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E-Classic 2400 review

Started by Chuckolicious, November 15, 2010, 09:41:24 AM

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Chuckolicious

In January of 2010, my E-Classic 2300 with backup gas burner went online.  Yes, a 2300, stick with me.

I have a 5000sf house, relatively tight, multi-zoned baseboard hydronic, Smith Boiler pressurized.  Reason its pressurized is house has no basement and pex lines run through crawl space.  Even with 50% Noburst there's a small risk of freeze for zones that are unused for long periods.

FPHE between Smith and E-Classic due to the pressurization and Noburst.  Sure, I'd love to have it directly tied in, but 400 gallons of Noburst = megabucks.

Had a few hiccups at first, needed a new controller, crappy molex connector resulted in flaky combustion chamber temp reading, but nothing too annoying.

Thing ran really well all in all.  Some bridging annoyance now and again, but whatever. 

However...

From the get go I noticed that the water level would drop ever so slowly, needing a top-off every couple of weeks.  Checked everything, no leaks.  Checked in firebox, no leaks.  At one point I found water in the tray under the 6 air channels while cleaning them, but my dealer thought it was probably condensation from some wet wood.  That water dried up and didn't come back as far as I ever noticed.  But still, every two weeks I had to bring the water level back up.

End of season I shut it down and really cleaned it out.  Still no sign of a leak.

Finally, my dealer came by and we looked in every nook and cranny.  That water in the tray?  Yep, if you stick your head in just enough to look all the way back to where the flue is, the wall behind it had a tiny leak..  So tiny it probably would self seal depending on temperature.  Back to the factory for you!

Took a while, and then a situation came up whereby I needed to have the unit back by a certain time no matter what.  Central Boiler was super cool and since they could not easily fix my old one, they upgraded me to a 2400.  Only caveat is the 2400 does not have the backup gas burner, just a gas gun to light/relight.  I decided to go for it since I never used the burner anyway.

Its now been running full-time for a month.  Its awesome!  Firebox is bigger, no bridging at all so far, and the gas gun is pretty trick.  It has a mechanically actuated steel plate that pendulum swings up and to the left in order to keep the tube and gun from getting all coked up, which was a problem with the 2300.  The auger that moves the plate is very beefy so even if the plate gets covered in creosote, it seems to be able to break free.  High power LED lights all over the thing, even on the hinge edge of the door which shines into the firebox when you open it.

Thing runs as efficient as ever.  Very little ash, gets up to temp quick, just works good.

Anyway, any questions just lemme know.


kram

Hey Chucko,
How do you feel about the 2400 after having it for almost a heating season.
My wife and I are leaning toward it for it's good rep (so far) and Vermont OWB EPA qualification.
Love to hear your lastest feedback.

doctorb

Yes, please give us an update on the 2400.  Either nobody has one, or nobody has any problems with one because it is very difficult to get first hand info on this unit.

I sent Chucko a PM to make sure he sees our question.  Thanks in advance. 
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

Chuckolicious

Season went pretty well.  Nothing really to report, it just worked.  I'm now trying to figure out a way to burn off as much of the creosote as possible before summer shutdown.  So I've been doing small loads in the center (away from walls).  Any other suggestions on how to do a creosote burn-off?

BTW, if you have any specific questions just fire away!

doctorb

I burn off the creosote by letting the water temp get pretty low, even lower than the  my 185 kick back on temp (turn off the stove for a few hours.) .  Then I start a decent sized fire in the center of the firebox.  Leave the door open and push the switch for the fans to kick on in with something that will hold it in, starting the fans.  It will create a very hot fire, and the creosote is easily scraped, burned, or melted away.  Deposit any scraped creosote right on the fire and it burns up.  The reason you have to start with a low water temp is that this hot fire also increases the temp in the water quickly.  The low starting temp gives you more time before the fans automatically shut down prior to boiling the water !

Questions:

1.  Do you have to scrape the airholes and maintan at the same rate and diligence of the 2300?
2.  Do you think its more efficient than the 2300, or just less hassle?
3.  Was the overall effort required significanltly different between the two models?
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

beenthere

Any reason to burn it off the walls?
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

doctorb

Beenthere-

I don't pay attention to the walls much at all.  They kind of take care of themselves.  I do clean off the welds and angles of the firebox at year's end.  I don't know if creosote there can lead to rust, but, because those are seams in the boiler, I try to clean them at the end of the burning season to remove any ill-effects on these connections.  I don't do any of that during the heating season, unless I am in vacation shut-down mode.

The only creosote cleaning I do routinely during the heating season is along the bypass door flue edge.  I don't want a build up there to prevent complete closure.
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

Chuckolicious

Quote from: doctorb on April 07, 2011, 12:46:02 PM
I burn off the creosote by letting the water temp get pretty low, even lower than the  my 185 kick back on temp (turn off the stove for a few hours.) .  Then I start a decent sized fire in the center of the firebox.  Leave the door open and push the switch for the fans to kick on in with something that will hold it in, starting the fans.  It will create a very hot fire, and the creosote is easily scraped, burned, or melted away.  Deposit any scraped creosote right on the fire and it burns up.  The reason you have to start with a low water temp is that this hot fire also increases the temp in the water quickly.  The low starting temp gives you more time before the fans automatically shut down prior to boiling the water !

Questions:

1.  Do you have to scrape the airholes and maintain at the same rate and diligence of the 2300?
2.  Do you think its more efficient than the 2300, or just less hassle?
3.  Was the overall effort required significantly different between the two models?

1:  Yea, pretty much, though I'm just like that so dunno if I could have let it go.  Every fill I would scrape the holes and stir the coals.
2:  Unfortunately I really had no way to compare as the 2300 went in in January and clearly had a slow leak the entire time.  My gut sense is that the 2400 has been "slightly" more efficient.
3:  Same effort.  By effort I really mean daily scrape, stir, load.  Bi-weekly (or even longer) ash clean and air tunnel brushing.

I never had a flue closure issue with the 2300 and certainly did not with the 2400.

Chuckolicious

Quote from: doctorb on April 07, 2011, 02:11:59 PM
Beenthere-

I don't pay attention to the walls much at all.  They kind of take care of themselves.  I do clean off the welds and angles of the firebox at year's end.  I don't know if creosote there can lead to rust, but, because those are seams in the boiler, I try to clean them at the end of the burning season to remove any ill-effects on these connections.  I don't do any of that during the heating season, unless I am in vacation shut-down mode.

The only creosote cleaning I do routinely during the heating season is along the bypass door flue edge.  I don't want a build up there to prevent complete closure.

Yea, that's what I want to do too.  I'll try the open door trick.  Just want to make sure flames don't come out and start doing actual damage to the outer sheet metal or insulation.

rondojod

Chucholicious,
I have been thinking about a possible upgrade from my 2300 to a 2400 model.
The only issues that I have had this year has been the bridging problem.
I have been running my 2300 since February of 2009. Last year ran like a charm, this year only the bridging problem.
In your November 15 post you use the word awesome. In your April 7 response, I don't see as much enthusiasm about the 2400.
My questions would be:

1. In your opinion is it worth the upgrade?
2. Is it using less wood?
3. Are you having any bridging problem?
4. How full to you fill the box.
5. How long of burn time do you get with your fill?

Just a note for the 2300 owners, I replaced my Fusion Combuster the fall of 2010. I have now discovered that on the bottom of the FC there is another shield that slides in to the fusion combuster which is now disintegrating and needs to be replaced. According to CB it is a wear item and can be easily replaced for little money. Until I have replaced the part I will question how easy. Don't believe that CB has replaced these in a boiler that has run for two seasons and experienced how hard it might come out or putting it in without again removing the FC from the boiler. Just another thing that has gone in the unit that CB keeps a secret until someone finds it and then contacts the dealer in return contacts CB for an explanation.

rondojod

Just wondering where Chuckolicious went? Sorry about the misspell of Chuckolicious on my first post.

doctorb

rondojod-

I sent him  PM previously.  It may be the best way to raise him!
My father once said, "This is my son who wanted to grow up and become a doctor.  So far, he's only become a doctor."

rondojod


beenthere

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Chuckolicious

Quote from: rondojod on April 09, 2011, 09:46:12 AM
Chucholicious,
I have been thinking about a possible upgrade from my 2300 to a 2400 model.
The only issues that I have had this year has been the bridging problem.
I have been running my 2300 since February of 2009. Last year ran like a charm, this year only the bridging problem.
In your November 15 post you use the word awesome. In your April 7 response, I don't see as much enthusiasm about the 2400.
My questions would be:

1. In your opinion is it worth the upgrade?
2. Is it using less wood?
3. Are you having any bridging problem?
4. How full to you fill the box.
5. How long of burn time do you get with your fill?

Just a note for the 2300 owners, I replaced my Fusion Combuster the fall of 2010. I have now discovered that on the bottom of the FC there is another shield that slides in to the fusion combuster which is now disintegrating and needs to be replaced. According to CB it is a wear item and can be easily replaced for little money. Until I have replaced the part I will question how easy. Don't believe that CB has replaced these in a boiler that has run for two seasons and experienced how hard it might come out or putting it in without again removing the FC from the boiler. Just another thing that has gone in the unit that CB keeps a secret until someone finds it and then contacts the dealer in return contacts CB for an explanation.

Sorry, don't check here all that often.

1)  Upgrading seems like a pretty severe investment.  I'd say, based on my limited experience, no.

2)  Like I said before, no way to really know since I had the 2300 online for only half a season.  My gut says it uses a "bit" less.

3)  None.  Yes, I had bridging problems with the 2300 as well, so this is one area where the 2400 clearly shines.

4)  Usually to the roof, 24" pieces.  Even filled it front to back a few times by filling front gap with logs set left-right, building a wall of sorts.

5)  With my normal fill, during the super cold days (like -20F ambient in the mornings) I would get a good 24 hours.

Yea, not super enthusiasm as it just works.  Gotta remember that I was basically a new owner with this one since the 2300 got such short use and had all the issues.  So having it just work as advertised had me jazzed for a while.

pulse

Enthusiasm seems to fade for any type of wood burning appliances as the heating season gets into the 7th or 8th month. By next September everybody will be excited again.

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