VF3000 and Rotten Egg Smell

Hi there,

It's been good few years that my VF3000 has been running without any issues 24/7/365, but last few days I noticed a lot more bad odor coming out of the coal hopper.
Rotten eggs, and its strong enough that I had to crack open a window in the basement.
The chimney was cleaned few weeks ago, all the black pipes also cleaned and so was the grates.
I get good fire, barely any unburned coal.
I got my coal from Jeddo Coal Co. in Ebervale, PA. Never had any issues with their coal.
Anyone else with this particular model is experiencing this?
Any more ideas on what to check?

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving

Dan

dkononczuk wrote: Any more ideas on what to check?

Draft at the breech, and at the fire door.

Check your draft reading, baro may have been bumped and now not in spec.

Something has definitely impacted your chimney draft compared the combustion air going into the firebox. Did the cleanout door get sealed up properly after the chimney cleaning?

Or maybe the baffle plate on the combustion fan got bumped and is open more than it was previously?

And you have a CO detector running.....right? My 3000 has never done that but I always check my draft before the season and during the season.

Kevin

Check the fork spread on feeder.... I have a magnum and had an issue with feed rate and sulfur smell this season.

If the problem was solved by cracking open a window in the basement it could be a make-up air issue. Have you made efforts to seal up the house, or introduced exhaust fans, etc., that would counteract the chimney draft for the boiler?

Mike

I think I found the issue, on the VF3000 there is a baffle from where the fire is to the right side. Even though Harman installed the chain to clean it in a weekly base, there was so much buildup, it took me over an hour of scraping to remove all the ash buildup. That was one area I did not address on my yearly tune up, but I guess from now on.
Just restarted the fire and we'll see if the odor went away....

Dan

Good catch. Do you have a CO monitor with a numeric readout? It's nice to have a readout showing come level of CO before it hits the 'alarm' level so you can catch it as early as possible.

Have you pulled the little hatch open at the bottom of that baffle and cleaned the area that exits the unit? I find it hard to believe that a build up on the back plate is the culprit. The exhaust gasses go up thru the cross pipes and down the back on the other side of that plate.

Kevin

KLook wrote:Have you pulled the little hatch open at the bottom of that baffle and cleaned the area that exits the unit? I find it hard to believe that a build up on the back plate is the culprit. The exhaust gasses go up thru the cross pipes and down the back on the other side of that plate.

Kevin

And that back baffle was almost completely blocked. Just enough open where the cleaning chain was moving, but the other side had almost 2" of ash buildup. Past few years I would only open that small access door and vacuum out what was on the floor, didn't even think about what else is up there. Another thing to add to a list of yearly maintenance.

Dan

Ok, but where was it building up? How did you get access to the upper backside? Light and a mirror? Mine could use whatever you did for an additional inspection by now. Just spoke with my son and he hasnt fired up yet.....

Kevin

Love your avatar....

KLook wrote:Ok, but where was it building up? How did you get access to the upper backside? Light and a mirror? Mine could use whatever you did for an additional inspection by now. Just spoke with my son and he hasnt fired up yet.....

Kevin

Love your avatar....

I removed that small access door inside and pushed my hand past the point where the chimney black pipe is, and that's where I could feel all the buildup of ash. Then I took a wire coat hanger, straighten it and pushed from the bottom up until I could see it coming on the top. Just start to move it back and forth and all the ash started to fall.. And I had a lot of ash. after it was all done about half of 5 gallon bucket. Today is day 2 after the clean up and no odor at all. I'll try to find a pic of the inside and attach to explain better.

Dan

Here is the pic from the manual, and full VF3000 user manual....

That Chain on the right side it barely cleans a narrow path and all the ash builds up to the right of that chain. I've been using that cleaning rod every 2-3 days and it still took over 7 years to build up enough ash to start backing up the fumes through the hopper. I hope this helps someone else in the future.

Dan

My Friend,since You didn't answer the inquiries regarding You having a CO Monitor or two,please get one or more and use them. A good manometer never hurts,either... Take Care !