Stove wont stay lit

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J

jeepermat

New Member
Oct 22, 2010
4
Wisconsin
I installed a Breckwell P23 in my living room, just fired it for the first time tonight.
It ran great at first, but I quickly noticed that the fire out burns itself after ~5 minutes.
I have the air damper closed all the way, it seems like its getting too much air, if I open it at all the flame disappears and I just have glowing coals.

So far I have cleaned out the burn chamber, inspected all seams around the door, and ash pan, and taken the auger apart, all looks well with all of these.

If I hold the auger feed button down, so the auger turns constantly I can get a nice fire going, I can never get a lazy flame going though, even when closing the damper all the way.
Any recommendations?
 
More likely what is happening is that the fuel feed is stopping.

Sounds like your stoves POF (proof of fire switch) isn't getting to temperature before the start up time expires.

You can jumper that switch to find out if that is your problem.
 
SmokeyTheBear said:
More likely what is happening is that the fuel feed is stopping.

Sounds like your stoves POF (proof of fire switch) isn't getting to temperature before the start up time expires.

You can jumper that switch to find out if that is your problem.
Click to expand...

The feed continues to run, the stove never shuts off, there is a fire, although very small.

I think the problem is too much air, I can completely plug the damper, and it makes no difference.

The stove is used.
 
jeepermat said:
SmokeyTheBear said:
More likely what is happening is that the fuel feed is stopping.

Sounds like your stoves POF (proof of fire switch) isn't getting to temperature before the start up time expires.

You can jumper that switch to find out if that is your problem.
Click to expand...

The feed continues to run, the stove never shuts off, there is a fire, although very small.

I think the problem is too much air, I can completely plug the damper, and it makes no difference.

The stove is used.
Click to expand...

Hopefully you have completely cleaned that stove.

If the feed is still running then you need to make adjustments to any fuel re-stricter plate, it is possible that there is not enough fuel coming out of the hooper into the auger, it is also possible that the auger isn't securely fastened to its motor and thus can slip and not feed pellets consistently.

It is also possible that the control board isn't activating the auger for a long enough period before turning it off, if you have a timing chart for the feed rates you can check that with a watch.

ETA: Then the fire didn't burn out did it? Just how big a fire are you expecting and at what heat level have you set the stove for?
 
I should clarify
Stove will not burnout, however it has a very badly fluctuating flame, the flame dies way down (to the point of glowing coals in the pot) then it will feed a little, and the flame will come back.
This is on all heat settings, with the damper closed all the way.

I did completely clean the stove. It just seems I am getting too much air, or not enough pellets.
On the highest heat setting, should the auger turn nearly non-stop? I cant really tell a difference in feed rates between settings.

Thanks for the help!
 
jeepermat said:
I should clarify
Stove will not burnout, however it has a very badly fluctuating flame, the flame dies way down (to the point of glowing coals in the pot) then it will feed a little, and the flame will come back.
This is on all heat settings, with the damper closed all the way.

I did completely clean the stove. It just seems I am getting too much air, or not enough pellets.
On the highest heat setting, should the auger turn nearly non-stop? I cant really tell a difference in feed rates between settings.

Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

There should be a distinct change in the portion of time the auger is on when the feed rate is increased. There should be a timing chart some where in a manual that tells you the auger timings. Some stoves vary off time making it shorter when the feed rate is increased but keep the total cycle time the same and some stoves have a variable cycle time. I don't have any of the manuals for your stove on my system currently so I don't know what the situation is for that stove. You are now describing what takes place if I fire my stove at its lowest rate after having completed a full cleaning.

Maybe I'll download a set of manuals for that stove later today and see what I can find, maybe Eric from kinsman stoves will drop by if you edit the thread title to include the stove manufacturer and model number. Eric sells and services that manufacturers stoves.
 
I have a Breckwell p24fs, and it would not stay lit. Inside on the left and right side wall there are small cover plates, 2 on each side. Remove the plates and vacuum the ash out from behind them. Stove works good now.
 
I got the same stove for free and replaced the control board on it with a new one and then the stove would not stay lit. Tricky thing they make a 1rpm and 4rpm model. I had a 4rpm control board and a 1 rpm auger motor. Both the board and auger were labelled on my stove. Just something to look into.
 
Well jeepermat I see you have a few Breckwell burners show up.

The auger cycle on that stove is a 14.5 second fixed cycle in which the on time varies, your control board is somewhat similar to mine, your low setting is actually three settings, the difference is mainly in the amount of pellets that are fed into the burn pot with little actual combustion air change.

You can time the auger by listening to it with a watch with a second hand. The timing chart's location in the installation manual varies depending upon the model year of your stove, I would start looking for that information beginning on page 20 or later.

Meneillys may have a lead on a possible problem, however you say that the stove does stay lit, just not a large fire.
 
We had a good fire as in not lazy but it was very small then if I opened the damper up it would go out and have coals. After a little bit the stove would not feed enough pelletes to keep the fire going. Our stove had the old solid state and now has the new digital one that has 1-5 and then 1.3 and 1.4 with the reset button.
 
I've had a Breckwell P23 and this is my 6th season. I am running the stove but there is a series of problems:
1. turn it on and both heat level lights show on the # 1 and 3
2. blower comes on within 15 sec of the flame
3. smell smoke occasionally
4. 2 x it shut off because pellets didn't feed
5. today burn pot filled up with pellets and fire went out
6. change the heat level and the change doesn't happen
7. i think the gasket needs to be changed on both the door and the ask pan but can't get it confirmed

If I don't hear from someone today, I'm shopping around for a new brand.
 
~*~vvv~*~ said:
theres a brekwell rep onsite.= add breckwell to your topic title
Click to expand...

Breckwell through email has been helpful but the breckwell co. doesn't have a local service rep. they people who say they work on breckwell but they don't work for the breckwell co. What's a reasonable time to wait for service?
 
jeepermat and splash.

Are you trying to run the stoves on the lowest settings? You will probably need to do the following.

From the manual.
d. RESET TRIM
Different size and quality pellet fuel may require adjustment of the “1” feed setting on the Heat Level
Advance bar graph. This is usually a one-time adjustment based on the fuel you are using. The
“RESET TRIM” button when adjusted will allow for 3 different feed rate settings for the #1 feed setting
only. To adjust simply push the “RESET TRIM” button while the stove is operating at setting “1” and
watch the bar graph.
· When the “1” & “3” lights are illuminated on the bar graph the low feed rate is at its “lowest” setting.
(Approx. 0.9 pounds per hour)
· When the “1” light is illuminated on the bar graph the low feed rate is at its “normal” setting.
· When the “1” & “4” lights are illuminated on the bar graph the low feed rate is at its “highest”
setting.
NOTE: When the stove is set on “1” the “reset trim” values will be shown on the Heat Level Advance
bar graph. For example if the Reset Trim is set to its lowest setting every time the stove is set to low the
“1” and “3” lights will be illuminated on the bar graph.
Click to expand...

The Breckwells use a constent full speed for the combustion blowers and You need to adjust the damper for each heat setting. The reset trim is for the lowest setting only and allows more fuel to the burnpot. I found that the lowest setting was hard to control so I added a thermostat and set the stove to auto/off and used heat setting 2 and up. Maybe someday Breckwell will adjust the blower speed on the lower settings like the more expensive stoves. Having a blower blasting at full speed and air leaking around the damper plate makes it very hard to get these stoves to burn on a steady low fire setting.

Another note is anytime you loose power the reset trim will default to the 1 - 3 setting and you will need to adjust it again.
 
j-takeman said:
jeepermat and splash.

Are you trying to run the stoves on the lowest settings?
Click to expand...

not unless it's in the 40s here. I usually use 1-3 (1 being the lowest).
 
splash said:
not unless it's in the 40s here. I usually use 1-3 (1 being the lowest).
Click to expand...

If you on the 1 setting try this!

From the manual.
d. RESET TRIM
Different size and quality pellet fuel may require adjustment of the “1” feed setting on the Heat Level
Advance bar graph. This is usually a one-time adjustment based on the fuel you are using. The
“RESET TRIM” button when adjusted will allow for 3 different feed rate settings for the #1 feed setting
only. To adjust simply push the “RESET TRIM” button while the stove is operating at setting “1” and
watch the bar graph.
· When the “1” & “3” lights are illuminated on the bar graph the low feed rate is at its “lowest” setting.
(Approx. 0.9 pounds per hour)
· When the “1” light is illuminated on the bar graph the low feed rate is at its “normal” setting.
· When the “1” & “4” lights are illuminated on the bar graph the low feed rate is at its “highest”
setting.
NOTE: When the stove is set on “1” the “reset trim” values will be shown on the Heat Level Advance
bar graph. For example if the Reset Trim is set to its lowest setting every time the stove is set to low the
“1” and “3” lights will be illuminated on the bar graph.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, I have my manual and practically have it memorized.
 
My breckwell P23 is blowing a smoke smell out of the unit. I can't find a leak. When I run it on low, I can smell the smoke really well. The only place I can smell is by the blower. It doesn't seem to smell like smoken when I run it on 3. I could smell it outside this afternoon when I got out of my car. Is it the exhaust outside and also coming in the house. I seems to come and go. any more suggestions?
 
splash said:
My breckwell P23 is blowing a smoke smell out of the unit. I can't find a leak. When I run it on low, I can smell the smoke really well. The only place I can smell is by the blower. It doesn't seem to smell like smoken when I run it on 3. I could smell it outside this afternoon when I got out of my car. Is it the exhaust outside and also coming in the house. I seems to come and go. any more suggestions?
Click to expand...

If you smell it by the blower, could be the blower gasket is leaking, check for tears in the gasket.
 
Panhandler said:
splash said:
My breckwell P23 is blowing a smoke smell out of the unit. I can't find a leak. When I run it on low, I can smell the smoke really well. The only place I can smell is by the blower. It doesn't seem to smell like smoken when I run it on 3. I could smell it outside this afternoon when I got out of my car. Is it the exhaust outside and also coming in the house. I seems to come and go. any more suggestions?
Click to expand...

If you smell it by the blower, could be the blower gasket is leaking, check for tears in the gasket.
Click to expand...

I just read that in the manual. I finally figured out how to take the side off and I saw where the gasket is but looks like I have to take more apart than I know how. I have called 3x for service but am being ignored by Breckwell. I switched stores because the other guys took so long to respond. I'm thinking about just buying another stove, different brand, where there are move service people available. Breckwell is lousy service. They told me they build them so you can service yourself. That's good for you guys but not for me.
 
I just read that in the manual. I finally figured out how to take the side off and I saw where the gasket is but looks like I have to take more apart than I know how. I have called 3x for service but am being ignored by Breckwell. I switched stores because the other guys took so long to respond. I'm thinking about just buying another stove, different brand, where there are move service people available. Breckwell is lousy service. They told me they build them so you can service yourself. That's good for you guys but not for me.
 
Breckwell said today in an email:
"This is part of the reason that pellet stoves are not considered whole home heaters."

My Breckwell does heat my whole house; I don't rely on my gas furnace at all in the winter. What about you?
 
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