New PB 105 problems...pellets in ashpan

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iceguy4

iceguy4

Minister of Fire
Nov 16, 2011
1,039
Upstate, NY
...two days ago my new boiler spit about 2 cups into the ash pan. I was half awake around 4 AM and the stove sounded like it was feeding constantly (unusal sound as my feedrate knob is at 3.5) I didn't pay much pay it much attention as I was 1/2 asleep. next morning when I filled it( it was burning fine) I noticed all the pellets in tha ashpan. this is the 2nt time I have found pellets in my ashpan. the last time (2 months ago)I was woken up by fire alarm and smoke in basement. boiler was burning by the time I got down there. seems like different problems to me. My dealer is saying "wait and see...." thoughts
 
as to not "hyjack" another thread...
Maybe my ESP is fussy. I kept getting 3 blink codes inspite of cleaning it(ESP probe). I did my first verticle vent pipe cleaning and was supprized how dirty it was. My 3 blink code was gone. now every weekend I clean all vent pipe with a dryer vent brush and no more code 3 blinks....now its this "anomaly" comeing from the automobile industry I am aware of the fact that "if it aint broke...I cant fix it" so sometimes we have to make a "best guess"

I can assure you this boiler is clean and the ESP is clean. I'm not happy with the way the wires look going into the ESP (look like they could be touching each other)
My first anomaly happened with vermont pellets the first night we were very cold outside. I had just installed my OAK within the week. It was acompANYED with a smoke condition in basement. less pellets in ashpan. I believe it was delayed ignition and may have been caused by carbon around igniter. the next problem was the 3 blink code caused by dirty vent pipe. my last problem was as described above ..O Mally pellets, warm outside feeder running non stop ...no smoke and 3 times as many pellets in the ashpan. any "best guesses"??
 
well, delayed ignition is almost always a cleaning issue.......usually a dirty igniter rather than the ESP.....this could also cause unburned pellets in the ash pan, BTW
 
I'll add my 2 pennies and say that the dip switch settings along with the feed rate can determine whether pellets end up in the ash pan or not. It's quite simple, shorter pellets feed more pellets into the burnpot on startup which is controlled by the dip switch settings, creating slow ignition, to many pellets in the burnpot. If the burnpot has a excessive amount of pellets at the startup along with a high feed rate setting it's quite possible that pellets will end up in the ash pan.
 
wil lanfear said:
I'll add my 2 pennies and say that the dip switch settings along with the feed rate can determine whether pellets end up in the ash pan or not. It's quite simple, shorter pellets feed more pellets into the burnpot on startup which is controlled by the dip switch settings, creating slow ignition, to many pellets in the burnpot. If the burnpot has a excessive amount of pellets at the startup along with a high feed rate setting it's quite possible that pellets will end up in the ash pan.
Click to expand...

sure, but we have to assume the OP's unit was running fine and that those dip switch settings havent been changed, so need to look elsewhere......nothing worse than a user willy-nilly changing settings....Im pretty sure the OP didnt do that....delayed ignition....dirty igniter, most likely
 
Lousyweather said:
sure, but we have to assume the OP's unit was running fine and that those dip switch settings havent been changed, so need to look elsewhere......nothing worse than a user willy-nilly changing settings....Im pretty sure the OP didnt do that....delayed ignition....dirty igniter, most likely
Click to expand...
your right...i havent messed with dip switches and wont. i dont feel its in that area...(delayed ignition) at least this last time. the first time , I'm betting it was just a dirty igniter. ...funny you mention pellet length. I will soon have the harman bulk hopper and have been worried about longer pellets giving it problems so I have been using only my O Mallies (longer pellets in bag...some up to 2" long). BUT. ... that dosent explain why I heard the feeder augar runing non-stop....or does it?
 
Lousyweather said:
sure, but we have to assume the OP's unit was running fine and that those dip switch settings havent been changed, so need to look elsewhere......nothing worse than a user willy-nilly changing settings....Im pretty sure the OP didnt do that....delayed ignition....dirty igniter, most likely
Click to expand...
I "assume" the OP has the pressure ignition, no way to clean that igniter, maybe a restriction from not being cleaned at the base of the burnpot where the hot air enters the burnpot, I've not seen a lot of buildup on mine. The OP also mentions in post #3 that he has used two (maybe more) different pellet manufacturers pellets, the reason why I mentioned dip switch settings and feed rate settings as a possible explanation for overfeeding.
 
wil lanfear said:
I "assume" the OP has the pressure ignition, no way to clean that igniter, maybe a restriction from not being cleaned at the base of the burnpot where the hot air enters the burnpot, I've not seen a lot of buildup on mine. The OP also mentions in post #3 that he has used two (maybe more) different pellet manufacturers pellets, the reason why I mentioned dip switch settings and feed rate settings as a possible explanation for overfeeding.
Click to expand...
yes will preasure igniter...I hate problems that "come and go"
 
iceguy4 said:
your right...i havent messed with dip switches and wont. i dont feel its in that area...(delayed ignition) at least this last time. the first time , I'm betting it was just a dirty igniter. ...funny you mention pellet length. I will soon have the harman bulk hopper and have been worried about longer pellets giving it problems so I have been using only my O Mallies (longer pellets in bag...some up to 2" long). BUT. ... that dosent explain why I heard the feeder augar runing non-stop....or does it?
Click to expand...
If you haven't touched the dip switches, I must assume that the dip switches are in the positions from the factory which might be feeding excessive pellets into the burnpot on startup, from day one when you first fired the boiler,different brands of pellets have different lengths. A smaller amount of pellets in the burnpot at ignition result in quicker ignition with less smoke, less chance for pellets ending up in the ash pan. How did you clean the igniter or do you mean the hole at the bottom of the burnpot where the hot air enters? At startup, when the auger stops feeding pellets, prior to ignition, have you opened the firebox door, with a flashlight, checked to see how many pellets are in the burnpot? If the burnpot is 3/4 full of pellets, this is way to many for good ignition. I have mine set in a way that after the pellets ignite, all I see is the fire burning, I see no unburned pellets. Please tell me what the positioning of the dip switches are from left to right, 1,2,3, (down is off).
 
I've noticed the "pellets in the ash pan" problem with my PB-105 lately as well. It used to fire up fine but now overfills the burn pot when it starts. Normal startup should have it feed pellets for a bit and then pause until the fire lights before resuming whatever feed rate you have set. Instead, mine does the initial feed, pauses briefly and then resumes feeding prior to ignition occurs. This fills the burn pot to overflowing which causes a lot of smoke, incomplete combustion and dumping burning pellets into the ash pan when it finally lights. I've had the repair guy out and he called Harmon tech support who really didn't seem to grasp the nature of the problem and had him reset the dip switches to provide more initial feed which only made the problem worse. I set them back to the factory default and am thinking of trying to contact Harmon directly so my issue doesn't get lost in translation. I think it's a control issue because if I manually stop the feed by holding the fan on the feed motor after the initial feed it lights perfectly. Any thoughts?
 
Alaska, have you cleaned your ESP probe lately?
 
No, I was just considering that... Great minds. Also thinking of cleaning the flue but I haven't been able to find 4" chimney cleaning brushes.
 
If you can't find a chimney brush, maybe look for a dryer vent brush (used to clean lint out of vent).

I am assuming that the area under the burn pot where the ignitor is, has been cleaned, as well as the holes in the burn pot have been cleaned as well.
 
I vacuum and lightly scrape the burn pot daily, shut down and scrape it weekly when I empty the ash pan. I vacuum under the burn pot about every two weeks and clean the combustion blower monthly as recommended. I haven't looked at the flue or cleaned it yet which is probably a no no. Going to look in the feeder chamber today as well, never opened that yet. Current settings from the factory for the first three dip switches is off, on, on.
 
Do you have the pressure ignitor or the finned ignitor?
 
Also my igniter isn't under the burn pot, it is a pipe type with an air pump that blows through it. The air outlet is just to the side of the auger.
 
I had this problem briefly last month -- I brushed out the horizontal run of the flue, vacuumed it out with my leaf blower and thoroughly cleaned the blower fan. It was full of deposits after a long winter. That seemed to do the trick. Oh, and I also cleaned off the ESP.

Alaska hybrid, I was born in your hometown 60 years ago.
 
I have 4' horizontal run after a 5' vertical rise. I checked this morning and it looks ok. I cleaned out the feeder chamber and the ESP. I clean the combustion blower once a month (first weekend of the month) maybe it was a dirty ESP. We'll see soon enough. Thanks for the advice. I live up on Chena Ridge BTW.
 
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