cab 50 problems

saladdin · Nov 3, 2013

BBB is 99% worthless. I'd be surprised if you hear a peep.

hearthnleisure said:
Forgive me for dropping in here late and I started to read through the post but it was a little painful

Heatilator released a vacuum isolator box to remedy a problem that was known that was causing the pressure switch to lose vacuum when the distribution blower would come on under certain venting configurations, namely short runs like it sounds like you have. Part # SRV7074-183 . It is basically a metal box that mounts around the vacuum switch.

More recently they released a design change for Cab50's that were manufactured after 5/20/13 that changed the unit around a little bit to eliminate the low vacuum people have been having. Basically sealed up problem air leak areas and redesigned the back panel where the unit is sucking in air. See the attached pdf that breaks down the field fix for existing units. One tube of RTV will go a long way towards fixing any vacuum issues people are having.

Mine is a June 2011 model but I'm not having any issues. Thanks for the fix manual, will file it for future use.

coldinmich · Nov 3, 2013

Tedinski said:
I'm still trying to picture what's going on with your stove.....
If you open your owner's manual to page 16, it shows a couple of different situations/problems with burning. Which one looks like your trouble?

Does the flame look like figure 16.2 ? You've tried more than one fuel, so I doubt it's fuel that's your trouble. I'm just trying to picture what you're running into.

the flames actually look like figure 16.3 and 16.2. the flame goes from a nice 6-8 inches to 12.
Also how do I access the area behind the ashpan to seal that area?

Tedinski · Nov 5, 2013

Another (perhaps stupid) question. Have you run the stove on low? (did you already cover this?)
I ran my stove on high for the first time yesterday. The flame was much too big, and didn't look lilke combustion was complete. The window got brown/black on it.

There's an adjustment to fix the "too much fuel" problem inside of the hopper area.

I didn't bother to adjust mine. I just turned it back down to medium & everything burns just fine.

Tedinski · Nov 5, 2013

http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b635/ted_deweese/SAM_0616_zps0b41f154.jpg
http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b635/ted_deweese/SAM_0615_zps8945c400.jpg
Here are pics of my stove on low and on medium. I tried to take a pic on high but the flame just "blooms" and the photo is worthless. (crap camera!)
The stain on the glass was from running on high for only 20 minutes.
Have you already tried running on low & medium?
On low, my stove has the flame completely enclosed in the firepot.
Medium, the flame is maybe 8 to 10 inches high.
On high, the flame goes all the way to the top of the firebox. TOO HIGH! I'm thinking of adjusting the feed rate but I don't want to lose the perfect low setting that I have right now. I plan on running mostly on low.
You can see how much ash buildup there is in the firebox in the second picture. I vacuum it maybe once a day.

Tedinski · Nov 5, 2013

Here's a link to a picture of my stove on HIGH. It took me a bit to get a good photo.
Is this what your stove looks like while running?
This is WAY too high. smoke on the glass, lots of ash... even a bit of smoke coming out of the flue pipe. It would need adjustment if I was going to run on high.

coldinmich · Nov 5, 2013

Tedinski said:
Here's a link to a picture of my stove on HIGH. It took me a bit to get a good photo.
Is this what your stove looks like while running?
This is WAY too high. smoke on the glass, lots of ash... even a bit of smoke coming out of the flue pipe. It would need adjustment if I was going to run on high.[/quo That is what my stove looks like oh high. I run my stove on medium. Tried running on low but I like the heat output on med.

Tedinski · Nov 5, 2013

So it's smoky & lots of ash even on Medium. Huh.

coldinmich · Nov 5, 2013

Tedinski said:
So it's smoky & lots of ash even on Medium. Huh.

yes. so far I have sealed the ashpan area with high temp silicone, replaced the door gasket and clean the entire system including the exhaust vent, once a week. I think I am done trying to get this thing repaired and just learn to live with it the way it is

Tedinski · Nov 5, 2013

You've already adjusted the feed-rate device inside of the pellet hopper? adjusted it down? Mine came full open.

Mpodesta · Nov 5, 2013

This is mine on high (I run it on high all the time)

feed gate at about+- 85% open

coldinmich · Nov 5, 2013

Tedinski said:
You've already adjusted the feed-rate device inside of the pellet hopper? adjusted it down? Mine came full open.

yes, I have made adjustments in half in increments and is nearly closed. also adjustments to the air intake under the ashpan. it seems to run best with the intake half open.

coldinmich · Nov 5, 2013

Mpodesta said:
This is mine on high (I run it on high all the time)

feed gate at about+- 85% open

wow your stove looks great. mine even has a spot on the right side where the paint is flaking off.

Tedinski · Nov 5, 2013

Your stove's flame height looks a lot more reasonable.
I'll have to cut mine back a bit.
I'm worried that if I cut it back my "low" setting won't stay lit!

coldinmich: Have you been able to take pictures yet? If you need a place to put photos (for the link) you can put them in Photobucket.

Nick of PA · Nov 5, 2013

I have a CAB50 as well and I have noticed that with each different brand of pellet I have burned, the flame height varies depending on the pellet. Just keep that in mind as well.

coldinmich · Nov 6, 2013

Tedinski said:
Your stove's flame height looks a lot more reasonable.
I'll have to cut mine back a bit.
I'm worried that if I cut it back my "low" setting won't stay lit!

coldinmich: Have you been able to take pictures yet? If you need a place to put photos (for the link) you can put them in Photobucket.

I have taken pics and sent them to your e-mail. please note the area on the side where the paint is flaking off. they sure sold me a piece of @$%@$^&&

Tedinski · Nov 6, 2013

I'll take a look .... be right back!

Tedinski · Nov 6, 2013

I took a look at your pictures. The first one came through, though it's a bit fuzzy. The second one just looks like a black square. ??

Do the flames blow over to the right hand side of the stove?

Next time your stove has shut down, take a look at the bottom of your burn pot. There is a plate that slides back & forth via the lever on the lower right of the furnace.
There should be a number of holes in that plate. Are all the holes completely drilled through? In my unit I count 9 holes.
A row of 4, a row of 3, and a row of 2 holes.

It's a long shot. I'm trying to think of a reason why you'd have paint burning off the right hand side of your stove... perhaps very uneven combustion air?

coldinmich · Nov 8, 2013

Tedinski said:
I took a look at your pictures. The first one came through, though it's a bit fuzzy. The second one just looks like a black square. ??

Do the flames blow over to the right hand side of the stove?

Next time your stove has shut down, take a look at the bottom of your burn pot. There is a plate that slides back & forth via the lever on the lower right of the furnace.
There should be a number of holes in that plate. Are all the holes completely drilled through? In my unit I count 9 holes.
A row of 4, a row of 3, and a row of 2 holes.

It's a long shot. I'm trying to think of a reason why you'd have paint burning off the right hand side of your stove... perhaps very uneven combustion air?

I don't think the paint is burning off. I was in paint and powder coating for 25 yrs. This is a case of poor surface prep.

coldinmich · Nov 8, 2013

So I contacted the BBB with my complaint. After several days it appears that the Manufacturer has NO intention of honoring the warranty. WOW .... I wish I had known that about them prior to the purchase..

Tedinski · Nov 8, 2013

Wow. What a truly sucky situation.
I can't think of anything else to look for on your stove. You mentioned in your email that your control box is on 5 instead of 2. That's about the only thing left to change. (I'm not at all sure what 5 does... the PS35 uses 6, and the ps50 and cab50 are both supposed to be on 2).
Now that I know the manufacturer doesn't stand behind their product I'm worried about my stove as well. Fortunately the dealer I bought my stove at seems like a very solid individual. I'm pretty sure he'd help me out if there was something wrong.
Does anybody know what setting 5 on the control box does?

kykel · Nov 8, 2013

I had a Hudson River Saranac freestanding pellet stove and had to empty burn pot twice a day. Eventually the company came out with a new burn pot. The only difference was that they put a flat gasket around the lip of the burn pot so that no air escaped from around the edges witch in turn forced more air through the burn pot and blew more ash out. worked much better. I dont know if this is an option with your burn pot but worth a try if possible.Good luck, hope you find the problem

coldinmich · Nov 8, 2013

kykel said:
I had a Hudson River Saranac freestanding pellet stove and had to empty burn pot twice a day. Eventually the company came out with a new burn pot. The only difference was that they put a flat gasket around the lip of the burn pot so that no air escaped from around the edges witch in turn forced more air through the burn pot and blew more ash out. worked much better. I dont know if this is an option with your burn pot but worth a try if possible.Good luck, hope you find the problem

Thanks, that sound like a good idea.

Mpodesta · Nov 9, 2013

coldinmich said:
I don't think the paint is burning off. I was in paint and powder coating for 25 yrs. This is a case of poor surface prep.

Sorry for coming back to the party late.

This......

My Ps50 didnt come looking this good. I bought it used (used for 3 months, have the original receipts) from a lady in nh for 800$, they upgraded to a pellet boiler to heat the whole house (the ps50 was in the basement).

After I verified it was working well, I bought it, but the paint was flaking off in numerous spots inside and out. I worked as an automation specialist for 12 years before I career switched to culinary and was more than comfortable fully disassembling the whole unit and stripping it to bare metal. I have the capacity to do hobby/light industrial sized anodizing and powder coat. I re-coated with a high temp, flat black powder, slapped on the little badge and put her back together.

been working great and looking good since.

To bad your far away, you could bring it over and we could take a whack at it and get it running proper

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