Avalon Astoria Dirt Burn - Air Flow Issue - Cause?

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Don2222

Minister of Fire
Feb 1, 2010
9,110
Salem NH
Hello

Trying to determine exact cause and effect of a dirty burn!

Last few early mornings on low # 2 heat level the glass and firebrick went black wit black unburned pellets in the pot and grayish ash. Real sign of not enough air to burn. stove was mostly clean so not anything that could easily be seen. I had some time tonight, so after cleaning, I removed both outside ash chamber covers and noticed that the horizontal chamber running behind the fire chamber down low was completely clogged with ash. So when looking at the front of the stove, the air on the right side of the fire box going up across the right 4 heat eschanger tubes running down the right ash chamber was trapped and could not continue to the exhaust blower. The left side still had a path but was restricted quite alot, almost all clogged up too! So I removed the outside traps and cleaned really well all the ash blocking this path.

Will this due the trick. see pics below:
 

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I sure hope the stove you're talking about here isn't your own Astoria.

Yes, it is. I have been very busy. It ran fine all last night and this morning. The orange Hi Temp 1/8" silicon RE-USABLE gaskets I made for these outside access doors made the job quick and easy! I do not mind because now I do know the exact fix for this problem with these symptoms. :)
 
Hello

Well it happened again, A real dirty burn on a very damp night. The stove is clean! So I finally figured out what else can cause this problem! The stove is on it's 4th season and the combustion blower is failing! The older Combustion Fan was not maintaining it's lower speeds on the lower heat settings! My friend has a Breckwell P24I with the exact same problem. He also noticed there was no fly ash on startup. His stove like mine was also clean as a whistle inside and out. we replaced the combustion blower and bingo. The fly ash is back on startup!
 
I was hoping for a vid of the LBT;)
 
Don... How could you let your stove get so dirty?

Plugged ash traps? From the Pellet stove Master?

Come on Don, there is a reputation to uphold here :)
 
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Don... How could you let your stove get so dirty?

Plugged ash traps? From the Pellet stove Master?

Come on Don, there is a reputation to uphold here :)

This is a tough problem! The stove is clean but the dampness we had around here in the morning hours has absolutely wrecked havic with the pellet stoves! ! ! Caked ash in the burn pot, dirty burns and no fly ash during the startup cycle are happening to stoves 3-4 years and older with digital control panels ONLY ! ! ! ! ! That is because the older combustion blowers are not maintaining their speeds set by the voltages from their control panels! ! ! They are running slower at each speed and cannot keep up with the auger dumping pellets! ! ! !

Solution
Install a new Combustion Blower!
 
All stoves 4 yrs an older? I know of stoves over a decade old and still running factory combustion blowers. Along with numerous other members here with old stoves.
 
Hello

No, stoves with knob controls are not affected. Just digital boards that change the speeds of the combustion blowers. I will be looking at an American Harvest that may fall into this category!
I have seen some stoves are affected by this. So far Travis and Breckwell that I know of, It may also depend upon the install. If the burn air is heated, that would make a big difference!

Last night even with no OAK the dirty burn occurred and I believed the extremely low barametric pressure we had greatly contributed to the cause in conjunction with the damp air!

Proof
From > > http://www.ccmtutorials.com/rs/oxygen/page02.htm
When oxygen encounters water vapor, which humifies inspired air, and dilutes the amount of oxygen, by reducing the partial pressure by the saturated vapor pressure (47mmHg) there is less Oxygen for the pellet stove fire. When you have low pressure there is also less oxygen to burn!
 
Hello

I was thinking of bringing the OAK air into a the bottom of a metal trash can on top of my boiler and then taking the heated air from the top of the trash can and going onto my pellet stove. Do you think that would be good?
 
What's the gain? You're taking heat from the boiler to heat the incoming air. That might dry the air some, but you'd suck a lot of heat away from the boiler, I'd think.
 
What's the gain? You're taking heat from the boiler to heat the incoming air. That might dry the air some, but you'd suck a lot of heat away from the boiler, I'd think.

Yes, some heat would be used to heat this air, but the boiler room is too hot anyway from the boiler stack and the pellet stove stack, so I want to use the extra heat for something good!
 
What's the gain? You're taking heat from the boiler to heat the incoming air. That might dry the air some, but you'd suck a lot of heat away from the boiler, I'd think.

I agree. Not much gain. And wasn't the problem because of a failing combustion blower? If its due to higher humidity levels, then why did the combustion blower fix the problem?? :(

Hello

Well it happened again, A real dirty burn on a very damp night........we replaced the combustion blower and bingo. The fly ash is back on startup!
 
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