Kabola E5 weak flame

[Nevink]

 

Gooday folks,

If anyone of you have any information that could lead me in the right direction I would be enormously pleased, I have been sitting for days in front of my stove, praying for it to jump into the right gear.

Last year I bought a 53' Bruce Roberts that had been standing on land for 4 years. She is fitted with a Kabola E5 diesel stove and a 12 v circulation pump for the heating system of 12 radiators. 

I removed the pot and cleaned it, as well as the regulator. The inlet pin was jammed in the bottom, the spring not lifting it. Thought this was the problem. Remounted everything and poured 5 cl of T-red (the fuel for a camping stove, mostly consisting of etanol) in the pot and lit it. After 10 minutes I turned the regulator on. The flame is a blue ring but its very weak. I also cleaned the pipe between the regulator and the stove, changed the hose between the diesel tank and the regulator and connected an overflow pipe to this outlet that was previously left to drain the the spill tray below the stove. 

The temperature gauge on the front of the stove shows just around 20 degrees celcius after an hour, for the water going out of the heating coils. The pressure is at 0 out of 4 bar on the pressure gauge. 

The boat doesn´t get warm at all. The pipes within a meter of the stove are comfortably warm and I can sence the water is flowing because there is a slight increase in temperature even further down the system.

I read somewhere that the seal has to be tight around the peep-hole-hatch. It is. I also read it has to be tight between the pot and the frame to where it is mounted with 6 or 8 screws. There was no gasket of any kind here and I suspect a small leak of air but I can´t imagine this would have the mentioned effect. 

I have tried adjusting the screw mounted below the cap that you turn on top of the regulator, screwing it in maximally, not helping. Tried unscrewing the "high fire screw", not helping. Still the same weak but blue flame. 

The chimney goes through a 45 bend and then vertically 2m. There is a damper on the chimney 1 m above the stove. When I keep this open I get a slightly better flame but not enough.

 

Do I proceed correctly when starting the stove? Does it seem like the problem is too little diesel is entering the stove? Most people I read about have a problem with excessive heat, not the other way around.

 

Thank you!

 

[Ex Brummie]

Sounds like too little diesel. When you cleaned the regulator, did you check for a blockage at the outlet? If the metering column was stuck, then there could be a blockage of solidified fuel in the hole. Also, without knowing which regulator you have fitted, the metering column may have had a rubber o ring that has disintegrated blocking the fuel. If you disconnect the feed pipe, you can measure the flow and check it against the specification plate of the unit.

[Nevink]

On 2017-04-17 at 23:54, Ex Brummie said:

Sounds like too little diesel. When you cleaned the regulator, did you check for a blockage at the outlet? If the metering column was stuck, then there could be a blockage of solidified fuel in the hole. Also, without knowing which regulator you have fitted, the metering column may have had a rubber o ring that has disintegrated blocking the fuel. If you disconnect the feed pipe, you can measure the flow and check it against the specification plate of the unit.

Thank you for the reply! I have an OCI regulator and I disconnected the pipe from the inlet to the pot, where the cleaning pin is located, and checked the flow. It came one drop per second maybe more. On the specification plate it just says 5,8 kw and im not sure what this is equivalent to in drops of diesel. I add a picture of the current flame. I will open the regulator and remove the filter and try to clean the canal leading up from the filter into the regulator, because this is where the needle was stuck. Yesterday I raised the regulator 10 mm because I suspected the low flow was due to my trim astern. It had a slight effect.

Does anyone know the intended vertical distance between the "oil level" on the regulator and the middle of the inlet to the pot? 

 

[Ex Brummie]

The data plate on the OCI should include flow rates. They are normally etched into the plate and expressed in CC/Min., usually between 4 and 13 cc per min. When you have the top off, remove the metering column which is held by a spring in the outlet. You will see there is a vertical slit in the tube. Make sure this is clear by using a split matchstick.

Your flame picture shows a low fuel input if that is full setting. I would then replace the OCV at its original level. Too high a level will cause overfiring.

[Nevink]

I got it! 

The float itself is secured by a pin going through two holes in the top of the regulator. This makes is leaded so it can float up and down. Above it is an identical construction, with a metal plate being pushed up by the spring on the metering stem, also attached by a pin. This pin was not smooth and me changing setting on the knob made nothing because it didnt get pushed up by the spring. If anyone need to know more please ask me, if my explanation was not enough.

Still though. It has been burning for 12 hrs and still its not warm in the boat. Is this flame a reasonable maximum flame for a 5,8 kw stove? 

 

[Nevink]

And to another question. When I have the damper, 1 m above the stove on the chimney, open, the flame has the character as in the picture above. If I close the damper with a piece of tape it creates the flame seen in the picture below. It makes a sucking sound and the top of the round cage in the pot gets a bit more red.

How is this damper supposed to be handled?

Thank you

 

[Ex Brummie]

When you open the damper, do you get any spillage from it? Test with a smoke match or taper. Closing the damper seems to restrict the airflow through the pot. Are all the holes clear? The first picture is a flame profile that would be more acceptable on high flame setting. Have you measured the fuel flow from the OCV?