E-Classic Pics (including paper clip fix)

[ecrane99]

Here are some pics of my E-Classic setup. (Wood only model)

Has anyone been succesful running without the paperclip? (The third photo shows the 2 paper clips inserted in the primary air intake)

Seems most e-classic owners are having the same issues with the creosote buildup and bypass sticking.

 

[jd6030]

I have duel fuel e classic and used propane to get first fire going and been on wood only mode since that has been 4 weeks ago. I haven't had to do paper clip trick yet. There was a couple days were temperatures were in 60's and it took a lot longer to get a good fire going to get back to temperature. A really good coal bed seems to be a big key for these stoves. The bypass door was sticking at first and was having some crap sticking on walls but it seams with colder temparatures that has all went away right now I dont think there is a cup full of junk right now on all surfaces above firebrick. How dry is your wood and how long is it going between running cycles? I have not had any issues with this stove and nothing but good luck.

 

[Sawyer]

My cousin's son has a E-Classic up and running for a month. He has the creasote problem burning in the warmer outdoor temps we have previously experienced. He has not needed the paper clip to keep the fire or coal bed going. He is burning two year old, dry wood, primarily white ash.

 

[jgrimm]

The Dual fuel E-Classic does not need the paperclip. You can program the controller to run the fan every few minutes for a 20 seconds or so to keep the coal bed alive between cycles.

 

[eco-one]

Here are some pics of my E-Classic setup. (Wood only model)

Has anyone been succesful running without the paperclip? (The third photo shows the 2 paper clips inserted in the primary air intake)

Seems most e-classic owners are having the same issues with the creosote buildup and bypass sticking.

hey what happens when all that creosote gets all built up to mabye 1/2" thick?and then it all ignites sound like one big fire if you ask me!! someday its all going to burn off !!

 

[Eric Johnson]

I don't know about that. I've never had any creosote in my firebox burn off in a creosote fire like you'd get in a chimney. I have no idea why. You can hold a torch to that stuff and it still won't burn. Sometimes when I get bored I'll scrap the loose stuff off the walls of the firebox and onto the coals, at which point it burns pretty well.

 

[warm in VT]

My firebox looks the same as yours. I just took the paper clip off last night as we will be having highs in the 30's and lows in the teens all week and probably will settle in to the cold for the winter. I have been opening my bypass and letting the fire burn with the flue open until it catches the creosote and the shutting the bypass. By doing this for a few rotations it burns off the creosote and stops the bypass from catching. the problem is that the firebox never heats up enough to burn it off as all the fire and burn is forced down into the burn chamber leaving soem residual heat and smoke to fill the firebox making more creosote.

 

[magic paddler]

Hello all,
I just registered with the Hearth.com, was pleased to find others with same issues with the e-classic that I have found.
I have been running ours for just about a month. Ihave had problems with incomplete burns and creosote build up.
When I light it off for the first time it was about 60 degrees out and after the water warmed up to temperature the fire just kept dying. finally heeded the instructions and started using a LOT more kindling type wood, mostly dead pine stickers and poles off the property, and now is doing much better. but I'm not getting the burn times out of the unit. I'm filling the fire box approximately half full, more at night and six or seven hour burns are all I can muster. I have the wood only version, with 3 sections of chimney pipe.
with a 50 plate heat exchanger, I run the controller @ 180. The creosote issue is there, What I do is when reloading, scrape the firebox, above the fire brick with a 3" wide ice scraper wile the firebox is still hot, it then peels right off in sheets, I just knock it off onto the ashes. It seems as though this unit does not really like much moisture in the wood at all, wood that would burn fine in my wood stove will smolder out in this unit. I did add a !8,000 btu heater onthe return leg to heat the basement, it is on an aquastat and a 110 volt thermostat, this works really well!
My main concerns are other than the obvious,put more wood in, what has anybody found that will increase the burn times?
And how many times will I have to resplit the 5 cords of oak that I have to get this to burn completely?
Thanks for any help that you may offer, and wish you all a great Thanksgiving

 

[magic paddler]

Hello all,
I just registered with the Hearth.com, was pleased to find others with same issues with the e-classic that I have found.
I have been running ours for just about a month. Ihave had problems with incomplete burns and creosote build up.
When I light it off for the first time it was about 60 degrees out and after the water warmed up to temperature the fire just kept dying. finally heeded the instructions and started using a LOT more kindling type wood, mostly dead pine stickers and poles off the property, and now is doing much better. but I'm not getting the burn times out of the unit. I'm filling the fire box approximately half full, more at night and six or seven hour burns are all I can muster. I have the wood only version, with 3 sections of chimney pipe.
with a 50 plate heat exchanger, I run the controller @ 180. The creosote issue is there, What I do is when reloading, scrape the firebox, above the fire brick with a 3" wide ice scraper wile the firebox is still hot, it then peels right off in sheets, I just knock it off onto the ashes. It seems as though this unit does not really like much moisture in the wood at all, wood that would burn fine in my wood stove will smolder out in this unit. I did add a !8,000 btu heater onthe return leg to heat the basement, it is on an aquastat and a 110 volt thermostat, this works really well!
My main concerns are other than the obvious,put more wood in, what has anybody found that will increase the burn times?
And how many times will I have to resplit the 5 cords of oak that I have to get this to burn completely?
Thanks for any help that you may offer, and wish you all a great Thanksgiving

 

[pshaw]

other than the creosote build up and the bypass sticking my unit is fine. I fill it 3/4 of the way up and get 30 hours out of it. it heats the house 2500 sq ft and the domestic water. I don't really understand the paper cilp trick..can't see the pic well enough.....$10,576.00 for the boiler and it has to be rigged with paper clips? Sounds like we may have a class action suite here...............

 

[pshaw]

what about the creosote powder I throw on my wood stove? Can we use that?

 

[heaterman]

I don't know about that. I've never had any creosote in my firebox burn off in a creosote fire like you'd get in a chimney. I have no idea why. You can hold a torch to that stuff and it still won't burn. Sometimes when I get bored I'll scrap the loose stuff off the walls of the firebox and onto the coals, at which point it burns pretty well.

It won't burn because it can't get hot enough being that it's backed up by 180*+/- water. In the flue it's a different story because there's nothing to cool it. Once it starts it's self feeding.

 

[ecrane99]

I removed my paperclips 2 weeks ago. Seems to run fine now that the temps have lowered into the 30s.

 

[antos_ketcham]

I removed my paperclips 2 weeks ago. Seems to run fine now that the temps have lowered into the 30s.

I have left my clip in. I am still getting 24-36 hour burns on a load of wood depending on temps.

If CB doesn't send us the permanent fix, as I was told they would by the VP last fall, then I may remove the clip and instead drill a small hole to serve the same purpose.

Pete