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Central boiler 1400 air channels

Started by overclocking, September 10, 2017, 12:41:52 PM

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overclocking

Starting to cut apart the air channels on the 1400 today and replace them with something that allows me to get in there and clean them. I'm not a proffesional fabricator so I am looking for something I can just bolt in and remove. Stay tuned as I will add pics and update on my progress. My hopes are to see if I can find an affordable work around to the 1400 problems since they don't make the replacement kits for them.

overclocking


Roger2561

I'll be following this for I too have the 1400.  I have a welder/fabricator coming by, hopefully sooner rather than later to cut out the old channel and make removable panels for mine.  We'll have to compare notes/pictures to see what you guys come up with.  Roger 
Roger

overclocking

Well after trying multiple cutting wheels and grinders it turns out a sawzall with a 3 inch blade at an angle and a bimetal blade is the best way to go.

I got the right channels exposed and they were 100% clogged.

I see why CB does not offer a kit to do this, its pretty risky as the water jacket is behind the channel and the channel is only about 1 inch deep in the center. Its basically a 2 inch pipe they ripped down the center and welded in there. I was under the impression the air channel would have more volume and was square shaped, but it is not very deep at all... which is why it clogs over time.

I have some more material to remove and clean up my cuts so it looks really rough at the moment, but just seeing how much was in there was shocking, there's no way it was ever coming out... it was like coal, and I bent a few sawzall blades. I'm going to grind it back to the welds on each channel. 

The corner was completely and I mean 100% blocked, so even if I got the channels cleaned there was no way to get the corner clean. I cut it back far enough to where I can now get in there with the coal rake and clean the corner out. 

  

  

  

 

Logging logginglogging

wow that looks like a lot of work. should work out well though.

Roger2561

Quote from: overclocking on September 11, 2017, 08:29:22 AM
Well after trying multiple cutting wheels and grinders it turns out a sawzall with a 3 inch blade at an angle and a bimetal blade is the best way to go.

I got the right channels exposed and they were 100% clogged.

I see why CB does not offer a kit to do this, its pretty risky as the water jacket is behind the channel and the channel is only about 1 inch deep in the center. Its basically a 2 inch pipe they ripped down the center and welded in there. I was under the impression the air channel would have more volume and was square shaped, but it is not very deep at all... which is why it clogs over time.

I have some more material to remove and clean up my cuts so it looks really rough at the moment, but just seeing how much was in there was shocking, there's no way it was ever coming out... it was like coal, and I bent a few sawzall blades. I'm going to grind it back to the welds on each channel. 

The corner was completely and I mean 100% blocked, so even if I got the channels cleaned there was no way to get the corner clean. I cut it back far enough to where I can now get in there with the coal rake and clean the corner out. 

  

  

  

 

The old air channel on mine looks a lot like yours but a couple of them are so warped that the end of it has turned out into fire box.   That reminds me, I have to call the welder to see if I can get a time frame of when he's stopping by to do the job.   Keep the pics coming, they are very helpful.  Roger 
Roger

Roger2561

One more thing; I have a diamond tipped cutoff wheel, do you think it'll do okay or is that what you used?  Roger
Roger

DeerMeadowFarm

I'm going through this as well myself with my E-Classic 2400. I've managed to cut a couple of sections out and they have been completely 100% clogged. I am using a chisel to chip all the solidified creosote out. It took me 4 cut-off wheels to complete what I did and some of the panels I cut were already warped and pulling away. I don't know if it's the metal or the creosote but I am eating up cut-off wheels faster than anything I've used them on before. It's a lousy, dirty job.



 



 

Panels so far:


 

Mask number 1:


 

Roger2561

Quote from: DeerMeadowFarm on September 11, 2017, 03:37:02 PM
I'm going through this as well myself with my E-Classic 2400. I've managed to cut a couple of sections out and they have been completely 100% clogged. I am using a chisel to chip all the solidified creosote out. It took me 4 cut-off wheels to complete what I did and some of the panels I cut were already warped and pulling away. I don't know if it's the metal or the creosote but I am eating up cut-off wheels faster than anything I've used them on before. It's a lousy, dirty job.



 



 

Panels so far:


 

Mask number 1:


 

I'm wondering if a pneumatic powered chisel would be too aggressive on that creosote?  Roger
Roger

DeerMeadowFarm


overclocking

Yea, those 2400 pics looks very similar to what I'm dealing with. There's really nothing an owner can do sadly. I thought I kept mine clean, thought I babied it, but it hits a point where you just can't get Anymore out then it clogs. 

I wouldn't recommend a cut off wheel. Not only do they kick up dust, they take forever. The bottom channel was removed in 5 minutes with the bi metal blade where as it took several hours to get a small section out of the top because I started with a cut off wheel. I basically am now using the cut off just to start my cuts.

As far as a air chisel I would be very carful not to crack a weld. The steel for the tank is much thinner than it should be and the factory welds aren't the best either. Once it's exposed it can be chipped out pretty easy, it's just getting to it that's the problem.

I will post more pictures tonight when I come in from cutting.

DeerMeadowFarm

How do you get any stroke out of the sawzall? Doesn't it hit either the packed in creosote and or the back wall of the air channel?

Roger2561

I was wondering about the same thing regarding the sawzal.  I wonder if a plasma cutter will do a better job removing the channel.  Have you tried burning out the creaosote?  I wonder if map gas would do any good?  Heat it up until it reaches a gooey consistency then try a putty knife to remove the stuff.  Only suggestions I can think of to try.  Roger
Roger

overclocking

Quote from: DeerMeadowFarm on September 11, 2017, 07:02:02 PM
How do you get any stroke out of the sawzall? Doesn't it hit either the packed in creosote and or the back wall of the air channel?

In all honesty its pretty tricky! You have to use 3 inch bi-metal blades and just the right angle so the blade doesn't hit the back wall. It kicks out of the groove a lot and if you don't have patients it can be very frustrating. Its so much faster though once you get it moving. It zips right through the sheet metal. you have to angle it toward the center, and yes sometimes the creosote will make it pop out, but the bi-metal blade eats most of it. I attempted it with a regular blade for a few minutes today and it was much slower. I have to go tomorrow and get some more, as I broke two. When they pop out they bend and you can only bend them back so many times before they fatigue. Once you find the correct angle its worth it.

plasma cutter would be another good option, although I was hesitant to try one since its so close to the water jacket and its so thin.

overclocking

Quote from: DeerMeadowFarm on September 11, 2017, 03:37:02 PM
I'm going through this as well myself with my E-Classic 2400. I've managed to cut a couple of sections out and they have been completely 100% clogged. I am using a chisel to chip all the solidified creosote out. It took me 4 cut-off wheels to complete what I did and some of the panels I cut were already warped and pulling away. I don't know if it's the metal or the creosote but I am eating up cut-off wheels faster than anything I've used them on before. It's a lousy, dirty job.


I was looking closer at your channels and they look to be C channel? They look much deeper than mine.

DeerMeadowFarm

Quote from: overclocking on September 10, 2017, 12:41:52 PM
Starting to cut apart the air channels on the 1400 today and replace them with something that allows me to get in there and clean them. I'm not a proffesional fabricator so I am looking for something I can just bolt in and remove. Stay tuned as I will add pics and update on my progress. My hopes are to see if I can find an affordable work around to the 1400 problems since they don't make the replacement kits for them.
Are you sure they don't make a kit? I went to my dealer last week and they had a kit on the shelf, for (I thought) a 1400 but not one for mine. He did download and print a copy of the instructions for the kit they make for the 2400. Between the kit he had on the shelf and the directions he printed I have a pretty good idea what I am going to do for mine. I could scan and e-mail them to you if that helps? I'd post them here but I don't know:
1. If that's within the site rules
2. How to post a scanned document.

Quote from: overclocking on September 11, 2017, 10:20:02 PM
I was looking closer at your channels and they look to be C channel? They look much deeper than mine.
Yes they are kind of like a C-channel but the opening of the "C" is wider than the back of the "C" if you get what I mean. Also, there is a rib in the middle that the CB directions tell you to cut out so it's really kind of an "E"-channel.

overclocking

Quote from: DeerMeadowFarm on September 12, 2017, 08:07:37 AM
Quote from: overclocking on September 10, 2017, 12:41:52 PM
Starting to cut apart the air channels on the 1400 today and replace them with something that allows me to get in there and clean them. I'm not a proffesional fabricator so I am looking for something I can just bolt in and remove. Stay tuned as I will add pics and update on my progress. My hopes are to see if I can find an affordable work around to the 1400 problems since they don't make the replacement kits for them.
Are you sure they don't make a kit? I went to my dealer last week and they had a kit on the shelf, for (I thought) a 1400 but not one for mine. He did download and print a copy of the instructions for the kit they make for the 2400. Between the kit he had on the shelf and the directions he printed I have a pretty good idea what I am going to do for mine. I could scan and e-mail them to you if that helps? I'd post them here but I don't know:
1. If that's within the site rules
2. How to post a scanned document.

Quote from: overclocking on September 11, 2017, 10:20:02 PM
I was looking closer at your channels and they look to be C channel? They look much deeper than mine.
Yes they are kind of like a C-channel but the opening of the "C" is wider than the back of the "C" if you get what I mean. Also, there is a rib in the middle that the CB directions tell you to cut out so it's really kind of an "E"-channel.

Yea, I'm pretty sure about the 1400 kit. I stopped at a few different CB dealers and emailed CB tech support and they said they don't offer a kit for the 1400.

Also, I stopped at my local tractor supply and picked up a few 1/16 dewalt cut off wheels for my electric angle grinder for testing purposes. As opposed to my air grinder the angle grinder cuts really fast and is actually quicker than the sawzall because all you have to do is cut the top, score the bottom a little and bend the plate down and it snaps right off. No need to cut the bottom doing it this way. Its almost done, I'm going to clean it up here and show a picture of the panels removed. Its been a learning curve of what works best, but if I can help someone in the future avoid some frustration its worth it.

You can email me the document if you would like? CB doesn't charge for the document, so sharing it shouldn't be a problem. I can PM you my email addy if you want.

DeerMeadowFarm

Electric angle grinder is what I have been using so far myself.

If you want the directions PM me your e-mail and I'll send them out, no problem.

overclocking

 

Cut the top
  
Bent it down
  
Removed the plate
  
Same thing for the bottom, just cut the top
  
Removed
 

Ok, I got the majority of the panels out. I am going to leave the back and weld the crack and see how well it survives this season, there's no build up back there yet. I just need to straighten up the upper cuts and grind them back to the welds. That's a job for another day, I'm hacking up enough black stuff for one day... Even after using a mask.

I'm picking up two stainless plates today for the sides and will drill an equal to factory amount of 1 inch air holes and bolt them over top of the exposed channels. I think 6 bolts each and some fire proof sealant should hold them down and prevent leaks.

E Yoder

Quote from: overclocking on September 11, 2017, 10:17:13 PM
Quote from: DeerMeadowFarm on September 11, 2017, 07:02:02 PM
How do you get any stroke out of the sawzall? Doesn't it hit either the packed in creosote and or the back wall of the air channel?

In all honesty its pretty tricky! You have to use 3 inch bi-metal blades and just the right angle so the blade doesn't hit the back wall. It kicks out of the groove a lot and if you don't have patients it can be very frustrating. Its so much faster though once you get it moving. It zips right through the sheet metal. you have to angle it toward the center, and yes sometimes the creosote will make it pop out, but the bi-metal blade eats most of it. I attempted it with a regular blade for a few minutes today and it was much slower. I have to go tomorrow and get some more, as I broke two. When they pop out they bend and you can only bend them back so many times before they fatigue. Once you find the correct angle its worth it.

plasma cutter would be another good option, although I was hesitant to try one since its so close to the water jacket and its so thin.

A plasma would zip through it like butter, but you'll have a lot of burning creosote. Can get exciting, it ignites fast with that much heat. Been there. :)
HeatMaster dealer in VA.
G7000

overclocking

Quote from: E Yoder on September 12, 2017, 05:08:42 PM
Quote from: overclocking on September 11, 2017, 10:17:13 PM
Quote from: DeerMeadowFarm on September 11, 2017, 07:02:02 PM
How do you get any stroke out of the sawzall? Doesn't it hit either the packed in creosote and or the back wall of the air channel?

In all honesty its pretty tricky! You have to use 3 inch bi-metal blades and just the right angle so the blade doesn't hit the back wall. It kicks out of the groove a lot and if you don't have patients it can be very frustrating. Its so much faster though once you get it moving. It zips right through the sheet metal. you have to angle it toward the center, and yes sometimes the creosote will make it pop out, but the bi-metal blade eats most of it. I attempted it with a regular blade for a few minutes today and it was much slower. I have to go tomorrow and get some more, as I broke two. When they pop out they bend and you can only bend them back so many times before they fatigue. Once you find the correct angle its worth it.

plasma cutter would be another good option, although I was hesitant to try one since its so close to the water jacket and its so thin.

A plasma would zip through it like butter, but you'll have a lot of burning creosote. Can get exciting, it ignites fast with that much heat. Been there. :)

Yea, it was starting to burn just using the cut off. I had to back out a few times!

bobby s

Great info guys. Going to try to get this done on my 2300 before the heating season begins.

overclocking

Ok, A little more progress.

Need opinions.

I am thinking I want to drill 6 1 inch holes on the top and 4 on the bottom. The reason for only 4 on the bottom is because its closer to the coal bed and I dont want it warping because theres too many holes. The material is stainless, about 1/4 inch thick.


Here are the plates after I cut them, they measure 31 inches long x 8 inches hieght
 


Once bolted they should sit nice and flush over the old channels
 



The red lines are where I will install the bolts, the other blue lines are where the holes will be drilled.
 

Any opinions on the hole quantity and position? 10 1 inch holes will give me 10 square inches of air flow. Where the channel in the back corner is there is approximately 4.5 inches per channel, so roughly 9 inches of air flow. That leaves a little play for build up before there's any restriction to the blower.

PC-Urban-Sawyer

OC, ten one inch diameter holes will give you just 7.9 square inches of hole area. The area of a one inch diameter hole is .79 square inches, not 1 square inch...

Herb

E Yoder

I would make sure the bolt holes are slightly bigger than the bolts so the plate can expand to the rear as it heats up, (otherwise it can bulge and crack). And that there is a gap at the rear to accept that expansion. I think you are saying there is.
HeatMaster dealer in VA.
G7000

DeerMeadowFarm

I finally got my warped plates cut out on Saturday. In all it took 3 hours and 15 cut-off wheels. Pictures to follow I need to but some material now to make my plates.

overclocking

Quote from: PC-Urban-Sawyer on October 01, 2017, 11:34:39 PM
OC, ten one inch diameter holes will give you just 7.9 square inches of hole area. The area of a one inch diameter hole is .79 square inches, not 1 square inch...

Herb
dadgum you, Charlie!
Thanks Herb your right.. A=Pi(r)^2 , not sure where my common sense was on that one. You would never know I aced calc. and discrete mathematics.

Quote from: E Yoder on October 02, 2017, 08:58:04 AM
I would make sure the bolt holes are slightly bigger than the bolts so the plate can expand to the rear as it heats up, (otherwise it can bulge and crack). And that there is a gap at the rear to accept that expansion. I think you are saying there is.

Good idea, I will do that. I am going to use 3/8th bolts to fasten it. If I had to guess, there's about a 1/4 gap maybe a bit more on each end. I was going to make the panel slide out, but after some thought I don't think it would ever seal, and chances are it would be faster buzzing off the bolts with my impact as opposed to chipping away chunks of creosote to be able to slide it up.

Quote from: DeerMeadowFarm on October 02, 2017, 10:00:38 AM
I finally got my warped plates cut out on Saturday. In all it took 3 hours and 15 cut-off wheels. Pictures to follow I need to but some material now to make my plates.

Out of curiosity what brand wheels did you use? I cut all this stainless with one dewalt 1/16th cut off wheel and it was the same one I used to do some of my panel removal. Can't wait to see the pics too.

DeerMeadowFarm

I used 1/16th wheels but they were cheap ones. I still need to chip out all the baked in creosote. I'll take pictures in a couple of days; been busy lately.

How are you bolting the plates in?

overclocking

Quote from: DeerMeadowFarm on October 03, 2017, 07:57:43 AM
I used 1/16th wheels but they were cheap ones. I still need to chip out all the baked in creosote. I'll take pictures in a couple of days; been busy lately.

How are you bolting the plates in?

i think what I might do is weld 2 inch strip plates in the middle recessed in the channel with a welded nut on the back. And for the ends I left some of the channel intact and will weld a nut on the back of that as well.

DeerMeadowFarm

I plan to attach my plates differently. I'm concerned that using threaded fastening will just cause me grief after it gets heated so much.
My idea is to add a tab to the back end of the plate that will slip under the lip I left at the back end of the box. At the front end, I plan to use something like a gate latch to slide under the lip I left at the front of the box. The latch bolt will stick out through the plate. This will allow me to attach or remove the plate by whacking the sliding bolt with a hammer. I think it'll be clearer when I buy the plate and take pictures. How thick did you go with your plate?

Photos of the channels exposed are below. The right side was not nearly as packed with creosote as the left. I still need to chisel out the creosote. On the left side it is harder than cement and I think that is what really ate my cut-off wheels up.


 



 

Roger2561

I've been following this thread with interest due to the need of having to remove the air channels on my 1400 too.  I'm still waiting on my welder/fabricator to get here to do it.  I can handle cutting out the channels, it's only I don't possess the welding skills to do any welding.  My thoughts of panel is to use stainless, I haven't decided on thickness yet.  I would make them similar to overclocking's but over size them a bit to allow a slot be cut in the panel that would then fit over tabs that would be welded to the firebox wall.  The tabs would have holes drilled in them to allow pegs to be inserted and tapped in place to make a tight seal.  When it came time to clean the channels, I would simply tap them out using a hammer.  In theory it sounds okay but in practice, who knows.  Roger
Roger

DeerMeadowFarm

I finished one side this weekend. I welded a 1-1/2" angle on the back of the plate to act as a stiffener and a guide for my sliding locking bolts.


 

Here it is installed. The locking bolts slide into the portion of the air channel I didn't cut. The idea was to use something that I could remove easily for cleaning. I was afraid to bolt something in because I figured as soon as it heated up they'd never come out again. With this design I can whack the slides with a hammer, and theoretically they should slide and I can take the plates out. We'll see I guess...



 

overclocking

Good to see you made some progress, I'm  still waiting to get my plates back from the shop to get the holes drilled. i am going to pick them up tonight.

I agree with the bolts being a pain, I most likely will end up doing something like that next year if it works good for you.

Looking good so far, does it seem to seal up well?

DeerMeadowFarm

Seals much better than my warped original plates!

overclocking

So here's the finished concept. My best friend took one for the team after I butchered drilling the bolt holes and he finished the install for me. Turned out really good.

Ran into a problem however on the test run, the plates already warped a little, I was shocked to see stainless do that, but I have a good and easy idea on how to remedy it and add adjustable airflow at the same time. 

  

 

Roger2561

Deermeadowfarm & overclocking - Both look great.  Unfortunately for me my welder/fabricator keeps pulling my chain and has every excuse for not showing up.  It's getting to the point of trying something myself or take a chance, leave it as it is and fire up the 1400.  Thankfully we've had some very nice weather here in NH this October.  Next week I have the week off from work and I will be firing her up for the winter with or without the new channels.  Anyway, they look great.  Please keep us posted on how the operate/hold up through the winter.  Thanks.   Roger 
Roger

DeerMeadowFarm

Roger, I wouldn't worry too much about it. My dealer told me that the units work the same with wide open air chambers so in worst case you could just cut your old plates out and run it as is. I'm not going to worry if the new plates I put in warp or not. I just want to be able to clean the creosote out.

overclocking

Quote from: DeerMeadowFarm on October 24, 2017, 07:25:45 AM
Roger, I wouldn't worry too much about it. My dealer told me that the units work the same with wide open air chambers so in worst case you could just cut your old plates out and run it as is. I'm not going to worry if the new plates I put in warp or not. I just want to be able to clean the creosote out.

So here is my update after a few weeks.

My plates warped a little so I removed them. I am pretty surprised 10Ga stainless warped, but anyhow I stole Deermeadows idea to reinforce them with the angle Iron. I will put a pic up tomorrow. The bolts came right out with no fuss which was nice. So far its working, but it's either not gassing anymore or I broke the temp gauge when cleaning it. I'm going to have to investigate that too. I have ran it without the plates installed with open channels and with the plates installed and am not breaking the 600 degree mark on the reaction chamber. I am wondering if I created too much air flow for the primary air.

Deermeadow, have you tested yours out yet? how are they working if so and have you looked at the reaction chamber temps?

Roger2561

Well, my welder/fabricator never showed or returned my phone calls and it was getting to the point where I had to fire up the 1400.  It's been running for over a week now and it's running great (knocking on wood) so, I'm waiting until next year to do something about the channels; either I find someone else to do the work for me or I do it myself.  The great thing about this is I have all winter to read your updates and then decide how I should approach this problem.   ;D

overclocking; as for why yours is not gassing, I nothing to offer.  Perhaps it has nothing or everything to do with the channels having panels over them and the holes strategically placed to make it happen.  Roger
Roger

DeerMeadowFarm

Quote from: overclocking on November 04, 2017, 10:58:36 PM
Deermeadow, have you tested yours out yet? how are they working if so and have you looked at the reaction chamber temps?

I just fired mine up yesterday. It started out slow. My water temp was way down and it seemed like it should have kicked into high burn but it wasn't. I kept futzing around with it but it seemed to act weird. Then, somewhat frustrated I left it alone to work on another project and when I got back to take a look it was at high burn and temps were 1,000 plus.

Got up this morning and the water temp was good. Before I left for work I opened it up. Lot of wood still in it but it kind of bridged so I knocked it all down, stirred the coals up and threw a couple of chunks in for good measure. No warping yet that I noticed but it's pretty dark when I leave in the morning so maybe I didn't see it? I'll have a light with me when I check it after work today.

overclocking

Well it's been a few more weeks and all is well. I'm pulling 24 hour burns since the channel install. The gasification channel still seems low, but it's idling at 190 almost all the time and when it needs heat it seems to stay right around the set point. I would say the channels are working pretty good so far. I removed them last weekend and they came right out and went back in just fine once I located the bolts under the build up. Overall I seem to have made a great improvement to the original design. 

 

DeerMeadowFarm

Been a few weeks for me now. Plates are great, no warping to date. My boiler (sound of me knocking on wood over here) seems to be working better than ever. My heat is good, I'm getting good burn and I seem to be using a lot less wood so far. Time will tell....

overclocking

Just another update. Turns out the angle iron I put on the plates as a means of stopping it from warping serves more than one purpose. It keeps the wood away from blocking the channels, makes the "sap" run away from the holes and acts like a rail for me to run the coal rake up and down to kick the coals away from the bottom channels.

I let the coal bed get way too high last week and all the bottom holes got filled with ash and coals. I was dreading pulling the plates off because it was so cold out. So I opened the back panel and removed the upper solenoid and clamped my leaf blower in it and revved it up. When I walked back around front after the dust settle I was completely astonished to see the channels were 100% cleaned out and back to full flow! Turned out to be a ten minute channel cleaning.

So at this point I am going to have to call this back yard fab job a huge success. Its been running the best it has ran since I installed it and the removable plate certainly are exceeding my expectations.

DeerMeadowFarm

Excellent! So you put your angles on the firebox side? I put mine inside the channel. I had one end pull away slightly, not warped but I must have hit my slide bolt at some point. Creosote is getting in there slightly but it hasn't caused an issue to this point. I haven't wanted to shut it down to put it back on correctly due to this cold weather. I'm very happy so far with my repair!

Roger2561

overclocking, DeerMeadowFarm - Thanks for posting the updates following this cold snap we experienced.  I've been waiting to hear from you guys to see how they are doing for you.  This gives me ideas to try next summer when I fix mine.  Roger
Roger

overclocking

Old thread here but I just wanted to give an update.

I slacked for a long time on cleaning the air channels and finally after over a year pulled the plates out due to restricted flow. I cleaned out the channels and haven't reinstalled them yet. The bolts came right out no problem after over a year and I could have put the plates back in but haven't yet because I have to clean the back corners out.

Also, the entire center section in the bottom reaction chamber is failing. The metal is gone where the crescent shaped hole is in the bottom. So I need to replace that as well. Once the heating season ends I'm going to make new plates with thicker stainless because it did eventually warp.  Or I might just buy a new boiler, I'm not sure yet. This one has about 6 seasons on it now and heats my house pretty good, and although its been good its also been a lot of extra work compared to the newer models.

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