M55 Cast Overheating Question

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NC Burner

Member
Dec 29, 2010
19
Sandhills of NC
What are the best settings to minimize overheating?

We have an M55 cast, 2 years of great service, couple tons/year here in mild NC. It is well vented straight out the back thru exterior wall with I believe about 6' exhaust stack. Stove has always been sensitive to overheating (above 3) on the high settings, but not a problem because 4 or 5 would melt the paint on the walls and 3 easily heats the whole house (2 story 1800 sq ft old farm house). Pellets burn complete with little ash and good flame on all settings (premium pellet setting). Only issue has been glass buildup on low settings where it pretty much always runs, no big deal. Last month has started tripping heat censor, now tripping even down on 2. As I trouble shot I learned how superficial my cleaning has been (that back wall in the burn box actually comes out to clean!==c ), but now I believe I have the whole system pretty well cleaned out - from pellet to outside air both going in and out. But still tripping heat on setting 2 or more. When I pulled the convection fan (light-mod dust, noticeably better air flow after cleaning) I can see the shaft from the motor is not exactly straight with respect to the fan, and the fan is ever so slightly higher in its mount on the motor end - as if the weight of the motor has dropped the motor down, lifting the fan end up like a see-saw. No noise but failure is likely imminent. I have asked my dealer to try to acquire me one of the new turbo blowers per discussions I see here (warranty expired 4 days ago!!). While I am waiting on a new blower and/or if it is loud (stove is right in the middle of our living area) and I try to get by for awhile with my existing fan, I am wondering about the best setting strategy for minimal unit overheat.

So back to the question! Am I thinking right that putting the combustion setting on max, and the pellet flow rate in minimum would be the best way to move heat out of the unit and preclude tripping at any given heat setting?

Any comments or insights are greatly appreciated.
 
I don't think it will help to go to heat level 5 even with the higher output. If heat level 3 heats OK, try dropping the feed trim all the way down to 1. If it still trips, drop the heat level setting down to 2 and then adjust the trim to the highest possible w/out tripping the high limit. Default is feed trim 3.

After you get the turbo blower, you won't have to worry about overheating anymore and will be able to set it at any heat level w/out problems.
 
Increasing the combustion trim, IMO, isn't going to move more heat out of the stove. It will give more air to the fire but the problem s getting the heat out of the exchanger tubes. The only thing to fix that s the new convection fan. Just did mine last night due to failure and over-fire. Same issues you're having with the blower, bent, not straight etc. Mine eventually came apart. New blower is louder, for sure, but it moves a ton more air so it's a trade off. Lowest feed trim and adjust the auger cover down to limit the fuel available is all you can do until you fix the underlying problem or the blower. Hope you get it one way or the other.
 
Increasing the combustion trim, IMO, isn't going to move more heat out of the stove. It will give more air to the fire but the problem s getting the heat out of the exchanger tubes. The only thing to fix that s the new convection fan. Just did mine last night due to failure and over-fire. Same issues you're having with the blower, bent, not straight etc. Mine eventually came apart. New blower is louder, for sure, but it moves a ton more air so it's a trade off. Lowest feed trim and adjust the auger cover down to limit the fuel available is all you can do until you fix the underlying problem or the blower. Hope you get it one way or the other.


Thank you kindly for the replies.

Looks like there is no option but a new blower. I hope it is not too loud. We researched stoves very thoroughly before the purchase and the noise level was a very major part of our decision on this model. It is installed right in the middle of our living area....
 
Mine is in my living room and just installed new blower last night out of necessity (catastrophic failure of old blower). It is noticeably louder. It got better when I put all the surrounds and stuff back on but I see myself using some dynamat on the surround to eliminate as much of it as I can. Hope it doesn't make you hate the stove. We have gotten used to the heat so we'll deal with it but I too liked the virtual silence of the old blower compared to this one. Such is life.
 
This is a pretty old thread but hopefully this helps:

If you have an insert, slide it out and look at the back. You will have a "squirrel cage" blower that is a long slotted cylinder fan. This is the cause of the overheating. This fan moves the air from the exchanger tubes out into the room and keeps the unit from overheating while pushing the heat into the room. If you have the old style blower there is a "turbo blower" upgrade that is a warranty replacement. Call your dealer and see if they have one in stock and if not have them order it. Either you or your dealer will need to remove the old one and replace it with the new one and the problem will go away. If you need to know the difference between the two blowers you can search for turbo blower m55 and I'm sure some threads will have pictures.

Good luck.
 
This is a pretty old thread but hopefully this helps:

If you have an insert, slide it out and look at the back. You will have a "squirrel cage" blower that is a long slotted cylinder fan. This is the cause of the overheating. This fan moves the air from the exchanger tubes out into the room and keeps the unit from overheating while pushing the heat into the room. If you have the old style blower there is a "turbo blower" upgrade that is a warranty replacement. Call your dealer and see if they have one in stock and if not have them order it. Either you or your dealer will need to remove the old one and replace it with the new one and the problem will go away. If you need to know the difference between the two blowers you can search for turbo blower m55 and I'm sure some threads will have pictures.

Good luck.
I haven't been able to get my dealer out here to look at it. Do you know where I can find the phone number for enviro.
 
That seems elusive to find for me...never had to, just always call my dealer. It's a Canadian company, I know that, but I can't put my hands on a direct number. I'll keep looking.
 
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