I just recently purchased a US Stove Company 5510 pellet stove from Northern Tools. I've had it running for a few weeks and I have a had a few problems. My newest concern is that the burn pot overflows and causes pellets to burn outside of the burn pot. When I start the stove the burn pot just about fills up before the fire starts and I thought this was the problem. So when starting the stove now I hit the delay button a few times to make sure the burn pot is only about half full when the fire starts. This worked for a little while, but seems to overflow in about 24 hours. My only solution now is to empty the burn pot almost every day, but this is a pain because right now I would like to burn the stove steady because the weather is cold. I have the heat setting on it's lowest setting so the pellets are coming in as slow as possible. Any suggestions as to how to keep the burn pot from overflowing?
Burn Pot Overflow
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SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
And your draft is set how?
I'm going to assume you have a drop feed system and it sounds like you have a problem due to not enough air to cause the ash to be blown out of the burn pot as it is produced or you are burning pellets that your stove will not be able to handle without frequent cleaning.
The two things I mentioned are actually one and the same just taken from different views. It could be something else but I'd start here first.
I'm going to assume you have a drop feed system and it sounds like you have a problem due to not enough air to cause the ash to be blown out of the burn pot as it is produced or you are burning pellets that your stove will not be able to handle without frequent cleaning.
The two things I mentioned are actually one and the same just taken from different views. It could be something else but I'd start here first.
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
For some reason I got the email with your response but the response is not yet visible to me on the forum.
I'd suggest that you open the draft up a bit more and tell me what you are burning for pellets and what the manual says the stove can handle.
With a top feeder air flow is critical, that also means you must keep the stove's air path from air intake to outside exhaust clean.
Did this problem exist from the beginning or did it develop over time?
I'd suggest that you open the draft up a bit more and tell me what you are burning for pellets and what the manual says the stove can handle.
With a top feeder air flow is critical, that also means you must keep the stove's air path from air intake to outside exhaust clean.
Did this problem exist from the beginning or did it develop over time?
At this point I don't have the fresh air intake vent hooked up. My previous pellet stove did not need this to be hooked up. Do you think this would help the problem?
I've been running the heat setting on 1 (out of 9) and the room fan and draft fan on automatic. I've been burning green supreme pellets which are somewhat soft pellets.
I've been running the heat setting on 1 (out of 9) and the room fan and draft fan on automatic. I've been burning green supreme pellets which are somewhat soft pellets.
It just sounds to me that you need to increase the air going into the burn pot so the pellets will burn a little faster....you'll also get more heat.....try it and see what happens.
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
I'm not concerned about an OAK, although that may be decided by what the manual says.
I'm asking about the draft adjustment on that stove if any.
I also could not find the manual for that device.
Has the stove done this from the beginning or did this happen over time?
I know nothing about that particular brand of pellet, however if your manual indicates that the stove should only have premium pellets then it'll choke on non premium pellets and just because the bag says premium doesn't always mean they are.
Also I'd be able to help a bit more if I had a manual, are you certain of the model number and can you provide a date of manufacture?
I'd also check around the exhaust fan to see if there are any signs of oil or an oil like substance. That particular fan is very likely to have sealed bearings and there shouldn't be any signs of oil under that motor. It is possible that such a situation can result in drag slightly slowing the fan and decreasing the air flow.
Also it is critical that your burn pot grate/liner be properly seated in its receiver. Sometimes there are burrs that prevent proper seating and without it there will be a loss of airflow through the burn pot. Be absolutely certain that any ash that may have gotten below the burn pot liner/grate is cleaned out and that none of it managed to find its way into the air intake path.
Verify that your door seal is good all the way around and that when closed is in fact tightly sealed. Likewise the ash pan system seal.
Burn pot overflow normally happens when there is too little air going through the pellet pile. It can also happen if the auger motor is getting incorrect on off time from the control board (need the correct manual to verify this and the information may only be in a service manual) or the exhaust motor isn't being feed the correct voltage.
I don't want to point any fingers at the control board as we haven't ruled out a large number of possibilities outside of that yet.
I'm asking about the draft adjustment on that stove if any.
I also could not find the manual for that device.
Has the stove done this from the beginning or did this happen over time?
I know nothing about that particular brand of pellet, however if your manual indicates that the stove should only have premium pellets then it'll choke on non premium pellets and just because the bag says premium doesn't always mean they are.
Also I'd be able to help a bit more if I had a manual, are you certain of the model number and can you provide a date of manufacture?
I'd also check around the exhaust fan to see if there are any signs of oil or an oil like substance. That particular fan is very likely to have sealed bearings and there shouldn't be any signs of oil under that motor. It is possible that such a situation can result in drag slightly slowing the fan and decreasing the air flow.
Also it is critical that your burn pot grate/liner be properly seated in its receiver. Sometimes there are burrs that prevent proper seating and without it there will be a loss of airflow through the burn pot. Be absolutely certain that any ash that may have gotten below the burn pot liner/grate is cleaned out and that none of it managed to find its way into the air intake path.
Verify that your door seal is good all the way around and that when closed is in fact tightly sealed. Likewise the ash pan system seal.
Burn pot overflow normally happens when there is too little air going through the pellet pile. It can also happen if the auger motor is getting incorrect on off time from the control board (need the correct manual to verify this and the information may only be in a service manual) or the exhaust motor isn't being feed the correct voltage.
I don't want to point any fingers at the control board as we haven't ruled out a large number of possibilities outside of that yet.
Thanks for the advice. I increased the draft fan and it seems to keep the pellets lower in the burn pot. My manual indicates that I should keep the heat level and draft fan level within 2 of each other. However, since I adjusted the draft fan higher it seems to be much better now. one other question I have is what can I do to get my door to be tightly sealed. I noticed last night that there is a little crack on the top where the door meets the stove. I would like to fix this before any issues come about.
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
Isn't there a gasket made of braid around your door? There are frequently "cracks" inside of the braided off area that allow air flow to help keep the glass somewhat clean. The seal check is done with a piece of paper on all four sides, you shouldn't be able to pull the paper out when the door is closed and latched without a lot of effort and likely tearing it. Note don't do this test with a hot stove.
I really would like to have a copy of your manual, it is rare for combustion air to be independently controlled via a control panel. I think what you are calling draft is really your convection blower. But don't know for certain. I visited the US Stove Company's web site to download that manual for your stove but could not find it.
The draft adjustment I was thinking of is a manual adjustable plate that restricts the amount of air allowed into the stove through the air intake, it is also called a damper.
I really would like to have a copy of your manual, it is rare for combustion air to be independently controlled via a control panel. I think what you are calling draft is really your convection blower. But don't know for certain. I visited the US Stove Company's web site to download that manual for your stove but could not find it.
The draft adjustment I was thinking of is a manual adjustable plate that restricts the amount of air allowed into the stove through the air intake, it is also called a damper.
i suspect the control panel is the same as the 6039 except that it doesnt have an auxillery for the stir rod/agitator. if thats the case, then there is an adjustment for both the distribution fan and the draft fan. he seems to have overcome the problem with a higher draft fan setting.
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