First week with Enviro M55 FPI - impressions and two questions

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steveg_nh

Member
Sep 16, 2014
238
Southern NH
So I'm one week in with my M55 insert. I've gone through only 3 bags of pellets.

Overall I'm very happy with the purchase, and I'm thinking I will see a huge difference in my oil consumption this winter, as the apparent air flow in my house is allowing the stove to heat MUCH more than I thought it would. Granted it's not cold yet, but I figured just getting the heat into some rooms might be challenging, but I guess not. We'll see when the cold really hits.

Here's my thoughts for anyone considering this insert, along with a couple of questions.

Observations:
1. Puts out a very solid amount of heat, even on low. Surprising actually. The auger feeder and firebox auger are quiet, as long as you keep the firebox auger properly greased/treated.

2. Very easy to clean. Disassembly and assembly of the firebox components is very simple, and it only goes back to together one way, taking any guess work out.

3. Flame size on heat settings 1 and 2 is almost non seeable, meaning, the height doesn't quite get over the top of the burnpot sides. I'm told this is normal by some folks here. Still agree? It would be nice to see a little more flame (just for aesthetics) on at least setting 2. Settings 3-4 looks great, setting 5 is like a mini inferno! Impressive. Heat output is fantastic though.

4. Noise level of blower on 1 isn't bad, but you know it's running. Sounded much quieter in the store, but I wasn't trying to hear every word of my favorite show with the TV low enough so as to not keep everyone in the house awake. 2 is bearable too, but 3-5 drowns out the room. To be expected, and I knew it. Not a complaint, just an observation. But still quieter than my friends Harman that I heard, so I'm still happy with my belief that it IS one of the quieter ones.

5. In not so cold temps (mid 40s) it burns about 1 bag of pellets in 24 hrs on setting 2, with a few hrs on 3. Seems pretty good to me.

6. It came through with some finish blemishes, so I think it could have been packed a bit better, in terms of protection in some areas. It was packed so tightly, that all of the blemishes are due to friction/rubbing of packing material. They should all be easy to fix with matching black touch up paint though, and you'll never see them.

7. Very easy to slide it back out if needed. A huge plus. The sides pop off, you unclip both sides, and just roll it out (with the service rails). That's cool.

Now two questions:

1. How do you guys clean the glass? It's getting frosted with black soot a bit. Not bad. After 2 bags it's in a half round shape on the top 1/3. I can wipe it off, but the glass is left dirty a bit. Any magic tricks here to get it sparkly, or just if it's cool enough, just a damp rag?

2. This will take a bit to explain...when they installed it, they realized something on the underside of the sliding hopper lid (the top) was hitting the tstat setting switch. To resolve it, they installed a small washer on each of the 4 bolts that hold the brackets (that connect to the slide rails on the side of the unit) to the hopper lid. It raised the lid only the thickness of the washers, maybe 1/32" of an inch but that was enough to eliminate the problem. But I was adjusting something else last night, and had to remove the lid. When I flipped it, I noticed the section of the lid that fits right over the actual pellet opening (where you fill it) was trimmed with the fireproof gasket/strip stuff. Not sure what it's called. Anyway, I wondered if the fact that they added the washers, which slightly lifted the height of the lid, was now reducing the contact of the firestrip and the frame of the hopper. Is that letting any air in? Is it a fire hazard? I can't imagine so, as the hopper is full of pellets. If there was any risk of fire inside there, all the pellets would burn. That's a major issue. And that fire gasket certainly doesn't appear to make anything air tight, given how the hopper lid just slides back into place (not cranked down like the firebox door is), so I can't imagine it was there to seal from say carbon monoxide escaping from the pellet fill box. So in short, does anyone think that needs to seal tightly? Could the 1/32" height difference make a difference for anything there? Should I be pushing for another solution that didn't require the washers? I plan on asking the dealer tomorrow, but I can just imagine getting a brush off answer of "You're fine, no issue at all." So I just want to see what others think. It was some type of little magnet that was hitting the switch for what it's worth. Looks like when the hopper lid is closed, the magnet sits directly over something, attracting it. Maybe some type of safety switch.

Anyway, to summarize, I'm VERY happy with this insert, but your mileage may vary, as house layout plays a big role in the effectiveness of a pellet stove in my opinion. But this fits my house well, and seems to do the job it was hired to do flawlessly.

Thanks.
 
Thanks for the review. I have a GCI60 coming in a few weeks so this gives a good idea of what to expect.
 
Hello Steve! Can't speak to the washer/top question but I can offer a few bits of advise. When you clean the glass with a "damp rag" just make sure that the stove has cooled down a bit and the glass is not hot...or even very warm. The last thing you want is a cracked glass. When you do your weekly cleaning, do the window last! The black/brown window depending on what kind of pellets you use will be completely normal. I usually clean mine mid week and then at the end of the week. The convection fan you have is loud on 5, I keep mine on 3 almost all winter except when it's cold as hell and then I'll crank it up as needed. Good choice and keep your questions coming. Great forum and you"ll learn a lot. Bill
 
Hey Steve, congrats on the stove. I actually had the same problem with the hopper lid switch magnet rubbing on the thermostat, only I had to figure that one out myself and it gave me fits for a few weeks. I put two washers just under the control panel end, and that took care of the issue. I also wondered about the seal, but it ran fine all last season, and I agree that it could not be that great a seal anyways.

As for the glass, the upper right corner will always soot up. I have found that with the damper set at optimum, the soot will be gray or light brown for at least several days. If it gets black quick, that May be a sign of a poor burn. To clean it, I just let it cool completely and wash it with a damp paper towel dipped into some light fly ash from the stove, followed by a plain paper towel, works good
 
I clean the glass with a damp newspaper. Once the stove is cool enough to clean, crumple up a sheet of newspaper, wet it (just damp, not sopping), dip the newspaper in the ash and wipe the glass down. That will get the crud off. I usually go over the glass with a dry paper towel to get the moisture off the glass.
 
Thanks All. So I wonder why they have that magnet rubbing...don't they test the lid at the factory. The installer knew exactly what to do, so I could tell it wasn't a new problem for him. What's the magnet for anyway?

And you mention the damper set to "optimum." Are you talking about the Air Trim switch on the control panel? When they installed it, the guy adjusted something on the left side related to air intake. He measured for the proper water column level.

I admit that I still need to read through the whole manual front to back. It is mostly in the upper right corner, as you mentioned, where it builds up. It also hasn't been that cold yet, so the stove has seen limited use and on the lower settings.
 
as stated above then buildup on the window is normal. Once its get colder an you are burning the stove hotter should not have as much build up on the glass. let it cool an clean with water and newspaper or paper towel.

I have cleaned my maxx a few times when window was still warm and paper towel gets hot fast when it is wet !!

enjoy your great stove.
 
Hey man your observations are right on, almost the same as mine. Also the hopper lid can switch my setting to as I slide it, didn't know there was a resolution for that, I have just been getting in the habit of switching it back each time I open it.....
 
As long as the sealing of the hopper lid isn't an issue for concern, the washer solution works great. They only needed 1 to make it clear for me. They put one on each bolt, I assume to raise it evenly.

I did think of another question - what pellet setting are you guys using? The installers said to always use "regular" if the pellets are labeled premium. My guess is because a lot of pellets labelled premium really aren't. But I'm using Blazer and Geneva pellets, both of which are considered a good quality premium pellet.
 
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Thanks All. So I wonder why they have that magnet rubbing...don't they test the lid at the factory. The installer knew exactly what to do, so I could tell it wasn't a new problem for him. What's the magnet for anyway?

And you mention the damper set to "optimum." Are you talking about the Air Trim switch on the control panel? When they installed it, the guy adjusted something on the left side related to air intake. He measured for the proper water column level.

I admit that I still need to read through the whole manual front to back. It is mostly in the upper right corner, as you mentioned, where it builds up. It also hasn't been that cold yet, so the stove has seen limited use and on the lower settings.
We installed around 20 with the same issue. Then the last few have all been fine. I was told that it was a change in suppliers of the magnet.. I have to admit I wasn't happy with the official fix of a adding a washer, but it dose work and hasn't caused any issues
 
Wet paper towel dipped in ashes,been doing it for years.Found out last year(thanks to this forum) after cleaning,clean again with rutland #84 and glass stays cleaner much longer.Newspaper? they still make those things?;lol
 
Anyone know if the color of the painted black unit is considered flat black or satin? I have to touch up those spots. The dealer is only offering me a spray can, which is no good, so I'm buying what I need, but want to get as close as possible to color matching.

thanks
 
I had a shiny rub spot on the front edge of my hopper lid, looked like it was from packing or handling. My dealer came back and re-painted the whole lid using spray paint (outside), matched perfectly. Not sure if it is satin or black though, sorry. Why not use the spray paint?
 
I can't spray because the parts to touch up can't be removed easily. The apron and next to the control panel under the lid. My dealer told me flat black, but I feel like they will tell you anything to get you to move on. :) I'm wondering if it's a metallic, but maybe it doesn't matter given how little I have to touch up.

Unfortunately too, when I was trying to clean the factory overspray off the control panel with a little rubbing alcohol, I took some of the surrounding paint right off! Now I need to touch that up too. ugh.
 
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I made the jump and used flat black from high temp stove paint from Rutland. PERFECT match. You would never know...
 
One other observation - wondering if it's typical. It seems on settings 4 and 5, that I get spillover out of the firepot liner of pellets that aren't fully burned yet. So they are glowing in the ash tray. Normal? With the slower feeds on settings 1-3, I don't notice it on those settings.
 
Normal, yes if feed rate is too high. Correct feed adjustment, no. You should adjust your feed rate down to where they are not spilling over. Spilling pellets over is just wasting fuel. In colder weather you might need the higher feed rate because the pellets will burn quicker. Make sense? Adjust your stove to what it is required to do or produce heat wise for the given temps.
 
thanks guys. So right now, feed trim is the default, which is set at #3. I should lower to #2?
 
Depends on what your flame is doing. You have an Enviro so the feed rate could differ a bit from other stoves. Try the default 3 rate and see what it's does. Then adjust up or down. Up if fire is weak or down if all pellets are not burned. If you lower the feed rate it will be less burning and slightly less heat.

Let me put it this way. The feed rate is the gas peddle in your car.
 
Thanks. I lowered it one setting, to see if I get less spill over. I don't like seeing hot pellets in the ash tray.
 
Ideally, you shouldn't see any hot pellets in the ash tray or pan. So yes, lower it until you no longer have that.
 
What about changing the pellet quality setting? I wonder if having the setting on normal, which spins the rod continuously, or every minute or something, is contributing to that. They aren't burning fast enough, so they are getting swept out of the firepot liner. Changing to the premium setting, as I understand it, reduces the auger to spin a little every 5 minutes...I think I have that right.
 
Definitely change the pellet quality to premium. That's the first step. The second step is to run that stove all out on setting five for an hour, and then adjust the damper until you aren't seeing smoke, and the pellets are fully burned. The stove can do this. Get a magnahelic gauge to make the operation simpler. You can try making adjustments on the feed trim on the panel.

If you are still getting over feed issues, then the feed trim on the control panel will not help. You need to pull the stove out and open up the pellet hopper. There is an adjustable cover over the auger, and you can decrease the size of the auger feed opening. It's not hard to do at all, except the PITA of yanking the stove out.

I actually just opened mine up. The factory setting was too restricted and my flame pattern was weak. Once I opened it, the flames jumped. I put a guage on it, and the dragon lives. I lived for 2 years with an less than optimal stove, but I fixed it.
 
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