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iceman

iceman

Minister of Fire
Nov 18, 2006
2,403
Springfield Ma (western mass)
I Have a Harman Accentra does anyone here wipe the ash out of the burn pot say after 8-10 hrs continous running? do you notice if the stove runs better.... or worse I seem to get more "fire" when i clean the burn pot out after 8-10 hrs... I an using premium pellets (new england wood pellets) just curious to hear what others think
 
iceman said:
I Have a Harman Accentra does anyone here wipe the ash out of the burn pot say after 8-10 hrs continous running? do you notice if the stove runs better.... or worse I seem to get more "fire" when i clean the burn pot out after 8-10 hrs... I an using premium pellets (new england wood pellets) just curious to hear what others think
Click to expand...
I don't notice a difference unless it's those high ash pellets and the fluffy ash builds up and chokes out the airflow.
If you notice a difference perhaps your feed rate is a bit low.
 
GVA said:
iceman said:
I Have a Harman Accentra does anyone here wipe the ash out of the burn pot say after 8-10 hrs continous running? do you notice if the stove runs better.... or worse I seem to get more "fire" when i clean the burn pot out after 8-10 hrs... I an using premium pellets (new england wood pellets) just curious to hear what others think
Click to expand...
I don't notice a difference unless it's those high ash pellets and the fluffy ash builds up and chokes out the airflow.
If you notice a difference perhaps your feed rate is a bit low.
Click to expand...

my feed is on 3.5 but i am running it on a low temp (2) after letting it burn for 10 hrs it does have lots of ash (not really) at the end of the burn potbut once i clean it the fire gets high then low until it builds up again(ash) then it seems to be a bigger fire?
 
So when it's burning bright how do the flames look are they leaning towards the glass or away? How much of a change when the ash is there?
It's a bottom feed so the ash will always be there.
I'm wondering is the the insert or freestanding?
how long have you had it
self install
venting

When the ash builds up normaly, the airflow will blow through the ash
 
GVA said:
So when it's burning bright how do the flames look are they leaning towards the glass or away? How much of a change when the ash is there?
It's a bottom feed so the ash will always be there.
I'm wondering is the the insert or freestanding?
how long have you had it
self install
venting

When the ash builds up normaly, the airflow will blow through the ash
Click to expand...

the flame blows towards the back...
had it for a year
insert
self install
3 inch pipe up and out
 
I forgot one.........outside air hooked up?
and more......
When you do your cleanings are you getting the ash out from under the burn pot?
Is it burning different from last season?
Did you clean the pipe out?
how old is the house, did you do any improvements to the house such as tightening it up?
Do you have pets, if so do you notice pet hair acuumulating around the insert?
Have you checked the air intake flapper for obstructions?
New England is adding a bit of corn to the pellets now so maybe the ash is fluffier

As far as mine when I open the door and do a daily scraping the flame gets lazy and leans forward because the draft flow is essentially broken. When the door is closed the flame is really short and looks like a blast furnace, as the ESP and room sensor take over more pellets are added and the flame gets high until the room temp is satisfied then gets low again is this what you are seeing if so it's normal.

But if it is burning different from last year then it could be something else related to draft or the corn that has been added to the pellets.
 
[quote author="GVA" date="1165094507"]I forgot one.........outside air hooked up?
and more......
When you do your cleanings are you getting the ash out from under the burn pot?
Is it burning different from last season?
Did you clean the pipe out?
how old is the house, did you do any improvements to the house such as tightening it up?
Do you have pets, if so do you notice pet hair acuumulating around the insert?
Have you checked the air intake flapper for obstructions?
New England is adding a bit of corn to the pellets now so maybe the ash is fluffier

As far as mine when I open the door and do a daily scraping the flame gets lazy and leans forward because the draft flow is essentially broken. When the door is closed the flame is really short and looks like a blast furnace, as the ESP and room sensor take over more pellets are added and the flame gets high until the room temp is satisfied then gets low again is this what you are seeing if so it's normal.

But if it is burning different from last year then it could be something else related to draft or the corn that has been added to the pellets.[/quote


sorry its a freestanding...oops
no it is burning the same however the ash is fluffier
but now that you described yours it seems to burn the same as yours.. i don't see corn on the bag...(i thought someone had a post about new england and corn but it says it on the bag
thanks for your help)]
 
iceman said:
I Have a Harman Accentra does anyone here wipe the ash out of the burn pot say after 8-10 hrs continous running? do you notice if the stove runs better.... or worse I seem to get more "fire" when i clean the burn pot out after 8-10 hrs... I an using premium pellets (new england wood pellets) just curious to hear what others think
Click to expand...

I scrape my XXV on average of once a day. Whenever I give it a good scrape, I pull the ashes off the front and scrape the bottom of the burn pot good. I get more fire I suppose because the the available fuel gets stirred up a bit and pushed more the the rear of the burnpot.
 
Pete, with that much scraping, make sure you clean your igniter monthly, as with alot of scraping you force more fines down into the ignition chanber, eventually clogging it.
 
I like the wire brush on a drill idea, but is there a chance that this could damage the ignitor on a Quad Castile? Any ideas for something thin and flexible on a drill to clean out the burn holes?
 
How badly are they clogged Pete? I used a skinny, flat-blade screwdriver or an awl at the end of the season. Followed by a quick wirebrushing. Power tool might be awkward to use in there.
 
HarryBack said:
Pete, with that much scraping, make sure you clean your igniter monthly, as with alot of scraping you force more fines down into the ignition chanber, eventually clogging it.
Click to expand...

Thanks Harry, I found that out, after about the first 1/2 ton (and month), I got the dreaded failed to light on its own signal, and had to clean the igniter area out to allow it to start on it's own. I was kind of wondering if that might be happening. I will try and scrape less frequently.
 
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