New Stove installed!

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
emmittjames

emmittjames

New Member
Oct 29, 2010
41
central ct
Well, it finally happened - yesterday, our new GF55 Insert was installed! we are about halfway into our first bag of pellets -- i went with the New England pellets, since they didn't get the greatest reviews, and of course, now its about 60 degrees. I can see that we are going to have a fair amount of adjustment time to really get the hang of this. Here are my first impressions -- it looks pretty simple, and ok, but i didn't realize that it was a regular plug-in sort of thing. i guess i was expecting it to be hardwired. I see some folks like having them plugged into a surge protector -- is this the way to go? i will definitely need to come up with a better plug-in situation.

There seems to be some sort of condensation on the inside of the glass - is this normal? I need to do some research about the electronic control panel - the one in the manual is actually an older version than what we have on the stove. Also, i need to understand better what the control on the side is all about -- the damper knob. does this need continual adjustment? My flame seems very low, and from what i can understand in the manual, it should be bigger. The heat output is ok, but so far the flow throughout the house is going to need some help.

So, here's a couple of pictures - one of the overall, one of the glass.
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0253.jpg
    DSC_0253.jpg
    56.8 KB · Views: 619
  • DSC_0255.jpg
    DSC_0255.jpg
    45.1 KB · Views: 618
nope, nevermind. that was soot. stove ran low on pellets when i wasn't looking and shut down. cooled enough so i could clean the inside. I assume that's hte sign of crappy pellets?
 
Doesn't look like the GF55i has an airwash system? I am assuming your burning on low heat range(1 or 2) you could try opening the damper some.
 
emmittjames said:
nope, nevermind. that was soot. stove ran low on pellets when i wasn't looking and shut down. cooled enough so i could clean the inside. I assume that's hte sign of crappy pellets?
Click to expand...

Ran low on pellets while you weren't looking, huh? Feeding it a cup at a time, are we?
 
nope! i really put a whole bag in -- first bag. took the kid to school and it was out when i got home. debating which pellets to burn next. i want to try the Hamer's, but considering its going to be so warm, i might save them.

talk to me about the damper - how do i know when it is set right?
 
at that rate you will need 1 gajillion tons to get you by this winter!
 
nope, the bag went in yesterday at 4 -- i need to be more clear!
 
Usually the soot buildup on the glass is from burning on too low of a temp setting (and/or crappy pellets). I have 6 heat settings and will get that really bad if on < #3. Try cranking that guy a bit tonight when it's colder and see how it runs. I would say that it is unusual to go through a whole bag in < 24 hours if you are burning at a lower setting.

Crank it up a bit and play with the damper rod so that the flame stands up; if the damper is in too far you can tell because the flame spreads out and you get a lazy flame and that also leads to too much soot on the glass and an inefficient burn. Keep playing with it you'll get it.

And, of course someone will inevitably ask you if you have an OAK installed.. :roll:
 
Congrats, good luck with the new heat machine!
 
Hello

I have some good luck starting the pellet stove on the mid heat setting # 3 and then if it is a mild night say between 30 - 40 outside I drop it down to the lowest heat setting # 1 for the rest of the night. It does not seem to soot up as much that way because the stove gets warmed up real quick.

Alot of soot means the air intake restrictor should be opened up more for that heat setting for more complete combustion.

Here is what my manual says
Pic 1
Visual Inspection
Not Enough Air: If clinkers develop or the flame appears lazy and slow to blow the ash out of the firepot, pull the
restrictor outward until the flame becomes active and the firepot holes remain clean. NOTE: If the restrictor is fully out
(“5”), yet the firepot does not remain clean, the stove needs to be cleaned and checked for air leaks (see
“Maintenance” section of this manual).
Too

Pic 2
Too Much Air: If the flames are too active (small, flickering flames) or if burning pellets are expelled from the firepot,
move the restrictor rod inwards until the flame slows down and no burning pellets are expelled. Another symptom of
too much air is the heater “blowing the fire out” – a condition in which the air pushes the burning pellets out of the
firepot, extinguishing the flame.

Good Luck
 

Attachments

  • PSNotEnoughAir.jpg
    PSNotEnoughAir.jpg
    19.9 KB · Views: 521
  • PSTooMuchAir.jpg
    PSTooMuchAir.jpg
    21.1 KB · Views: 504
I burned NEWPs last year and the glass would soot over pretty quickly on low setting. As far as the heat flow throughout the house, I would highly recommend putting fans that are low to the ground and on low setting, facing out from the room you are trying to heat. It works.
 
It will take awhile to learn how your stove works. Be patient, sometimes a slight air adjustment takes some time to change your fire due to fresh pellets dropping in. Burning on a mid-range setting is a good place to start. I've burnt 15 bags of NEWP so far and they are not that bad. Good middle of the road pellet. There are worse. Every stove will burn differently. On a different note. Are you the emmittjames from the scootershop? I recognize the name from the Yahoo group. Have fun with your new toy!
 
Why, yes! i am Emmittjames from the scooter shop! better known as julie.... i feel a little bit famous!
 
Hi Julie, I met you a couple of times at the shop when I was first considering a scoot. Small world huh. Are you still having the stove go out on you?
 
nope, i put in a bag of the imfamous Stove Chow last night, and its been burning well. Far less ash/soot buildup on the glass this am. It only went out yesterday because i let it run out of pellets -- completely my fault. I may let it go out today since its supposed to be so dang warm!

I managed to find a manual online that matched my control panel, but i still can't quite figure out what "Combustion Air Trim" is all about. I mean, i get that it does something to adjust the air, but i don't see how to use it.
 
emmittjames said:
I managed to find a manual online that matched my control panel, but i still can't quite figure out what "Combustion Air Trim" is all about. I mean, i get that it does something to adjust the air, but i don't see how to use it.
Click to expand...

The basic's of the combustion air trim. It allows suttle adjustments of the voltage going to the combustion blower. Kind of a fine tuning feature. Where as moving the damper is pretty much the same thing, But a bit more coarse. Moving the combustion trim up one setting is just a slight movement of opening the damper. I would try making the adjustment with the damper rod first if it needs any. Then use the trim to tweak it slightly.

Was the stove setup by the installer using a gauge? Most installers use a magnehelic gauge to dial in the stove to the vent setup. It is usually set to the mid range of factory spec's. Then the user can tweak with the combustion trim with out moving the damper. We'll that's the way the factory would hope it worked. If the stove wasn't set with the gauge? Get the fire close with the damper rod. That is what I did before getting my own magnahelic gauge. Watching what the fire is doing works just as good or better than the gauge anyway!

Hold in the combustion trim button and raise or lower it with the heat setting arrows. Once you push in the button the setting in the heat range will show where its at. Pretty sure the default is in the 3rd light. If you do loose power to the stove for any reason. The settings will default back to factory settings just so you know. Hope this helps?
 
Congrats on your new stove...Looks great!
Yep-first lesson learned....must feed the beast ;-)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

mayhem
Garage stove - Whitfield Insert no combustion air
Replies
8
Views
431
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
ericofmaine
ericofmaine
E
Pellet stove lights wont come on
Replies
2
Views
533
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
Eloch
E
pb0812
Quadrafire Mt Vernon E2 failing with 6 flashing red lights
Replies
4
Views
969
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
pb0812
pb0812
S
WH-Empress Control Panel Unresponsive
Replies
2
Views
224
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
sholland91
S
P
New Englander 25-pvdc wont start and has no error codes - control lights stay on for approx. 15 -20 seconds.
Replies
1
Views
199
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
ericofmaine
ericofmaine
Top Bottom
Back