Static shock

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MartyW

MartyW

New Member
Jan 25, 2013
4
Southern Maine
Hello, I have bought a house that has a St. Croix Prescott EXL that has been working great for us but, today I reached for the thermostat and a static shock shut the stove off. It came back on for a little bit but shut down and now it does not even have a power light. I checked the fuses in the control panel and they seem to be good. do you think I fried the control board? Any help would be great, the sound of the oil furnace kicking on is giving me the blues.
 
I would try unplugging it for a minute, then try again.
 
Hope you get your stove sorted out. I know things like computers, etc can be very susceptible to static discharge.

Humidifier ;) ....or at least ground yourself out on something before touching it.
 
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Update: I got my stove to work in manual, but it ran in pilot mode only (on/off light blinking). By doing some research I found out that is a problem with the Thermostat circuit. I bought a new control board slapped her in yesterday and I am back in business. My stove was down for over a week, in that time I did a whole lot of reading on here. I must say this place is a great resource, My stove is much much cleaner (even that hard to get place behind the firebox) I feel I have a much better understanding on how everthing works. My stove is a blast furnace now and we are loving it even more than before my little accident. Stay Warm! 100_2734.JPG
 
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So how can this be prevented in the future? How do you discharge yourself before touching the stove??
 
Just did the same thing and had to replace my thermostat or what I should call control unit with my stove as it control everything.....seems the static electricity is worse this year than any other year I can remember. Thinking seriously about a whole house humidifier.
 
gfreek said:
So how can this be prevented in the future? How do you discharge yourself before touching the stove??
Click to expand...

I have taken to touching the baseboard under my thermostat/control unit before touching it. Hopefully this will discharge it. Tried touching the wife to give her a little shock but she was having none of it....;)
 
ALWAYS ground yourself to something else in these dry times. Especially if you've been sitting on a microfiber couch with sweat pants on.
 
Step on the hearth pad if you have too. Carpet and computer/electronics don't mix well. Heck grab the ash bucket or something.

I tore the carpeting up in the computer/wreck room after the second PC. Haven't had an issue since we put down the laminate flooring. Plus I like the looks too!
 
I have a recliner that generates wicked static. I usually try to discharge myself first into the body of the stove which is or should be grounded through the wall outlet connection. I have found that spraying the chair and even the carpet with Static-Guard or similar eliminates or reduces the static electricity I pick up. A diluted with water solution of fabric softener sprayed is also something that reportedly works to cut down static.
 
You can also ground yourself on a light switch. You may need to touch the screw if it has a plastic wallplate.
 
Good advice from all. Get some moisture in the house or ground yourself before reaching for the controls. You need about 55% humidity. I always touch a cool part of the stove before adjusting if static is present( humidifier empty).

Might also verify the outlet your plugged into is grounded electrically. I have seen loose/corroded ground connections at outlet, breaker panel ground bar and main grounds. If the ground circuit is compromised static voltage can go through critical circuits seeking the neutral leg.

:: edit :: possible the stoves ground bonding is loose too.
 
just get in the habit of touching the metal part of the stove first, as this is grounded via the house wiring.

Static discharge is tough on the micro electronics for sure.

The more complex the stove controls become, the more succeptable they are to static discharge.

The older stoves with the basic timers were far more robust and really never had much issue with static.

Still a good idea to ground yourself to the stove case (touch the hopper lid) before touching any of the controls.

Snowy
 
Before touching the stove controls if you think you've got a really good static charge ........

..... give your significant other a kiss. :)
 
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Touch your cat before touching the stove!;lol

Dave
 
MartyW said:
Update: I got my stove to work in manual, but it ran in pilot mode only (on/off light blinking). By doing some research I found out that is a problem with the Thermostat circuit. I bought a new control board slapped her in yesterday and I am back in business. My stove was down for over a week, in that time I did a whole lot of reading on here. I must say this place is a great resource, My stove is much much cleaner (even that hard to get place behind the firebox) I feel I have a much better understanding on how everthing works. My stove is a blast furnace now and we are loving it even more than before my little accident. Stay Warm!View attachment 93123
Click to expand...
Do you have a surge protector or a UPS plugged into the pellet stove?
 
Finally got my invoice from the dealer for the replacement of the control unit and it was not too bad, $249 of which $170 was for the part and $60 was for the labor (dealer is an hour from house so there was more travel then actual labor on site). I though this was reasonable given what it could have been.
Also they did send me the old part back so Jay when I have sometime if you are still willing to work on it I will ship it to you. I will IM you when I am ready. Just changed jobs so it is kind of crazy right now for me so most likely not until mid-April until I can focus on it.
 
They treat me well, that is why I keep the service with them. And $170 for the part is very reasonable.
 
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