Calling Dr. Cab50 to the E.R. Code Soot

St_Earl said:

so hiliariously funny. because your incessant and irrational bashing of a product basically no one else has these issues with, has left me wondering exactly what angle you are working here.

i've been running this stove three seasons now. exactly one upper auger jam has been the extent of the issues i've had with it.
guess what, harmans get auger jams sometimes too.
it's called owning a pellet stove.

but if you wish to bash the product instead of learning what you're doing wrong, be my guest.

oh yeah, pellet stoves require regular attention. news flash.

i'm done with this thread.

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Respectfully submitted, hoping you share in the humor.
This far in, there have been, up to and including yourself many who have reached out with possible solutions.
Clearly these need to be maintenanced with regularity. As does everything, my issue is with the frequency as it doesn't necessarily coincide with the manuf. specs.
So...when presented with a situation such as this I tend to drill into every conceivable "why". The ancillary issues identified in this thread are merely findings.
If perhaps I've insulted your inanimate object, or caused you to second guess your choice, I apologize.
Best of luck to you friend.

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There is my answer from the company website after a lengthy dissertation and an eternally busy phone line. Oy Vey!!

SwineFlue said:

If you just want to run the blower on High... How comfortable are you doing minor electrical re-wiring on your in-warrranty stove? As mentioned above, the Heatilators basically are lower-cost Quads. The re-wiring explained in these posts will allow you to run the blower on High while the heat setting is on Medium or Low:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/my-quadrafire-1200-re-anaysis.75329/page-2#post-966529

Assuming that the Heatilator burnpot is similar to Quads... long duration, continuous running on High requires good pellets. I can go 8-10 bags non-stop with some brands. Others will give me more ash build-up in only 2 or 3 bags. The key is to ensure the bottom burnpot holes are clear when I do clean it.

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That's some fine swill you're drinking there, second only to Bigfoot that Sierra puts out. (Imperial craft beer reference)
Thank you for your suggestion.
My first bag is always perfect after a thorough clean. The next two get nasty. Then I strip it, clean it and its a happy beginning again. Admittedly, I'm seeing far more disappointed reviews on the Cheat River pellets than I initially saw.
Has anyone found a reliable independent pellet ratings source?
I actually read some accounts specifying same manuf. different years as being on either end of good. And then I read some reviews of folks with what must be robust properly designed units that seemingly burn anything without issue.
Actually, Ebay (if they ever arrive) has that solution. I'm abandoning the whole shebang. Auger control and Fan control. Auger control series'd through the vac switch and cutouts. If you would happen to have a bead on a fire eye optical sensor I could automate the pot watch with that would be truly amazing.
I found some but the ones I'm looking at have outside range temps. (Think, cool furnace/boiler compartment watching a flame from afar) They would have a short life expectancy in the fire box here. I have never tried one through glass, although that would be certainly worth looking into. (not an intentional pun)
I will certainly post my mods w/ pictures just in case anyone g.a.s.
Next question folks:
Has anyone experimented with a flue gas heat exchanger by any chance? Something to place in between the outlet on the box and the great outdoors.
My only apprehension there is that pesky ash draw again. Maybe a pipe in a pipe in a pipe? Like a 2' piece of schedule 40 10" with a 6 and a 4 welded together, fan drawing through 2nd and 3rd layers?
I'm thinking it might have been foolish to terminate the flue so close to the unit. Obviously, the piddly fan provided isn't equal to that task, but one of those tjurnland outside mount jobs that will suck the chrome off of a trailer hitch would be a solution. Has anyone tormented themselves with anything like that? They are only a couple hundred bucks, might be worth a shot?
Which begs the question, what are the efficiencies of the big tag units? I will have to drill into that a bit, but if anyone wishes to volunteer that intel, of course it would be appreciated. Thanks again. Mr. Weyerbacher (again, a craft beer reference to your avatar)

SwineFlue said:

I have had quite a few Blithering Idiots, but I like the Bigfoot too. And Monster, Old Horizontal, ... (another beer thread!)

I thought the Cheat River was not very consistent. The 1st few bags I bought were excellent, the rest were "OK, but ashy". I would not be able to run on High for very long without at least a quick clean.

Some (Canadian?/European?) pellet stoves do use optical sensors for pof (proof of fire). Try a forum search for optical, the word should be uncommon here.

I would measure flue gas temperatures before pursuing another heat exchanger; it may not be worth it. However you do it, it will likely add restriction and will be difficult to clean.

To learn about efficiencies, you can download most owners manuals from the manufacturer web site... many include "tested" efficiencies as opposed to the EPA waiver's standard efficiency.

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Thanks brother, I will give that a shot, lots of good info there. Much appreciated.