St Croix prescott

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Bill63

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Nov 7, 2012
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My pellet stove does not have a steady flame it seems like the pellets are not keeping up with the stove.the flame almost goes Had it cleaned in the summer called pellet store told me to adjust the draft did not help I tried different pellets still the same. It seems like the auger does not stay on long enough to feed the pellets.I have had this stove about 5 years no problems like this.
Thanks
 
How did you adjust the draft?

Closing the draft down until it is open a number two pencil thickness seems to work well for St. Croix stoves.

You can also check the vacuum hose to see if it is loose at either end and that the tubing and the barb on the stove end is free of ash. If the vacuum is varying the auger motor may not be turning for the full alloted time, it is also possible that the coupling has become loose.

There are other things but we can start with those and then move on to gaskets and latches.
 
Bill63 said:
My pellet stove does not have a steady flame it seems like the pellets are not keeping up with the stove.the flame almost goes Had it cleaned in the summer called pellet store told me to adjust the draft did not help I tried different pellets still the same. It seems like the auger does not stay on long enough to feed the pellets.I have had this stove about 5 years no problems like this.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Hello , Not sure if this may help :
I think if your control board is like mine (i also have a st. croix ) it has an adjustable cycle time to accommodate different fuel types on the market but before you adjust my manual says contact st croix @ 1.800.331.8862 first as my 2005 manual states regarding feed rate adjustment, that being said what you are looking for is on the back of the board called J2 of which has 3 pins w/the jumper cap on the top 2 pins ,so in order to increase the feed-rate they state > place the cap on the bottom 2 pins. Good luck
 
SmokeyTheBear said:
How did you adjust the draft?

Closing the draft down until it is open a number two pencil thickness seems to work well for St. Croix stoves.

You can also check the vacuum hose to see if it is loose at either end and that the tubing and the barb on the stove end is free of ash. If the vacuum is varying the auger motor may not be turning for the full alloted time, it is also possible that the coupling has become loose.

There are other things but we can start with those and then move on to gaskets and latches.
Click to expand...
I
 
I closed the down draft and checked the tube. Still the same flame goes almost out then back up to normal.
 
Ok,

Now when was the last time you tested your door gasket and ash pan gasket if there is one?

I'd check those along with making certain that your auger flight isn't full of fines.

We are checking the gaskets because like the damper setting and the vacuum tube, they can cause problems with the vacuum switch which in turn affects pellet feed, likewise an expressive amount of fines in the auger system can cause a decrease in the pellet load delivered to the burn pot.

What heat range are you running on?
 
Pellet size seems to matter on mine. Shorter pellets feed more into each auger flight, whereas longer pellets don't fill in as tightly. Hence, more heat at each feed level.

If you have a stopwatch, observe the auger feed light and time it. The on/off times are in the manual, so you can verify that the auger is operating properly. If it is, then Smokey's suggestion is a good one. Mine has an 11 ½ second cycle (why? who knows..) and the auger feeds in portions of that cycle ie: in low, it feeds 1½ seconds, then pauses for 10 seconds, then feeds 1½ seconds, and so on.

I'd also eyeball the auger motor (if possible) to make sure it's really running when it should. The coupling needs to be tight on the auger so that it turns the auger without slipping.

You might also have a blockage at the feed end of the auger which reduces the amount of pellets getting into the auger.
 
The gasket was checked when I had it cleaned in the summer. Running on the 4 or 5 setting. Checked the auger it is not slipping.I checked the auger and cleaned the fines out. I will check to see it there is a blockage. How do you test the door gasket.
Thanks
 
With a piece of paper (about the size of a dollar bill) between the gasket and the stove at two points along each side of the door, insert the paper, close and latch the door, pull the slip of paper out it should come out but present resistance at every spot. If there is even one spot that doesn't present resistance you need to adjust the door or replace the gasket.

.
 
A test for the auger.



Pushing the button on that auger feed , how fast do the pellets drop?



The flame should rise to that(just do not over do it)then let it settle on the # 5 setting it should have a decent flame?

Wait till it resumes normal operation.

What`s the result?


Feedback please.
 
Next I'm going for the infamous hard to clean spot on those St. Croix units and discuss roto rootering, leaf blowers, and/or really good shop vacuum application to the venting.
 
I had a similar problem, the flame would die down to almost nothing, then flame back up, then die back down and it turned out to be the auger was sticking in one point because the spiral started to unwind from the shaft. If you can see your motor, get a glass of beer, and sit down and watch it spin for 10 or 15 minutes...its as exciting as watching paint dry but figure out its typical turn with each motor run and then watch it for a couple complete cycles. I did that and noticed that for 3/4 of the turn it turned fine, about 1/8 of a turn with each motor run, then when it was sticking it would only turn about 1/16 of a turn with each motor run and that is when my flame would die. BTW I have a St. Croix Revolution, there is another thread that has pictures of my auger.
 
Bill63,

How are you with electricity? If you are comfortable with working on wiring you can try the following, bypass the vacuum switch, remember do that with the stove off and unplugged, if this smooths out your fire you are looking at a vacuum related problem (likely dirt in the works or an on the way out combustion blower) do not run the stove with the vacuum switch bypassed any longer than is need to verify if the problem goes away with the switch bypassed.

Do you know about the ash trap clean out plugs on the stove?
 
Data specs. for mine are:

On the #5 setting it says i should get a rate of 4-1/2#`s per hour ,give or take 10% With a 5.5 second auger on time & 6 second off time=11.5 seconds total

Using the formula analogy :

4.5# / 60mins. = .0750#`s per minute or 72 oz./60=1.2 oz per minute rate

Time to bust out the scale:
60 seconds should yield ?

Measurement?
;ex stove off & cool
 
SmokeyTheBear said:
Bill63,

How are you with electricity? If you are comfortable with working on wiring you can try the following, bypass the vacuum switch, remember do that with the stove off and unplugged, if this smooths out your fire you are looking at a vacuum related problem (likely dirt in the works or an on the way out combustion blower) do not run the stove with the vacuum switch bypassed any longer than is need to verify if the problem goes away with the switch bypassed.

Do you know about the ash trap clean out plugs on the stove?
Click to expand...


That`s a possibility maybe hunting back & forth (Vac fooling the board );?
 
The combustion fan started to make a lot of noise sounds like a bad bearing could this effect the auger running right.
 
A failing combustion blower can cause vacuum issues which will disrupt the pellet feed.

Just because it is making a noise doesn't always mean it is failing it could be loaded with ash and that would also cause vacuum issues.

Those blowers need to be cleaned regularly.
 
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I took it a part yesterday to see if it was blocked looked ok had it cleaned during the summer. Have not used it that much 5 bags at the most so far this year.
 
Did you get between the impeller and the motor mount plate? I'm just running a rather long list of things to look at.

You know about the clean out ports on the stove so you can get behind the firebox wall I assume.

You might want to get a replacement for that blower to have on hand.

If that is the problem jumping the vacuum switch should fix the feed issue but you can't run that way because it isn't safe.
 
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