Clinkers, big ones!

I'm a newbie, but I seem to notice a lot less of that same stuff on your photo when I have the blower up higher.

I found on mine if i let enuff air in , burns thoroughly .

Have to agree with above mentioned suggestion that you need to get more air through the burn pot.....it simply isn't blowing the burning ash out like it's supposed to.

Last time the ENTIRE stove was COMPLETELY cleaned, blowers removed and cleaned, leaf blower(if possible), entire exhaust system,etc, etc was when?

save$,

Is there a burn pot gasket in that stove and when was the last time the burn pot air holes were reamed out. If you have a metal pot if you soak it in warm water a lot of the stuff that fills the holes will dissolve or loosen up making the reaming easy.

It may also be gasket time.

Then again there is always the dirt in a bag situation where the stove doesn't stand a chance to keep the mess from piling up.

+1 to what was said above with one exception too much air can be as bad as too little air at times. That mess requires a specific temperature/moisture/chloride/ash/time in pot (so the combustion air can get you two ways, too much can produce the temperature you don't want and too little not get the ash out of the pot) situation to exist.

ETA: For really large clinkers you need to maintain a large coal burner.

Looks like the pellets have to much green raw material in them. Gonna have to mix with a different pellet. Might have to go as low as 40% with those pellets. Good luck.

Eric

I have the same problem with cetain pellets

Chlorides/salts in the pellets are the main deal and fuse with the mineral's that are heavy in the burnpot. Something else I have notice is when the pellets don't get to burn all the way before the next auger feed has dropped on them. This seems to smother the unfinished stuff. It then just smolders while the new stuff gets burned. It goes on until the user has to clean. I haven't totally figured out why this happens, Just assuming it is helping the clinker formation a long.

If you can't feed more air to assist them to fully burn and blow out the heavy stuff the chlorides fuse with, You need to reduce the feed rate if possible.

The not fully burning is because of the moisture which has a key part in the process, the moisture must first be boiled off before the pellet will undergo complete combustion. This is Eric's green material, good old high moisture wood. Sometimes you can even watch it boil off.

Moisture makes sense.

Maybe we could get save$ to do a little test for use. While burning some stuff that does well. Maybe have some of teh energex drying next to the stove, Safe enough away so no dangers. Dry a little at a time on an old window screen or similar. But if he can get enough to burn a days worth drier than they are now? Might prove some of the theory?

I had the same problem for the first time this year with my St Croix Pepin... the problem was resolved after I did my one ton cleaning (after 2 1/2 tons...yeah I know!). never had 'em before and don't anymore... using the same SIH hardwoods right now.

Save$, I pop in on occasion and I always try to check on Napoleon NPS40 owners to see if they are having any issues, or if they are passing along useful tips. We are in our third season with our Napoleon NPS40 as well. The only time we've had clinkers is when I've experimented with a low, slow burn: keeping the damper closed at around 1-2. We have an OAK with a short traverse as well as a short traverse direct vent. I had to really close the damper up to get a low, slow burn, and when I did, we got a big clinker similar to the one you are demonstrating. Don't know what that's worth except to say that we really had to work at getting a clinker in the Napoleon, and air flow had everything to do with it. I can see where moisture remaining in the pellets from the manufacturing process could contribute to that, as stated earlier in the thread. If the pellets are not burning completely in the bottom of the pot, the air holes could get smothered. These Napoleon pots seem particularly deep and sort of narrow at the bottom to me as compared to other burn pots in other stoves. It seems like it would be easy to obscure the combustion air holes in these deep pots if ash built up in the bottom.

Also for what it's worth, I really don't see a change in the flame height or quality with the damper open from 3 through 5. The flame changes somewhere between 2 and 1, with the noticeable change much closer to 1. Until tonight I've been running the stove with the damper wide open at 5 because honestly, it's not been cold enough for long enough stretches to be all that fussy about the heat. It's been cold this weekend and tonight is going to be relatively cold for this early in the season (in the 20s) so I'm trying to tweak every bit of heat I can out of the stove. I just pushed the damper control in to 3 to see if the stove will run a little hotter.

Speaking of learning curves, I'm still trying to get my head wrapped around the best damper settings for this stove. I know that one tries to run a traditional wood stove with the damper closed as much as safely and practically possible to keep from dumping the heat outside. My (admittedly dim) understanding is that pellet stoves are the opposite: one tries to run them with the damper as wide open as possible to burn the pellets as hot and as completely as possible while keeping enough embers in the pot to light the next load of pellets in the pot. Right? If I have this right, again, these deep Napoleon pots are contributing a lot to the burn characteristics. I can run our stove with the damper wide open on 5 and the feed on the recommended setting of 4 for at least a couple of days without thinking about cleaning it. There are enough embers in the pot to keep the stove burning but the embers burn completely in the next feed/burn cycle.

On the other hand, I've closed the damper down to 3 to see if I can maintain a slightly bigger, more robust and consistent flame in the pot over the feed/burn cycle to see if this will keep the tubes a little hotter. I dunno. So far no ash build up in the pot but I just closed it up a little bit ago.

I'll be interested in seeing what you figure out. Always good to hear from another Napoleon owner!

save$ said:

That sounds like a good thing to try. But if they do dry and burn better, What next. don't think I can dry two tons! I never gave moisture a thought because they usually are hard and shiny. I will have to tell you that these are the first pellets that I have found puffed bags in the middle of the tightly bundled and warped pallets. I don't have any blame toward the retailer of these. It is a Mom and Pop outlet. The pellets came to me tightly wrapped so I don't think he had any part of the pellets being moist. They were delivered when then came in to him. I should have smarted up when these pellets burned the way they did when I first got them. Didn't know much or any better at that time. When I started in 2008 I had to buy 6 tons even before I had the stove, or risk not being able to get pellets at all. I think I gave about 270 each ton back then. We now have way more options and generally, the pellets are better because they are being held to higher standards.

Click to expand...

This test would answer some questions is about it. Drying 2 tons would be insane! I'd just add a few scoops worth to the pellets that burn good to use them up or sell them if feasible. I'd opt to sell them.

save$ said:

Snip ... I will have to tell you that these are the first pellets that I have found puffed bags in the middle of the tightly bundled and warped pallets. ... Snip

Click to expand...

Problem solved right there.