Refleks stove issue

[hori]

Hello everyone, I have a Refleks stove for the last 5 years. It is the 61ms with the heating coil and have radiators. The stove hasn`t been going for 6 months so I recently did my  cleaning of the stove and also the regulator. I noticed the next day that there was like a white smoke coming out of my stove pipe and thought this was strange as I never seen anything other than heat vapor. I continued to run the stove to see if it would clear itself however after many hours I shut it down and looked inside and was shocked. What would cause it to burn so bad that it would soot up like this. All replies would be greatly appreciated.

[ditchcrawler]

I would say incomplete combustion. My Dickinson does that as its going out

[magnetman]

 

Seems like it might be a draught problem..

 

Presumably the correct external cowl is fitted. These make all the difference. You can't run one of these with an open flue. 

[Pie Eater]

Have a look at the vlog "the narrow boat that James built" as he was having one fitted and he was being shown the ins and outs of operating it.

 

I'm not sure if this will help but he was being given clear instructions about how to use it.

 

[Mad Harold]

There is a Reflex Stove enthusiast's group on Facebook,and your question has been posed several times.Other problems are covered too.

[hori]

Yeah, all was fine until the boat had a list to port, same side the stove is on. Would a list and trim affect the burn?

 

[Mad Harold]

3 hours ago, hori said:

Yeah, all was fine until the boat had a list to port, same side the stove is on. Would a list and trim affect the burn?

 

I don't have a Refleks stove, but I have read that they have an anti tilt mechanism (like some paraffin stoves) so the fuel supply will cut off beyond a certain angle.

 

[Mike Tee]

These stoves are designed for sea-going boats so I don’t think a list on a narrow boat would affect it unless it was grounded at a sharp angle 

[hori]

the fuel was still coming out and the flame never went out however now that I think more about it, the flame was yellow when looking down the peep hole on the lid. It didn`t have the slight blue flame. Would that be a fuel or air issue. 

Here is the pic of the exhaust the day of. I have never seen any type of smoke in all my years. The fuel is clean.

[ditchcrawler]

That is what my Dickinson looks like as its going out and short of fuel

[Alan de Enfield]

30 minutes ago, Mike Tee said:

These stoves are designed for sea-going boats so I don’t think a list on a narrow boat would affect it unless it was grounded at a sharp angle 

 

Are they mounted in gimballs on sea-going boats?

 

(Our cooker/hob is otherwise we'd never be able to cook anything)

[David Mack]

How would that work with the flue?

[Alan de Enfield]

12 minutes ago, David Mack said:

How would that work with the flue?

 

I don't know I just have Eberspachers in my boats, but it shouldn't be beyond the wit of man.

 

Flexible corrugated, would it be flexible enough ?

 

Not a flue liner but a flexible flue :

 

 

CAMEIRGOU Stove Pipe, Stainless Steel Flexible Flue Pipe Metal Stove Pipe, Wall Chimney Pipe Flue Chimney Extension for Wood Stoves, Camping Stove Pipe for Wood Log Burning Stove (TGGG-888)

[hori]

back on topic please lol

[booke23]

59 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Are they mounted in gimballs on sea-going boats?

 

 

They tend not to be. According to the specs they can tolerate 10 degrees of list before they cut out. 

[PeterF]

I have a different version of the Refleks and the burner pot in that has a lot of small holes that bleed air into the flame, if these are blocked it does not burn well. Some of them are hard to see and need an angled inspection mirror. Too much soot can occur if there is too much fuel or too little air or if the air is not mixing well. Do you have a " catalyser" coil or mesh, these help stabilise the flame by glowing red in the combustion area. Not sure if your model should have one or not.

As noted above, join the Refleks facebook group and ask there.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/334808647035734/

[JoeC]

12 hours ago, hori said:

Here is the pic of the exhaust.

Do diesel stoves need a cowl or something on the top of straight chimneys for wind/draught purposes?

[magnetman]

I've tried a refleks with and without the cowl and it didn't work properly with an open flue. 

 

 

23 hours ago, magnetman said:

 

Seems like it might be a draught problem..

 

Presumably the correct external cowl is fitted. These make all the difference. You can't run one of these with an open flue. 

 

 

It looks like there is no cowl. 

 

Are you sure the cowl hasn't blown away? 

 

I'm very surprised if this has been working properly with no cowl. 

 

There are various different types. H chimney, circular anti downdraft cowl, the swiveling one which looks like a bird or possibly a spinning ball. 

 

[Ex Brummie]

If there is a permanent or prolonged list, then the fuel will only lie in that side with the level in the other side too low to enable a stable flame to support combustion. You may also find that the outlet of the float control is to high and limits the amount of fuel which has the same effect as above. If the pot temperature is too cool then you get a dirty yellow flame. 

The occasional movement off level does not adversely affect combustion in a pot burner.

[cuthound]

12 hours ago, PeterF said:

I have a different version of the Refleks and the burner pot in that has a lot of small holes that bleed air into the flame, if these are blocked it does not burn well. Some of them are hard to see and need an angled inspection mirror. Too much soot can occur if there is too much fuel or too little air or if the air is not mixing well. Do you have a " catalyser" coil or mesh, these help stabilise the flame by glowing red in the combustion area. Not sure if your model should have one or not.

As noted above, join the Refleks facebook group and ask there.

https://m.facebook.com/groups/334808647035734/

 

Yes, mine has a row of tiny holes under the bottom edge of the burner pot. They can only be seen with an LED lit mirror on a stick. I use some tiny flue jet cleaners to clean them.

[LEO]

2 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

Yes, mine has a row of tiny holes under the bottom edge of the burner pot. They can only be seen with an LED lit mirror on a stick. I use some tiny flue jet cleaners to clean them.

I have the same stove as you, and have faced similar problems (I think our paths have crossed) - yep! those holes are important and the Refleks&Kabolas like to be level for most of the time, but I think the photo shows one that needs a good service/clean...........good luck, they like to run for long periods, short burn times are not good for them.

[hori]

11 hours ago, magnetman said:

I've tried a refleks with and without the cowl and it didn't work properly with an open flue. 

 

If you look closely at the picture you can see it is a Refleks H exhaust cowl

 

 

It looks like there is no cowl. 

 

Are you sure the cowl hasn't blown away? 

 

I'm very surprised if this has been working properly with no cowl. 

 

There are various different types. H chimney, circular anti downdraft cowl, the swiveling one which looks like a bird or possibly a spinning ball. 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by hori

[Tony Brooks]

10 hours ago, hori said:

If you look closely at the picture you can see it is a Refleks H exhaust cowl

 

What photo are you looking at?

 

This is a Refleks H type cowl

 

 

The photo provided looks like just a length of flue pipe with some form of reduced diameter at the top.

[IanM]

42 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

What photo are you looking at?

 

This is a Refleks H type cowl

 

 

 

The photo provided looks like just a length of flue pipe with some form of reduced diameter at the top.

 

You can just see it's an H shaped cowl.  It's not helped with the fact the picture is taken side on.

[Tony Brooks]

1 minute ago, IanM said:

 

You can just see it's an H shaped cowl.  It's not helped with the fact the picture is taken side on.

 

Thanks, I can see it now and that explains the reduced diameter at the top.