


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## bstevens

I have the same problem with the by pass, often have to push it from inside with something due to creosote. It's very had for me to get bed of coals without losing it through the nozzle, and I have maple and oak seasoned for two years, split small. I think I'll try that aux fan, could you tell me the brand and model of the one you got? I've seen a few squirrel fans on Amazon. I'm burning plenty hot but it's the smoke mostly that's bugging me.


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## q-bull

Smoked,
See PM I wrote before I read this post.


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## bstevens

Thanks for all your help, q-bull. It's finally cold here in CT, 14 degrees. The house is 70 so I'm not complaining. Just the same, I think I'll call Zenon and see if he has the right blower for the front of it. Thanks again. Not sure how you figured this out but it's sure nice of you to share it.


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## MNBioman

[quote author="Tennman" date="1323991897"]My hope is this thread will become a mini BioMass users group. The recent posts about BioMass owners here getting blue flames really prompted my desire to start this because I not there yet. Although our boiler shares many of the generic gasser functions, primary and secondary adjustments are specific to the design. Hopefully we can collectively learn how to optimally operate and fix these boilers.[/quote

Thanks for starting this thread. I have heated with wood for 30+ years and the last 20 with wood boilers. I bought a Biomass 60 this fall and installed it about 1 month ago. It is the first wood boiler I have had any problems with but it is also the first down draft gasification boiler. The last boiler I had was the greenwwod 200. It heated good but was a poor design and a piece of junk from the start. It needed a lot of design changes. I am heating  a 5,100ft. sq. Pole building with my home in the first 2,000 with base board heat and the middle 1,000 being my wifes buisness with in floor heat and the last 2,000 being my garage and work shop with 12' ceiling and infloor heating. The temps have only been down to 10 degrees so far and we usualy get about 1 month of 20-30 below with rairly above zero during Jan and Feb. I have my fan opening set at about factory setting and running it at 80% with the controller. The primary's are open about 1/3 with the secondary open about 7/16". I have the circ. coming on at 165 and off at 150. I have no problems getting up to the 190 I have my contoller set at for hight temp. I don't have an axillary storage system this year. Fter messing around with neverything I get a beautifull light blue flame and my wood is about 14-18% moisture. My problem is getting the fire to keep buring with out cleaning the nozel out every 1/2 hr or so. So times it will run for 3-4 hours with no problems but other times can't go for more then 1/2 hr. I have to get up every several hours during the night and quite often find it with "FUEL" displayed, the nozel plugged up. I have been playing around with the size of the wood. I coud burn 16" dia, wood in the Greenwood furnace. The info on New Hoizons website said 7" wood for the Biomass 60 so I slit all my wood, 16 cords of Ash, to not over 7" dia. but some of it 10' the other way. After reading info on the Heath site and spent my afternoon pulling about 1/2 a cord out of my boiler room and splitting it down into almost kindling size peices. I will see how that works. If I had known I would need to cut the wood down so small I my not have bought a down draft boiler since it just about triples the time spent putting up wood for the year. The other big problem I have is all the smoke that comes out every time I have to put wood in the boiler. At the present I have only been filling the stove 1/2 way because the wood keeps getting jammed up and won't drop down to the nozel. Every time I open the stove and go back into the house my wife complains about me smelling like the wood stove. I have a 500 cmf vent fan in the ceiling of my boiler room but an considering adding another blower to the chimney or some sort of a hood over the door  the stove with an 8"fan to move the smoke out when  I have to open the door.  I would love to get some feed back on the smoke and nozel bridging.


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## woodsmaster

mikedeams

As far as smoke when loading , thats a problem with most all downdraft gassifiers from what I'vw read on here. You have to wait untill there is only coals left to load and load fast to avoid smoke spillage. As far as bridging That is mostly due to the way it's loaded. If you put the small straighter stuff on bottom and the bigger and ugly odd stuff on top all going long ways in the boiler 
this will reduce bridging. When you do get bridging only open the door enough to stick the poker in and make the wood fall.
 I don't Know what you mean by pluged up nozel there is supposed to be coals over the nozzel. Mine has NEVER pluged up.
Are your air settings similar to the ones in the pictures I posted. Good luck and I think you will love the boiler once you get the hang of it. It took me almost ayear to figure mine out to a T . Im also burning dry ash.


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## Tennman

Great comments. I've been out of pocket so way behind. Taxi, your comment regarding my restricted settings is on the mark. It dawned on me that HOW we optimally tune depends or whether you have storage or not. I'll chime in on some of the bridging issues discussed. Mikedreams, I double what JT said. My first season and much of the second I was baby sitting that boiler every hour during the holidays when home. I discovered many things. SInce my wood wasn't well seasoned some sticks burned better than others which caused blow passages instead of a coal bed. I was always needing to stir to keep the coal bed. Because the wood was bad I had the blower up at full power just to get heat out and deal with terrible underground lines. The next season I had much better wood and learned to place smaller, really dry pieces on the bottom then able to put bigger on top. Getting a good coal bed for me is critical. Since I don't have storage last year I was blowing thru wood at high fan settings. I think for those of us without storage I was blowing thru the wood always creating blow holes. For me, cutting the fan way back helped this. But I don't get a blue flame. So I'm not convinced I to my best tune yet. I will say I'm pleased and like others here without storage creosote is an ongoing problem for me. I can now put bigger pieces on top but start with smaller on bottom. Still get bridging on occasion but less often as I learn how to load. Will post later with more. This is going better than I had hoped.


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## goodwood

this is a little off topic but about a biomass 60,i was trying to clean  ash from lower access covers, took the outside cover off, inside there was cover with 4 bolts which i took off but the  metal piece broke off the insulation behind it any suggestions,i dont want to break the insulation by prying it off, how often do you clean these out   thanks


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## bstevens

I talked to Zenon at New Horizon, he said don't worry about the insulation, just pry it off and you can replace it with silicone?  Something like that. Said it was a mistake to put that on to begin with and not to worry about it. That said, I have yet to open that up myself.


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## Mike T

Tenn-
How you doin? 
Have you noticed the fan speed setting is also depeendant on heat loss/outside temperature?
I went through a real cold weekend and turned up the fan to keep up with the call for heat. It did better that way.
I see where you went down to 50%....but I don't know if it will work up here as I am several hundred miles and
more than several degrees colder.

I do not have storage but I am thinking of installing a buffer tank. I do not want a large storage tank, but I would like to 
extend the times between burns.

How do we get this thread stickied to the top?


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## taxidermist

[How do we get this thread stickied to the top?[/quote]


I pm Gooserider and asked for it to be a sticky.


Rob


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## woodsmaster

goodwood said:
			
		

> this is a little off topic but about a biomass 60,i was trying to clean  ash from lower access covers, took the outside cover off, inside there was cover with 4 bolts which i took off but the  metal piece broke off the insulation behind it any suggestions,i dont want to break the insulation by prying it off, how often do you clean these out   thanks



 My gaskets stuck to the boiler. I cut the middle out for access and left the rest around the edge for a seal.


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## mikefrommaine

I had a major problem with smoke this weekend. Figured I would post here so others can avoid the same problem. 

My biomass 60 has been in use for a couple of weeks now and has always had a problem with poor drafting when loading. It was getting worse but I figured it was because of the colder weather affecting my exterior chimney. On Sunday the moment I lit the  fire smoke came pouring out the door and around the top cleanout. Figured it was because it was down in the single digits and the flue was cold. It never got much better so I let the fire go out.

Today I took the top access off to see if there was a blockage. There wasn't -- but the fan blades had come completely off the shaft of the rear blower. I think it might have been slipping since the boiler went online, but it had been getting worse in the last few days.

I cleaned the blades put it back together and tightened the set screw as much as I could AND all is good now. Much less smoke when loading then ever before. And a very strong fire. Might need to close the primaries up  a little... will see.

Anyways thought this info might help others. On mine the set screw took a 3mm allen wrench to tighten.


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## Gooserider

taxidermist said:
			
		

> How do we get this thread stickied to the top?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I pm Gooserider and asked for it to be a sticky.
> 
> 
> Rob
Click to expand...


Got the request, and after looking the thread over, I agree that it makes sense to be a sticky.  (We try not to make to many stickies in order to keep them from cluttering things up...)  However either I don't have that power, or I've forgotten where the button is to make it stick.  However I've posted the request in our "secret moderator area" so hopefully someone can help me out with this shortly...

Gooserider


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## Tennman

Wow Goose. We BioMass guys are unexpectedly honored. That gasket for the ash cleamout apparently bonds to semi-cured new paint of the shell. My first time off I took a hacksaw blade, bent about a 2" tab to work under the gasket to pop the paint bond lose. I'm pretty sure last season I opened that cleamout with the boiler running. Not really that hot down there. I agree that high temp gasket sealant would be fine where small pieces of the gasket stick to the case.

Mike, I've never had my fan come loose but I think it's a good idea to take that fan off several times a season. For example yesterday I got up on my barn roof and cleaned ash off the screen on my flue cap. It was pretty dirty already. Symptomatic of my non-storage system idling a lot now during mild days. I got up to clean my cap because I was seeing more smoke spillage on loading. BUT that additional smoke can be a sign of either your problem, blocked cap, OR fans blades dirty with soot. Another byproduct of me not running clean by not running wide open dumping energy into storage.

Mike T, It's not surprising you'd have to pump more btu's than where I live. Here it is days before Christmas and mid-50's outside. As much as I hate getting a new coal bed all the time storage is certainly getting more attractive to me. Soon I'll decide what I hate more, creosote and soot or getting a new coal bed often. But I will say I am now easily keeping my house warm and adding word stirring about every 4-6 hrs AND waking up to a good coal bed after 7-8 hours at nite. Wood consumption is good and I'm only building a new fire once or twice a week, which I love. AND essentially no smoke. Only when I get a hole in my coal bed do I get a hint of smoke quickly fixed by going in and stirring the bed to cover the coal bed. Again I will add I'd be going crazy if this beast was in my home since my non-storage operations requires me to open the top chamber door often and frequently when it is pretty active in there! Since it's in the barn I just ignore the smoke. My allergenic daughter could not tolerate it which would similarly make my life impossible.

Thanks for the sticky status Goose. That was not expected, but appreciated.


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## Gooserider

As a means of preserving the coal bed, I've seen some of the other boilers that use storage where the user sets up the timer on the system to shut down the airflow after a time that should allow most of the wood to be burned, but still have a good coal bed left.  (and after all the smoke producing products have been burned) - this puts out the fire but leaves the unburned coals in place.  

When ready for the next fire, load the boiler on top of the previous bed and light - the fire starting will rapidly re-ignite the pre-existing coals, and in effect give an instant coal bed...  Don't know if this would work with a BioMass or not, but might be worth a try...

Gooserider


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## Salem Woods

Gentlemen!
I finally got my Biomass 60 fired up about 2 weeks ago.
Thanks to all your input and postings it has made it a lot easier
I finally registered so i can ask for your experienced advice on fine tuning as you have been discussing
I have been having some of the same problems that you have been mentioning. One in particular with the danfoss bypass valve. 
I still need to flip the thermostat inside as it seems to be working the opposite way it is suppose to.
other problems encountered were low burning temps (bypass valve?), Fuel out message, Primary port clogs and smoke stack crud.
After a shut down and good clean-out, like those small side panels with the insulation it seems to be working much better, aside from fixing the bypass valve.
my piping system keeps an oil fired boiler hot to supply D and HW baseboard.
I want to work out all the problems before I fill with Cryotek so any advice you guys have I would surely appreciate
Thanks


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## Tennman

Welcome Salem. Hopefully you put lots of isolation ball valves everywhere so you can do maintenance and throttle bypass flow thru the Danfoss. My first year I learned to throttle down the hot supply into the Danfoss at Taxi's recommendation. I confess I don't understand why this helped because I thot the thermostat would control the mixing flow. Anyway the ball valve going into the Danfoss I have nearly closed. I confess I should understand this device's function better since at the moment I have it almost choked to irrelevance.


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## dpsfireman

The Danfoss valve works by opening and closing the port where water returns from the storage tanks heading toward the boiler. The port that connects to the bypass path is always wide open so if the flow isn't restricted coming into this port, a lot of the flow just goes through the loop and not back to the tanks.

IMHO, it would be better to have a valve that closes one port as it opens the other as temperature rises.


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## Salem Woods

Thanks for the feed back Tennman & dpsfireman!
So what has been happening is when I close down the ball valve to the danfoss the biomass 60 will reach operating temp of 195 but my oil boiler drops to 113 to 120.
if I open the ball valve and let the danfoss do what it is suppose to my biomass stays at about 155 to 162 ( with a full load) and my oil boilerkeeps about 141-151.
I have a small 2400sf cape, so i would think that 205K btu the EKO would be reaching full temp real quick. I believe that if was working correctly that the eko would stay between 185 -195 and the inside boiler should be 175-185 allowing for heat loss in pipe run.
what is the benafit of a 4-way danfoss?
i know the eko is a little oversize for the SF but the plan is to add a heat exchanger and a snow melt system for the driveway and yard
eventually we will get it "fine tuned"
Thanks


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## mikefrommaine

Salem Woods said:
			
		

> Thanks for the feed back Tennman & dpsfireman!
> So what has been happening is when I close down the ball valve to the danfoss the biomass 60 will reach operating temp of 195 but my oil boiler drops to 113 to 120.
> if I open the ball valve and let the danfoss do what it is suppose to my biomass stays at about 155 to 162 ( with a full load) and my oil boilerkeeps about 141-151.
> I have a small 2400sf cape, so i would think that 205K btu the EKO would be reaching full temp real quick. I believe that if was working correctly that the eko would stay between 185 -195 and the inside boiler should be 175-185 allowing for heat loss in pipe run.
> what is the benafit of a 4-way danfoss?
> i know the eko is a little oversize for the SF but the plan is to add a heat exchanger and a snow melt system for the driveway and yard
> eventually we will get it "fine tuned"
> Thanks



Are you getting a good secondary burn with little smoke out the chimney? Or is the fire smoldering?

I know the first few times I fired mine I was suprised at how long it took to get the whole system up to temp.  But if I leave the bypass at about 25% open things work as they should.


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## woodsmaster

Cleaned the tubes at the rear of the boiler the other day. Probably have burned 8 - 10 cord since instalation aprox. 1 year ago. You obviously have to remove the turbulators to do this. Took about 2 - 2 1/2 houres total, but I also cleaned the fines beside the bottom chamber which I do every week or two and cleaned all ash from top, bottom chamber, and the clean out under the tubes.

I think I could do it twice as fast now. I didn't put the pins back in the rod for the handle cleaner. there is no need for them unless
you plan on putting putting your boiler on it's side or upside-down. I used the brush for the fines that came with the boiler. It was to small, but I made it work this time. I recomend buying a larger brush to fit the tubes (Forgot to measure them) and a longer rod for the brush hooked to a drill. I used my chimminey cleaning rod. It worked but didn't fit the brush exact. Had some build up on the tubes, not really creasote, more like caked on ash. 

 My exaust temps now run around 100 degress cooler !! Almost to cool sometimes at start up, takes a while to get above 300 F flue temp. Sorry no pictures can't find the file.
                 J.T.

 Wanted to add. Very dirty job, would never want this mess in my house.


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## Tennman

OMG JT, Here I am half way thru my 3rd season and I've NEVER done this!! I've got an flue temp sensor (very nice battery powered thermocouple system from OMEGA) that tells me my flue temps are at 360-380F. I've removed the lower door, which I was just thinking I need to clean out but what your talking about must be somewhere else. Give me the basics. What sheet metal do you have to remove to get to the tubes your talking about. Both side covers will expose the tubes your talking about?? The only place I've run my brush is the fins on the sides of the lower chamber and what I could get to thru that little door on the bottom right side. I have about 3' between my boiler left side and the wall. Will that prevent me from getting to those tubes. I positioned my boiler per the envelop recommended by the manual. I don't even recall the manual I got mentioning what your talking about. I've heard the EKO guys discuss it I just never bothered to tackle the job on my boiler.


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## woodsmaster

Tenn, 
         On the top of the boiler at the back there is a coveer with two screws. Remove them and there is a cover with 8 nuts.
remove those and take the cover off and you will see the tubes and turbulators. I had to remove 1 turbulater from the outside edge of the bar they are connected to in order to get the rest out as one assembly. I was getting flue temps up to 500 maybe 550
before I cleaned them measured by a candy termometer in the flue. Now It don't go over 425t the hottest part of the burn
with the fan on high.


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## mikefrommaine

Here is a pic of mine when it was new (with the cover off)


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## Salem Woods

Cool! so thats what it is suppose to look like!
what caused you to take it apart when it was new?
I fiqured to do an breakdown and clean at the end of the season
did you have a lot of creosote build up? around the bypass damper?


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## mikefrommaine

Salem Woods said:
			
		

> Cool! so thats what it is suppose to look like!
> what caused you to take it apart when it was new?
> I fiqured to do an breakdown and clean at the end of the season
> did you have a lot of creosote build up? around the bypass damper?



That pic was taken after about two weeks of burning. The blades on the rear fan had fallen off, so I opened it up to check on things. There was some fly ash around the edges that I used my shopvac to clean up. No creosote.


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## Salem Woods

I need to take the top off mine today
my stove pipe got red hot last night, 2nd time
I'll put up some photos so I can fiqure out whats going on
thanks


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## goodwood

took mine off today after 3 months of burning, no creosote just ash build up ,which i vacuumed out, when i was cleaning ash out of refractory i noticed on left top side of the refractory the gasket was almost gone ,thats going to leave a 1/2 inch gap on top, is that going to be a problem ? doesnt seem that should happen after 3 months of mild use. anybody else have this happen?


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## woodsmaster

Salem Woods said:
			
		

> I need to take the top off mine today
> my stove pipe got red hot last night, 2nd time
> I'll put up some photos so I can fiqure out whats going on
> thanks




 Sounds like the Bypass must not be closing all the way ? My stove pipe don't usually get over 350 F on the outside
unless the flap is open.


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## goodwood

i was referring to the gasket  on top of the lower gassification ceramic , there is a gasket on top of the ceramic  chamber on both sides ,one side is almost gone, my flap closes fine


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## Salem Woods

it was right after i reloaded for the overnight, i let the new wood get a little burn
but it was as if a creasote build up caught on fire.
i got home late today from work , but a good cleaning is first on the agenda for saturday morning
good thing it is suppose to be about 54 degrees tomorrow


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## Salem Woods

so i got a chance to open up the biomass 60
it seems like a lot of 'papery" ash above the turbulators and in the smoke pipe 
I was not quite as ambitious as *WoodMaster* and did not remove the turbulators 
It seems pretty dirty for only 4 weeks of running and a light cleaning in that period as well
also considerable creasote
I cleaned & Vacuumed out and started it will let you know how its working


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## woodsmaster

Salem do you have storage ? That looks a little dirtier than mine did after 1 year. What kind of wood do you burn and is it dry?


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## Salem Woods

Mostly maple, oak, and a little tulip, i just brought in a load of hickory that i was saving for my smoker and pizza oven, but i will try some of that and see if there is a difference
moisture meter reads 10% to 20%
no storage yet, I believe that may be the problem, to much idle time, i over sized the boiler a bit since i am planing to add a snow melt loop for patio and driveway
I need to run piping to my garage an put a tank in , as big as i can fit / afford
sometimes i dont get a good flame , other times i get a nice blue, white it is just inconsistant though
so after cleaning the vent pipe temp is around 130 to 100 degrees, it is a 5 foot run into clay tile with a vertical rise of about 16 feet


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## bstevens

For anyone interested... I had quite a problem with steam coming out of my 28 foot cinder block and clay flue chimney. The chimney is 8 inch. I was running my exhaust pipe straight into it. I had plenty of draft but a very large plume which I thought might be smoke and steam, depending on the way the sun was hitting it. This was constant and very visible to all around. As it turns out, the fix was simple and cheap. I was going to buy a chimney liner and insulation blanket for 6-700 bucks but thought I'd try adding an elbow inside the flu first so as to point the exhaust upward rather than straight against the clay flue. Sure enough, I've got zero steam now and zero smoke. In fact, nothing's come out of the chimney now for two days. What a relief. I bought this thing to cut down on emissions, not the other way around.

Also, another thing I've done was to add a piece of fire place grate, cast iron, over the nozzle, about three or four bars worth, just enough to keep the coals from falling through. I don't have storage so I do like a bed of coals in the morning and this did the trick very nicely. I emailed Zenon about this and he said he'd put something similar into his at his house. Zenon has been very, very helpful about all of this, by the way.

Also, regarding the elusive blue flame, Zenon mentioned that you need some moisture in your wood to get that blue flame. I added a piece of dampish wood and I do have a bluish yellow flame.

Tremendously relieved about the steam issue since I have neighbors looking at me like I'm crazy, and one old codger, down the road here in the hollow, telling me that " where there is fire, there is smoke" and "to hell with youtube" and therefore I'd been sold a bill of goods. Touche, old man!


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## bstevens

One other little trick with the biomass I've learned. If you load or poke at the fire frequently and want to avoid that little puff of the smoke that comes from opening the door. Open the bottom door a bit and then close it with your foot as you're opening the top door, if you play with the two, you can pretty much get a smoke free open and shut if done correctly. I have three smoke alarms three to four feet from the boiler because I've got my kids sleeping right above it. I can open and close this thing throughout the night without setting the alarms off.


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## Salem Woods

i will have to try that 90o elboe in my flue as well
i seem to get too much smoke/steam as well
I get a lot of moisture at thetop of the chimney were it actually has dark stains down the side if the masonry


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## woodsmaster

"Also, regarding the elusive blue flame, Zenon mentioned that you need some moisture in your wood to get that blue flame. I added a piece of dampish wood and I do have a bluish yellow flame."

I'm burning ash at 18% in the middle and get blue flame a lot. how dry does the wood have to be for the blue flame to go away ?
mine  usually has a lot of blue flame the second half of the burn when it seems the moisture would be gone ?


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## bstevens

That 18 percent sounds about right. Mine wood was 9-11, so I threw a few pieces in that were 23, at least according to the meter...


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## woodsmaster

Smoked said:
			
		

> That 18 percent sounds about right. Mine wood was 9-11, so I threw a few pieces in that were 23, at least according to the meter...



I don't think my wood would ever get that dry here.


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## jhunter19

I accidently posted outside of this Biomass topic.  Please see my cry on the main board as "things just took a turn for the worse"


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## woodsmaster

A few pictures from when I cleaned the boiler tubes. Had about 8 cord threw it in these pics. Middle picture middle row is after I cleaned it.


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## Tennman

Thanks for the excellent pics JT. Back in Jan when you first mentioned this I opened that access panel for the first time in 3 seasons of burning. Good bit of soot piled around. Not really a terrible job. Once all the Spring chores get behind me I'm going to clean again and remove the turbulators this time. At the moment in full hunt mode trying to find a 1000 gal propane tank so I have storage for next year. Been a while since I've been here to the sticky and want to thank BStevens for his grate suggestion. That sounds like a "grate" idea to keep a good bed longer.


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## mikefrommaine

Tennman said:


> Thanks for the excellent pics JT. Back in Jan when you first mentioned this I opened that access panel for the first time in 3 seasons of burning. Good bit of soot piled around. Not really a terrible job. Once all the Spring chores get behind me I'm going to clean again and remove the turbulators this time. At the moment in full hunt mode trying to find a 1000 gal propane tank so I have storage for next year. Been a while since I've been here to the sticky and want to thank BStevens for his grate suggestion. That sounds like a "grate" idea to keep a good bed longer.




I tried a grate over the nozzle for a few weeks. Worked great to hold the coals but I noticed increased erosion where it was sitting on the ceramic. So I stopped using it.


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## Tennman

Thanks Mike. Guess the verdict on the pros and cons of the grate are still out. Think I'll give the grate users time to see if they get erosion also.


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## Trex83

Hello everyone,
wanted to provide a little update on our BioMass 60 setup of this summer.
The pump we used on our older boiler had to be replaced. It was at about 12 GPM and the boiler started cycling (on-off) because it reached its operating temperature very quickly with the fan at 100%. We installed a pump that should have about 20 GPM if I calculated the head loss correctly. It may be too much, but it was the model over the one we had. Recommendation for others, get a good size pump.
Comment on the primary and secondary openings: We left them back where they were when we got the boiler. We did play with them. Will post a picture soon next time I go to the boiler with the camera.
Overall very happy with the purchase/replacement: uses approx 1/3 of the wood our older boiler used, no problem reaching the maximum temperature and delivering the BTUs its supposed to. The Danfoss VTC valve works great. For a good 30 minutes, water was going to the boiler at 130 going out at 165 steady with a pump at about 12 GPM (if I calc the head loss correctly). That's 70% design capacity with no adjustments and the temperature raised to 166 and then the boiler dropped the fan output. Yes, very happy customer! We wont be able to install the flow meter we have so these are not steady state values.
trex
(edit: moved prior post from the biomass 60 review thread to here).


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## woodsmaster

You can turn the knob on the controller up so the fan dont shut off as soon if you want hotter water.


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## Trex83

woodsmaster said:


> You can turn the knob on the controller up so the fan dont shut off as soon if you want hotter water.


Yes Woodmaster, we understand we can increase the temperature with the knob. It still quit because the pump was not sufficient. With the new pump at medium setting, it works great and doesn't quit even when the storage tanks are almost fully charged (10F from final temperature).

We also changed the thermostat inside the Danfoss VTC mixing valve not long ago to a 150F minimum (its a charging storage tank thermostat). We found running the boiler hotter cuts on the start-up time, and the mixing valve now puts out hot water right away (at about 160F) instead of about 140F (with a 130F min thermostat).
It is still installed in its original position (see Danfoss spec sheet - boiler protection installation) but we use a "charging mode" thermostat. It still functions as a boiler protection.

This change is useful if an operator would want hot water right away (about 30 min from start-up on yesterday's coals) to send to the house instead of waiting (a few hours) for the boiler to slowly charge the tanks. Basically the mixing valve keeps the minimum temperature at 150F inside the boiler so depending on the speed of the pump and the heat output, the water coming out may be at 160-170F (instead of about 140F-150F when using a 130F min thermostat). I've also found on a website from Czech Rep. that their boilers are maintained at a minimum 150F with the Laddomat charging module. There is also the option to have a higher setting for the opening of the thermostat for the Laddomat. I would recommend taking a higher temperature to get that quick access to hot water soon after start-up.
Cheers
Trex83


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## CombatVetFamilyMan

Newbie needs assistance....
I had a Tarm Solo Plus 40 (no storage) installed in the basement of a new construction 2 floor colonial with a bonus room above the garage. approx 2400 sq/ft.  House is heated with baseboard units, garage and basement are not heated.  I've never had a wood boiler before (moved from the city into the woods of New Hampshire).  I've been playing with load size with the various outdoor temps.  After two nights of not sleeping because it was 80 F in the upstairs during the night, I shut down the unit and am running on LP, not what I want to do but the wife is pregnant, so.....you know...happy wife, happy life. The temp on the first floor was 62-64 F.  The outdoor temp during the night was approx 20 F.  I have the valve set to open when the tank reaches 140 F, I have the fan speed running at approx 70%.  the valve I'll call the safety valve is set to open if the tank gets to 200 F. Grundfos circulator pumps are set on high for the two zones on the first floor and low for the upstairs zone.  When I went to bed I added 2-3 more pieces of wood in the fire box that was only coals.  This was the first Tarm for the installer.  I had another guy who has installed several come and look at the set up and he told me it was correct.  I was thinking about closing off the 2nd floor zone at night.
Any suggestions?  Go easy on me, I'm just a rookie!


----------



## Trex83

CombatVetFamilyMan said:


> Newbie needs assistance....
> I had a Tarm Solo Plus 40 (no storage) installed in the basement of a new construction 2 floor colonial with a bonus room above the garage. approx 2400 sq/ft. House is heated with baseboard units, garage and basement are not heated. I've never had a wood boiler before (moved from the city into the woods of New Hampshire). I've been playing with load size with the various outdoor temps. After two nights of not sleeping because it was 80 F in the upstairs during the night, I shut down the unit and am running on LP, not what I want to do but the wife is pregnant, so.....you know...happy wife, happy life. The temp on the first floor was 62-64 F. The outdoor temp during the night was approx 20 F. I have the valve set to open when the tank reaches 140 F, I have the fan speed running at approx 70%. the valve I'll call the safety valve is set to open if the tank gets to 200 F. Grundfos circulator pumps are set on high for the two zones on the first floor and low for the upstairs zone. When I went to bed I added 2-3 more pieces of wood in the fire box that was only coals. This was the first Tarm for the installer. I had another guy who has installed several come and look at the set up and he told me it was correct. I was thinking about closing off the 2nd floor zone at night.
> Any suggestions? Go easy on me, I'm just a rookie!


 
If the boiler is running well, maybe we need to move this post to the piping section?
How do you manage the zones, do you have a thermostat for each floor, what is your loop/header configuration. A picture of the loop, lenght of piping, supply/return temperatures of each loop, model # of pump, and if you have a balancing valve on your header. Also would like to know more details about the LP system. Is it using the same loop and piping configuration? There is a thread on piping configurations that has a sticky to it, so it should be up in the list.
Keep that belly warm!
Trex83


----------



## mikefrommaine

If you start a new thread more people will see it and be able to help.


----------



## KenLockett

CombatVetFamilyMan said:


> Newbie needs assistance....
> I had a Tarm Solo Plus 40 (no storage) installed in the basement of a new construction 2 floor colonial with a bonus room above the garage. approx 2400 sq/ft. House is heated with baseboard units, garage and basement are not heated. I've never had a wood boiler before (moved from the city into the woods of New Hampshire). I've been playing with load size with the various outdoor temps. After two nights of not sleeping because it was 80 F in the upstairs during the night, I shut down the unit and am running on LP, not what I want to do but the wife is pregnant, so.....you know...happy wife, happy life. The temp on the first floor was 62-64 F. The outdoor temp during the night was approx 20 F. I have the valve set to open when the tank reaches 140 F, I have the fan speed running at approx 70%. the valve I'll call the safety valve is set to open if the tank gets to 200 F. Grundfos circulator pumps are set on high for the two zones on the first floor and low for the upstairs zone. When I went to bed I added 2-3 more pieces of wood in the fire box that was only coals. This was the first Tarm for the installer. I had another guy who has installed several come and look at the set up and he told me it was correct. I was thinking about closing off the 2nd floor zone at night.
> Any suggestions? Go easy on me, I'm just a rookie!


 

I may be of assistance as I am now one year into a Tarm Solo Plus 40 with no storage in the upstate NY area.  Have learned a tremendous amount over the last year mostly through trial and error and of course from this forum.  First things first, do you have a plumbing and wiring schematic(s) that you can send or post so I and everyone have a better idea how your system was installed.  This is very important.


----------



## CombatVetFamilyMan

mikefrommaine said:


> If you start a new thread more people will see it and be able to help.


 Thanks, I just started a new thread!


----------



## KevinLa

Hello all,

I have just purchased a Biomass Combo 40 (Oil) without storage. I've been running it for about a day now. I'm using wood (mostly oak) I split this spring - meter says it's 15-20% but I don't know if I trust it. I was having issues yesterday with the gasification - it would only last a few seconds and then stop. I would open the bypass (sometimes move some coals around) and close it. Every time I would close the bypass, gasification would occur (whether I moved coals or not), but only for a little while. Last night it finally was gasifying all night. This morning, I just had a few coals in there, opened the bypass, filled with wood and closed the bypass. It was not gasifying for more than a few seconds and there was ALOT of smoke coming out of the chimney. I read this forum and decided to play with the primary and secondary. Opening the secondary seemed to create a better gasification, but still only lasts a few minutes. I'm a complete newbie (over a day with this thing now) - I could really use some tips.

Also, when I opened up the center piece to play around with the primary/secondary, I noticed the black paint appears to be burning off in the center – is this normal or something I should be concerned with?

Thanks


----------



## mikefrommaine

KevinLa said:


> Hello all,
> 
> I have just purchased a Biomass Combo 40 (Oil) without storage. I've been running it for about a day now. I'm using wood (mostly oak) I split this spring - meter says it's 15-20% but I don't know if I trust it. I was having issues yesterday with the gasification - it would only last a few seconds and then stop. I would open the bypass (sometimes move some coals around) and close it. Every time I would close the bypass, gasification would occur (whether I moved coals or not), but only for a little while. Last night it finally was gasifying all night. This morning, I just had a few coals in there, opened the bypass, filled with wood and closed the bypass. It was not gasifying for more than a few seconds and there was ALOT of smoke coming out of the chimney. I read this forum and decided to play with the primary and secondary. Opening the secondary seemed to create a better gasification, but still only lasts a few minutes. I'm a complete newbie (over a day with this thing now) - I could really use some tips.
> 
> Also, when I opened up the center piece to play around with the primary/secondary, I noticed the black paint appears to be burning off in the center – is this normal or something I should be concerned with?
> 
> Thanks



Oak that you split this spring probably won't be below 30% so i wouldn't trust your moisture meter. Are you resplitting the wood before you take a reading?

The peeling paint behind the access cover by the air adjustments is normal, at least for me.

I have a 60 so the adjustments may be different but I have found having the primaries wide open and the secondary barely open works well for the wood I am burning. Remember too much secondary air can blow out the gassification flame. Ecspecially if your wood is NOT (edit) seasoned well. The first few fires will be harder to get good gassification since the refractory pieces are still drying out.

Do you have any other wood to try. Once you get a good deep coal bed you could burn any wood and have it gassify. But without dry wood it takes a long to get a good coal bed if at all


----------



## woodsmaster

sounds like you might not be getting enough air.


----------



## Fred61

It's the wood for starters. I wouldn't try to tune the Biomass with wood split last spring. I cant get good performance with any wood processed in the spring, lastly oak.


----------



## KevinLa

mikefrommaine said:


> Oak that you split this spring probably won't be below 30% so i wouldn't trust your moisture meter. Are you resplitting the wood before you take a reading?
> 
> The peeling paint behind the access cover by the air adjustments is normal, at least for me.
> 
> I have a 60 so the adjustments may be different but I have found having the primaries wide open and the secondary barely open works well for the wood I am burning. Remember too much secondary air can blow out the gassification flame. Ecspecially if your wood is seasoned well. The first few fires will be harder to get good gassification since the refractory pieces are still drying out.
> 
> Do you have any other wood to try. Once you get a good deep coal bed you could burn any wood and have it gassify. But without dry wood it takes a long to get a good coal bed if at all


 

Thanks for responding so quickly. You are right, the wood is not seasoned enough. It is closer to 33%. I do not have access to some more seasoned wood (not on Christmas eve anyway) - I just moved into this house and only have access to the wood I have split. I will try to get some more seasoned wood to see if I will have better luck. Until then, is it safe to burn the wood I have? How bad is it to burn if there is no gasification?

Another thing I probably should mention is that the boiler is installed in the basement. I have cracked open a few windows, and will have a basement vent installed later this week. I know the booklet says this should be in a well-ventilated basement, but I'm not sure what qualifies as a well vented basement. 

I am not having a very good Christmas Eve... I left this evening at 3:00 to have Christmas Eve with family. The boiler temp was around 154 and climbing a bit before I left (I had set it for 170), so I loaded up some more wood. When I returned at 8:00 the inside of the house was VERY smokey and it was hard to breath. I went down stairs and the boiler was hot enough to turn off the fan on the back. I'm not sure where all of this smoke came from. I opened the doors and tried to get some more air in the house (and smoke out). The oil boiler started up soon after the doors were opened (it's cold outside right now) - I had expected the fan to come on and burn some of the wood that was loaded and smoldering. I was wondering if the boiler temp got too low and the oil burner triggered while I was away. I noticed if I turn the oil burner on while there is a fire going, I will get smoke in the room. Also, I notice the little black flapper that takes air in flaps like crazy when burning oil and make a really load PING PING PING... Anyone know how to stop that annoying ping ping noise when burning oil?


----------



## mikefrommaine

Can you post pics?

I leave the boler setpoint at 195, less cycling that way so you get a better fire going.

Do you have the flue pipe sealed with high temp sillicone? If not that can be the source of the smoke.

As far as burning unseasoned wood. Resplitting to very small pieces helps. But you will be creating creosote.


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## KevinLa

Thanks again for replying (and so quickly).  The flue is sealed with high temp sillicone, and I do not see any smoke from that area.  I have seen smoke right around the area with the peeling paint.  I'm also really confused why the oil burner kicked on again last night (and filled more smoke into the house).  I stopped and started again - started burning wood right away.  This morning it looks fine and I loaded more wood in.  There was no smoke coming out of the chimney before I loaded more wood.  There's a pic of the chimney right after loading more wood.  I think some smoke is escaping into the house when the boiler goes idle (and especially when the oil burner kicks on).  There's a really strong smokey smell (like I'm making wood alcohol).  I have to go away again tonight, and I'm dreading coming home to a smoke filled house again with the oil burner going.  I wanted the oil as backup in case the wood fuel ran out - if the house is supposed to get smokey when that happens, I'd rather the oil not kick on at all.  How much smoke/smokey smell is normal with these things? 

Arrrgggg...  While I was uploading photos, it happened again.  The oil boiler kicked on and smoke filled the house.  I could clearly see smoke pouring out of the top (wood loader door) while the oil burner was running.


----------



## mikefrommaine

Once you get things sealed up you shouldn't have any smoke smell. The hinges and latch on the top door can all be adjusted to get a better seal.

You may be able to disconnect the jumper wire on the oil burner primary to prevent the oil from firing at all. Usually there is a jumper wire between terminals 3 and 4 (sometimes labeled t,t) without that jumper the oil burner will not fire.


----------



## Tennman

Did the smoke in your house smell like wood or from the oil? My guess is the wood. Something is choked for smoke to come out your air supply adjustments where the paint is peeled. I'm trying to imagine how that can happen. Your flue good and clear??? My flue cap screen has gotten clogged from burning moist wood. Make sure the flue wire mesh is not clogged. You need to be eliminating what's not wrong. We'll help... Merry Christmas!


----------



## KevinLa

mikefrommaine said:


> Once you get things sealed up you shouldn't have any smoke smell. The hinges and latch on the top door can all be adjusted to get a better seal.
> 
> You may be able to disconnect the jumper wire on the oil burner primary to prevent the oil from firing at all. Usually there is a jumper wire between terminals 3 and 4 (sometimes labeled t,t) without that jumper the oil burner will not fire.


 
I'm relieved to hear there shouldn't be any smokey smell (not that I don't like the smell of burning wood - I just don't want to smell like a camp fire all day). For the oil boiler, I just unplugged the oil burner (strangely it has a plug that you just plug into an electrical outlet). I think I can set modes AR1 or AR2 to not have the oil burner kick on, but It's hard for me to follow some parts of the RK-2001UA manual.


----------



## KevinLa

Tennman said:


> Did the smoke in your house smell like wood or from the oil? My guess is the wood. Something is choked for smoke to come out your air supply adjustments where the paint is peeled. I'm trying to imagine how that can happen. Your flue good and clear??? My flue cap screen has gotten clogged from burning moist wood. Make sure the flue wire mesh is not clogged. You need to be eliminating what's not wrong. We'll help... Merry Christmas!


 


Tennman said:


> wood or from the oil? My guess is the wood. Something is choked for smoke to come out your air supply adjustments


 
It is definitely a wood smell and it appears now to only happen when the oil burner kicks on and there is still wood burning. Is there something in this unit to prevent exhaust from wood and exhaust from oil mixing?

Here are some more newbie questions that I’m almost too embarrassed to ask…

When burning wood and the boiler gets up to temp, the fan will stop – what happens to all of that smoke from the wood while it’s waiting for the fan to come back on and start the gasification again?   Does is just go up the chimney?  Does this create creosote while idling?

I had my flue cleaned before the boiler was installed. I do not have a steel lining on this flue, the installer said I could wait until spring to have that done – should I wait or have that installed ASAP?   

Thanks to all for your help and Merry Christmas!


----------



## mikefrommaine

KevinLa said:


> Here are some more newbie questions that I’m almost too embarrassed to ask…
> 
> When burning wood and the boiler gets up to temp, the fan will stop – what happens to all of that smoke from the wood while it’s waiting for the fan to come back on and start the gasification again?   Does is just go up the chimney?  Does this create creosote while idling?
> 
> I had my flue cleaned before the boiler was installed. I do not have a steel lining on this flue, the installer said I could wait until spring to have that done – should I wait or have that installed ASAP?
> 
> Thanks to all for your help and Merry Christmas!




When the boiler idles and the fan shuts off the fire smolders and lines the upper chamber with creosote. Which is normal it happens to all downdraft gassers. You could be getting some smoke leaking out the door then if there is not a nice tight seal on the door gasket. I had to adjust the the roller latch on the upper door in one turn after about a year of burning. The controller is set from the factory to cycle the fan every 6 minutes while idleing to exhaust the smoke. I changed mine to cycle the fan every 90 minutes and dont have any smoke smell in the boiler room.

As far as the liner if you have a single brick chimney without a clay liner then it should be done immediately. Otherwise if you have a chimney with a liner it all depends on condition.


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## Tennman

Never be embarrassed about asking questions. We've all been there. I find it suspicious you smell or see smoke when the oil kicks on. I know nothing about the combo boilers. It might be as simple as what mike suggested and your door hinge needs adjustment to create a better seal. Sometimes using just a small mag light in the dark you can spot the smoke leak source.


----------



## KevinLa

Tennman said:


> Never be embarrassed about asking questions. We've all been there. I find it suspicious you smell or see smoke when the oil kicks on. I know nothing about the combo boilers. It might be as simple as what mike suggested and your door hinge needs adjustment to create a better seal. Sometimes using just a small mag light in the dark you can spot the smoke leak source.


 


Tennman said:


> Never be embarrassed about asking questions. We've all been there. I find it suspicious you smell or see smoke when the oil kicks on. I know nothing about the combo boilers. It might be as simple as what mike suggested and your door hinge needs adjustment to create a better seal. Sometimes using just a small mag light in the dark you can spot the smoke leak source


 
Thanks.  I have some well seasoned wood being delivered today, so I will be firing up in a few hours.  I'll try the mag light to see if smoke is coming from the load box when idling.  I haven't seen smoke coming from the box when idling with only wood - only when the oil kicks on while there is still wood smoldering in the load box.

...Great, the "2 1/2 year seasoned oak" delivery guy just came to the door.  I explained before having delivered that it was for a wood boiler and must have around 20% moisture.  I split and checked the moisture - 30% (about the same as most of the 20 cords I split this spring).  I refused delivery, but gave him $20 for driving out to the house.


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## dara

Controlling the oil boiler ignition thru the Rk-2001 may be the highest wall I've hit in my first year of burning my biomass 40. Notice that I used I and My in the first sentence.That is because my wife has made it clear that there is no WE in this venture. I reprinted and read several copies of the controller operation manual, installed the wire from Honeywell R7184 oil primary to the Ar 0 ports on the Rk-2001unit. thermostat call for heat and oil boiler keep running with good fire in Biomass 40. Snipped the wire on jumper TT, now oil boiler will not fire at all.
Zennon tells me that I need a relay. I can' fint that page in the manual.

Oil boiler and zone valves are controlled by Honeywell L7224 electronic aquastat. Wood hot water is feeding into return to oil boiler just befor the circulator pump.

Does anyone have a wiring diagrahm for Dummies that will fire oil only when gassifier is not up to a usable temp. Alos need to know where and what kind of relay needs installed.


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## Fred61

I could have missed this but I'll ask: Is your oil boiler "cold start"?


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## Chesuncook1

dara said:


> Controlling the oil boiler ignition thru the Rk-2001 may be the highest wall I've hit in my first year of burning my biomass 40. Notice that I used I and My in the first sentence.That is because my wife has made it clear that there is no WE in this venture. I reprinted and read several copies of the controller operation manual, installed the wire from Honeywell R7184 oil primary to the Ar 0 ports on the Rk-2001unit. thermostat call for heat and oil boiler keep running with good fire in Biomass 40. Snipped the wire on jumper TT, now oil boiler will not fire at all.
> Zennon tells me that I need a relay. I can' fint that page in the manual.
> 
> Oil boiler and zone valves are controlled by Honeywell L7224 electronic aquastat. Wood hot water is feeding into return to oil boiler just befor the circulator pump.
> 
> Does anyone have a wiring diagrahm for Dummies that will fire oil only when gassifier is not up to a usable temp. Alos need to know where and what kind of relay needs installed.


 
Hi Dara,
from what I understand, if you go from the Ar 0 on the Rk-2001 controller to the TT jumper you cut on the burner, the oil burner will only fire when the controller says "Fuel". Maybe check those connections again.

I have 500 gal. of storage so that would not work for me. If you can not get that to work, you could use the following which is what I used.
Johnson Controls A419 Electronic Temperature Control. It comes in 24 and 120 volt. I used the 24 volt model. You can pick up 24 volts from any relay you have to operate the digital display. These controls are very versatile, have both normally open and closed terminals. This control can be set for cut in or out at set temperature. The control comes with a temperature sensor bulb with 6' of wire (can be extended) and you can place it on the 2" outlet on top of the furnace. You need to put some insulation around the bulb for proper operation. Set the control to heating mode and cut-in at set point. If you set the control at say 120 degrees, the oil burn will not come on until the outlet on the wood boiler is down to that temperature. I used 2 of these in my installation. You can purchase at any burner supply or from Pex Supply online for about $60.

I am a newby but have learned a lot in the past few weeks as I just installed my Biomass 40 and have been using it since 12/20/12 I never dreamed that so much was involved. I would like to thank everyone for this wonderful forum as it has been so helpful for me during the install process. This is my first post and there will be many more as I would like to help anyone I can because all of you have helped me so much without even knowing it.

Scott


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## Tennman

Very glad to have you here Scott. Welcome and thanks for your inputs.


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## Trex83

Just to add to the unseasoned wood topic, we have hardwood from last fall. Still measures 25-30%. Doesn't work well. The softwood (red pine) from last fall works great and its 20%, so my dad mixes both types of wood after the hardwood has dried a little bit inside the boiler room.
Looking into buying an oxygen sensor to install in the flue so that my father can tune the primary-secondary air because he's always trying with different types of wood. Will let you know what we will do.
Cheers,
Trex83


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## Tennman

Read discussions about oxygen sensors used on the lambda boilers but never occurred to me to install one to optimize the inlet ports. Looking forward to seeing his solution for a display off the sensor and what sensor he uses. Keep us informed. I'd love to add to my boiler.


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## Trex83

Tennman said:


> Read discussions about oxygen sensors used on the lambda boilers but never occurred to me to install one to optimize the inlet ports. Looking forward to seeing his solution for a display off the sensor and what sensor he uses. Keep us informed. I'd love to add to my boiler.


 
Right now Tennman, we just have the sensor and the cables shipped with the unit. Using a MTX-L from Innovate Motorsports running with an LSU 4.2 Bosch sensor (recommendation from Burt's Greenhouse in Odessa, ON and the gasification forum -  gasification at lists.bioenergylists.org ).
My dad has to weld the bung in the chimney adaptor on the boiler and I have to find a suitable 12 Vdc 2A power supply and a small mounting box to keep the dust out of there.
The Froling S4 Turbomatic video seems to put their lambda sensors after the exhaust blower, that's where my dad will put it.
I'll let you know when its going to be hooked up and running.
Trex


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## Tennman

Man you have me jazzed about hot rodding my boiler. So what I think you're saying is you bought the MTX-L from some motorsports supplier and the Bosch sensor from, I guess, an automotive supply house. It looks like that automotive Innovate display does everything, including some neat outputs to a computer if you want. All you do is give the Innovate 12VDC power or something and you have a complete oxygen sensor system for fine tuning the boiler. This looks like a pretty simple add-on. This is very cool Trex! Tell your dad thanks for the research. Yes, keep us informed. I'm thinking this will be very useful for tuning air settings. BTW, 2800 liters is about 740 gals. For us down here that's an odd size and a little under the usual 1000 gal storage used with a 60 boiler. Is 2800l a standard propane tank size in Canada? Why 2800l or 740 gal?


----------



## taxidermist

Tennman said:


> Man you have me jazzed about hot rodding my boiler. So what I think you're saying is you bought the MTX-L from some motorsports supplier and the Bosch sensor from, I guess, an automotive supply house. It looks like that automotive Innovate display does everything, including some neat outputs to a computer if you want. All you do is give the Innovate 12VDC power or something and you have a complete oxygen sensor system for fine tuning the boiler. This looks like a pretty simple add-on. This is very cool Trex! Tell your dad thanks for the research. Yes, keep us informed. I'm thinking this will be very useful for tuning air settings. BTW, 2800 liters is about 740 gals. For us down here that's an odd size and a little under the usual 1000 gal storage used with a 60 boiler. Is 2800l a standard propane tank size in Canada? Why 2800l or 740 gal?


 
OH MAN Larry! here we go we should race our boilers when we get done installing our lamda sensors. LOL


----------



## mikefrommaine

taxidermist said:


> OH MAN Larry! here we go we should race our boilers when we get done installing our lamda sensors. LOL


I can hear it now...
My biomass can take a 1000 gallons from 140 to 190 in 4.2 hours.


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## Tennman

Yes indeed LOL seems too mild Where the heck is that funny face icon menu I'll bet you a quarter I can SMOKE both of you guys! (Where the heck are those funny faces on this iPad!?!**!)


----------



## Downeastinmaine

I installed a biomass 60 on 12/04/12. I have nothing but trouble with it. I have spent probably 60 hours messing with it. First I was burning old wood for my wood stove. It was dry but split big. I was getting "FUEL" outs as you can expect. I split the wood down to 4-5 inch size with the same results. Then I had some 4 foot sticks that had been cut for two years, mostly small tops, about 4 inch diameter that I cut to 2 foot sticks and I get the same thing. I dont know what to do. I am getting a lot of smoke out of the chimney and not the steam that everyone talks about. I get a blueish whiteish flame when I have a good bed of coals but there is still smoke. My primaries are about 3/4 of the way open and my secondary is about 1/3. I will post pics later. Lately while gassing, the secondary port hole has been rattling. Im not sure what that means. Any advice?  By the way, thank you to all who have posted on this topic. it has got me going in the right direction.....I think.
Also, has anyone tried suppletmenting with coal to extend burn times? In the manual it says "50% soft coal", what does that mean? I appreciate all replies.


----------



## taxidermist

Downeastinmaine said:


> I installed a biomass 60 on 12/04/12. I have nothing but trouble with it. I have spent probably 60 hours messing with it. First I was burning old wood for my wood stove. It was dry but split big. I was getting "FUEL" outs as you can expect. I split the wood down to 4-5 inch size with the same results. Then I had some 4 foot sticks that had been cut for two years, mostly small tops, about 4 inch diameter that I cut to 2 foot sticks and I get the same thing. I dont know what to do. I am getting a lot of smoke out of the chimney and not the steam that everyone talks about. I get a blueish whiteish flame when I have a good bed of coals but there is still smoke. My primaries are about 3/4 of the way open and my secondary is about 1/3. I will post pics later. Lately while gassing, the secondary port hole has been rattling. Im not sure what that means. Any advice? By the way, thank you to all who have posted on this topic. it has got me going in the right direction.....I think.
> Also, has anyone tried suppletmenting with coal to extend burn times? In the manual it says "50% soft coal", what does that mean? I appreciate all replies.


 

Smoke is from unseasoned wood.....Well lets call in not enough seasoning for a gasser...lol

Tell us a little more info
Fan speeds
fan shutter % open
Type of wood your burning

Also only 60 hrs messing with it? man you need to spend more time with it treat it like a new born child...LOL

Dont worry the guys here can get you burning like a pro in no time.

Rob


----------



## Downeastinmaine

taxidermist said:


> Smoke is from unseasoned wood.....Well lets call in not enough seasoning for a gasser...lol
> 
> Tell us a little more info
> Fan speeds
> fan shutter % open
> Type of wood your burning
> 
> Also only 60 hrs messing with it? man you need to spend more time with it treat it like a new born child...LOL
> 
> Dont worry the guys here can get you burning like a pro in no time.
> 
> Rob


 
Rob,
I appreciate the quick reply. I am burning mostly beech, yellow birch and maple. Fan is changing all the time. I try to go as low as possible to stop blowing holes in my coal bed. shutter is open about 25%. 60 hours doesnt count the 1/2 hour to an hour I wait each load until im sure thats its going good. Do you know what the rattling of the secondary hole is?


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## Fred61

How old is the"old wood" for the stove and how long has it been split and stacked under cover?
2 year old rounds may not be dry enough. Wood that is completely encapsulated by the bark dries very slow. I usually try to split even the smaller rounds before I stack it. If a round is too small, I just zip the chainsaw down the length of the piece and it will dry twice as fast as long as you penetrated the bark and the sapwood is visible.


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## Downeastinmaine

Fred61 said:


> How old is the"old wood" for the stove and how long has it been split and stacked under cover?
> 2 year old rounds may not be dry enough. Wood that is completely encapsulated by the bark dries very slow. I usually try to split even the smaller rounds before I stack it. If a round is too small, I just zip the chainsaw down the length of the piece and it will dry twice as fast as long as you penetrated the bark and the sapwood is visible.


 
The old wood has been split and stacked for summers. it was split a little big for a gasser but i split it again about a month ago to suit the gasser.  Thanks for the advice about the tops though. I thought round was the way to go


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## mikefrommaine

Wood issues aside try the following and let us know how it goes.

Set the controller for 
190 set point
100% fan speed
Pump Launch temp of 165 or 170

Primaries wide open
Air shutter wide open
Secondaries almost closed, like 1/8 open

Make sure the weight on the front flap is set so the damper is opening and closing when the fan is on/off.

Load the boiler with your smallest splits first, then some kindling, then cardboard, then fill about 1/2 way with your regular wood. Light the cardboard and leave the door cracked until you are sure the fire is going to burn. Then close, shouldnt need to  open again. You should have an almost instant secondary flame once the kindling gets going. Sometimes it will stall untill the first layer of splits gets going but should be gassing well within 20 minutes and stay that way until it is out of wood.

I suspect your secondary is open too much and is blowing out the gassification flame. Also need to make sure the upper chamber is getting plenty of air, ecspecially if the wood is not well seasoned.


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## taxidermist

Well I tell everyone new to run at 100% open fan and speed at 100% until you figure it out. Then start changing only fan speeds Your setting sound ok for Pri and Sec I think you are just starving it for air.

To keep from getting the fuel light change your fb setting to 2hr and your fd setting to 00 and see if that helps.

Our gassers hate round wood I split limb wood at least once

Are you using storage?

Rob


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## mikefrommaine

1/3 open on the secondary is too much. On the biomass the secondary inlet is a round hole with a piece of metal you can slide over it to close it down. A little adjustment makes a big difference. 

Once you get a good fire going with a bed of coals you can adjust the secondary. Turn down the secondary air adjustment until the flame goes out. Then open it up and getting it going again, the continue opening until the secondary flame goes out again. Then leave it set in the middle of the two extremes.

I've had mine at ~15% all year with good results. 1/3 and the secondary gassification is very poor and intermittent.


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## taxidermist

mikefrommaine said:


> 1/3 open on the secondary is too much. On the biomass the secondary inlet is a round hole with a piece of metal you can slide over it to close it down. A little adjustment makes a big difference.
> 
> Once you get a good fire going with a bed of coals you can adjust the secondary. Turn down the secondary air adjustment until the flame goes out. Then open it up and getting it going again, the continue opening until the secondary flame goes out again. Then leave it set in the middle of the two extremes.
> 
> I've had mine at ~15% all year with good results. 1/3 and the secondary gassification is very poor and intermittent.


 

Good info MIke!


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## Trex83

taxidermist said:


> OH MAN Larry! here we go we should race our boilers when we get done installing our lamda sensors. LOL


 
All right all right there! I wanted to come back and write about the O2 sensor and other stuff we've been up to but I have to start work early (this morning) so I'll come back later this week.
Overall, my father is very pleased with the sensor, mainly removes the issues in assessing if the boiler will stop gassing when using wet wood.
More to come soon.
Trex


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## Tennman

Trex, Did your dad stick with the components and part numbers you posted back in Jan 9 for the O2 sensor? I intend to add that sensor this summer when I do my system upgrades. Have one 500 gal propane tank and looking for the other for my storage add-on. Hope to be posting pics in several months of the new system.

BTW to all BioMass users. Just finishing my 4th season and I don't know if how/what I burn makes a difference regarding nozzle erosion, but my consumption has gone up dramatically with my worn out nozzle. I'll measure the opening and post, but I'd guess the nozzle opening on the primary side has doubled in size basically creating a funnel. The consequence is lots of coals approaching golf ball size in the lower. Easy to image the consequence of rapidly losing coals of that size. Just a heads up that by the 4th season having a spare nozzle on hand might be a good idea. I received mine several months ago from New Horizons and after an hour attempting replacement decided to just wait for end of season shut down to tackle. I'm tempted to cut an expendable metal nozzle entrance from ~1/4" steel to protect the nozzle's ceramic opening. Not sure if that's a good idea or not but have plenty of scrap plate on hand to try. Mainly posting giving a heads up on nozzle erosion so you guys don't get creamed on efficiency mid-season like I did. Ending another season. The best season yet and looking forward to the experiencing storage next season, but thankful at the moment to finally experience Spring and my other passions that need nice weather.

Any other BioMass lessons learned from this season I'd love to hear. AND glad to be still able to pick Mike's brain about his BioMass since he's not going V-gun.


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## woodsmaster

I just patched my nozzle erosion again and think I may be good for another year ! Used some premixed stuff I got at Menards. I have a spare on hand just in case.


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## mikefrommaine

I've been really happy with the sacrificial firebrick overlay that I made. Cost less than $10 and has and appears to have stopped the nozzle erosion.  I'll get some before and after pics when I do the end of season clean out. But I see no problems with keeping my original nozzle for another couple seasons.


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## goodwood

Tennman said:


> Trex, Did your dad stick with the components and part numbers you posted back in Jan 9 for the O2 sensor? I intend to add that sensor this summer when I do my system upgrades. Have one 500 gal propane tank and looking for the other for my storage add-on. Hope to be posting pics in several months of the new system.
> 
> BTW to all BioMass users. Just finishing my 4th season and I don't know if how/what I burn makes a difference regarding nozzle erosion, but my consumption has gone up dramatically with my worn out nozzle. I'll measure the opening and post, but I'd guess the nozzle opening on the primary side has doubled in size basically creating a funnel. The consequence is lots of coals approaching golf ball size in the lower. Easy to image the consequence of rapidly losing coals of that size. Just a heads up that by the 4th season having a spare nozzle on hand might be a good idea. I received mine several months ago from New Horizons and after an hour attempting replacement decided to just wait for end of season shut down to tackle. I'm tempted to cut an expendable metal nozzle entrance from ~1/4" steel to protect the nozzle's ceramic opening. Not sure if that's a good idea or not but have plenty of scrap plate on hand to try. Mainly posting giving a heads up on nozzle erosion so you guys don't get creamed on efficiency mid-season like I did. Ending another season. The best season yet and looking forward to the experiencing storage next season, but thankful at the moment to finally experience Spring and my other passions that need nice weather.
> 
> Any other BioMass lessons learned from this season I'd love to hear. AND glad to be still able to pick Mike's brain about his BioMass since he's not going V-gun.


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## goodwood

my nozzle eroded badly after only 1season,I was loosing big coals dropping into lower chamber,I was scooping them up and throwing them back in upper loading door for awhile, tried the firebrick overlay,seems to work fine so far, i've got a new nozzle,i am looking forward to hearing how much of a job it is to replace before i attempt it


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## Tennman

Yeah, I forgot about the firebrick suggestion. I'll be doing something next year to stretch replacing the nozzle. Will post some pics and methods once I figure out how to remove the nozzle. I asked someone before and I think you have to remove the side blocks to get the nozzle out. I also see in the gaps something that looks like some type of woven, fiberglass rope. I'll figure it out when I get all the ceramics out. She's shut down for cleaning and storage plumbing. I wanna say, " Can't wait..", but yes I can. Glad Spring's here! Yep, gonna get some firebrick.


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## MarkW

Just fired my 60 for the first time yesterday.  Using Mike's setting worked well.  I'm using my pool w/he as a load so I can learn the finer points of running this before next winter rolls around.
I definately need practice maintaining optimal operation but I was able to take 12000gal from 67 to 80 in 9-10 hrs. I'm thrilled with that! Only ran through about 2 wheel barrel loads of wood to do that.
At this rate, I'll be ready for both winter and swimming soon


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## Tennman

Congrats and welcome Mark. I just noticed you posted here. Do you have storage? Well it's now mid-July so you should be doing some swimming now. Good to have more 60s running.


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## MarkW

Yes, we are able to swim when we like despite the nonexistent summer. A few hours with the 60 and the pool is whatever temp we choose. I'm quite pleased with this boiler.
I do have 1500 gallons available for storage for this winter's heat I g and feel quite certain that my 60 will do great for us. Using my pool as a load has provided excellent experience in operating the Biomass.


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## ElkRiverFJ

mikefrommaine said:


> Primaries wide open Air shutter wide open Secondaries almost closed, like 1/8 open Make sure the weight on the front flap is set so the damper is opening and closing when the fan is on/off. Load the boiler with your smallest splits first, then some kindling, then cardboard, then fill about 1/2 way with your regular wood. Light the cardboard and leave the door cracked until you are sure the fire is going to burn. Then close, shouldnt need to open again. You should have an almost instant secondary flame once the kindling gets going. Sometimes it will stall untill the first layer of splits gets going but should be gassing well within 20 minutes and stay that way until it is out of wood. I suspect your secondary is open too much and is blowing out the gassification flame. Also need to make sure the upper chamber is getting plenty of air, ecspecially if the wood is not well seasoned.



I just wanted to chime in to this thread to say thanks for all the information you give here. I have finished up a BioMass 25 install (well...almost done..I'm already seeing some modifications and rewiring I'd like to do...LOL).  
I don't know what I would have done without this forum, and Mike's settings gave me a good starting point.  Currently I am running with the following:

Fan Speed: 100%
Primaries : 90% open
Secondary: 25% open
Front shutter: approx 40%?? open

I will say my biggest problem is the old crutch that is repeated over and over: wood not dry enough. I suppose I was naive assuming my 1.5yr old white oak would be dry, but my newly acquired moisture meter is showing 20-32%.  

My first few burns I was getting a lot of bridging and "blow through", but I have been able to tweak how I stack and I add in some lumber scraps (new home build) to the bottom which seems to help.  I tried running with lower fan and lower openings on the Secondary, and it seems to be OK if I have dry wood, but the above settings seem to be best to make it all the way through a burn without a lot of fiddling. Again, I may be in a different ballgame with dry wood, I'll just have to wait and see.  I know I've spent a lot of time down on my hands and knees peering through that sight glass at the flame..they should make an upside down periscope option for these things!

Oh, just to add, I have 800 gallons of pressurized storage (two vertical 400 gallon industrial air tanks), Utility room in basement of house houses the boiler, tanks and controls. The original plan was a shed but time and budget fell through on that.


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## jhunter19

Well, toward the end of last winter, the cleanout handle broke off my Biomass 40 (this is my 5th break).  so for about 2-3 weeks, I burned with out cleaning out the turbulators. Now I want to completely remove the turbulators and give the heat exchanges a good cleaning.  Question 1: How do the turbulators come off the pin?  I cannot seem to get it free.  Question 2:  what size brush should one use to clean the tubes?  Please note my lift for removing the turbulators.


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## woodsmaster

jhunter19 said:


> View attachment 116394
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well, toward the end of last winter, the cleanout handle broke off my Biomass 40 (this is my 5th break).  so for about 2-3 weeks, I burned with out cleaning out the turbulators. Now I want to completely remove the turbulators and give the heat exchanges a good cleaning.  Question 1: How do the turbulators come off the pin?  I cannot seem to get it free.  Question 2:  what size brush should one use to clean the tubes?  Please note my lift for removing the turbulators.



 Wow, mine don't creosote like that. Four handles really ? You must be burning damp wood or doing a lot of idling. I dont even use the handle on mine. I unhooked it and clean the tubes two or three times a year when stack temps start climbing. I just have a steel rod threw the hole in each turb to hold them up and it makes them easy to take out for cleaning.


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## Tennman

I've had the worst of both conditions; burning what I thot was dry wood and lots of idling. Not having storage I've spent a lot of time figuring out how to run our boiler at low efficiency to extend the burn as long as possible. Seen crud like yours mainly accumulate around the damper. #1 - I've learned to not be afraid of thrashing my handle hard. First year I was delicate on the turb handle. Now I let it drop pretty hard to get the shock value. But mainly I've developed the habit of using that cleaner 2-3 times a day and dropping the handle probably 4-6 or more times when I use it. I only takes seconds to do. I notice particularly since I'm not running wide open without storage, if I don't do it daily it has a noticeable growing resistance... the clue junk's accumulating on those turbs. Even with my conditions running far from ideal I've never come close to breaking the handle. How many times a day do you exercise the turbs. BTW, I didn't even know about cleaning that top chamber for about 3 years... Someone mentioned taking that top cover off and doing cleaning and I was stunned. A lot of stuff accumulated but mainly fluffy black sooty stuff. Not the hardened sticky stuff I'd see on my damper door. Looks like you have a wet wood problem. Also, running with my conditions I've had to clean off probably about as much as 3/16"-1/4" accumulation of crud under the damper (yep, I let it build up that long since I didn't know about that top cover!). I say all this to point out when I've seen stuff like this in my boiler it was just about always something bad I was doing.


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## GregMajecki

This installation was done this fall. I have some questions that i would like to get answared.
Loading unit LK810 should i install plug or keep back flow preventer in. Also i am getting flow through house zone when loading unit is running and it’s getting worse with the water temp. gets higher. Zone pumps 07 IFC
I am having hard time bringing tanks to temperature. Loading unit pump on at 170F then the boiler temp. drops to 165F pump of and the process repeats.
Thanks Greg


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## woodsmaster

how long have you been trying ? what are the tank temperatures ? Are you gassing good ? No smoke out the chimney ?


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## GregMajecki

I always get smoke my flame is orange/purple so i think the boiler is gasifying ok. I always get black build up in the upper chamber. I have been trying to bring boiler up to temp 190 but the most i can get is 176. tank temp. I am not sure about i have placed the sensors on the tanks but they are not connected yet. I have to watch boiler over the weekend and see what the highest temp. i can get. One think i don't understand is the LK810 loading unit when the pump is not working lets water flow through it.


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## woodsmaster

If you can see smoke out the chimney you don't have your air adjusted right or have wet wood. there should,t be any smoke. black creosote in the upper chamber is normal. I don't Know any thing about that loading unit.


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## MarkW

So, I've just completed my first week burning for heat since summer when I ran my 60 to heat my pool and learn its
's operation.  While we are warm, I have to say I'm not so thrilled with the water-air exchange I'm running now but that wasn't unexpected. I hope to build new next year and will go radiant so thus should be only temporary.
That said, my delima lies in needing to run highrr temps for the exchangers. What's bothering me is the pump running all the time above 170 even when the 60 is idling or out of fuel. Seems to me I'm losing heat up the stack or to my boiler room when the unit isn't firing because the pump won't shut off closer to my target temp of 190-195.Am I just obcessing too much or is there a solution to keep the differential closer between pump on and target temp?


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## GregMajecki

You can get flue temperature sensor to control primary pump. I have one but not inslled yet
You get one from Dean http://www.smokelessheat.com


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## Tennman

New owners especially, but us older owners also.... I highly recommend gently removing the side bricks in the upper chamber before you get them bonded in with creosote and hard ashes. I was told they simply pulled out but when they're hard glued in you have no way of knowing if what your doing is wrong, After 4 seasons my nozzle was so bad patching/fixing was not an option and you can't replace the nozzle without removing the side bricks. I not only had creosote down in the joints but it had bonded the backside of the side bricks to the metal. I wish I had known how they went in and out because they were locked in solid. We broke one side brick and damaged all of them. New Horizon has none of these in stock at the moment, so we'll wing it. We had to grind on the new nozzle sides to get it to go back in the steel cavity. Not a big deal, just letting you guys know my nozzle did not just drop in. With my Spring cleaning I will always now extract the side bricks to clean and not allow a 4 year buildup of goop to bond those in. Replacing the bottom chamber ceramics is easy, but in the upper chamber if you have no clue about what you're doing and they're stuck it is really ugly. It will never be easier to just see how they come out as before the first fire. Wish I had known. Merry Christmas to all!

BTW, I've plasma cut an expendable steel plate to lay over my nozzle. It covers the whole flap bottom of the upper chamber. It was cut from scrap mild steel and even if I go thru 2 of these a season it will be far simpler than redoing that nasty nozzle replacement. AND, last season the boiler efficiency went down the toilet with that nice big funnel for ashes to fall thru. Storage install going slow due to work commitments.


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## Fred61

Ugly glue problems will subside when your storage is online. All the ceramics in my Eko upper chamber are white.


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## Tennman

I'm really looking forward to that Fred, hard to imagine but I believe you. My work schedule is really hurting my storage install. But at least now I can fire her up and get off propane.


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## GregMajecki

woodmaster
What are your air adjustments?

It seems like my air adjustment is all over the place. Sometimes I get good results with and another day I have to change it.
It seems like is impossible to get no smoke out of chimney.
I spoke with Zenon and he said no more then 1/4" on the secondary, but 1/4" is not working for my boiler. I have to open secondary to 50% of the hole then I get bright orange flan with some purple/blue.


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## woodsmaster

Post 19 and 20 is still where I have my air set at. Iv'e burnt white ash and white oak with those settings and it works great. only time I get smoke is if I get some bridging. Havn't adjusted my air in a long time.


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## GregMajecki

I am really frustrated with the biomass 40. I always get smoke and last few days a lot. This think smoke more than non-gasification stove.
Does anybody have procedure (stapes) to follow, thinks to check to tune the boiler.


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## Tennman

Greg, I'm presuming this is your first season so let me reassure you... I'm 99.9% sure it's wood, tuning, or one or your processes. My first season my wood was far from idea and when I had a good coal bed there was very little smoke. I'll bet your settings aren't far off. Hopefully another 40 user will chime in. I'm always looking out the window at my flue for a hint of smoke telling me I have a blow thru hole. I used to try to burn much larger splits and have found smaller splits and higher setting temps dramatically reduces bridging and blow holes. You will learn over time how to stack and keep a good coal bed. I find even poorly seasoned wood will burn smoke free with a good coal bed. So try smaller splits, 3"-4" in dia. Until I got really dry wood I stacked to one side to avoid bridging which is basically the wood burning a big cavity over the nozzle and the  wood not falling and keeping the nozzle covered with a heathy bed of coals. Smoke is my clue that for some reason a hole has been blown thru my coal bed. In the past I found it more frequent when I tried to burn splits too big for the quality of my wood to keep that coal bed over the nozzle. Your problem is not a Biomass problem, it is common to new gasification boiler users, so I suggest you post a thread in the General Discussions where you'll get lots of good advice. So be patient and understand there absolutely is a learning curve to operating a gasification boiler and you'll see many things that effect it's operation.


----------



## GregMajecki

You are right Tennman good bed of coal is a key. I was burning all weekend and there was no smoke or very little when bridging.
But during week days when i load and leave for all day it smokes. How do you establish good bed of coals?


----------



## Fred61

Tennman said:


> I find even poorly seasoned wood will burn smoke free with a good coal bed.




I don't have a Biomass but with my 50 years experience burning wood, fifteen years with a gasser, I thought I might offer this nerdle of information. What you want to accomplish with your statement above is going to be difficult because poorly seasoned wood doesn't coal up well. The coals that get produced burn away faster than new make-up coals are being produced. That's what we call bridging. The fan fed fire is only burning on the extreme outer surface of the log while it's evaporating the water in the wood below the burning surface, resulting in low production of coals. Put a real dry split it in your firebox at peak burn and you'll see it turn into a pile of coals in no time.


----------



## Tennman

It never occurred to me that my poorly seasoned wood's burn rate contributed to those hollow bridging cavities. I sensed  the wet wood contributed but at the same time I discovered much smaller splits reduced the likelihood. Early on I put poorly seasoned 6-8" splits in and they would just burn and form like a keystone which physically prevented the wood from falling on the coals. Now that I have really well seasoned wood I still split 3-4" which really reduces how often I need to pamper the burn. I'm sure Fred's point is correct and with larger splits the chance of creating that keystone effect is greater. That's why for one season I didn't stack the wood level but leaned it to one side... Hated that it hurt my burn time since I couldn't fill the boiler but by doing that gravity was my friend and the wood burned and fell like an avalanche. Make sense? All band aids for poor wood. Took me the better part of 3 years to get to where I had no kidding real seasoned wood and finally many of the problems of my first 2 seasons started to fall away. First year and much of second I was bringing  what i thot was seasoned wood out of the hills as fast as I was burning it so the boiler never got its proper food until the difference. I don't disagree with Fred and the keystone bridging problem is more likely with big splits. I burn mostly oak and hickory now with at least 2 years of seasoning. Lots to learn but you'll get there and the sooner you get dry wood the sooner you'll see how these thing want to run. Kinda like running your gas car on diesel and getting frustrated at it puking... I know.. Been there.


----------



## MarkW

I'm getting bridging with the wood variety.  Though all of my stock isn't quite as dry as it should be, most burns well.  However, I've got a few Tulips in there and those don't burn well in my 60 at all.  I know from previous updraft experience that such trees don't produce the heat that other varieties will but I burned them, no the less.  I can't put more that a couple pieces in at once or it bridges quite quickly.
Most of my stock is maple and oak and those do fine so I'm blending in a bit of the Tulip at a time to get rid of it. 
I surely won't be cutting any more of those in the future.  I guess I'll just drop 'em for the mushrooms to eat.


----------



## Bugwood

jhunter19 said:


> View attachment 116394
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Well, toward the end of last winter, the cleanout handle broke off my Biomass 40 (this is my 5th break).  so for about 2-3 weeks, I burned with out cleaning out the turbulators. Now I want to completely remove the turbulators and give the heat exchanges a good cleaning.  Question 1: How do the turbulators come off the pin?  I cannot seem to get it free.  Question 2:  what size brush should one use to clean the tubes?  Please note my lift for removing the turbulators.


I've only been operating for about two months but very soon after startup I would find a "puddle" of tar accumulated around the top of the boiler tubes when cleaning the boiler.  Definitely not acceptable.  I also found soon after startup that the bypass gate was a poor excuse to eliminate smoke out the door.  After installing a fan and smoke hood (which works 100%) I quite using the bypass flap completely and I found the tar puddle less noticeable but still there.  After taking a closer look down in the dirty hole I see tar leaking out the bottom of the bypass gate.  Since I don't need that anymore I disconnected the flap control and with another similiar plate bolted the two together and complete closed off the bypass hole.  Voila the tar puddle is no longer there and only dry crumple soot. There are more issues to deal with on this unit but one at a time. Thanks for everyone's comments.


----------



## GregMajecki

I found that bypass was not closing 100% and i get some build up around the bypass. What I did i clean the bypass and around it and rotate the bypass plate to close as tight as possible. Can you posed some pictures of your smoke hood and what fan you used. Since I open the door to check the fire in the main fire box I get smoke and my boiler in install in the basement.
Thanks


----------



## Bugwood

No problem.  I'm new to this so might take a few tries. I believe the correct approach is to capture the smoke before it becomes fugitive (basically mixed in with the room air).  This unit creates a narrow (about 3" x 24") high velocity air stream right in front of the boiler door.  As soon as the smoke hits this it has no other place to go. Before the smoke dilutes there isn't a huge volume, so velocity is more important than flow rate.  I made a prototype first out of tin and wood and it basically worked great as is and so tweaked it a bit and made a final one. Once I get these sketches to attach then I'll post some pictures.


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## Bugwood

A couple of pictures
	

		
			
		

		
	

View attachment 124922
View attachment 124923

	

		
			
		

		
	
   I found a good used 8" fan which in hind site was probably more than required so on my sketch I suggest a 6" fan.


----------



## saves

I am looking to learn how gasifiers boilers work, temperature at which wood gives off gas, temperature of gas flame when it has proper fuel air mixture , effect of too much or too little air, temperature of air injected into gas and I am sure many other questions.


----------



## Tennman

Saves, if you post your questions on the general board you will get far more responses. Primarily owners of the BioMass brand of gasification boiler follows this sticky. BTW, many of your questions can be answered by googling wood gasification. But if you post in your questions as a general thread you'll get more information than you probably can handle!


----------



## jhunter19

I am giving up on my Biomass 40.  Have used 3 winters now and have never been able to get it to run correctly. If I was in the creosote makeing business, I would be a millionare.  I have broken 5 cleanout handles, have to use a 440 pound wench to unstick my turbulators.  All I get from Cozyheat and New Horizons is my wood is not dry enough.  Bull, I am using good wood that was cut 4 years ago, split and stacked 2 years ago, if this is not good, then nothing is.  Now Cozyheat will not even return my calls, and all Zenon at New Horizons does is give me attitude and says I should have purchased from him.  I will most likely remove my boiler in the spring and take in for scrap metal.  I'll replace with a Central Boiler outdoor unit.  If you are thinking about doing business with Cozyheat, New Horizon, or BioMass...  DON'T.  I cannot even get them to recommend a service tech to assist.  Please feel free to contact me at jhunter190@yahoo.com before you make the mistakes I made.


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## MarkW

Sorry to hear about your difficulties.  I couldn't be happier with my 60.  If I were close, I'd be happy to give you better than scrap value for it.


----------



## GregMajecki

jhunter19 said:


> I am giving up on my Biomass 40.  Have used 3 winters now and have never been able to get it to run correctly. If I was in the creosote makeing business, I would be a millionare.  I have broken 5 cleanout handles, have to use a 440 pound wench to unstick my turbulators.  All I get from Cozyheat and New Horizons is my wood is not dry enough.  Bull, I am using good wood that was cut 4 years ago, split and stacked 2 years ago, if this is not good, then nothing is.  Now Cozyheat will not even return my calls, and all Zenon at New Horizons does is give me attitude and says I should have purchased from him.  I will most likely remove my boiler in the spring and take in for scrap metal.  I'll replace with a Central Boiler outdoor unit.  If you are thinking about doing business with Cozyheat, New Horizon, or BioMass...  DON'T.  I cannot even get them to recommend a service tech to assist.  Please feel free to contact me at jhunter190@yahoo.com before you make the mistakes I made.




I have biomass 40 this is my first winter and it runs ok . Sometimes better sometimes worst depends on how much coals It has. I live in utica ny where you live jhunter


----------



## maple1

saves said:


> I am looking to learn how gasifiers boilers work, temperature at which wood gives off gas, temperature of gas flame when it has proper fuel air mixture , effect of too much or too little air, temperature of air injected into gas and I am sure many other questions.


 
Do you have a Biomass? Or something else? Or nothing yet?

Don't see many posters from our area - only aware of one other gassifier around here.


----------



## maple1

jhunter19 said:


> I am giving up on my Biomass 40.  Have used 3 winters now and have never been able to get it to run correctly. If I was in the creosote makeing business, I would be a millionare.  I have broken 5 cleanout handles, have to use a 440 pound wench to unstick my turbulators.  All I get from Cozyheat and New Horizons is my wood is not dry enough.  Bull, I am using good wood that was cut 4 years ago, split and stacked 2 years ago, if this is not good, then nothing is.  Now Cozyheat will not even return my calls, and all Zenon at New Horizons does is give me attitude and says I should have purchased from him.  I will most likely remove my boiler in the spring and take in for scrap metal.  I'll replace with a Central Boiler outdoor unit.  If you are thinking about doing business with Cozyheat, New Horizon, or BioMass...  DON'T.  I cannot even get them to recommend a service tech to assist.  Please feel free to contact me at jhunter190@yahoo.com before you make the mistakes I made.


 

I'm sure you will find lots of interested parties to buy your unit - don't scrap it, put it in the classified section.


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## goodwood

anyone change the nozzle in a biomass 60? I've got a new nozzle, just wonder what I'm in for


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## MarkW

Speaking of nozzles, if you're interested in longevity do not use coal despite what the owners manual suggests. 
I really had no other option so I'm not upset about it but it is irresponsible of the manufacturer to suggest it as a fuel source w/o warning of the imminent damage to the nozzle.
Still, having survived the return to real winter, I love this boiler! I can hardly wait for next year and having a proper setup.


----------



## GregMajecki

I think this week maybe is my last week of heating. It was long and cold winter and biomass 40 kept us warm. I learned a lot about the boiler and still not running perfect. One question i got is what is the best way to protect off season?


----------



## ryooper

Just got my new BioMass 40 last week can't wait for it to warm up here so I can start the change over, I'm glad this thread is in here, sure will help
with the install, will be pics and progress updates and I'm sure a lot of questions along the way. Just needs to warm up a little more


----------



## jhunter19

ryooper said:


> Just got my new BioMass 40 last week can't wait for it to warm up here so I can start the change over, I'm glad this thread is in here, sure will help
> with the install, will be pics and progress updates and I'm sure a lot of questions along the way. Just needs to warm up a little more


 
I hope you did not get this from CozyHeat or New Horizons.  If you did, you will be very dis-satisifed with their customer service.


----------



## woodsmaster

jhunter19 said:


> I hope you did not get this from CozyHeat or New Horizons.  If you did, you will be very dis-satisifed with their customer service.



 I got mine from new horizons and didn't have trouble with customer service other than Zenon can be hard to understand with his accent.


----------



## jhunter19

woodsmaster said:


> I got mine from new horizons and didn't have trouble with customer service other than Zenon can be hard to understand with his accent.


 
Zenon asked me why I did not buy directly from him.  When I told him I could buy the unit he provided to CozyHeat cheaper than what I could buy directly from him, he told me: "well, you should have bought directly from me and you would get better service."  Are you kidding me  Zenon, you are the wholesaler, that means I did buy from you.  What an arrogant SOB!


----------



## woodsmaster

jhunter19 said:


> Zenon asked me why I did not buy directly from him.  When I told him I could buy the unit he provided to CozyHeat cheaper than what I could buy directly from him, he told me: "well, you should have bought directly from me and you would get better service."  Are you kidding me  Zenon, you are the wholesaler, that means I did buy from you.  What an arrogant SOB!



Even if that's true. whoever directly sold you the unit is the one that should provide the service. Sounds like Cozy heat is the one not living up to your expectations.


----------



## ryooper

I did get mine from Cozy heat, they were pretty stand up guys, they have a cottage about 20 mi. from my house they're there every weekend, said if I had any problems or
needed any help with anything he would be more than happy to make a trip over to give a hand. Have to see if he'll live up to that, but I'm sure he will.


----------



## ryooper

Just scored my storage yesterday 2 500 gal. propane tanks for 300 dollars thought that was a good deal still waiting to get started 28 deg. this morning, still burning.


----------



## MarkW

OAT's have kept me heating, too. Albeit on propane...ugh. 
Good find on the tanks.


----------



## ryooper

MarkW said:


> OAT's have kept me heating, too. Albeit on propane...ugh.
> Good find on the tanks.


Ya my wife wont let me burn the propane, that's fine I'm just done with the wood for the season before we know it it's going to be fall again, seems that way anyways.


----------



## MarkW

I'd love to be burning wood but last winter(or this winter, depending on how you look at it) ran us out.


----------



## ryooper

We ran short also had to dip into next seasons stash not good, never thought we were going to go through that much.


----------



## GregMajecki

I was wondering if  anybody here has biomass 40 combo wood/ oil.
What is the right nozzle for the oil burner  (GPM  and angle)


----------



## bab313

Hey all, I'm looking at purchasing a Biomass 40 combo wood/oil boiler.  I'm trying to understand how to setup the system to have 1000 gallons of storage that is heated only by the wood, and if the oil kicks in while out of town, the oil will not heat the water in the storage tank.  Does anyone have a setup they would be willing to share?  Is there a control line coming from the boiler that can be used to close a valve?  If Tenneman still visits this, do you have any suggestions of whether you advise storage or not?  I notice you mention you do not have any, wanted to see if it is worth it, or maybe I should do without for now.  Thanks for the help guys.  Great information on this site.


----------



## woodsmaster

bab313 said:


> Hey all, I'm looking at purchasing a Biomass 40 combo wood/oil boiler.  I'm trying to understand how to setup the system to have 1000 gallons of storage that is heated only by the wood, and if the oil kicks in while out of town, the oil will not heat the water in the storage tank.  Does anyone have a setup they would be willing to share?  Is there a control line coming from the boiler that can be used to close a valve?  If Tenneman still visits this, do you have any suggestions of whether you advise storage or not?  I notice you mention you do not have any, wanted to see if it is worth it, or maybe I should do without for now.  Thanks for the help guys.  Great information on this site.



Before going out of town just shut the valves to the tank.


----------



## GregMajecki

bab313,

I have biomass 40 combo wood/oil and this will by my second winter. The problem with oil is that if there is any wood in the upper chamber and oil starts there will be smoke coming out of front air flap. What I do is close valves to 500gal tank and manually switch on oil burner. As you know wood burning is very irregular process so if oil starts and there is some wood left it will smoke out of air flap. My advice is to first install two boilers 1st oil boiler then do a lot of research and install wood or pallet boiler. Make sure you the best you can afford. Also the price of combo unit you can get two separate units.


----------



## Tennman

Greg, In following around here for quite a while, I've yet to hear of a happy combo owner. I'm old enough to remember the combo TV/VCR players. Inevitably one or the other would crap out first or not work well. With equipment this important I'd want the option of dumping one or the other if I wasn't satisfied. Thanks for posting your experience.


----------



## woodsmaster

As requested, flapper linkage and spring photos. Hope these help.


----------



## 91LMS

woodmaster you rock!  I would have never gotten that, I was trying to use the two pieces as a linkage combination.  one is the lever, the other to connect the spring.... cant thank you enough


----------



## woodsmaster

91LMS said:


> woodmaster you rock!  I would have never gotten that, I was trying to use the two pieces as a linkage combination.  one is the lever, the other to connect the spring.... cant thank you enough


Glad that helped... First I ever took that panel loose... Sorry the second picture is sideways.


----------



## 91LMS

I have looked this over so many times and left it with frustration the picture could have been inside out and I could have made sense of it!  will get it welded up tonight and measure for a spring.  door gasket, some wiring and set it up with some basic settings/adjustments and I should be ready to fire.


----------



## 91LMS

successful weekend!  I am plumbed, wired and piped to the chimney.  small first fire, wanted to circulate to storage to remove the air.  was not gassing on the old settings, secondary was wide open and primary 1/4.  changed to 75% open on primary and 20% on secondary with air shutter wide open.  had orange gasification flame but a fair amount of coal blowing out through the nozzle.  very small load of wood though.  try another fire tonight with some adjustments to get better secondary burn.


----------



## woodsmaster

91LMS said:


> successful weekend!  I am plumbed, wired and piped to the chimney.  small first fire, wanted to circulate to storage to remove the air.  was not gassing on the old settings, secondary was wide open and primary 1/4.  changed to 75% open on primary and 20% on secondary with air shutter wide open.  had orange gasification flame but a fair amount of coal blowing out through the nozzle.  very small load of wood though.  try another fire tonight with some adjustments to get better secondary burn.



I'd close the shutter most the way. That will help with the coals blowing threw.


----------



## 91LMS

it did just that woodmaster.  so I now have.....

shutter 3/8"-1/2" open
primaries wide open
secondaries 1/4"

burning hemlock right now for domestic and the little heat that is needed for these 45 deg nights.  biggest hurdle right now it bridging.... I am thinking that its worse with soft wood where it burns at a faster rate?


----------



## Tennman

Wrote this nozzle replacement process in a post and thot it would be useful for other BioMass 60 owners. I pray yours is easier to replace than mine.

NOZZLE REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE:
If you hope to reuse the side blocks it may be hard. We've not run with storage so bonding due to creosote could have been worse for our boiler than yours. This is a wood boiler so it's more likely to be gooey in the upper chamber. The key is understanding how the side blocks must be removed. Since ours was stuck, there was no way to tell if you're doing something wrong. I'm of average height, but stocky. So when I did get my body into the boiler, I had no space to work. I finally had to hire someone smaller than me because the 60's chamber is too deep to work from the outside and too small for me to work inside. 

1) I tried to use soft tools, wood or nylon to loosen the blocks. Try to get movement in one of the side blocks. Take your pick, front or back. Try both, one or the other will be less bonded than the other. Once you have some movement, use some type of tool (big flat blade screwdriver) to pry on the top of the block to get it to pivot the top into the chamber. I chipped all my blocks prying and working to get them loose but they were still useable.

2) Once loose they will rotate about the bottom into the chamber and then you can lift it from their metal pocket. Getting the first one out on each side is the hardest because now for the second block you can get a wedge behind the second one and pop it loose. MARK the blocks or place them on the floor so they'll go back in the same location.

3) Start over and repeat on the other side. At this point you may want to go get an adult beverage, watch football and attempt the other side following Saturday morning.

4) Now that you've successfully removed the side blocks with hopefully minimal damage. *Take a hammer and chisel and beat the crap out of that old nozzle.* Turn it into a thousand pieces for all the hours and missed football games it took to get you to this point.  You can try to bump it from the bottom, or pry it out, but turning it into powder at this point is more satisfying.

5) I used a right angle grinder used for sharpening bush hog blades to grind/trim the nozzle. It took us 3-4 fitting attempts until it dropped into the nozzle cavity. I can't remember if the nozzle rope insulation is on the top or bottom, I think around the top, but not sure.

6) Clean the side block cavities so the blocks will set properly. Replace blocks back to their same positions. Admire.

7) Now cogitate if a removable shield to protect that nozzle and hopefully double it's life is a good idea.


----------



## jaoneill

Newbie to the forum here. I bought an econoburn 150 eight years ago for supplementary heat to take the curse off the oil bill and it served me well for as long as it lasted. It sprung a major leak at the end of the last heating season and we decided to get a proper sized unit. Installed a Biomass 80 last weekend and have begun the learning curve. With night time temps around 30 we fired it up mid week. Currently burning 2 yr seasoned hard maple with a moisture content in the 8%-10% range. Have had bridging and the resulting "FUEL" condition regularly. Part of the problem is that we have an abundance of 18" wood so it is difficult to arrange for complete coverage of the nozzle. That will be remedied when we switch over to 24" later in the fall. Thanks to you folks sharing here I have made some tweaks to the controller this evening; primarily dialing the fan speed back to 70% and closing the fan gate a bit. Anxious to see the results.

Once I get this thing dialed in it may be a moot issue but is there any way to disable the "FUEL" shutdown mode?


----------



## Tennman

An 80 Wow. How big's your home? Are you running storage? Do a search on bridging. There was a really good thread on that topic last season. Last winter was really cold for us so the BioMass ran hot and hard most of the time which resulted in far less bridging than usual for us. See if you can find that old post because it discussed many issues including how to stack, moisture content, etc. But you will learn how to feed your 80 with time. If the "FUEL" shutdown can be disabled you could read how in the RK2001 manual downloaded from the New Horizons site.


----------



## jaoneill

Tennman said:


> An 80 Wow. How big's your home? Are you running storage? Do a search on bridging. There was a really good thread on that topic last season. Last winter was really cold for us so the BioMass ran hot and hard most of the time which resulted in far less bridging than usual for us. See if you can find that old post because it discussed many issues including how to stack, moisture content, etc. But you will learn how to feed your 80 with time. If the "FUEL" shutdown can be disabled you could read how in the RK2001 manual downloaded from the New Horizons site.


Big old Victorian with 10' ceilings and thirty something 3'X7' windows. We only use half of it except when we have house guests but it isn't insulated between the rooms we use and those we don't (been meaning to do that for the last 40 years or so) and also heating my offices behind the house. We are at the northwest corner of the Adirondack mountains with weather as severe as any in the lower 48. Not unusual for it to be 25-40 below zero with 30 mph winds for weeks on end. Our heat loss is just south of 280K. That said, with the warmer winters we've had from the late 80's until last year the Econoburn 150 was enough for all but 3 weeks or so of each winter. I went with the 80 to increase the burn time and ensure we would have some reserve if the winters reverted to the historic average. 
I don't have storage. 
I cut the fan speed down from the factory 100% to 60% and opened the secondary air port to the halfway mark. This improved the gasification performance tremendously and lessened the blow holes and bridging. I've also been experimenting with some really dry elm (fresh split tests 12%) that I cut at the optimum 24" (length of the nozzle bed) and still running into blow holes, bridging and the inevitable "FUEL" message when I get up in the morning. I've been through the manual more than twice and they give no indication that the shutdown mode can be disabled. 
Have been playing with it today and have had a bed of coals level across the top of the ceramic slants all day but I have to stir it and add a stick or two every hour or so to fill the blow holes and keep it functioning as it should. 
The 80 is very close to the 60 in most respects; how fine do you split your wood?


----------



## 91LMS

I have read here the basic rule of thumb for wood size with the bio's is to keep the ends of your splits no bigger than playing card size.... I have found already with mine that straight smaller splits gasify better as well as eliminate bridging and give much better output.....  splitting that small was a hard discipline to keep during the 18 cords I processed this summer!


----------



## jaoneill

91LMS said:


> I have read here the basic rule of thumb for wood size with the bio's is to keep the ends of your splits no bigger than playing card size.... I have found already with mine that straight smaller splits gasify better as well as eliminate bridging and give much better output.....  splitting that small was a hard discipline to keep during the 18 cords I processed this summer!



Thanks 91LMS, you are correct in that it will be a hard dicipline to keep, gosh darn that's small. But if it works……  OK, I split a half cord down to the recommended size this afternoon and just filled the 80 for the night. Takes quite a bundle of those toothpicks


----------



## Tennman

JA, Sorry, been a while since I checked into this Sticky. I have to agree that smaller splits on the bottom allows building of a healthy coal bed more consistently. So I do place smaller splits on the bottom then stack ~softball cross-section splits. I have my splitter sitting in my boiler barn so I can build a pile of smaller splits that's handy to the boiler. Experiment with the fan speed also. Sometimes a slower fan speed reduces aggressive blow thrus. Much to learn.

We must have a similar love of big, old homes. Much of our home is un-insulated. We only heat the downstairs with the boiler which keeps the upstairs nice for sleeping but chilly in the morning. But we have the advantage of a 37*F mean winter temp here in southern Tennessee. I just fired our boiler for the first time last nite and starting the learning/debugging of our new storage system.


----------



## jaoneill

Tennman said:


> JA, Sorry, been a while since I checked into this Sticky. I have to agree that smaller splits on the bottom allows building of a healthy coal bed more consistently. So I do place smaller splits on the bottom then stack ~softball cross-section splits. I have my splitter sitting in my boiler barn so I can build a pile of smaller splits that's handy to the boiler. Experiment with the fan speed also. Sometimes a slower fan speed reduces aggressive blow thrus. Much to learn.
> 
> We must have a similar love of big, old homes. Much of our home is un-insulated. We only heat the downstairs with the boiler which keeps the upstairs nice for sleeping but chilly in the morning. But we have the advantage of a 37*F mean winter temp here in southern Tennessee. I just fired our boiler for the first time last nite and starting the learning/debugging of our new storage system.



Do dearly love the big old white elephants. At this stage of my life it would be nice to downsize but have been here for over 40 years and also dearly love being here on the farm. Our buildings sit roughly in the center of 250 acres (driveway is 8/10 of a mile). The privacy and quiet are irreplaceable; not something I would give up willingly.
I've been cutting dead elm and splitting it small; moisture in the 12%-15% range, doesn't get much better. Reduced the blower speed to 60% and the 80 functions as it should. It has been relatively warm here (days 40's, nights low 30's high 20's) so I am running into some creosote issues. Trying to minimize it by filling light and often (3-4 small splits every couple of hours). Low 20's last night and woke up this am to FUEL and a chilly house. Box was level to the door with charcoal, all black, no fire. Opened blower cabinet to find that the blower was active but the weighted blower damper was closed. Opened air distribution box to find its damper stuck shut with a light film of the black sh*t. Cleaned it up with a bit of solvent and had a good burn within a few minutes. Probably should still be burning oil but hate to contribute any more to the camel jockeys than I have to…..

Jim


----------



## EricO

Ok so I finally got my system up and running.  It was a LOT of work!  I'm really glad to be done.  Yesterday was the first day I tried to burn. Couldn't get it to gasify though, so I had a few questions.

1. What does the arm on the left side of the boiler do?  This is the arm that is located on the side and rotates up and down.
2.What does the arm near the top door do?  This is the arm that you can pull outwards or push in.
3.  Where is the secondary air adjustment located?  I'm assuming the primary is the one on the front shaped like a triangle.


----------



## 91LMS

what model biomass do you have?

i would suggest getting onto first horizons sight and downloading an owners manual if you don't already have one.  adjustments will be less mind boggling if you understand the boiler's operation first.


----------



## EricO

Ok so I got my biomass 40 up and gassifying. I was worried at first because the temperature of the boiler didn't want to go above 140 with the circulator running but I believe that is because it was taking so much to warm the storage tank right off the bat.  I have 1000 gal of storage.   What I'm curious about now is how to get the pump to shut off when it's done charging the tank. I want the temp to be around 180, but when it's at 180 the circulator on the boiler keeps going. The bioler is in a back shed that is insulated but I feel like its just a giant heat sink that's draining the system and wasting all that extra heat I put into the tank. Any ideas on how to keep it from circulating when the tank is above 170?


----------



## 91LMS

do you have any kind of boiler return protection?  what is your min boiler temp set at?


----------



## EricO

91LMS said:


> do you have any kind of boiler return protection?  what is your min boiler temp set at?



Yup, I have a danfos mixing valve and min temp is 150


----------



## woodsmaster

EricO said:


> Ok so I got my biomass 40 up and gassifying. I was worried at first because the temperature of the boiler didn't want to go above 140 with the circulator running but I believe that is because it was taking so much to warm the storage tank right off the bat.  I have 1000 gal of storage.   What I'm curious about now is how to get the pump to shut off when it's done charging the tank. I want the temp to be around 180, but when it's at 180 the circulator on the boiler keeps going. The bioler is in a back shed that is insulated but I feel like its just a giant heat sink that's draining the system and wasting all that extra heat I put into the tank. Any ideas on how to keep it from circulating when the tank is above 170?



First of all you need to adjust the circ. launch temp. it shouldn't be circulating at 140. It will burn much better if you let it get to 160 or a little higher before the circ kicks on.


----------



## woodsmaster

Second the tank IS a large heat sink. That's the whole idea, It needs to be insulated very well or it will be wasting your extra heat.


----------



## EricO

woodsmaster said:


> Second the tank IS a large heat sink. That's the whole idea, It needs to be insulated very well or it will be wasting your extra heat.



Thanks for the replies everyone, but I'm not quite sure if you guys fully understood what I was asking. My thermal storage tank is insulated very well, and holds temperature well.  My problem is, when it gets over 170, the boiler circulator won't turn back off until it drops below that.  I have my pump circ temp at 170.

So for example, boiler heats water up to 180 degrees in the thermal storage tank. Boiler runs out of fuel, or goes to idle, but keeps circulating because the temp of the water is above 170 degrees.  The boiler is just sucking the heat back out of the tank until it goes down to 170. How do I keep it from doing that?

Also, when I'm burning but the boiler is under any type of load, it won't get much hotter than 170 without the pump cycling on and off a lot. Is this normal? Or should the boiler be having an easy time of getting up to 180-190 per se?


----------



## 91LMS

what is your flow rate to storage?  may need to slow your pump down or use a smaller pump at that.  my grunfoos 15-58 on low is pumping (roughly 5 gpm)  constant supply temps of 170+ with storage returning 100-120 deg water.  my danfoss is mixing that to 145ish.  once I reach 140 on the bottom of the tank I can bump my pump to the second speed (10 gpm) and supply temps stay consistant and increase as I approach a full charge

those flow rates are not taking the cv of the danfoss into account so its not completely accurate


----------



## EricO

Yeah I slowed the flow rate down a bit and that seems to help it stay up a little warmer but i feel like there is still room for improvement. 

But that still doesn't solve the issue of the boiler circulator not turning off till the tank gets back down to 170.....


----------



## EricO

Side question, still really want to know about the circulator issue, but does anyone get a lot of creosote building up in the upper chamber? If so, any tips on cleaning it out?


----------



## woodsmaster

Okay ericO, I misunderstood what you was asking. I put my boiler on a timer so it shuts off at the end of a burn, that turns the circ off. Some guys put a sensor in the chimney so when it drops below a certain temp the boiler and circ shut off. More than one way to skin a cat. I also Run a 15-58 on low. I rarely turn it up to medium, but I don't usually try to heat the whole storage to 190 either. a fancier variable speed loading valve could also solve the issue of pump turning on and off, but is really not necessary.


----------



## woodsmaster

EricO said:


> Side question, still really want to know about the circulator issue, but does anyone get a lot of creosote building up in the upper chamber? If so, any tips on cleaning it out?


 Creosote in the upper chamber is perfectly normal. No need to clean it off. It will flake off and burn up and more will form. The wood only smolders in the top chamber. Now if you have it in the lower chamber or tubes, that's a different story.


----------



## 91LMS

I have my min boiler temp set at 160 and don't fire for a complete charge on storage.  once my fire is out and return temps cool the boiler the circ is turned off but fans stay on.  160 on the bottom of 1000 gallons of storage keeps my radiant happy for quite a while.


----------



## EricO

Thanks you guys for the info!  Woodmaster, just to make sure I understand what you are saying, you have a timer that shuts off the controller, and essentially the whole boiler correct?  What kind of timer? Just like one that you plug into or something?  I like the idea of the temp switch in the exhaust.  When the temp drops, just have it cut power to the circ, that makes a lot of sense. 

91LMS, thanks for your replies as well. Yeh I have baseboard heat system so I like the water a little warmer.

Thanks you guys!


----------



## woodsmaster

yes, I just have a simple timer that plugs in.


----------



## EricO

Does anyone know the location of the temperature probe on the biomass 40? Is it easy to access?


----------



## woodsmaster

EricO said:


> Does anyone know the location of the temperature probe on the biomass 40? Is it easy to access?


You have to take the top cover off and its clamped on towards the left center.
 edit : At least that's where it is on the 60


----------



## Tennman

The new door seal design is a huge improvement over the old silicone extrusion. The material is now fiberglass fiber core with a silicone sheath outer wrap. Enormous improvement in sealing. If you've not replaced or upgraded to this new seal, I highly recommend it for the current season. If you order (2) that quantity gets you material for 2 doors, not a spare sent. If you want a spare set, like I thot I was ordering, order (4). Everyone should also have a spare door microswitch. Happy holidays.


----------



## Trex83

Tennman said:


> ... The new door seal design is a huge improvement over the old silicone extrusion. ... .


Done! Yes its much better. My dad had to re-adjust the door a little bit and we also put new refractories in the secondary chamber.
Happy burning for everyone.
Trex83


----------



## Tennman

The following instructions are how I installed the new door seals.

The new BioMass door seal consists of two parts; 1) a fiberglass woven wick with adhesive backing, and 2) a silicone sheath covered fiberglass rope seal.

STEP 1:
The flat woven fiberglass "wick" is the insulator that lays in the base of the seal channel. It provides some thermal insulation and maybe abrasion protection between the door face plate and the seal. Start at a corner and pull off the sticky backing on the wick as you run it around the seal channel to keep the wick stuck in place. Cut the excess when you get all the way around and butt into where you started. You have to be careful turning the corners to avoid a big wrinkle, but it can be done. When done and looking at door inside face, you should see that nice white woven fiberglass covering the bottom face of the seal channel.

STEP 2:
The door seal material comes in about a 3' section per door about 1"-1.25" in diameter. The core of the seal is like fiberglass rope with an outer sheath is an orange silicone layer probably 1/32"-1/16" thick. I think I did the curved section of the door first. I trimmed the length maybe 1" long (maybe longer) so the ends were crammed/compressed into the seal channel and well compressed at both ends. Then I did the bottom straight section again cutting long so the ends are in compression butting into the curved section seal. Repeat on the lower door.

STEP 3:
Adjust door hinges if the handles won't lock. I didn't have to adjust my hinges, but they were pretty tight at first. It didn't take long for them to compress and be really nice and tight when I close the handle. They're perfect now.

Light years better than the silicone extrusion. Even if it doesn't last as long, it works far better and is easy to replace. Actually easier to install than the old extrusion design. Happy Burning!


----------



## ryooper

Got my 40 hooked up 2 weeks ago storage not hooked in yet runs great still tweaking a little bit only issue I have is I get condensate in chimney block with clay tile leaves big mess anyone else have this problem also pipe to chimney is coragated.


----------



## dpsfireman

First season I used mine it was in an outside masonary chimney. I had so much condensate I was concerned about it damaging the chimney because it was freezing at the botton. I lined it with stainless steel and no more condensate plus it worked better because it heated up more quickly.


----------



## woodsmaster

ryooper said:


> Got my 40 hooked up 2 weeks ago storage not hooked in yet runs great still tweaking a little bit only issue I have is I get condensate in chimney block with clay tile leaves big mess anyone else have this problem also pipe to chimney is coragated.



Probably need to install a insulated liner. The exhaust leaving these isn't very hot. especially when the tubes are clean. Then without storage it probably goes into idle sometimes and that allows the chimney to cool off if it ever gets warm in the first place.


----------



## ryooper

woodsmaster said:


> Probably need to install a insulated liner. The exhaust leaving these isn't very hot. especially when the tubes are clean. Then without storage it probably goes into idle sometimes and that allows the chimney to cool off if it ever gets warm in the first place.


Woodsmaster, I have a insulated pipe to go from boiler to chimney the installer ended up putting single wall galvanized pipe in would it help to put insulated in? I can touch the pipe at any given time.


----------



## woodsmaster

The insulated would help get a little more heat to the chimney but probably not enough to make much difference. . You need a insulated liner installed in the masonry chimney.


----------



## EricO

ryooper said:


> Woodsmaster, I have a insulated pipe to go from boiler to chimney the installer ended up putting single wall galvanized pipe in would it help to put insulated in? I can touch the pipe at any given time.



Is the galvanized pipe the one coming from the boiler to the chimney ?  On my system, I have a triple wall stove pipe, but couldn't find a triple walled tee fitting other than online and for way to much money, so I just bought a black stove tee.  I wrapped some unfaced fiberglass insulation around it, and I think that really helped keep the temp up.


----------



## EricO

Does anyone have experience in the life span of the blower fan?  I'm just curios because I think I'd like to get a back up just in case. 

My fan will make bad noises every once and a while from creosote build up if I leave the bypass open for to long. I'm thinking this noise as well as the fact that it probably throws the fan out of balance isn't good for the life span. 

I need to clean it off but does anyone know where to get a backup? I tried looking up the part number but its in polish haha


----------



## ElkRiverFJ

EricO said:


> Does anyone have experience in the life span of the blower fan? I'm just curios because I think I'd like to get a back up just in case.
> My fan will make bad noises every once and a while from creosote build up if I leave the bypass open for to long. I'm thinking this noise as well as the fact that it probably throws the fan out of balance isn't good for the life span.
> I need to clean it off but does anyone know where to get a backup? I tried looking up the part number but its in polish haha



I think this is what you are looking for?:
http://www.newhorizonstore.com/Products/271-blower-motor-biomass.aspx


----------



## woodsmaster

EricO said:


> Does anyone have experience in the life span of the blower fan?  I'm just curios because I think I'd like to get a back up just in case.
> 
> My fan will make bad noises every once and a while from creosote build up if I leave the bypass open for to long. I'm thinking this noise as well as the fact that it probably throws the fan out of balance isn't good for the life span.
> 
> I need to clean it off but does anyone know where to get a backup? I tried looking up the part number but its in polish haha



 Make sure the nuts are tight on it. I thought mine was going bad, but it was just vibrating from being loose


----------



## ryooper

EricO said:


> Is the galvanized pipe the one coming from the boiler to the chimney ?  On my system, I have a triple wall stove pipe, but couldn't find a triple walled tee fitting other than online and for way to much money, so I just bought a black stove tee.  I wrapped some unfaced fiberglass insulation around it, and I think that really helped keep the temp up.[/quoyes the galvanized goes from boiler to chimney I have the insulated pipe with tee was going to put that on installer said I didn't need to use that so I think I'm going to put that on.


----------



## Mr.Q

Tennman said:


> From Woodsmaster:
> 
> Do you have air adjustments for primary and secodary air? If so try opening the secondary air more and not just a tiny bit ,a lot.
> I run my biomass almost a year before I figured out I didnâ€™t have the secodary air open enough for my wood. I had trouble with
> smoke sometimes and sometimes had trouble keeping gasifacation. I had tried adjusting the air before and adjusted a tiny bit at a time with no luck so I pretty much kept them where they were when I got it. One day I opened the secondary air up a lot and
> havnâ€™t had and trouble with smoke since. I do get some steam but no smoke. I also gained about 30 degrees on my stack temp due to the hotter fire. Somthing to try If you havnâ€™t allready.


Hello I have a burnham oil furnce and it keeps shutting off I was wondering if you could help me


----------



## Tennman

Mr Q, post your question on the general boiler discussion. You'll get a lot more help than here in the BioMass discussion.


----------



## Bugwood

EricO said:


> Does anyone know the location of the temperature probe on the biomass 40? Is it easy to access?


All of your issues pretty much duplicate mine. For the circulation issue I used a 12 hour Intermatic timer with a bypass switch.  This was wired into the hot lead to the fan. Actually the main reason I installed the timer was to be able to shut the boiler down with some unburned wood. Now I load it up, set the timer for about 6 hours and know that when I come back the boiler will be closed down and very easy to light up a new charge with the left over coals.  If I want to override the timer, just leave it off and switch the bypass.  It has made restarts almost painless.


----------



## EricO

Ok so my latest conundrum is I'm having a build up of creosote in the secondary tube (the single larger opening, the one just above the bottom door) .  It is actually plugging up the whole tube, so it is not gasifying unless i unplug it.  I don't know where the creosote would be seeping into it from.  When I pull it out, its still all goopy, not crusty like what builds up on the door.  It's a tar like consistency.  A big tar plug.

Anyone else have this problem? Any ideas would be much appreciated.  It just started happening, and I haven't really changed anything, which is what makes me curious.

My boiler has been burning great for about a month or more, and it has only just started doing this the past few days....   I'm burning 14-18% moisture hard woods. Fan is about 80%

Happy new year!
Eric O


----------



## EricO

woodsmaster said:


> Make sure the nuts are tight on it. I thought mine was going bad, but it was just vibrating from being loose



Yeah it was tight.  I took the fan off the other night, the vibration was from a lot of creosote build up.  I'm thinking that my bypass flap must leak a little, because I don't know where else all the creosote would be coming from.  My heat exchange tubes are clean....


----------



## Bugwood

EricO said:


> Yeah it was tight.  I took the fan off the other night, the vibration was from a lot of creosote build up.  I'm thinking that my bypass flap must leak a little, because I don't know where else all the creosote would be coming from.  My heat exchange tubes are clean....


I also get a tar plug in the secondary air inlet.  There must be a passage way around the ceramic bricks a boiler steel that allows hot tar to flow down.  It does harden up a bit and I open up the adjuster and use a flat screw driver and work the plug out.  It actually cleans out quite easily.  I haven't been able to solve the problem.  I also have tar leaks coming out the primary ports.  The steel sloped side plates butt up to the near side of the boiler end section and instead of being welded or very tight fitting I have a good 1/8" gap.  So the tar flows through that and lays on the bottom of the secondary inlet passage. 


EricO said:


> Yeah it was tight.  I took the fan off the other night, the vibration was from a lot of creosote build up.  I'm thinking that my bypass flap must leak a little, because I don't know where else all the creosote would be coming from.  My heat exchange tubes are clean....


I found that my bypass flap leaked and resulted in tar build up on top of the tube plate.  I installed another plate on the inside of the boiler and clamped the two plates together with a bolt and now have no creosote.  I found the bypass didn't work very well as a smoke bypass so I built my own smoke collection hood/fan just above the door and it works perfect.  I don't need or miss the bypass damper.  I have drawings etc. if you want.  I also put an O ring and insulation to help make sure there was no air leaking by the tube cleaning shaft where it enters the boiler side plate.


----------



## Bugwood

EricO said:


> Ok so my latest conundrum is I'm having a build up of creosote in the secondary tube (the single larger opening, the one just above the bottom door) .  It is actually plugging up the whole tube, so it is not gasifying unless i unplug it.  I don't know where the creosote would be seeping into it from.  When I pull it out, its still all goopy, not crusty like what builds up on the door.  It's a tar like consistency.  A big tar plug.
> 
> Anyone else have this problem? Any ideas would be much appreciated.  It just started happening, and I haven't really changed anything, which is what makes me curious.
> 
> My boiler has been burning great for about a month or more, and it has only just started doing this the past few days....   I'm burning 14-18% moisture hard woods. Fan is about 80%
> 
> Happy new year!
> Eric O


Yes I also get that plug.  Hot tar must find a passage way to flow down around the ceramic bricks .  It usually hardens as it flows out and I open up the adjusting plate and dig the plug out with a flat screwdriver.  It actually is quick and easy.  Haven't tried to solve the problem.  I also get tar leaking out the primary holes.  Where the steel slope side plates just above the firebricks join up to the door end of the boiler, it should either be welded or very tight.  Instead I have minimum 1/8" gap and the hot tar coming down the side walls finds this crack and does it's thing.  I have been working at plugging the crack by some other means than welding.  I would take this issue as poor fabrication.


----------



## woodsmaster

Bugwood said:


> Yes I also get that plug.  Hot tar must find a passage way to flow down around the ceramic bricks .  It usually hardens as it flows out and I open up the adjusting plate and dig the plug out with a flat screwdriver.  It actually is quick and easy.  Haven't tried to solve the problem.  I also get tar leaking out the primary holes.  Where the steel slope side plates just above the firebricks join up to the door end of the boiler, it should either be welded or very tight.  Instead I have minimum 1/8" gap and the hot tar coming down the side walls finds this crack and does it's thing.  I have been working at plugging the crack by some other means than welding.  I would take this issue as poor fabrication.



 I've never had this happen yet.


----------



## EricO

Bugwood said:


> I have drawings etc. if you want.  I also put an O ring and insulation to help make sure there was no air leaking by the tube cleaning shaft where it enters the boiler side plate.



I'd love to see the drawings?  Could you send me a copy?


----------



## Bugwood

Hope this goes through OK.


----------



## woodsmaster

Excellent job on the smoke hood bugwood. Id like to make one someday. I like to fix bridging and load mid burn and always get a bunch of smoke... One reason I went with the biomass is the induced draft, but it don't  do much good pulling the smoke out.


----------



## EricO

Bugwood said:


> Hope this goes through OK.


Thank you Bugwood!  That is one good looking hood.  I plan on working on it this weekend.


----------



## Bugwood

EricO said:


> Thank you Bugwood!  That is one good looking hood.  I plan on working on it this weekend.


I'm around so let me know if you have questions.  I built a prototype out of lighter tin and 3/4 wood end pieces to make sure everything fit together a fit on to the boiler. For the final deal I stitch cut the bend lines with a zip disk, made the bends and then welded the cuts back up.


----------



## Bugwood

q-bull said:


> I think I'm just making up for a lack of natural draft from my chimney.  I live on a hill with spurts of very windy conditions so I wanted to avoid going any higher with the chimney.  Last year I had to open the upper door often to get a really strong burn, (starved for air?)  Essentially trying to make a 60 out of my 40 with the aux fan.
> Still have a steep learning curve to learn how to adapt to the changing conditions, (wood - barometric pressure - outside temp and now storage to keep charged.)  Guess you could say we're having some fun now!


Interested in your learning curve.  I have same equipment and on my second winter. I still have to leave the door partially open to get a good burn started and then it usually takes off, but not always.  Has this extra fan taken care of that problem completely? (or close)


----------



## EricO

Bugwood said:


> Interested in your learning curve.  I have same equipment and on my second winter. I still have to leave the door partially open to get a good burn started and then it usually takes off, but not always.  Has this extra fan taken care of that problem completely? (or close)



I have the same thing.  I do get a gasifying flame, but sometimes it's not very strong...  Have you guys ever had your refractory glowing as some people mention?  I've never seen it get that hot yet....

Side question: So I've been struggling with lack of gasification actually.  Many times, the wood either just smolders, or it will burn, but not down through the coals.  ALso, there will be a big bed of "coals" but they wont be red hot.  Instead the fire will be burning off on one side of the top chamber, but not heating up the coals near the nozzle...  

IS there a possibility of having to thick of a coal bed?  I just don't know if i should give it more air, or less....

Wood is 16-18% moisture, primary openings half open, secondary is open about 5/16 inch, fan is at 70% and front cover open 3/4 to 1 inch.


----------



## woodsmaster

If you have to crack open the door, other than at start up, It's starving for air.
Edit : I have had my refractory glow, but not all the time. I don't even hardly ever look in the lower chamber anymore. If i hear it roaring and see the glow out the sight glass I know it's doing fine.

 I leave the top door cracked at start up until  flu gasses in the chimney  get up to 325 F then I shut the door and 95% of the time its good to go. Usually only takes around 3 minutes unless I have less then dry wood or the nozzle gets plugged


----------



## Bugwood

EricO said:


> I have the same thing.  I do get a gasifying flame, but sometimes it's not very strong...  Have you guys ever had your refractory glowing as some people mention?  I've never seen it get that hot yet....
> 
> Side question: So I've been struggling with lack of gasification actually.  Many times, the wood either just smolders, or it will burn, but not down through the coals.  ALso, there will be a big bed of "coals" but they wont be red hot.  Instead the fire will be burning off on one side of the top chamber, but not heating up the coals near the nozzle...
> 
> IS there a possibility of having to thick of a coal bed?  I just don't know if i should give it more air, or less....
> 
> Wood is 16-18% moisture, primary openings half open, secondary is open about 5/16 inch, fan is at 70% and front cover open 3/4 to 1 inch.


----------



## Bugwood

First of all I have primary air inlets at about 90% open, secondary air about 5/16 or so vertical opening (probably about 15% of area open).  I leave the adjustable air gate on the front all the way open and run the fan a 90%. I'm burning 15% beetle kill pine. 
It sounds like you are not getting secondary air to the nozzle.  First you should be able to feel or hear the air entering at the inlet (with the middle access door open).  Also, with no fire you should be able to feel the air inside at the nozzle air inlets.  Once in awhile if I poker the bed of coals too much, the coals will plug the nozzle and will not allow air through and glassifying stop.  This is evident by looking through the sight glass and see no flame.  This can be cleared by poking from the lower door and push a bit of a hole up through the coals in the nozzle and that solves the problem.  This doesn't happen very often, it's from careless stoking by the operator! If you are starting a fresh fire with fine wood and paper, there should be no reason for not getting a healthy roar in the nozzle and see a good flame thro the sight glass.  With the top door cracked open your flame will be rich and look orange instead of yellow.


----------



## Tennman

How do you guys clean the tubes? I did it last Saturday by removing the turbulators from the two pieces of flatbar. I had to make tools to do it and the process seemed far too painful for something that is standard maintenance. I'm embarrassed to say it's my first time doing this in 6 years. Huge difference in flue temps. So since I'll be doing this more frequently I'd like ideas. Removing the turbs as an assembly is out because the exit pipe goes straight back probably 8" above the top of the boiler. I operated this thing I think for 3 seasons before learning about cleaning out that top chamber. But I don't think this should have been an all day maintenance process.

BTW I made a very cool brush extension that I attached my cordless drill to. That part worked awesome. Just getting the turbs in and out was a nightmare.


----------



## woodsmaster

Tennman said:


> How do you guys clean the tubes?
> 
> I leave the linkage unhooked. That handle don't do much in the way of cleaning... I then removed the cotter key on each end turb, leaving the middle ones hooked to the flatbar. this allows you to pull the middle ones out as one unit. On the end turbs I use a piece of metal rod to keep them from falling to the bottom. This makes it simple to pull the tubs out for cleaning. With storage you should only need to clean two or three times a year and just forget about that dumb handle on the side of the boiler. I would like to get some wing nuts to replace the nuts on the top, and lower side covers  to speed up taking them off. Make sure to clean out the chamber under the turbs when done. I get a ton of ash in there.


----------



## EricO

Thanks everyone for the tips. I opened up the primary's more and it seems to be doing much better. Just wanted more air apparently.   

So I haven't seen this come up in a while, but has anyone been using a grate over the nozzle to keep more of the coals from falling through?  If so, is it wearing on the nozzle?


----------



## Tennman

WM, I purchased a 3/8" drive for a cordless drill for a 10mm socket to remove the nuts. Probably faster than wing nuts to remove/install those 8 nuts on the top cover and the 4 lower ash removal panel nuts.

What linkage did you unhook? I strapped the handle in the up position so the turbs were held up as far as possible. From access thru the open top, I wasn't able to disconnect the levers at both ends with the holes the flat bar slips into. If I understand you somehow are able to pull the flat bars and the 4 middle turbs up out of the boiler at once. My exit pipe plumbing will not allow pulling the assembly up out of the tubes. I took all the turbs out at one time and in hindsight that was a mistake because I had to wrestle in that small space to slip the turbs back in between the bars. I had to make a wire tool to pick up the turbs and hold them as I wrestled to get them back between the flat bars. With my plumbing, it's not physically possible to pull out the flat bar assembly with the middle turbs installed. I also drilled holes in all my turbs below the holes for the pins so I could use my bent wire hook to pick turbs up from down in the boiler and pull the turbs up between the flat bar.

I think next time I remove the turbs I will be welding tabs onto the end so I have something sticking up to hold onto as I work to align the pins. I went to Tractor supply and bought small hitch pins to replace the cotter pins.

Sounds like the way my boiler is plumbed about the only change I'll do next time is not take all the turbs out at once so there's something to keep the flat bar spaced. I'm looking at my hands as I type and I have cuts and scrapes all over them from this job. Sure hope you're right about storage cutting this process to once a year. But I saw a dramatic drop in flue temp so it was worth it.


----------



## woodsmaster

Since your plumbing is in the way maybe it would be easier for you to eliminate the flat bar altogether and just hang the turbs with a steel rods ? That handle on the side just don't do enough in my opinion to make it worth the hassle unhooking and hooking it up each time you clean it.


----------



## Tennman

Yeah, I just may do that next time to skip the hassle of threading it thru those 2 bars. I was thinking of maybe going to something like a shackle. The shackle body thru the turb and pin thru the flat bar. I didn't unhook the handle when I removed the turbs. Also, as I took the pins out I just let the turb fall then after all off fished them up out with a 1/8" steel rod with bent hook on end. Only the two outside ones fall to the bottom of the ash chamber but still easy to fish up with my bent rod tool. I never disconnected anything to do with the handle, had it tied to stay in the full up position. Replacing the cotter pins with hitch pins will be a big help next time. Now just need to get smarter on how to reassemble the turbs.


----------



## goodwood

Tennman said:


> Wrote this nozzle replacement process in a post and thot it would be useful for other BioMass 60 owners. I pray yours is easier to replace than mine.
> 
> NOZZLE REPLACEMENT PROCEDURE:
> If you hope to reuse the side blocks it may be hard. We've not run with storage so bonding due to creosote could have been worse for our boiler than yours. This is a wood boiler so it's more likely to be gooey in the upper chamber. The key is understanding how the side blocks must be removed. Since ours was stuck, there was no way to tell if you're doing something wrong. I'm of average height, but stocky. So when I did get my body into the boiler, I had no space to work. I finally had to hire someone smaller than me because the 60's chamber is too deep to work from the outside and too small for me to work inside.
> 
> 1) I tried to use soft tools, wood or nylon to loosen the blocks. Try to get movement in one of the side blocks. Take your pick, front or back. Try both, one or the other will be less bonded than the other. Once you have some movement, use some type of tool (big flat blade screwdriver) to pry on the top of the block to get it to pivot the top into the chamber. I chipped all my blocks prying and working to get them loose but they were still useable.
> 
> 2) Once loose they will rotate about the bottom into the chamber and then you can lift it from their metal pocket. Getting the first one out on each side is the hardest because now for the second block you can get a wedge behind the second one and pop it loose. MARK the blocks or place them on the floor so they'll go back in the same location.
> 
> 3) Start over and repeat on the other side. At this point you may want to go get an adult beverage, watch football and attempt the other side following Saturday morning.
> 
> 4) Now that you've successfully removed the side blocks with hopefully minimal damage. *Take a hammer and chisel and beat the crap out of that old nozzle.* Turn it into a thousand pieces for all the hours and missed football games it took to get you to this point.  You can try to bump it from the bottom, or pry it out, but turning it into powder at this point is more satisfying.
> 
> 5) I used a right angle grinder used for sharpening bush hog blades to grind/trim the nozzle. It took us 3-4 fitting attempts until it dropped into the nozzle cavity. I can't remember if the nozzle rope insulation is on the top or bottom, I think around the top, but not sure.
> 
> 6) Clean the side block cavities so the blocks will set properly. Replace blocks back to their same positions. Admire.
> 
> 7) Now cogitate if a removable shield to protect that nozzle and hopefully double it's life is a good idea.


i was going to attempt changing my nozzle tomorrow, when you took the side blocks out , i'm assuming they rotate up?, i bought some replacements just in case, i just wanted to make sure which direction they come out, thanks


----------



## Tennman

The top of the side blocks rotate in towards the center of the chamber, Then up and out of the pocket for the bottom of the side block. Enjoy!


----------



## goodwood

Tennman said:


> The top of the side blocks rotate in towards the center of the chamber, Then up and out of the pocket for the bottom of the side block. Enjoy!


every thing came out easy,i  loosened side blocks with a screw driver, had them all out in 10 minutes, lifted the nozzle out,it had 2 gaskets on it which i reused on new nozzle, the new nozzle fit right in the slot, put the side blocks back in place, took about 90 minutes including cleaning all the ash and creosote out. it was actually easier than cleaning the tubes out for me


----------



## Tennman

Wow... gotta say I'm a bit jealous goodwood. I'm partially to blame for all ceramics being glued in with creosote after 5 years running w/o storage. But there's no way my new nozzle would have dropped in. I'm happy for you.... kinda. Congrats.


----------



## ryooper

Question, I have a 40 was Wondering if anyone had that fine ash build up on the fan and if that's just regular cleaning maintainance? The fan on mine was clogged heavily just took it off and cleaned it up


----------



## jaoneill

ryooper said:


> Question, I have a 40 was Wondering if anyone had that fine ash build up on the fan and if that's just regular cleaning maintainance? The fan on mine was clogged heavily just took it off and cleaned it up



Which fan? Unless your 40 is substantially different than my 80 there is almost no way that the primary air supply fan could collect ash; any ash buildup would be after the combustion chambers, not before. If you are referencing the flue fan it is understandable that it might collect some ash. Chalk it up to regular maintenance.


----------



## Bugwood

ryooper said:


> Question, I have a 40 was Wondering if anyone had that fine ash build up on the fan and if that's just regular cleaning maintainance? The fan on mine was clogged heavily just took it off and cleaned it up


Yes it can do with cleaning.  If you're burning properly it does collect dryish type ash and generally sloughs off and keeps relatively clean by itself.  I clean mine about every 6-8 weeks when burning steady.  If the boiler isn't burning properly it can built up with heavier material within a week. If I remember correctly  it is a left hand thread nut if you decide to remove the fan from the motor shaft.


----------



## ryooper

jaoneill said:


> Which fan? Unless your 40 is substantially different than my 80 there is almost no way that the primary air supply fan could collect ash; any ash buildup would be after the combustion chambers, not before. If you are referencing the flue fan it is understandable that it might collect some ash. Chalk it up to regular maintenance.


I only have the one flue fan, it was after about 2 months steady burning it clogged up pretty good fan wasn't turning as freely as it should took it off had some thicker build up on it mostly the light ash though cleaned up easy so as you stated chalked up to regular maint. First season with it just making sure I wasn't doing something wrong, guess it's all in the learning curve, thanks for the reply.


----------



## woodsmaster

ryooper said:


> I only have the one flue fan, it was after about 2 months steady burning it clogged up pretty good fan wasn't turning as freely as it should took it off had some thicker build up on it mostly the light ash though cleaned up easy so as you stated chalked up to regular maint. First season with it just making sure I wasn't doing something wrong, guess it's all in the learning curve, thanks for the reply.





ryooper said:


> I only have the one flue fan, it was after about 2 months steady burning it clogged up pretty good fan wasn't turning as freely as it should took it off had some thicker build up on it mostly the light ash though cleaned up easy so as you stated chalked up to regular maint. First season with it just making sure I wasn't doing something wrong, guess it's all in the learning curve, thanks for the reply.



 I've never had to clean mine other than blowing the dust off by mouth.


----------



## Mike Fromme

I've had a biomass 60 for four years. Never had to do anything to either fan.

Maybe with only one fan the 40's are more prone to needing cleaning?


----------



## ElkRiverFJ

ryooper said:


> I only have the one flue fan, it was after about 2 months steady burning it clogged up pretty good fan wasn't turning as freely as it should took it off had some thicker build up on it mostly the light ash though cleaned up easy so as you stated chalked up to regular maint. First season with it just making sure I wasn't doing something wrong, guess it's all in the learning curve, thanks for the reply.




I have a BioMass 25 and I had to clean my flue fan about halfway through this season. So, it had a year and a half on it.  It  was like you describe, a light ash build up, but mostly it was settled down in the bottom of the housing and the fan blades were hitting the pile of ash in the bottom as it spun.  I'm just going to add removing and cleaning the fan to my end of season clean-out each year.


----------



## goodwood

anyone change lower refractory on a biomass 60? i had a big piece break off from the front section, just wondering how hard it is to replace


----------



## Tennman

It's simple. Just pull them out. They just lay on the lower chamber floor.


----------



## GregMajecki

I always enjoy looking at other people boiler system so I figure I post some pictures of this year cleaning


----------



## Tennman

VERY nice Greg. It's all so clean! You've guilted me into cleaning ours.


----------



## cowboy3500

Hey guys, so I'm considering becoming an official member of this thread, that is buying a Biomass 40 from New Horizons. I'm looking for some input if anyone would be so kind. Shortly I'll be buying a 3800 sf 2-story house with high ceilings, good insul, and bad windows. I'm needing to get a heating system that's a little more economical than the oil hog boiler that's parked in the basement. I've been looking at the European boilers because of their pricepoints, the Eko 40(used from jeffesonm on this forum), the Biomass 40, and the Attack DP 45 Lambda. The Lambda looks like a fine piece of work, but New Horizons has been steering me in the direction of the Biomass, and I guess maybe that's why I'm posting here, to garner some support for that leaning So, what are your opinions? will the Biomass 40 be a good size option for the house as described? Would it keep the house warm through a night in VA(rare week in the teens)? I hope to put in some storage as I go along, possibly starting out with several old water heaters. Any thoughts? and thanks a ton!


----------



## jaoneill

cowboy3500 said:


> So, what are your opinions? will the Biomass 40 be a good size option for the house as described? Would it keep the house warm through a night in VA(rare week in the teens)? I hope to put in some storage as I go along, possibly starting out with several old water heaters. Any thoughts? and thanks a ton!



My thought would be, spring for the 60. The 40 would be marginal in a cold snap. I have a similar sized house and started with an Econoburn 150K BTU ten years ago and it was maxed out most of the winter. That said, we do see weeks on end in the subzero range, considerably colder than Virginia. I am going into my third year with the Biomass 80 and the difference is night & day. It has double the output of the old Econoburn but the technology is also light years ahead. The Biomass is definitely a good buy and I found the support (warranty) exceptional. Last fall the controller got a case of the crazies after sitting idle for 4 months. I called New Horizons, he walked me through the diagnostics again (I had tried all I could think of), when we got nowhere, he popped a new one in the mail and I was in the race three days later. 

The other major consideration is burn time. Even in your climate you will be hard pressed to get much more than an 8 hr burn with the 40 and should see 12 hours with the larger size. There may be others with differing opinions but I would say unless you are ready to install a substantial amount of storage with the boiler, upsize to the 60.

Jim


----------



## MGerald

My views are too same as that of yours woodsmaster.


----------



## jaoneill

Changed out the nozzles in my Biomass 80 last week; PITA but not a terrible process. Front one dropped right in but the width of the lower section of rear nozzle needed to be trimmed 1/8". Spoiled an afternoon start to finish. Should have replaced them last year (after 2years use), rear one was shot and problematic last winter, ended up filling it in with a piece of firebrick before the season was over. Fires like a champ now.


----------



## jaoneill

I have a question for those with a Biomass 60, or 80.... My 80 has two nozzles, as I assume that the 60 does. It appears that the primary air tubes along the sides of the upper chamber have a number of openings, but that the ends, near the back, are open. I find that this seems to cause the rear of the fire to burn much faster than the front. I will often find wood/coals up to the bottom of the door near the front, and over the front nozzle, while the rear nozzle is clear. Has anyone else run into this or, if so, tried resolving it. My thought was to try partially blocking the open ends of the tubes but it's hard to know how much to restrict them.


----------



## Bump

goodwood said:


> i was going to attempt changing my nozzle tomorrow, when you took the side blocks out , i'm assuming they rotate up?, i bought some replacements just in case, i just wanted to make sure which direction they come out, thanks


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## Bump

I just rebuilt an aspen 175. Last year I had a door leak which trashed the entire boiler. Repoured the burn box floor and gas trap in the lower, added fire brick along with splitting the primary and secondary air. Cut in a clean out on the front and redesigned the door. Added a stack fan and rewired. Less wood less ash more heat. Been picking through this site for two years and if there's any aspen owners left it can be saved.


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## jaoneill

Mine were/are a snug fit end to end. I ended up lifting the upper edge, right at the joint between the two, and they popped right out.


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## arnoldmoyers

I agree, it will maintain 190 on the controller.


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## Biomass40

I have a biomass 40, am having trouble with upper door leaking smoke. Have cleaned boiler before i started burning and replaced door seal and still leaks any help with this is greatly appreciated.


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> I have a biomass 40, am having trouble with upper door leaking smoke. Have cleaned boiler before i started burning and replaced door seal and still leaks any help with this is greatly appreciated.


Have you tried adjusting the hinges and/or the latch?


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## Biomass40

jaoneill said:


> Have you tried adjusting the hinges and/or the latch?



I adjusted the latch and still leaked. No matter how tight i made it.


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> I adjusted the latch and still leaked. No matter how tight i made it.


What about the hinges; I have found them more critical than the latch. One needs to take the time to ensure that when you are messing with those adjustments that the door is closing evenly all the way around or it will leak.


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## Biomass40

jaoneill said:


> What about the hinges; I have found them more critical than the latch. One needs to take the time to ensure that when you are messing with those adjustments that the door is closing evenly all the way around or it will leak.



Ok i will try that, have you cleaned your tubes? If so what did you use?


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> Ok i will try that, have you cleaned your tubes? If so what did you use?


When you do, since you have tightened down the latch, back it off, then go easy. It may take a bit longer initially, but 1/16 of an inch on the hinges will make a considerable difference in how tight the door is. Take a turn on each hinge, then try closing the door; you want it to take a bit, but not a lot, of pressure to close it. After you have the hinges about right then you can fine tune the fit with the latch.
I have a number of different boilers in different investment properties so I keep an assortment of boiler cleaning brushes of different sizes and stiffness. I just use a medium stiffness brush that fits the tubes.


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## Biomass40

Ok ill try adjusting the hindges, i shut it down cause of the leaking smoke and couldn't  get it stopped and started cleaning tubes cause i thought that might have something to do with it.


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> Ok ill try adjusting the hindges, i shut it down cause of the leaking smoke and couldn't  get it stopped and started cleaning tubes cause i thought that might have something to do with it.


Good luck, I have to sign off for a bit will check back later.....


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> Ok ill try adjusting the hindges, i shut it down cause of the leaking smoke and couldn't  get it stopped and started cleaning tubes cause i thought that might have something to do with it.


Did you get the hinges adjusted? Did it stop your smoking problem?


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## Biomass40

jaoneill said:


> Did you get the hinges adjusted? Did it stop your smoking problem?



Well, i found my problem . I had to clean the tubes out. Did that and it has been fine.
Thank you for your help


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## taxidermist

Biomass40 said:


> I have a biomass 40, am having trouble with upper door leaking smoke. Have cleaned boiler before i started burning and replaced door seal and still leaks any help with this is greatly appreciated.


Can you post a pic of the door? On my EKO I covered the rope with silicone


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## Biomass40

Ok solved the smoke leaking from the front door by cleaning tubes. Now that temps have dropped in to low 20 and teens at night seems like i cant keep a roaring flame in boiler. Just smoldering at times.wood is seasoned. Any adjustments i can make? Worked well when temps were in low 30's.

Thank you


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> Ok solved the smoke leaking from the front door by cleaning tubes. Now that temps have dropped in to low 20 and teens at night seems like i cant keep a roaring flame in boiler. Just smoldering at times.wood is seasoned. Any adjustments i can make? Worked well when temps were in low 30's.
> 
> Thank you


Try taking the tip of a poker to the intake openings inside the "firebox", then open the front, hinged middle section (my '80 is held closed with two allen head bolts), where the blower is mounted, and take a brush to the airways inside.


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## Biomass40

What intake openings inside the firebox? I did the ones behind  blower in the front.


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## jaoneill

My 80 has what might be termed a manifold on each side with a series of slots on the underside that direct combustion air down across the angled base that slopes into the "nozzles".


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## Biomass40

Are you talking about in the bottom chamber along the sides? I cleaned them also.


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> Are you talking about in the bottom chamber along the sides? I cleaned them also.


No, in the upper chamber where you load the wood....


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## Biomass40

Where are they located? Sorry im still new to this.


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> Where are they located? Sorry im still new to this.


Along the sides, just above the sloped ceramic floor of the upper chamber. In the first pic the tip of the poker is pointing to this area on the left wall, in the second pic I have inserted the poker into one of the openings.


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## Biomass40

Ok so clean along that edge and find and clean out openings?


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> Ok so clean along that edge and find and clean out openings?


You got it. FWIW, I have found that this can at times push crud up into the main manifold which can be cleaned from access behind the blower door on the front.


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## Biomass40

The 2  holes behind that door?


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## Biomass40

Are there only the intake openings on the left side or both sides of firebox?


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> The 2  holes behind that door?


Yup


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> Are there only the intake openings on the left side or both sides of firebox?


Both sides on mine....


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## Biomass40

Ok i did that and still not getting a huge flame, its heating house but flames then it smolders. Flames up when i open door.


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## jaoneill

Biomass40 said:


> Ok i did that and still not getting a huge flame, its heating house but flames then it smolders. Flames up when i open door.


Sounds as though it's starving for air or have a blockage on the exhaust side. Ok, you cleaned the heat exchanger tubes, did you clean out the base under the tubes (mine has small access panels on the side of the boiler, near the bottom toward the rear). Is your chimney clear? Does it have an elbow where fly ash or creosote might build up?


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## Biomass40

Yes i clean the tubes , cause i was having smoke leak from door. That stopped. I cleaned the base  where tubes are. Chimney is clear. And exhaust pipe is clean well.


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## jaoneill

Just went down to tend to mine and it occured to me that perhaps your boiler is simply maxed out. With these gasifire units you don't have a roaring blaze in the upper chamber. If I fill mine I can lay a newspaper on top of the wood and if I open the door two hours later it will still be there; browned perhaps, but not burned. The idea is that basically the lower portions of the wood smolder, releasing the gas (smoke) which is then burned as it is forced through the "nozzles", the slot, or opening into the base. The burning of these gases is where the real heat is generated. Do you see orange or blue through the sight glass in the base? Will your boiler reach temp if the house loops aren't calling for heat or recover in a reasonable amount of time if the main circulator is off?


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## Biomass40

I dont think i have a sight glass, when house gets to temp it will go like in to a resting mode. And turn in and off as needed.


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## Biomass40

Thru the sight glass i see orange and blue.


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## jaoneill

Sounds as though your boiler is doing the best it can do. Do you have any idea what the heat loss is for your house? A boiler the size of the 40, especially without storage, would be marginal for any more than a two bedroom cottage with average insulation. Boiler specifications are generally calculated under ideal conditions, with ideal fuel supply and boiler fine tuned to the max. You will seldom replicate that output under normal conditions. My 80 is rated at 300k BTU but I have a fairly elaborate distribution system that allows me to monitor real life output fairly accurately so I know that the 80 regularly cooks along at an average of just a bit over 200k with hard maple at 12%-15% moisture. Reality is that it is nowhere near big enough to handle the 280K load that would be demanded of it if we attempted to heat the entire house. We have 12 heating zones so we are able to dial down the heating requirements when it gets really cold. 
Depending upon your distribution system and radiation your 100K boiler is probably not quite big enough. That said, if the house is warm don't sweat it.


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## Biomass40

Not sure of  the heat loss in the house. I think im just wanting it to heat faster i guess. The heat is floor heat and it takes longer. Maybe im just being impatient. I appreciate all your help. Is that a Model M you have there. I have a 1950 Mt i restored.


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## jaoneill

It is an M. I bought it sight unseen about ten years ago; had been sitting out in a pasture for 30 years 200 miles south of here. Needless to say it needed a complete restoration. I did it over as a working tractor not a show piece and have used it ever since, primarily for raking hay and hauling wood from the deepest recesses of the woodlot where bigger tractors would be too cumbersome. I dismantled it and painted the parts before reassembly. Pics will give you some idea of the extent of the restoration. Pistons are the ones that came out of it (with difficulty, soaked them for 2 weeks and then it took an 8lb hammer to break them loose). Engine was a complete rebuild top to bottom but since cylinders don't have sleeves I used very coarse stones and honed them ten thousanths oversized; took forever 











	

		
			
		

		
	
 .


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## maple1

jaoneill said:


> A boiler the size of the 40, especially without storage, would be marginal for any more than a two bedroom cottage with average insulation.



I'm not sure about that. Mine is a 40kw rated boiler, and it heats a 2700 sq.ft. 25 year old 2 storey, on an open hilltop, burning only 6 hours a day. So it should be all kinds of capable, they can pump out the heat. Not having storage would play in for sure, but not sure it would be that much of an impact?

Other things that would impact, are low return temps (since floor heat was mentioned), and wood not fully seasoned.

Biomass40 - does your boiler have return temperature protection? If not it will make all kinds more creosote in the firebox than it otherwise should.

Also, in floor heat would take a while to heat up a space. It should be set up & operated more to maintain a space at a certain temperature, rather than heating it up. Are you raising & lowering temps? If not, then it would likely be colder outside temps pulling more heat away which might make it feel colder, which the in floor would be slower to react to. There are system design solutions to that, but they would be more complicated - requiring outdoor temp sensors tied to mixing valves.

Storage is the biggest game changer in this boiler business.


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## Biomass40

What do you mean by storage?


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## Biomass40

Is there any diagrams of the 40's airflow pathways?


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## maple1

Biomass40 said:


> What do you mean by storage?



Hundreds of gallons of water hooked to the boiler.


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## Biomass40

Having trouble boiler wont reach temp it is set to.. get a flame for short time then smolders.any ideas what this could be?


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## Biomass40

Can't get biomass 40 to reach temp its set at? Any udeas why this is happening?


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## Aranyic

Biomass users what's the life expectancy on these things?  I've been planning to work on a setup with a Vedolux v37 setup probably in my basement with 3 210-250 gallon tanks.  I had a used Biomass 80 pop up online near me though.  Would you touch one 9 years old on the used market?  I can get it with 1000 gallons of storage (2x 500 gallon repurposed propane tanks) that's been in use since 2010.  Outside looks good; inside looks like it has a fair amount of creosote on the upper chamber but maybe that's normal for them?  Said it's been used about 2 months per year for heating a greenhouse so I'm sure it was run hard during that time period.

It would allow me to build a boiler shed next to the house for all the equipment instead of taking it into the basement through a 32" doorway.  (up 3 steps to the house, through 2 rooms of hardwood floors and down a flight of stairs, 3 doorways and 2 degree turns involved).  It may be a much more economical way to get going then in 5-7 years depending on how long those things should last if I want to go to a different boiler with more bells and whistles I could.  I'm only 34 and plan on living here for a very long time so I've got time to get the life out of equipment.

//edit: when you referance pictures it helps to remember and post them :/


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## jaoneill

Aranyic said:


> Biomass users what's the life expectancy on these things?  I've been planning to work on a setup with a Vedolux v37 setup probably in my basement with 3 210-250 gallon tanks.  I had a used Biomass 80 pop up online near me though.  Would you touch one 9 years old on the used market?  I can get it with 1000 gallons of storage (2x 500 gallon repurposed propane tanks) that's been in use since 2010.  Outside looks good; inside looks like it has a fair amount of creosote on the upper chamber but maybe that's normal for them?  Said it's been used about 2 months per year for heating a greenhouse so I'm sure it was run hard during that time period.
> 
> It would allow me to build a boiler shed next to the house for all the equipment instead of taking it into the basement through a 32" doorway.  (up 3 steps to the house, through 2 rooms of hardwood floors and down a flight of stairs, 3 doorways and 2 degree turns involved).  It may be a much more economical way to get going then in 5-7 years depending on how long those things should last if I want to go to a different boiler with more bells and whistles I could.  I'm only 34 and plan on living here for a very long time so I've got time to get the life out of equipment.
> 
> //edit: when you referance pictures it helps to remember and post them :/
> 
> View attachment 240876
> View attachment 240877
> View attachment 240878


If the price was right, and it had been set up with return temp protection, I would certainly consider it. Any wood boiler without the return temp protection is prone to failure in the area where the return enters the jacket. My 80 is in its 6th year with no indications of giving up.


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## maple1

Biomass40 said:


> Can't get biomass 40 to reach temp its set at? Any udeas why this is happening?



Way late reply, dont look at this thread much.

Too cold return temps due to in floor heat and no boiler return temp.

That's a hunch. You didnt answer earlier on return temp protection. But accurately measure temp of your return water just before it enters the boiler.


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## AROTTO

Those settings worked alright for me. I found that the upper flame was smoldering and was having some undeniable smoke out the stack. I'm just in the second multi day stretch of consuming. So as of recently playing around with it, yet these settings appear to work with the pine wood I am at present utilizing.


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## maple1

I think actually the upper chamber is supposed to smolder, so to speak, with not a lot of flame. But that smoke the upper chamber makes, is supposed to get turned into really hot fire in the lower chamber.


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## ExxWhy

Hi all.  First of all, thank you for this fantastic resource and everyone's input!

After doing a ton of reading here, I installed a Biomass combo 40 with 500 gal storage last month.  So far, it has met every expectation and seems to be running great.  I don't have the oil hooked up yet, only plan to use that if i am on vacation anyway.  I'll get a round-to-it.      3000 sf house with so so insulation and standard baseboard radiators.  Relined the chimney with a 6" SS liner and poured in insulation.  That including breaking out the old tile liner.  It's been quite the DIY project, not for the faint of heart!  

We've been heating with wood for years and replaced a relic from the 70's that was basically a  short barrel turned sideways with a water jacket, no storage.  That supplemented a standard oil boiler, though we only used 75 gallons of oil per year on the coldest of days.  I used to just run the oil alone and it would not be uncommon to use 1200-1500 gallons in a season.  The old wood burner had a voracious appetite!  I think we are using between 1/3 and 1/2 the wood we did before while keeping the house warmer and only burning 5 hours per day this time of year.

I do have a couple questions from this thread.  Someone mentioned trying a steel plate on top of the nozzle to help protect it from erosion.  Did that help?  I can see some rounding of the corners already on mine.

Any report from the Oxygen sensor in the flue idea?  

I am also interested in a flue temp setup, but not impressed with the cheap looking sheet metal gauges.  Anyone have some ideas on a digital setup?  

I can already see I would like to have more storage and also want to install some sort of domestic hot water heat exchanger.  Upgrades for next season most likely.


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## jaoneill

ExxWhy said:


> Hi all.  First of all, thank you for this fantastic resource and everyone's input!
> 
> After doing a ton of reading here, I installed a Biomass combo 40 with 500 gal storage last month.  So far, it has met every expectation and seems to be running great.  I don't have the oil hooked up yet, only plan to use that if i am on vacation anyway.  I'll get a round-to-it.      3000 sf house with so so insulation and standard baseboard radiators.  Relined the chimney with a 6" SS liner and poured in insulation.  That including breaking out the old tile liner.  It's been quite the DIY project, not for the faint of heart!
> 
> We've been heating with wood for years and replaced a relic from the 70's that was basically a  short barrel turned sideways with a water jacket, no storage.  That supplemented a standard oil boiler, though we only used 75 gallons of oil per year on the coldest of days.  I used to just run the oil alone and it would not be uncommon to use 1200-1500 gallons in a season.  The old wood burner had a voracious appetite!  I think we are using between 1/3 and 1/2 the wood we did before while keeping the house warmer and only burning 5 hours per day this time of year.
> 
> I do have a couple questions from this thread.  Someone mentioned trying a steel plate on top of the nozzle to help protect it from erosion.  Did that help?  I can see some rounding of the corners already on mine.
> 
> Any report from the Oxygen sensor in the flue idea?
> 
> I am also interested in a flue temp setup, but not impressed with the cheap looking sheet metal gauges.  Anyone have some ideas on a digital setup?
> 
> I can already see I would like to have more storage and also want to install some sort of domestic hot water heat exchanger.  Upgrades for next season most likely.


Not certain how a steel plate would work but I tried a piece of a cast iron grate over mine one year. It might have helped extend the life of the nozzles but was a PITA and was so deformed from the intense heat that I removed it after a couple of months. There is a very good reason that the base of the upper chamber is ceramic. Not sure what other's experience has been but I have found that the nozzles seem to last 3-4 years.


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## Mike Fromme

Best thing to do for a biomass nozzle is to get a few firebricks and make an “overlay”. 

I’m going on ten years on the original nozzle with the fire bricks. Probably time  to replace the fire bricks but the nozzle itself is fine.


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## ExxWhy

How are the firebricks held in place?  Confused as to how they would be arranged.

I am still extremely happy with this boiler.  Burning typically for 5-6 hours in the evening to get the storage up to 175-180 and we're good until the next day.  If it's real cold (single digits) I need to burn for a few hours in the morning too.  Counting my blessings especially after reading the sad saga about the Vapor Fire on the forum.


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## Mike Fromme

I think it took 6, maybe 8 bricks  for my biomass 60.  The 4 in the center need to be cut. I used a tile saw but a  grinder with a diamond blade would work. They just sit on top of the nozzle. I spread some sand around to lock them in place.

The first pic is how the nozzle looked after the first year. More erosion then I would have liked. Get the “splits” when you buy firebrick. They are only 2” thick and fit quite well without taking up much space.  I don’t think I had to make any changes to the air settings.


.


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## jaoneill

Mike Fromme said:


> I think it took 6, maybe 8 bricks  for my biomass 60.  The 4 in the center need to be cut. I used a tile saw but a  grinder with a diamond blade would work. They just sit on top of the nozzle. I spread some sand around to lock them in place.
> 
> The first pic is how the nozzle looked after the first year. More erosion then I would have liked. Get the “splits” when you buy firebrick. They are only 2” thick and fit quite well without taking up much space.  I don’t think I had to make any changes to the air settings.
> 
> Brilliant solution Mike, with a few days warm weather on tap I may do the same with my 80!


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## ExxWhy

Looks great Mike.  Thanks  a bunch for posting the pics, worth thousands of words.  I would say my nozzle would probably look about like yours in the pic by the end of the season if I do nothing.


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## ExxWhy

Picked up some fire brick yesterday and cut it up with the trusty horrible freight tile saw collecting dust on my shelf.  Fits good and didn't seem to change the way it burned at all.  I left it a little loose in case it expands at a different rate than the main refractory parts.

Thanks again for sharing your great idea!


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## jaoneill

Finally got around to doing the firebrick overlay on my 80; was a simple project that required 6 of the "splits" and a half hour's time with the tile saw. The splits are actually only 1 1/4" thick.


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