Accentra fail . . . What do you think happened?

Once again I am turning to the wise ones here for some help. Last night, I came downstairs to find my Accentra FS dark and almost cold, but the blowers were still on and there was a 5 blink error code. Checking the manual I saw this means the stove failed to ignite within 36 minutes.

My assumption was the ignitor had failed and I dug out my propane torch in anticipation of a manual ignition - and a hefty repair bill. First, I turned off the stove and turned it back on only to note that the auger was feeding excessive pellets, to the point they were being pushed over the edge of the burn pot, without having ignited. I tried a "hard" reset by unplugging. This time, while pellets continued to feed, the stove was soon filled with more smoke than I have ever seen and suddenly the pellets 'popped' into flame. The stove has been running in what appears to be a normal fashion ever since, although I rolled back the feed rate down to about 1 1/2.

I have had flawless performance from the stove over the past three seasons, except for the time my son slacked off on cleaning . . . but that was remedied by Dad taking over. I did a complete cleaning about 8 days ago, right down to vent brushes, etc.

Any ideas? As always the help of the guys/gals on here is irreplaceable.

jackman said:

It does sound like you may have a bad igniter. Excessive pellets building up in the burn pot is an outcome from a failed igniter. I do the same as you by lighting the stove manually using a propane torch. My stove will occasionally fill with smoke and then "pop" to a flame like you describe. With the exception of the failed igniter I'd say that your stove behaves much the same as mine. You can keep the stove running with the switch in manual to prevent a shutdown until you solve the igniter problem.

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Thanks jackman, will do. I think I will give her another good cleaning as well, as so often that helps out.

roger

Dougsey said:

Your stove is shutting down with the current temps we have in NE?

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It was about 10 degrees last night when this happened. Fortunately she cycled back up and has been running since. We shall see later today if the problem repeats when I turn her back on after a cleaning.

kinsmanstoves said:

Sounds like the ignitor is dirty. I would back off the two screws by 2 turns and tap the ignitor and cradle assy to clean it, now re-tighten the screws. This should be done every ton or so of pellets. 99.9% of the ignitor works or it does not. There really is not an intermittent type history of it.

Eric

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Thanks Eric, I was hoping you would weigh in. I will do as you suggested when I get home. Thanks to Dougsey as well, now I understand what you meant. I have been known to be a little thick at times!

kinsmanstoves said:

Sounds like the ignitor is dirty. I would back off the two screws by 2 turns and tap the ignitor and cradle assy to clean it, now re-tighten the screws. This should be done every ton or so of pellets. 99.9% of the ignitor works or it does not. There really is not an intermittent type history of it.

Eric

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Eric,

Thank you! I did as you suggested along with my usual cleaning and I just witnessed a perfectly ordinary ignition and start up. You are always so generous with your knowledge, time and insight. If I ever move it will have to be to Ohio so you can be our dealer! Once again, problem solved and many thanks.

P.S.: I will definitely add "tapping" the igniter to my routine at appropriate intervals.

Dougsey said:

But that doesn't explain why the stove shut down to begin with.

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You are correct. There was really no reason for the ignitor to be called upon, as the stove has been on 24/7 for days and days, if not weeks (except for cleanings). I can report that after another cleaning, including the ignitor "tapping" recommended by Eric, the stove has been back to its usual good humor and excellent service. I guess I will have to see if it happens again. I did notice that my clocks were flashing at one point - signalling an electrical interruption of service. I just can't recall if it was before or after the problem surfaced with the stove. If it was before, perhaps the interruption of power made the control board a bit off for the moment - although it is surge protected. Just a thought.