55 SHP22 E-1error and other

[Bugrunner]

Hello,
I have the England summers heat 55 shp22. Last night it dropped the E-1 error code and the stove shut off with pellets burning in the burn pot. As you might imagine this lead to smoke finding its way into the living area. I was able to restart the stove long enough to evacuate the smoke from the fire chamber while the burning pellets burned out. The stove is 10 years old and I have owned it since it was new. Just recently I have also been experiencing low heat output and the window glass turns solid black within 3 hours of start up. I realize the low heat output and sooty glass are most likely signs the stove needs to be cleaned, but I have cleaned it today and clean it often. I did not however remove the combustion blower as I am waiting for a replacement gasket. So my questions are 1. Should the stove have completely shut off with pellets still burning or should the blower have stayed on as long as the stove was still hot and burning?
2. Are there other things to check regarding the low heat and dirty glass. I have checked the door and window gasket for leaks and have beaten on the wall behind the baffle plate to help remove any built up ash. I have been using the same pellets all season so that is not a factor in the recent changes. Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Lake Girl]

Welcome to the forum ... Combustion blower should be staying on unless the combustion blower is shot. Always unplug the stove before working in the cabinet... Have you tried blowing out the motor windings with compressed air to clear out the dust bunnies that kill motors? Not sure if they require lubrication with electric motor oil... Could try testing the blower using an electric cord - some fit with ends to mate with wiring connections on the blower. If replacing the blower, the old one may be repairable ... always good to have a back-up

What is your exhaust set-up? Exhaust is supposed to be set-up so natural draft evacuates smoke from burn chamber...

If the combustion motor is struggling, that is likely the source of low heat and dirty glass - starved for air. Other than the gaskets and thorough internal exhaust and venting cleaning, check the outside air intake to make sure it is not obstructed...

Keep us posted...

 

[Bugrunner]

Thanks for the reply, I have cleaned everything as best I could without having the combustion gasket. The stove is up and has been running for 18 hours with no error code so far. I don't think the combustion blower is bad, but I do have a spare. I will blow out the motor windings although I don't think it is can be oiled. I just find it odd that the stove had shut completely off with an active burn still going. When I restarted it to clear the smoke while waiting for the fire to go out it ran for 10 minutes or so and again shut completely down although that was probably my fault as I hit the start button to get it running then hit the shut down button to stop it from feeding pellets.
My exhaust exits the stove into the clean out tee, travels up the inside of the basement wall about 5.5 feet and 90s through the wall for about 18 inches. I haven't done anything with the exhaust pipe since I installed it 10 years ago. I have had power outages in the past and always get some smoke in the room the stove is in, even when the stove was brand new. Now it seeps through the hopper lid, not much but still some, seems I remember it seeping from around the brass louvers on the front of the stove in the past. I have in the last year installed a new hopper lid gasket but apparently it does have 1 or 2 slight gaps in it that I'm sure I can fix.
I'm not sure how it how naturally vents without power because the smoke rises up and passes the baffle plate then goes into the slot behind it but from there it has to go down through the exhaust passages I believe where the blower would pull/push it out to the exhaust. Not sure that it would travel down on its own but I really don't know.
I am still working on an effective way to clean out from behind the baffle plate to the exhaust blower. I have used a shop vac in the past but it is not as effective as I would like. Any tips?
Thanks.

 

[jss227]

I use a piece of 5/8 hose 3' long hooked to my shop vac to clean behind the baffle plate. I can get right to the passage to the combustion blower. If you have never pulled the pipe from the back of your stove, I bet it is almost completely clogged with ash. Pulling the pipe off you can actually easily see the combustion fan by looking in the exhaust outlet. Another place that can get clogged is the short horizontal piece before your end cap. It doesn't take long for ash to really build up there, leaving only a half dollar sized hole for your exhaust to go through. You really need to give your exhaust a good beating, cleaning.

 

[Lake Girl]

Usually the momentum of the exhaust blower will carry the majority of the smoke out the stove if there is natural draft created by the rise. Do you have an OAK? Have you tried adding a short section outside that may create a better draft?

Do your initial cleaning and brushing with vacuum and follow up with the Leaf Blower. Look up the Leaf Blower Trick on the forum here. There should be a video too. Make sure the hose to the vacuum switch is disconnected first so it doesn't destroy the switch...

 

[Bugrunner]

Jss,
I have taped the smaller hose to my shop vac but can only get the hose so far into the passage. As for the OAK I have a 3 inch pipe coming off of a 2 inch adapter on the inlet vent on the stove. Lake Girl the 3 inch pipe runs parallel to the exhaust pipe, which means it also exits the back of the stove into a 3 inch 90 then travels 5.5 feet up the basement wall to a 2nd 90 which exits through the wall to the outside. I haven't used the leaf blower yet. I have to figure out how to adapt it to the exhaust pipe. Also after 24 hours the stove is still running error free, but the heat is still weak at best. The stove isn't putting out the heat on #5 that It was putting out on #3 before my troubles started. I am using the same pellets as before, maybe just a difference from pallet to pallet?

 

[jss227]

Pellets do vary from pallet to pallet, sometimes bag to bag. My normal settings are 1-4-1 but sometimes adjust to 1-5-1 or 1-6-1 to get a better burn. Did you just clean your convection blower? I know after I clean mine the temps will drop because the efficiency of the fan is restored.

 

[Bugrunner]

No, I haven't cleaned it recently. My setting are 5-9-1 as per esw tech telling me that was the default for my stove. From what I am gathering between this forum and the esw techs the settings only effect the stove while set on feed of 1 or 2. I don't understand, if that is indeed correct how I can adjust the stove when it is set to a higher feed rate to fine tune it from brand to brand of pellets. I would think most like myself do burn it at a higher feed rate, at least from time to time and would need to do the fine tuning at the higher feed rate. Doesn't make sense to me but I'm sure there is a reason.