Heatilator CAB50 - Won't start sometimes

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Hdhogger

Feeling the Heat
Oct 16, 2012
258
Massachusetts
My heatilator CAB50 sometimes won't ignite fully sometimes. When I turn the thermostat on the pellets start dropping and it does ignite. The problem is the pellets that were dropped in the firepot will burn out before more pellets start feeding (auger is full of pellets). I shut off t-stat and let the exhaust blower shut down. Turned on t-stat and it lit up good.
Anyone know why it's doing this. I would like to be able to leave the house knowing it will fire up when calling for heat.

Thanks
 
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Exact same stove and exact same issue. Vacuum.

I followed the advice below (after thinking my door was good and checking snap disks etc...) and it has not done it since.

Post#5 from kinsmanstoves

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/anyone-know-how-to-test-a-snap-disc.86248/#post-1112314

Hey Saladdin,Did you have to replace any snap disks, or do you reset them, I'm not familiar with how they work. My door seal is tight.
One answer at the link said that if the stove is off for a few days a misfire happens sometimes. What do you think?
 
Hey Saladdin,Did you have to replace any snap disks, or do you reset them, I'm not familiar with how they work. My door seal is tight.
One answer at the link said that if the stove is off for a few days a misfire happens sometimes. What do you think?

Snap disks were good. I thought my door was good also until I followed the advice.

Here's what mine did:

Thermostat called for heat
Pellets would drop
Igniter would ignite the pellets in the stove
Stove would not drop any more pellets after initial drop (Unless I did the reset thing I mention below)
Pellets burned out and stove shut down

The only way to get it to work was to hit the reset button on back and/or re-slide the thermostat AFTER the intitial pellets dropped (same as resetting). Then it worked fine.

My stove was a few months old when this happened. Until that vacuum issue it ran like a top and never, ever misfired. The door trick fixed mine. It is now back to perfection.
 
I think you basically have the same stove as me, just with a different exterior. I never could get my stove to run on auto going on 6 years now. I just run it on manual all the time and kick it down to low when I leave or go to bed. It also wouldnt run on low very well at all until I added a good long run to the chimney pipe. Now it runs great on low. Good luck trying to get that thing to cycle on and off without mis firing.
 
It should work like mine. Pellets drop, ignite, when thermocouple reaches 200 F pellets start dropping again. The thermocouple should be all the way in against the ceramic cover. Mine never misfired , I did get tired of pushing the TC in at every cleaning, so I wired it so it would stay in. The controller needs to see 200 F about 2.5 Mv, green light on, before it will drop more pellets.
 
It should work like mine. Pellets drop, ignite, when thermocouple reaches 200 F pellets start dropping again. The thermocouple should be all the way in against the ceramic cover. Mine never misfired , I did get tired of pushing the TC in at every cleaning, so I wired it so it would stay in. The controller needs to see 200 F about 2.5 Mv, green light on, before it will drop more pellets.


How did you wire it to stay?
 
Hey Saladdin,Did you have to replace any snap disks, or do you reset them, I'm not familiar with how they work. My door seal is tight.
One answer at the link said that if the stove is off for a few days a misfire happens sometimes. What do you think?


I will dig into my wallet to bet on the door gasket. Use the dollar bill test to determine not just thinking it is secure.

Eric
 
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I will dig into my wallet to bet on the door gasket. Use the dollar bill test to determine not just thinking it is secure.

Eric

I checked the door gasket it's good and tight. I think what I have is a pipe and chimney run that the exhaust blower can't push through when it's full of cold air so it takes a reset to get throuhg it.

Cleanout T off exhaust port - 3" to 6" adapter - 5' of 6" pipe at a 45 degree angle into 8" x 11" chimney flue - 35' to top of chimney.

Am I on the right track with this?
 
I checked the door gasket it's good and tight. I think what I have is a pipe and chimney run that the exhaust blower can't push through when it's full of cold air so it takes a reset to get throuhg it.

Cleanout T off exhaust port - 3" to 6" adapter - 5' of 6" pipe at a 45 degree angle into 8" x 11" chimney flue - 35' to top of chimney.

Am I on the right track with this?

Yes that is a possibility, normally a flue larger than 6" needs to be lined all the way to the top with 4" lining.
 
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Yes that is a possibility, normally a flue larger than 6" needs to be lined all the way to the top with 4" lining.

Ok thanks for the info. I'll see how it operates when it's running more constantly, not every other day or 2.
 
How did you wire it to stay?

I did this in 08, never got around to making it look better, only I see it.

IMG_1036_1_1.jpg
 
this *probably* isn't the answer if you have left the feed gate at factory settings, but a too small opening in the feed gate can also cause this scenario to occur.
i had closed mine all the way down last year. but it was in the middle of the cold season so i was running pretty much 24/7 by then.
i opened it back up a bit this year after a couple misfires.
i had the double whammy of not having run the reset enough to properly fill the auger channel at the start of this season.
 
Were is the feed gate set? What setting do you run on (wont pertain to the misfire, just askin)?

Is the gate set like it should he in the manual? Or do you adjust it for heat?

The gate limits the feed on start up. Low feed. Small fire. Small fire = No T/C satisfaction. :(
 
I have the feed gate open fully. I will adjust as the stove is running most of the time in colder weather. Also when turning on cold I get a pulsating vibration after it lights until all the cold air is pushed out of the flue.
 
I will dig into my wallet to bet on the door gasket. Use the dollar bill test to determine not just thinking it is secure.

Eric

The problem is how to gauge the dollar bill test. I thought mine was good until I followed your advice and did the door trick. Now it runs like a top. I see no harm in doing the door trick and seeing. Do you?
 
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I have the feed gate open fully. I will adjust as the stove is running most of the time in colder weather. Also when turning on cold I get a pulsating vibration after it lights until all the cold air is pushed out of the flue.

I've not touched the factory feed gate sitting at all/ full open. I get the "vibrating/roaring" at start-up also. Mine runs Medium 80% of time and never on low, it devours pellets on low setting.
 
I've not touched the factory feed gate sitting at all/ full open. I get the "vibrating/roaring" at start-up also. Mine runs Medium 80% of time and never on low, it devours pellets on low setting.
Did the door test it's tight all around, glass is clean. If these stoves use more pellets on low that must mean the auger doesn't slow down with the convection blower. Is that right?
 
Did the door test it's tight all around, glass is clean. If these stoves use more pellets on low that must mean the auger doesn't slow down with the convection blower. Is that right?

Low uses less than Medium.

Medium uses less than High.

High is the "Highest" feed rate.

Its all based on auger cycle times.

Low cant use more.
 
Did the door test it's tight all around, glass is clean. If these stoves use more pellets on low that must mean the auger doesn't slow down with the convection blower. Is that right?

The stove works right. Blower and auger moves correctly with the setting.

It's just that the way my house is set up , stove is located and where my thermostat is the low setting takes a long time to get to my preferred temp. Just as an example, it may take my stove on high 15 minutes but on low it takes 40.

The stove isn't the only thing that effects pellet usage, insulation, house layout etc...
 
Low uses less than Medium.

Medium uses less than High.

High is the "Highest" feed rate.

Its all based on auger cycle times.

Low cant use more.


Really? So it's my imagination that it takes much longer/more pellets on low then high to get to my preferred temp even though I've measured usage? Glad you know my house so well.
 
Dexter,

saladdin wasn't talking about his per hour pellet consumption but the poundage required to meet set point on the t-stat pumping 8,000 BTU/hr on low into a house losing x (say 7000) BTU/hr at an outside temperature of y is going to take a very long time to make a set point much higher than the current actual house temperature. Burning at a higher setting will get him there faster and will likely consume fewer pellets getting there (this is not the same thing as staying at set point) because heating like heat loss is a per hour rate based upon the temperature difference that exists and the temperature difference is only going to increase as you head to the set point. It is even possible that on low it never makes it to set point at all.
 
Really? So it's my imagination that it takes much longer/more pellets on low then high to get to my preferred temp even though I've measured usage? Glad you know my house so well.

You are only heating the air up (very quickly) to satisfy the stat. Which means the stove will start and stop more often. The stove burns almost more than half as many on High as on Low. So the time difference is normal. BTU's are BTU's.

On Low, your gonna run a little longer. But your house will "Soak" the temperature up. Which means you heat everything. The walls, the couch, etc. It will run a little longer. But will stay off longer and house feels more comfortable.

This is regardless of house layout. Heating the air really fast will always satisfy the stat quicker. But the articles in the room/house will be cooler and cool the air quicker. Lower and slower provides less cycling.

I only run Low. It will run for an hour straight. But will stay off for 2 hours.

To each there own, but you made it sound like it ate more on Low than on Med.
 
You are only heating the air up (very quickly) to satisfy the stat. Which means the stove will start and stop more often. The stove burns almost more than half as many on High as on Low. So the time difference is normal. BTU's are BTU's.

On Low, your gonna run a little longer. But your house will "Soak" the temperature up. Which means you heat everything. The walls, the couch, etc. It will run a little longer. But will stay off longer and house feels more comfortable.

This is regardless of house layout. Heating the air really fast will always satisfy the stat quicker. But the articles in the room/house will be cooler and cool the air quicker. Lower and slower provides less cycling.

I only run Low. It will run for an hour straight. But will stay off for 2 hours.

To each there own, but you made it sound like it ate more on Low than on Med.

Saladdin, Dexter, Smokey, All these points make sense. I guess it's how the individual home will respond to heating. Since this is my first year with the CAB50 it will be a trial and tweeking situation.
 
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