E-Classic 2300 Central Boiler 2009 factory summer checkup

kenkressin · June 10, 2009, 05:32:45 PM

Three Central Boiler reps visited my eClassic 2300 (e-Classic, E Classic) last week and were there almost 2 hours. The experience was quite informative and I thought I would share.

1) They ground the surface down and examined it for corrosion - mine was apprarently good - sounds like they might have been finding some issues.
2) They removed all the brick in the burning chamber and replaced the 4 unique horizontal pieces. I do not believe they were damaged - I think they replaced them because they had to remove them to get to the "burner box".
3) They replaced the "burner box" - this box is about 5 by 14 by 18 inches? and is exposed to the hottest burning gases. It is what you see a portion of through the hole in the bottom of the burn chamber. After 5 months of use, my box had some warping and some fractures at welds and another minor fracture. The fractures were not yet "serious", but I do NOT think it would have held up for a second season. Examining this box is quite difficult - removing the bottom bricks is very difficult because they are embedded in creosote.
4) They replaced the "burner box" with an identical unit. This did not give me too much confidence. They said they are evaluating a box with ceramic parts...not available yet.
5) They performed a pressure test on the fan by drilling a hole in the box and applying a pressure meter. Mine was 0.8 which was apparently "good" - they said some were as low as 0.4 which they said would result in poor burning. They commented the low pressure was primarily due to leaky boxes, but I am unsure if that would be logical. They sealed the hole with silicone and duct-tape (a bit kludgy).
6) I has already removed the brick on the walls - they also removed the 6 bricks near the bottom which are adjacent to the horizontal bricks.
7) They took a sample of the creosote for analysis and asked me about the type of wood I burned.
8> They said they were happy I had insulated my 70W pump. Infact, I had not due to my dealer saying the pump will overheat if insulated. This seems to be an inconsistancy in their information. The rep said the pump is water cooled. Do I insulate the pump or not?
9) They didn't have much of a solution to some interface problems I have had with my boiler. They suggested I might add a 075 (70W) pump to constantly circulate hot water through the furnace to prevent it from firing for the first minute...not too desirable - and why not done initially?
10) My heat exchanger pipes had quite a bit of tough buildup even after cleaning - for which they had no ideas on how to clean and expressed their opinion that it was not too bad.
11) They left a gallon of water conditioner.

I was very happy that they evaluated the system and replaced the burn box and bricks. I was discouraged by the condition of the burn box and lack of a permanent solution. I was also concerned by the apparent interest in looking for internal corrosion. They were apparently visiting many locations doing similar evaluations.