Issues with Lopi Yankee Bay insert...Any experts

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ugotit22

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Feb 25, 2015
15
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Hey everyone, new to the forum. My wife and I just purchased our first house last month which already had Lopi Yankee Bay insert in the fireplace. I burned roughly half a ton since we moved in with no issues. However last week I got a Maintenance light error.
For those of you familiar with this insert it was the the #2 Green light that started flashing. I checked the manual and it says the likely causes are.

-Heavy ash buildup in exhaust duct
-heavy ash buildup in exhaust housing or plugged tubing
-heavy ash buildup in vent.

I went ahead and cleaned the exhaust blower housing which had little ash in it. I then removed the cover plate for the exhaust duct and found my problem. The ash was so impacted into the duct it was like someone physically stuffed it until you couldn't fit another ounce of ash. I went ahead and vacuumed out all the flyash out. As i continued the clean out I lightly tapped on the exhaust pipe as more ash continued to find its way down into the clean out, I did this until no more ash continued to come down.

So this is my issues. After running it for a few more days I've noticed the maintenance light comes on if I start the stove cold and the exhaust blower doesn't start right away. If the exhaust blower starts up instantly then I starts with no issues.
In the instances when the exhaust blower doesn't start instantly, the maintenance light comes on with the same #2 error. If I unplug the stove and restart it, the blower initiates and the maintenance light does not come back on. When this happens It runs perfectly with no issues.

My thoughts are since the exhaust duct was so horribly jammed up before, Im thinking the internal computer that kicks on the maintenance light either has to be reset since I already fixed the jam up, or it thinks it is jammed still when the exhaust blower isn't running. What do you guys think?
 
Seems like the previous owner didn't clean / care for the stove much (makes sense since it is your problem now).

The heavy ash buildup indicates long neglect which could have taken years out of the life of the exhaust blower motor.

Seems the computer board is running properly and is only throwing a code when the exhaust motor can't get going.

I would:

1) Clean all the pathways again (with leaf blower trick this time). If you do this, make sure that if the stove has a pressure switch you disconnect so as not to ruin it.

2) Inspect the whole exhaust pipe run to make sure it is clean and more importantly, make sure it is installed correctly. Meaning it has the correct pipe diameter for the distance and bends the exhaust has to travel before is exhausts outside. Look up stove pipe EVL. The stove manufacturer should have this in the owners manual.

3) Then see if the exhaust motor fins spin freely. They should. If they don't, then you know it is time for a new motor. Might be time for a new motor anyway.

4) Check motor connections too. They may be loose, dirty, full of dust bunnies.

Remember to unplug the stove first, so you protect the electronics.

Good luck.
 
I own the smaller brother, a pioneer Bay. As far as I know the operation is the same. If the exhaust blower is not starting when you turn the stove on then there is a problem, the blower should start as soon as the stove is turned on.. There is a positive pressure switch that is connected to the back of the exhaust housing though a silicone hose and if it doesn't see pressure it will throw that fault. What year is the stove?
 
I own the smaller brother, a pioneer Bay. As far as I know the operation is the same. If the exhaust blower is not starting when you turn the stove on then there is a problem, the blower should start as soon as the stove is turned on.. There is a positive pressure switch that is connected to the back of the exhaust housing though a silicone hose and if it doesn't see pressure it will throw that fault. What year is the stove?

It seems the blower kicks on instantly if I recently fired the stove. If I wait a day or two, or even over a long night it sometimes will take a few minutes to initiate. Strange though that if the blower kicks on then no error, but if it doesn't then the computer thinks there is a jam of ash somewhere.

I believe 2008.
 
Seems like the previous owner didn't clean / care for the stove much (makes sense since it is your problem now).

The heavy ash buildup indicates long neglect which could have taken years out of the life of the exhaust blower motor.

Seems the computer board is running properly and is only throwing a code when the exhaust motor can't get going.

I would:

1) Clean all the pathways again (with leaf blower trick this time). If you do this, make sure that if the stove has a pressure switch you disconnect so as not to ruin it.

2) Inspect the whole exhaust pipe run to make sure it is clean and more importantly, make sure it is installed correctly. Meaning it has the correct pipe diameter for the distance and bends the exhaust has to travel before is exhausts outside. Look up stove pipe EVL. The stove manufacturer should have this in the owners manual.

3) Then see if the exhaust motor fins spin freely. They should. If they don't, then you know it is time for a new motor. Might be time for a new motor anyway.

4) Check motor connections too. They may be loose, dirty, full of dust bunnies.

Remember to unplug the stove first, so you protect the electronics.

Good luck.

Ya I doubt the unit has every had a thorough cleaning since it was installed.

The exhaust motor spun freely when I took everything apart. I disconnected and reconnected and cleaned the area around the connections for the motor as well. I would assume the piping was installed correctly as I do have the name of the tech and dealer who installed it.

What is the leaf blower trick?
 
It seems the blower kicks on instantly if I recently fired the stove. If I wait a day or two, or even over a long night it sometimes will take a few minutes to initiate. Strange though that if the blower kicks on then no error, but if it doesn't then the computer thinks there is a jam of ash somewhere.

I believe 2008.
No it's not strange, that is how the stove is designed to work.
 
You might take a close look at the motors and see if there is any way to oil them. Might also be a great idea the next time you have the motors out to try blowing all the crap out of the motors with compressed air, if you own a compressor. If not I would try to find one as it can help.

Do you have a manual and if so does it show how to clean it correctly?

What is the layout and size of the exhaust system. Flex pipe all the way up the chimney or just partway? May be very hard to do the leaf blower trick depending on the height and slope of the roof, AND the snow conditions.
 
Combustion motor is getting sluggish, typical behavior when sitting for a while that it doesn't want to start up. You may save it by oiling the bearings ASAP.
 
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Combustion motor is getting sluggish, typical behavior when sitting for a while that it doesn't want to start up. You may save it by oiling the bearings ASAP.

Yeah. It's throwing a code because it's not detecting vacuum because the blower isn't turning.

OP, remove the blower. Blow out the internals and blow off the blade with compressed air and then do your best to lube the bearings with some of oil. Worse case is you will need to replace the blower motor...not the end of the world but trying to clean and oil it first certainly wouldn't hurt.
 
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