Breckwell P22 Shutting Down

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kwt1955

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Feb 11, 2013
12
I've been running a Breckwell P22 for 3 years. For the past several weeks, the stove has been running off a thermostat in the on/off mode with no problems. During the last 24 hours, the stove has shut itself down several times before the temp on the thermostat was satisfied and the #2 light was blinking. I went through the trouble shooting section in the owners manual and started eliminating reasons. Airflow switch hose, inlet, burn pot, blowers, and exhaust are clean. Both motors are running and continue to run until the the stove cools and then they shut off -- in short, they are both getting power. Air switch was tested per instructions and appears fine. Four hours ago, I set the stove to manual (always on) and it's still running. The thermostat I use is a simple, millivolt, slide switch and appears to be working with no problem. Looks to me like the control panel is having trouble in the on/off setting.
Does anyone have any other thoughts before I spring for a new control panel?
 
The only other thing I can think of is door gasket... Went looking for the manual to confirm 2 blink ... Before springing for the board, rules these out too:

Double check all wire connections to ensure something didn't come loose or is corroded and not conducting efficiently and

"Make sure the door is closed and that the gasket is in good shape.
If the ash door has a latch, make sure the ash door is properly
latched and the gasket is sealing good. If the stove has just a small
hole for the ashes to fall through under the burnpot, make sure the
slider plate is in place to seal off the firebox floor."

Keep us posted
 
Thanks for the suggestions. The the stove has been running in manual mode for about 15 hours with no issues. I think this rules out issues with the seals or any other "leaks".
When in the "on/off" mode, it runs for about an hour before it shuts down. During this time, I am able to turn the stove on or off by sliding the thermostat up or down --- I think this rules out any wiring issues.
I guess I can try it on the hi/low setting to see what happens.
I will update when done.
 
I have a P23 which was shutting down shortly after the start-up sequence. There was enough buildup in the passageways that thermistor was not sensing enough heat to keep the stove going, and it would begin the shutdown sequence by turning off the auger. Though, I never ran it off of a thermostat. Have you cleaned the passageways recently? Maybe there is a sensor not functioning properly.
 
Yes. The stove was cleaned thoroughly in prep for this season. Like I said, the stove has been running in manual mode for 15+ hours with no problem.... isn't that a good indicator that it's not an issue with buildup or air flow?
 
If it is responsive to the thermostat in manual and has been running for 15+ hours, guess it rules out a lot. If you buy a new board, think about getting the old one repaired and then you have a back-up.
 
good suggestion about getting the board repaired. Does anyone have any ideas where I can get a control board repaired?
 
Didn't see this one coming. The stove is running on the hi/lo setting using the thermostat. This time I noticed a pretty significant flame when running on high and barely staying lit when on low -- just didn't look right so I gave it another cleaning and noticed a lot of crusty build up in the burn pot. Apparently my pellet supplier changed from 100% hardwood to and 80/20 mix of hardwood and softwood. My best guess is that it was just burning too hot on the high setting and the high limit switch shut it down. A minor adjustment to the damper seems to have corrected the problem. The trouble shooting guide in the manual never gave this as a possibility. Running for 8+ hours on the thermostat - good flame, clean burn pot, warm house. I'll keep the $300 for a new control board in my pocket.
 
My bet would be that the blinking light you thought was a #2 was actually a #3 out of fuel because too much air caused the fire to go out on low burn and the POF indicated loss of fire.

You have to be careful reading those control panels because the angle of the eyeball can make one number into another.

Trust me on this I always make sure I'm on the same level as the light.
 
Glad you found you problem ... Do you get bulk delivery or by the bag? Would think you would have noticed the change of pellet brand if by the bag... unless it was from the same company and the bags aren't that different.
 
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