hyfire
Minister of Fire
Ok, I;m asking the question again, have pellet fines known to cause hopper fires? I think your just over reacting, the stove would not get approvals if it was a concern?
I don't see how they could on a Quad. First they would have to burn up the chute where there is a snap disk to shut the stove down on overheat. Then they would have to burn down the auger, where there is a second snap disk that shuts the entire system down. The fines would burn very quickly and run out of additional fines needed to sustain the fire once the auger was shut down by either of the snap disks. Anything's possible but this would be a stretch.Ok, I;m asking the question again, have pellet fines known to cause hopper fires? I think your just over reacting, the stove would not get approvals if it was a concern?
What kind of stove are you talking about? You don't show it in your signature. We all deal with fines one way or the other. I sift them out, as I've shown while others just dump the bag into the hopper. The snap disks are there for a reason and trigger at 250 degrees, well below sustained combustion levels. If you saw a flash fire up the tube and feel that strongly about it then perhaps your best course of action is to list the stove on craigslist and ease your tension. I don't want to sit up all night worrying about whether your house burned down. Of course, I'm being sarcastic! Sit back, have another beer, and watch the fire. All is well.I am over-reacting, but burning down my house for a $4 bag of pellets does not seem like a good gamble.
I have never before seen flames inside the drop-tube........a few more inches and the pellets at the top of the auger could ignite......not comfortable with that.
And when I cleaned out all the pellets in the hopper, there was plenty of wood-dust/fines in the auger up-tube, and the bottom of the hopper...a flame would have a nice path into the bottom of the hopper.
As far as snap-disc switches for overtemp safety : do you really want to see if the auger fire and/or hopper fire stops if the snap-disc trips??????
Maybe it's time to build my sifter then!It's an Ecoteck Elena stove. Over the three years of use I have probably poured 16000 pounds of pellets into the hopper, and have never worried about fines. I put 80 pounds of Lee Energy pellets into the stove and I see a continuous flame inside the pellet drop tube, about 2 to 3 inches up into the tube. I have no worries about hopper fires with my normal pellet brands I have used (Presto-Log, Stove Chow, C&C Smith).
Not the Matterhorn I know. Unless some sort of weird angle. Can't see the east face.Sure looks like Matterhorn!
Wow, you're losing a LOT OF HEAT up that stack! My temperature using a contact pyrometer RIGHT AT the output of the combustion blower is 160 degrees! My guess is you're using an infrared detector and taking a reading on the nice shiny pipe. At least I hope so! That's way too hot. What kind of stove do you have?My exhaust temperature was about 280F with the Lee. With decent pellets (Presto-Log or Lignetics/Stove Chow) is about 340F.
Vacuum assist cleaner/sifter for sale on ebay, item #331067435941. $34.95
looks like the Alabama hills (foreground) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The State of Alabama does have many mountains some get snow throughout the winter.Alabama.
I did not try it because I have yet to have any issues with fines in my BigE but it does seem to be worth it. One time I could've used it is when I get a bag that's been wet, I could sift out the sawdust and save the good pellets. Ended up creating my own "sifter" by drilling holes in the lid of a 5 gallon bucket and shaking the pellets inside upside down.Have you tried this? I DIYed a sifter from plans here but this one is very compact and would be worth the $35.... if it works well on pellets.
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