Enviro EF3 questions

hey everyone. I am new to the pellet world. I did ALOT of searching and reading here on this site. I have gained a bunch of knowledge thanks to everyone on here. I have a few questions though.

my fire seems to be low even with the air adjusted all the way in. running the stove at the "12 o clock" position only shows a flame maybe 3-4 inches above the burn pot, and much lower when the pellets drop into the fire. it takes the flame a few seconds to recover from the new pellets dropping down.

I have burned roughly a 1/2 ton of instant heat pellets. this past weekend I replaced my door gasket and cleaned the stove thoroughly. I decided to remove the exhaust tee and clean it out. it was FULL to the top with grey ash. what could be causing this? crappy pellets? if so, what brand should I buy after these are done.

one last question. with the EF3's what should my typical pellet usage be. right now with the dial set anywhere from 10 and 12 o clock I go through about 1 1/4 bags a day. is this excepted?

thanks

thank you. what would make my stove burn over a bag at the same setting you stove burns 3/4 of a bag. do stoves vary from each other? my heat output is good. I am heating 1400 square feet 72 in the living room where the stove is and 69 in the bed rooms. I am using 2 pedestal fans to move the air seems to be working well.

the instant heats are a little longer compared to a few bags my buddy gave me. I take the brick panels off each week and clean all behind there. I also take a brush and do the heat exchangers as well. one thing I haven't done is the exhaust blower fan. is that something that can be done fairly quickly. id like to give that a try and see if it helps the inconsistent fire.