Ash build up ST Croix hastings

  • 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.
Pgoodii

Pgoodii

New Member
Jan 11, 2011
8
Central pa
I am new to the pellet stove, this being my first year heating with it. I have a ST Croix Hastings and have burnt only Hammer pellets in it. The stove is still running fine and producing the same amount of heat but every day I have to scrape a very large block of solid ash out of the burn pot. It did not always do this. I clean it daily and weekly as described in the Manual, and just recently tried the "leaf blower " trick and I am still getting this daily build up in the burn pot. Is this normal and expected, or am I not getting something clean, or is there something wrong with my stove.
 
Try increasing the air (draft) through the stove a little. If the burnt ash doesn't get blown out of the pot, it sits there and gets fused together into a "clinker".

Same thing happened to me when I first started burning Barefoots this year. A slight increase in the burn air solved it completely.


BTW, welcome to the forum.....maybe you could post some pics of your stove....we LOVE pics, especially ones of the stove burning. :cheese:
 
Would this be done by opening the draft on the air intake?

Also I should not that I am using a OAK.

I will have to get some pics from my computer I am on my iPad right now.
 
Pgoodii said:
Thank you very much going to go try it right now.
Click to expand...

Make sure you scrape any remaining clinkers out of the burnpot before trying the new damper setting.
 
Adjusted it last night as you suggested, got up this morning and the burn pot was clinker free. Hopefully it stays that way.

As promised pictures.

Here is the hearth with the tiles laid out

th_P1040181.jpg


Here is the hearth grouted and ready to go.

th_P1040205.jpg


Here it is with the stove on it and running.

th_1289071973541.jpg
 
Just want to say thanks to imacman for the help, opening the draft is doing the trick.

Have seen lots of great pointers on this site but this is the first time I asked a question and I got a quick helpful response.
 
Looks good Pgoodii ! Welcome to the forums and enjoy the heat!
 
you just put a band aid on the problem your damper was not the problem. If it was burning fine before and then suddenly started getting a build up you need to clean behind ash traps. Left and right of your burn pot and a bit lower is a set of doors open those up and vac them out. Remove the brick set and pound on the back wall with a hammer not to hard to dent the metal but enough to create a vibration ash should fall. Otherwise run a coat hanger up the ash traps towards the heat exchanger you'll get more ash out. the damper on that stove should be set at a #2 pencil.
 
I clean behind those ash traps weekly and tapped on the walls as you suggested about 2 weeks ago. Also as I said above I performed the leaf blower trick. The only thing I have not tried is shoving anything up through the ash traps, I will try this though and see if I get anything more out.
 
Hey guys. I have a Hastings as well and all of the sudden the glass turned black and I could smell bruning rubber. I turned the setove off imedaitely and cleaned it out. I did a full cleaning.....even cleaned up the ash traps with a brush....but I will try using a coat hanger. After the stove was cleaned really well, I started her up again. The burn still was not right and the glass was turning black with sut again. I stopped the stive and there were clinkers all over and quite a few unburned pelletes. The ash pot was not clear either. I noticed in a blue residue mixed in with the ash. Have you ever seen anything like that? In addition, when I cleaned out the cap in the Tee, a rubber gasket feel out. It looks like it was cut...possibly from taking it on and off. I have a feeling that was where the burning rubber smell came from. the manufacturer is sending me a replcaement gasket but they state it would not affect the burn. Do you guys have any idea what might be causing the bad burn and the blue sut? I am going to try a different type of pellet tonight. It is always possible I got a bad batch. I am going to try CountryBoy oak pellets since I have a bag left over.

Thank you in advance.
 
burnsy said:
Hey guys. I have a Hastings as well and all of the sudden the glass turned black and I could smell bruning rubber. I turned the setove off imedaitely and cleaned it out. I did a full cleaning.....even cleaned up the ash traps with a brush....but I will try using a coat hanger. After the stove was cleaned really well, I started her up again. The burn still was not right and the glass was turning black with sut again. I stopped the stive and there were clinkers all over and quite a few unburned pelletes. The ash pot was not clear either. I noticed in a blue residue mixed in with the ash. Have you ever seen anything like that? In addition, when I cleaned out the cap in the Tee, a rubber gasket feel out. It looks like it was cut...possibly from taking it on and off. I have a feeling that was where the burning rubber smell came from. the manufacturer is sending me a replcaement gasket but they state it would not affect the burn. Do you guys have any idea what might be causing the bad burn and the blue sut? I am going to try a different type of pellet tonight. It is always possible I got a bad batch. I am going to try CountryBoy oak pellets since I have a bag left over.

Thank you in advance.
Click to expand...

For the still messed up burn and you should not be using that stove at all until that gasket is replaced. You are dumping exhaust into your house.

1: The venting is likely plugged clean the entire vent system, check the vent cap a lot of crud gets deposited there.

2: I see no mention of pulling the combustion blower and cleaning that, don't do this until you have a replacement gasket or other gasket material you can make one out of.
 
Inferno,

Thanks for your reply. I spoke to the manufacturer of the vent pipe and they stated the seal would not affect the burn and I can run the stove without it. They are sending me a new seal. While my family was out I ran the stove to see if it would burn well after a good cleaning and using different pellets. It did not change. I am going to have to pull out the combustion fan and clean it as you suggested. I just need to find a gasket today. I also noticed the rope seal on the door was a little frayed and burnt. Right by that area of the rope, on the inner panel, there is a burn and sut. Do you think this is causing an airflow issue? I think I am going to replace the rope seal today as well just to be sure.

Thank you in advance!
 
burnsy said:
Inferno,

Thanks for your reply. I spoke to the manufacturer of the vent pipe and they stated the seal would not affect the burn and I can run the stove without it. They are sending me a new seal. While my family was out I ran the stove to see if it would burn well after a good cleaning and using different pellets. It did not change. I am going to have to pull out the combustion fan and clean it as you suggested. I just need to find a gasket today. I also noticed the rope seal on the door was a little frayed and burnt. Right by that area of the rope, on the inner panel, there is a burn and sut. Do you think this is causing an airflow issue? I think I am going to replace the rope seal today as well just to be sure.

Thank you in advance!
Click to expand...

Blown seals in venting after the combustion blower and inside the house may not affect the "burn", but they sure as hell are a safety concern. That is how folks die from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Bad door gaskets create an air bypass and are a burn issue.
 
Inferno,

I have stopped using my stove and am burning oil against my will! Tomorrow I am going to clean out the tee and the combustion fan. I have a carbon monoxide sensor near the stove (with fresh batteries) so I feel safe running it for short periods of time just to see if what i did resolved the issue. If cleaning the combustion fan and tee do not resolve the issue, I am going to have a local stove tech (who has this stove) come and check it out. Might cost me a few bucks but it may be necessary to get this stove back up and running properly.
I'll keep you posted.
Thanks for your continued support!
 
Inferno,
I am still not getting a good burn. I have cleaned out the combustion fan and the passage up the stack. I've tried admjusting the damper and the draft trim and I can't get the stove to run without black sut building up on the glass. I noticed some burns spots on the inside panels. Take a look at the attached picture. Do you think I need to replace the rope seal on the door? I also noticed that the air tube that allows air to get into the burn chamber had a brittle wire tie o n it that roke right off. The tube appears to be a little black inside as well. I was unable to pry the tube off at the tube but I can cut it off and replace it if necessary.Take a look at the other two pictures. Let me know wht you think.

Thanks in advance!

Burnsy
 

Attachments

  • Burning.jpg
    Burning.jpg
    82.7 KB · Views: 443
  • Air intake2.jpg
    Air intake2.jpg
    49.2 KB · Views: 454
  • Air Intake1.jpg
    Air Intake1.jpg
    40 KB · Views: 420
I recently gutted a hasting due to the owner burning horse bedding pellets. Creosote caked up everything.

Pull off the tube and clean out the brass elbow with a paper clip and a vacuum. The tubing should be replaced and the vacuum switch checked as well.

Cleaned the vac switch on my enviro and made a huge difference in the burn of the stove.
 
Pgoodii said:
Just want to say thanks to imacman for the help, opening the draft is doing the trick.

Have seen lots of great pointers on this site but this is the first time I asked a question and I got a quick helpful response.
Click to expand...

Glad I could be of some help.
 
burnsy said:
.....also noticed that the air tube that allows air to get into the burn chamber had a brittle wire tie o n it that roke right off. The tube appears to be a little black inside as well. I was unable to pry the tube off at the tube but I can cut it off and replace it if necessary......
Click to expand...

Burnsy,

the wire tie was just a simple "clamp" to hold the tube on securely. Not a big deal if it's missing, as most stoves don't even have the wire on them at all. Cut the tube as close to the metal fitting as possible, and then pry (or slice) off the remaining piece. Make sure the inside of both the tubing AND the fitting are completely clear, and slide the hose back on....you should still have enough slack to do it.


As for your black soot problem, that sounds like a lack of burn air. Although the rope gasket looks good from what we can see in your pic, I'd still do the dollar bill test on the door gasket to be sure.
 
burnsy said:
Inferno,
I am still not getting a good burn. I have cleaned out the combustion fan and the passage up the stack. I've tried admjusting the damper and the draft trim and I can't get the stove to run without black sut building up on the glass. I noticed some burns spots on the inside panels. Take a look at the attached picture. Do you think I need to replace the rope seal on the door? I also noticed that the air tube that allows air to get into the burn chamber had a brittle wire tie o n it that roke right off. The tube appears to be a little black inside as well. I was unable to pry the tube off at the tube but I can cut it off and replace it if necessary.Take a look at the other two pictures. Let me know wht you think.

Thanks in advance!

Burnsy
Click to expand...

Perform the dollar bill test on the door gasket in two places on each side. If it fails in any spot replace the gasket. Make certain you do not stretch any gasket while replacing it.

I have no idea what a bit of soot will do inside of the vacuum switch on your stove, that depends upon what the controller does.

But in general crap in the vacuum line isn't a good thing. So clean things and if the tube itself is fine put another metal clip or tie on it. Otherwise replace it.

When you cleaned things did you also get the ash traps that have been discussed in this thread, if those are plugged you'll have a bad burn, also the air intake both before and after the damper.

Is there any chance you hit the damper and by accident closed it?
 
So it's weeks later and I finally had a stove guy come to check this out. Since the stove is clean and nothing is clogged, he believes I need a new combustion fan. Has anyone had to replace theirs? Is this an reoccurring issue with this stove model?

Thank you all for your support and advice!
 
burnsy said:
So it's weeks later and I finally had a stove guy come to check this out. Since the stove is clean and nothing is clogged, he believes I need a new combustion fan. Has anyone had to replace theirs? Is this an reoccurring issue with this stove model?

Thank you all for your support and advice!
Click to expand...

Yes I had to replace mine, but they normally like to screech first.
 
burnsy said:
I guess that is what the noise was. Now I know! About how much did it cost you? I see them costing anywhere from $117 to $185.
Click to expand...

Covered under warranty, I also don't have the same stove you are having problems with, mine never got to really screech as I noticed what appeared to be oil under the combustion blower motor (motor has sealed bearings, shouldn't have any oil where it was).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
St Croix Hastings burn issue
Replies
0
Views
586
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
marksmail1968
M
I
St Croix Hastings number 2 light
Replies
5
Views
781
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
kchace
K
ylomnstr
St. Croix Hastings Advance Heat Button
Replies
0
Views
182
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
ylomnstr
ylomnstr
Dusty62
St. Croix Auburn won't fire up
Replies
6
Views
565
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
Alfred
Alfred
J
No ignition in my St Croix Hastings pellet stove
Replies
4
Views
1K
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
Jim Kassal
J
Top Bottom
Back