Over heating, black smoking, fuse blowing Enviro Empress. Suggestions?

I posted this earlier in another not so relevant thread, so thought I'd get more help w/ a new topic.

I stumbled across this forum while searching for answers. I am new to pellet burning, purchased an enviro empress, and just installed it last week. After reading this forum, I wished we had it professionally installed as it seems to void all warranties, but the dealer where we bought it never suggested a professional installation; On the contrary, he didn't even mention it and said they are fairly easy to install. My husband is very mechanically inclined, and I'm not too bad myself. I'm a pro at woodstoves installations/operations, having worked for a few years at Vermont Casings back in the early '80's. Anyhow, our problem is not related to insallation.

The problem:

After the initial installation, it ran beautifully for 6 days/5 nights. We did a maintenance cleaning every 2 days, and we were as happy as can be w/ the stove efficiency. I left to run some errands yesterday. When I returned, the flame was very tall, lazy and orange. Then, it started to smoke a lot. Black smoke was coming out of the top and back and it shut itself off immediately.

My entire house was filled w/ black smoke and smelled like an electric burn smell. I tried to get a hold of the dealer, but they were closed (12/26). I searched for the Sherwood Industries phone #, no luck. I waited a few hours, did a maintenance cleaning, and restarted it, but it wouldn’t start back on. I took off the control panel, and the fuse was blown. We replaced the fuse today, re-started it, and it immediately sparkled in the back, made a loud popping sound, and blew the fuse again.

Needless to say, I’m a little upset about this. I paid $3,000.00, hoping to save over the cost of fuel oil, but now I don’t think I’ll ever feel safe running the pellet stove unattended, which will defeat its purpose. I wanted a woodstove but my husband insisted on a pellet stove, huuuummmm. This sort of carp doesn't happen w/ woodstoves.

I did get a hold of the dealer today, husband/wife store. He's extremely rude, but his wife is nice. He said he'd try to get a hold of a technician and get back w/ me. While I'm sitting here waiting, I found this forum.

I must say I'm not too impressed w/ the owner's manuals and lack of tech support phone help. The manual just refers you back to the dealer instead of a full troubleshooting diagnostics.

Does anyone have any idea of what could have caused this? Or better yet, the phone # to the company?

Louise

Thank you for your replies. Yes, I consulted the manual's troubleshooting tips first, as well as the website. All it says is "check if the fuse is blown". Other than that, "call your dealer", which isn't much help at all.

I've taken the control panel off and gone over the wiring diagram. Nothing is obvous, wiring looks good, but whatever the problem is, it's causing a short.

No, I'm not sure about the warranty being void if it is self-installed, as in, I didn't flat out ask the dealer today. I'll just be prepared for when he tells me I'm on my own.

Here's the warranty exclusions:

Warranty
Exclusions and Limitations:
1. This Warranty does not cover tarnish, discoloration or wear on the plating or paint.
2. This Warranty excludes wear and tear or breakage caused by cleaning, moving or service on log set.
3. A qualified installer must install this stove or fireplace. This Limited Warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship only if the product has been installed in accordance with local building and fire codes; in their absence, refer to the owner’s manual. If the product is damaged or broken as a result of any alteration, willful abuse, mishandling, accident, neglect, or misuse of the product, the Limited Warranty does not apply.
4.........................

Well, I just got off the phone w/ the dealer. He can't get a hold of the technician, but will get back to me by Monday. I don't think I'll get answers here as it is probably an electronic component or something causing the short circuit, too difficult to diagnose without getting your hands in that back panel.

What a pain in the butt though, very frustrating. So far, I'm not too 'empressed' w/ the empress lack of technical help.

I'll get back to you all after I get an answer from the tech. Thanks all for your replies, it is appreciated.

Louise

Thanks all for your helpful comments. UPDATE:

The technician came today. Unfortunately, I wasn't here, so my husband forgot to ask the millions questions I had. I have his phone # now, so I'll call him tomorrow, I need a little more peace of mind.
He started the stove right up, and it didn't blow the fuse. Huuuummmm, isn't that always the way it goes? However, after running the stove on high for a while, he noticed that the auger didn't shut off at all. He said it was a bad motherboard, so he replaced it. I'm having a hard time believing that it would run great for a week w/ a faulty motherboard and then suddenly start smoking and blowing fuses.

It's running now, but I'm afraid to leave it on as I must go up to bed. I suppose it will take me a while to trust this stove enough to leave it running unattended. I've been reading a lot since my last post, and it seems there are lots of problems associated w/ the Enviro. I really like it, but part of me wished I had gone w/ a woodstove instead.

Louise