Burner Soot/Smoke on New Unit

Paul Freeman

New member
Hi Wiz,

I have a new Hydro Tek SC34005K that has 3.9 hours on it. The burner has been used less than 2 hours.

Whenever I use the burner (both times) the machine gets covered with a light coating of Soot. Also, when I shut the burner off, thick black smoke pours out the exhaust for 1 - 2 minutes (almost looks like there's a fire).

I talked to the distributor about this and he casually dismissed it saying, "that's normal". I'm not a mechanic but, this does not seem right to me. My owner's manual says that the fuel/air ratio could need to be adjusted.

Am I worried about nothing or should I go back and tell the distributor that there's a problem that he needs to address?

Also, the first time I took the rig on the road (36 mile trip), the burner wouldn’t fire when I went to use it. After some checking, I found that the top of the burner had come apart and flipped open. I closed it, tightened the bolt that holds it closed, and it fired right up (it smoked when it fired, which I hadn't noticed before, but I figured that it was because I tried to fire it a few times before I realized the top was off).

I sure would appreciate any thoughts on this.

Thanks,
 
Paul,i just recently went thru this with my machine which had less than ten hours on it.
turns out the motor wasnt turning the proper rpms which made the generator output 100 volts under a load,the solenoid would open up and allow fuel to enter the burner but not enough voltage to ignite the mixture,however when the burner would work,with all the unburnt fuel sitting in the stack it would smoke like crazy similiar to your situation.
if your burner is consitantly working then i would check the fuel pressure mine was set at 150 psi and my mechanic turned it down to 100 psi
 
You are most likely not getting enough air to burn the fuel. There is probably either a pinch in the coil from a piece of insultion that has fallen into the flame chamber or the air band needs to be adjusted open on the Wayne burner. Only do so 1/4" at a time and give it at least 5 minutes to settle in before you make a further adjustment.

Hydrotek allows as normal up to a #3 smoke which is quite green and indicates unburnt fuel. This increases CO and soot production and IMHO is too dirty to allow for any variance in performance by the engine.

Speaking of engines they should be operated a Wide Open Throttle all the time. If you idle down to lower pressure then you are creating an artificial situation to do the above. The SC series is equipped with a generator which is driven to provide full rated output at WOT; the same applies even more so to 12 Volt systems. Use a larger tip to lower the pressure and leave the throttle alone. Get the engine checked to see that it is operating at rated RPM at WOT.

Any good dealer should be able to diagnose this problem and adjust it for you quite easily. What you have described is indicative of a coil that is not getting enough air. Also, the manufacturer should set the unit up to run cleaner initially to allow for variance in the field. Again, In My Humble Opinion.

If you need the name of a dealer near you I feel will be able to help you then please feel free to contact me.

Hope this helps? Cheers.
 
Not normal All of the other guys are right on probable causes. This will also happen if the electrodes are out of adjustment or if you try to put a vent on the exhaust that is too small.
Black smoke means not enough air
white smoke means too much fuel.
 
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