Central Boiler Eclassic 1400

[holder73]

Does anyone have any advice or experience with cleaning the heat exchanger on the newer model eclassic 1400?  When I look into the heat exchanger from the small door on the back I don't see any build up, just what appears to be a dusty layer.  I want to know what if any tools or equipment are used for cleaning this passageway from the top back down into the reaction chamber.  I have had my eclassic 1400 up and running for about 6 weeks now and thanks to this forum I have had nothing but a positive experience.  On start up I immediately changed my pulse time to 5 min. (instead of the factory 30 min.) something I learned here and have never had the fire go out.  I also try to clean the air holes in the firebox every time I load wood, just to make sure they are open.  I am getting 14 to 18 hour burn times on a good loading of very dry oak, and longer on a few mild days.  I've cleaned ash out of the reaction chamber 2 times in 6 weeks and neither of those times was it full, I just was trying to stay on top of the maintenance.  I just got my first full months power bill and it is down 70% on my kilowatt usage as compared to January when I was using only heat pumps, and it has been as cold if not colder than January here in the NC mountains.

[Roger2561]

Does anyone have any advice or experience with cleaning the heat exchanger on the newer model eclassic 1400?  When I look into the heat exchanger from the small door on the back I don't see any build up, just what appears to be a dusty layer.  I want to know what if any tools or equipment are used for cleaning this passageway from the top back down into the reaction chamber.  I have had my eclassic 1400 up and running for about 6 weeks now and thanks to this forum I have had nothing but a positive experience.  On start up I immediately changed my pulse time to 5 min. (instead of the factory 30 min.) something I learned here and have never had the fire go out.  I also try to clean the air holes in the firebox every time I load wood, just to make sure they are open.  I am getting 14 to 18 hour burn times on a good loading of very dry oak, and longer on a few mild days.  I've cleaned ash out of the reaction chamber 2 times in 6 weeks and neither of those times was it full, I just was trying to stay on top of the maintenance.  I just got my first full months power bill and it is down 70% on my kilowatt usage as compared to January when I was using only heat pumps, and it has been as cold if not colder than January here in the NC mountains.

Hello Holder.  I have an E1400 too.  This is my second season with it.  I'm heating 3000sqft of an 1840's farmhouse and domestic hot water (DHW) and so far this year I've burned just a touch over 5 and 1/2 cord of hard wood.  We had some very cold (minus 20 with a 20mph north wind) nights this past winter (like we used to have when I was a kid) and the e1400 handled it with ease.  Because I want to keep an eye on things, I don't fill it completely full.  Generally I put in enough to last 12 hours.  When it was at it's coldest temps this years I had to put in 7, 24" long by 6" diameter split pieces which brings it to a bit more than half full.  With the temps finally moderating I'm putting in 4 pieces to go the 12 hours.  I leave the thermostats set at 70 degrees 24/7 in my house.  I live in NH.

I made my own tool to scrape the fly ash off the heat exchanger on my e1400.  It's simply a threaded rod about 6 feet long with a "T" bolted on the end that when extended into that small opening in the back, it scrapes the fly ash off without difficulty.  Another thing to keep your eye on is the primary air solenoid in the box in the rear.  About every month/month and half I pull it off to scrape any creosote build up from the elbow as well as the channel extending into the rear of OWB.  Because I'm anal about keeping things clean, I empty the reaction chamber every week.  I don't need to do that but like I said, I'm anal about keeping things clean.  Also, everytime I add firewood, I use the hoe to scrape the walls and ceiling of creosote build up.  This will ensure you'll get maximum heat transfer to the water and by keeping the creosote build up to minimum and keeping your ph and nitrite levels where they belong, the e1400 should last a long time.  Continued good luck with your e1400.  Stay warm.  Roger       

[Ohiowood]

I use a hoe with the metal slightly bent , to run alone the sides works good for the fire box also.