Furnace Installation and Owners Manual
21
LDJ620_E01_R03_2006.03
Models LDJ620-9 and LDJ620-10
Poor Combustion
Problem
Explanation
What to do
Problems lighting fire
Leftover ash and clinker buildup.
Clean out all ash and clinkers before
attempting to relight furnace.
Poor combustion
Dirty corn (especially dense fines), cobs or
stalks in corn can restrict air flow prevent-
ing combustion.
Avoid dirty corn. If possible purchase
corn from local farmer;
Wet corn burns poorly
Use corn that is 12-14% moisture.
Wrong variety or treated corn, using spe-
cialty corn.
Use of treated corn (seed corn), waxy
or high oil varieties is not recom-
mended.
Insufficient draft can cause the unit to
smoke back into the furnace and storage
bin. Insufficient draft can also limit the
amount of combustion air that the furnace
can put back into the chamber.
Furnace requires 0.04 to 0.06 inches
water column draft (chimney draft) on
low fire.
Not enough combustion air available to
furnace. If the combustion blower is not
open far enough, insufficient combustion
air will be supplied during high fire opera-
tion (i.e. when fuel is being augered in),
even if chimney draft is sufficient.
60 cubic feet per minute minimum of
fresh air is required.
Clinker build-up
Burning the wrong type or quality of corn
or pellets can cause excess clinker buildup
due to extra materials and fire extinguish-
ing effect. Improper installation causing
the furnace to run on high fire for an
extended period can also result in clinker
formation
Loosen clinkers manually with a
clinker tool.
Corn doesn’t feed
smoothly into burn
chamber
Sliding surfaces can become sticky if fur-
nace is new, has been out of service, or if
the hopper has run empty (causing smoke
to coat the hopper auger).
When starting the furnace initially, or
at the beginning of each season, or
whenever the hopper has been run
empty, it may be necessary to use
powdered graphite to reduce friction
and allow corn to flow freely.
Augers are plugged or
won’t turn or hopper
auger is pushing out
of position
Buildup of clinkers or foreign material (pos-
sible mechanical or motor damage).
Clean out burn chamber and check
operation. Use only clean corn. Do not
use treated seed corn, hi-oil corn, or
waxy corn.
Corn cob or stalk is stuck in auger; furnace
has smoked back through the auger tube
causing a build up of sticky residue.
Clean/repair as necessary.
Burn auger has stopped, forcing hopper
auger to bind up.
Clean/repair as necessary.
