cab 50 problems

mattyice5290 said:

maybe you shouldve spent an extra couple hundred bucks and got a harman heatilators are hhts attempt to compete with the big box stores they are cheap poor heaters but the price point is low

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im gonna make some popcorn and see the replies to THIS one.......duck and cover, Matty!

Lousyweather said:

im gonna make some popcorn and see the replies to THIS one.......duck and cover, Matty!

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i'm not even going to waste my time.

Why waste time with . and , , somebody will figure it out.

What kind of termination cap do you have on it? Try taking off the termination cap and see what happens.

Haven't had my CAB50 for too long but long enough to run a couple bags through it and haven't had the ash problems you are experiencing. Do you have any videos of the stove running or pics of your set up?

as asked before what is your exhaust vent set up? how long how many elbows or Tees how much horizontal run how much verticle? this would be very helpful in trying to help you solve your problem. when you say you clean your stove what is involved in that? you cleaning all the venting? is your air intake clear?

coldinmich said:

With oct here in mich we are getting cold at night. after cleaning this thing stem to stearn there is NO improvement. Actually worse. Now I need to clean out the firepot at least twice a day , vac out the inside twice a day, clean glass at least twice a day, and using less than a half a bag of pellets a day. My next step is to drive out of town and speak with a dealer that might help me out. This eco-choice has been the WORST purchase I have ever made.

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Your mind is made up, fine. But why keep posting complaints when you ignore the dealers that keep asking you the same questions over and over?

I just don't get why you won't answer questions from people that are begging to help you out.

3rd season of Cab50. Heating perfectly...

saladdin said:

Your mind is made up, fine. But why keep posting complaints when you ignore the dealers that keep asking you the same questions over and over?

I just don't get why you won't answer questions from people that are begging to help you out.

3rd season of Cab50. Heating perfectly...

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well said saladdin

saladdin said:

Your mind is made up, fine. But why keep posting complaints when you ignore the dealers that keep asking you the same questions over and over?

I just don't get why you won't answer questions from people that are begging to help you out.

3rd season of Cab50. Heating perfectly...

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Exactly.....Eric from Kinsman stoves sells these stoves, and is a Certified tech. He (and others) have asked you more than twice what your exhaust system is made up of, and how it's run from the stove to the end....you've refused to answer this, but keep asking for help.

Pretty soon, no one will answer.

Eric installed our PS50 and we have not had anything other than 2 pellet jams and a couple of misfires........This will be our 2nd full heating season......Have learned a lot here......Ordered a combustion gasket from Eric and actually replaced it myself during the non heating season.......There is a learning curve,but try to hang in there.......there is an explanation,but the techs/gurus on here need numbers......diameter pipe/ elbows and straight lengths,etc..I hope you get it figured out....

Hello Coldinmich!

I'm a relative newbie to this forum & to pellet stoves in general. BUT I've worked for almost 20 years with huge combustion systems in the heat-treat/melting furnace industry (think really big furnaces with sparks, molten metal, and other visions of "hell")

I installed my CAB50 myself and haven't had the issues you're experiencing. I HAVE seen very similar things happen even to large gas fired furnaces that are experiencing pressure imbalance problems. Horrible sooting, carbon monoxide buildup in the factory bay, and flue gasses not exiting the flue properly... I get a few calls every fall re: furnaces that are suddenly running poorly. Almost invariably I find that there is large negative pressure (compared to outside the building) in the area/bay that the furnace is in. When it gets chilly, people close all the bay doors, etc etc., & there are so many exhaust fans that air starts coming DOWN the flue instead of exhausting!

Do you have a very "tight" house? Nice modern construction or even an older house that has been well insulated and caulked? It may sound funny, but try cracking a window a couple of inches & then run the CAB50. See if the smoking and high ash problem goes away. If this fixes the problem, buy the fresh-air kit that EcoChoice offers and you'll be good to go. There HAS to be a path for air to enter the house in order for it to exit through your CAB50.

It's worth a try, and it's a very simple "check"!

I 100% agree with the posts I've read about checking your exhaust system. How long is it? How many elbows? Is there a device to cancel downdraft (that could be very problematic!).
There can be a number of causes for what you're experiencing, but this is a VERY quick way to determine if you need an air kit. Hope this helps, and please let us know your progress.

coldinmich said:

I haven't been on this forum lately of even on the internet much. My exhaust is vented outside. One 45 degree elbow and then a 24 inch pipe, 3inch outside diameter, yes I keep it cleaned out. I find a lot of soot/ash build up in this. as far as cleaning; the firepot needs to cleaned twice a day as I am burning about half a bag a day. The area around the firepot needs to be vacuumed once every other day or the ash spills over Into the firepot. This all depends on if I can keep this thing running. Usually wont run 24 straight hours without working on it. I believe the hopper lid switch is not lining up. The lid cannot simply be screwed on after removing to get the side panels off. It needs to be shimmed because it or the stove isn't square. I also remove the panels behind the firebox once a week and clean behind it.

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I thought you had a cab50. You don't need to take off the hopper lid to remove the sides.

Do a search for cab50 and there is a thread about bypassing the lid switch to test. But I don;t see how that plays any part in your issues.

Have you done the washer trick on the door handle to tighten the seal? There's a cab50 thread on that also.

coldinmich said:

I haven't been on this forum lately of even on the internet much. My exhaust is vented outside. One 45 degree elbow and then a 24 inch pipe, 3inch outside diameter, yes I keep it cleaned out. I find a lot of soot/ash build up in this. as far as cleaning; the firepot needs to cleaned twice a day as I am burning about half a bag a day. The area around the firepot needs to be vacuumed once every other day or the ash spills over Into the firepot. This all depends on if I can keep this thing running. Usually wont run 24 straight hours without working on it. I believe the hopper lid switch is not lining up. The lid cannot simply be screwed on after removing to get the side panels off. It needs to be shimmed because it or the stove isn't square. I also remove the panels behind the firebox once a week and clean behind it.

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Thanks for the info on your exhaust system. It seems very straightforward... it's certainly not the trouble.
Did you try opening a window in the room & running the stove (see my post, above)?
I have a CAB50, and I do NOT need to remove anything on the top in order to open the sides & service the unit.

coldinmich said:

I haven't been on this forum lately of even on the internet much. My exhaust is vented outside. One 45 degree elbow and then a 24 inch pipe, 3inch outside diameter, yes I keep it cleaned out. I find a lot of soot/ash build up in this. as far as cleaning; the firepot needs to cleaned twice a day as I am burning about half a bag a day. The area around the firepot needs to be vacuumed once every other day or the ash spills over Into the firepot. This all depends on if I can keep this thing running. Usually wont run 24 straight hours without working on it. I believe the hopper lid switch is not lining up. The lid cannot simply be screwed on after removing to get the side panels off. It needs to be shimmed because it or the stove isn't square. I also remove the panels behind the firebox once a week and clean behind it.

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Do you have a picture or two of the exhaust setup?
Are you using an outside air kit (drawing in air from outside for combustion, instead of pulling it from the room)?

That loose ash pan door may be your problem... I failed to secure the ash pan on my stove the first week I had it and the dealer found the problem during a service call... cleaned up the stove/used the leaf blower to clean out about a million pounds of accumulated ash and I was in business again.

I hope that works for you.
If the firepot is not getting enough air, how will sealing up the area BELOW it get more air to the combustion area?
Perhaps I'm just not envisioning this properly...

Could you take the ash pan out, and take a picture of the interior?
Also: What happens if you run the unit with the ash pan removed? Do the flames get shorter & hotter?

That's OK on the pic.. don't worry.

So the flame is still slow & lazy & smokey, even when you take out the ash pan?

Then the problem is not air delivery... it's on the exhaust side of your system.
Either the exhaust fan isn't working properly, or there HAS to be a blockage someplace!

If you are starting the stove up, and check air flow going out of your flue, can you feel anything? there should be quite a stream of air blowing out.

If there is NOT, then the exhaust/combustion fan isn't spinning up OR there's a blockage.

If there IS a lot of air, then there's a large leak bypassing your combustion pot. (such as a completely loose combustion air fan, missing gaskets in places, etc.)

You're 100% sure that the door gasket is fully in place? that would be one example of a massive leak on the "far side" of the combustion pot.


I kinda wish I were closer to you. I see these problems as a challenge.
I work on giant furnaces every day... I'm in Pittsburgh today monitoring a big electric furnace in fact. 12-hour shifts with my coworker (we have to be here 24/7 until the furnace is fully commissioned).