Mt Vernon Min Firepot Error Code

JK302 said:

Good day all,

This year my Mt Vernon AE Pellet stove seems to be having issues. At the beginning of the year Bad TC Firepot error codes were received and ultimately I replaced the sensor and it appeared to work just fine for the next month. Now all of a sudden I am getting Min Firepot Temp error codes. Now the stove has been cleaned inside and out and is almost as clean as the day we bought her. This morning I took off all the side panels and vacuumed inside and also used a leaf blower to clean out the exhaust to make sure that there were no unseen blockages. I had done this at the end of last year and not much soot came out. In watching the stove cycle it almost appears that the stove is not feeding itself enough pellets and then the fire dies down and then the error code appears. I have the flame height adjust at +5 and it still happens. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be occurring? This stove is the houses primary source of heat and money is tight and would like to avoid a service call as much as possible.

Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

How about checking the connections of the TC and verifying it is properly positioned.

If you have those errors I would be on the phone to the dealer. How old is the unit and did it have the upgrade if it is an older unit. The Dealer is where to go.

Eric

I'd make sure the firepot t/c is touching the cover.

Also check to make sure there isn't excessive fines in the auger.

I see you have recently replaced the baffle. The new baffles have a block off plate on the back side to prevent burn back. I have seen these block the flow of pellets out of the drop tube. If not that then the auger motor is probably getting weak. From experience, the 12 volt auger motors seem to weaken some and slow down their feed. I have seen this several times.

JK302 said:

Thanks for the responses! i apologize for the delay in getting back to everyone. Computer issues shortly after posting has caused the delay. After cleaning everything again and reconnecting the thermocouple connections the issue went away, Fingers Crossed. The stove now over the past few days has thrown up the bad TC firepot code once per day. These issues are starting to really get to me. Seeing how the original error codes were bad tc firepot and after replacing that I received the min firepot codes it would appear to be Firepot thermocouple related. Any suggestions as to where to go next with these issues?

Thanks again!

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If you replaced the firepot t/c then I would guess it is more of a connection problem. They have kind of a lousy connection at the board and had issues with them from early on. If it loses connection, it will give that error. I would start by checking this again. If you have not replace the t/c then I would. Both of these errors are related to the same part. Bad t/c is connection issue or bad t/c and min firepot temp is the t/c not getting to temp in the allotted time from startup.

My stove is also the Mount Vernon AE with a manufacture date of about 9/2008. I have had to replace the heating element every season. Last season it failed late March or early April so I waited until this fall to install it. It just failed again about a week ago. So I ordered the "upgrade" fire pot because it came with a new element. I can see that the newer design should start the fire sooner as the opening at the bottom of the pot to the element is about 100% bigger. Also there is a large opening at the bottom of the element mount to aide in air flow upward to the pellets.

The install went fine but for others who have yet to take the step be careful when removing the old bolts. Use plenty of PB blaster and wait several hours before trying to move the bolts. Then slowly rock the bolts back and forth as this will help to make sure you do not break them.

Now onto the point. Be very, very careful of the TC Sensor cable. After I installed the new pot and heating element the TC error Fire Pot appeared. Looking closely at how the TC cable is run I could see the outer fiberglass jacket was well cut in at both stove contact points within the ash pot opening. I removed the TC connector from the control board to perform a cold resistance measurement across the wires. In a 63 degree room the TC measured about 4 ohms. I then checked to make sure that the TC was open to the stove chassis and I found about 2 ohms to the stove. Knowing thermistor circuits I figured that this is why I was getting the error. I then removed the TC sensor and found that at the point the cable leaves the ash pan area the insulation was cut clean through on the yellow wire. Without having a good way to insulate these wires and cable I have ordered a replacement with a new ceramic cover from the Preston Trading Post. Before installing I am going to try to smooth the opening with a small file.

What kills me is the problem was caused by the large number of times having to pull wires through that opening. With the cost of the new better fire pot, heating element and now the TC sensor and cover I could have used that cash to by one ton of Clean Fire Pellets.

I hope what I found is helpful to others.

CJSchaefer said:

I hope what I found is helpful to others.

Click to expand...

I'm sure it will.

Thanks for sharing.

JK302 said:

Good day all,

This year my Mt Vernon AE Pellet stove seems to be having issues. At the beginning of the year Bad TC Firepot error codes were received and ultimately I replaced the sensor and it appeared to work just fine for the next month. Now all of a sudden I am getting Min Firepot Temp error codes. Now the stove has been cleaned inside and out and is almost as clean as the day we bought her. This morning I took off all the side panels and vacuumed inside and also used a leaf blower to clean out the exhaust to make sure that there were no unseen blockages. I had done this at the end of last year and not much soot came out. In watching the stove cycle it almost appears that the stove is not feeding itself enough pellets and then the fire dies down and then the error code appears. I have the flame height adjust at +5 and it still happens. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be occurring? This stove is the houses primary source of heat and money is tight and would like to avoid a service call as much as possible.

Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

I know you used the leaf blower but just to verify, you have cleaned down in the holes at the bottom of the heat exchanger behing the baffle and also removed the combustion blower?