Accentra Insert Distribution Blower Stops

[Old Smokey]

Hi everyone, happy New Year, and thanks again for this site and all the information here!

We've had our Accentra insert for 3 years and have loved it. It has heated our older 1400 square foot Rocky Mountain foothills home nicely, even in below zero temps, and we couldn't be more happier.

It is maintained at least weekly with a thorough burn pot, ash pan, igniter housing cleaning/scraping/vacuuming, and once a year we pull it out and clean everything back there that's described in the manual.

This year we had our installer pull it out and do a complete cleaning, including the chimney vent, which is one thing I've never done. Even after researching it I wasn't sure about the leaf blower trick, and the roof where the chimney exits is sloped enough that I don't like being up there. Our installer did clean it using a brush and vacuum at the bottom from where the unit hooks to the vent. I believe we have the 4'' vent pipe and after burning over 8 tons he said there was about 3/4'' of ash around the vent so there was still a good amount of ventilation.

With all that said, lately I've noticed a problem. When it's been in the single digits our below zero and the unit is set on Room Temp it has to ramp up pretty hard to keep it at our desired temp. This leads to the actual unit getting pretty hot. Then, the distribution motor just stops. It stays stopped for a few minutes, maybe 5 or 10 minutes, then starts up again. Nothing else changes. The auger/feed motor keeps running, the combustion motor continues, and the status light remains solid. All the other lights remain normal as well, including the distribution motor, even though it isn't blowing at all. Also, we always run it in Room Temp mode, and before, if we wanted a little more heat in the room we would adjust the room temp dial to high and the blower would increase. Now it doesn't increase at all no matter where the dial is set at.

So, I'm thinking something is going on with the distribution blower. Since we have 2 long haired dogs and 3 cats there is definitely a case for it being clogged with fur. Am I on the right track here? And if so, how the heck do I get to it and check/clean it? From the research I've done it seems like a PITA, especially since we don't have the track system. Is there anything else I should do first? I have to admit that pulling this beast out, disconnecting it, then flipping it over sounds like the worst thing I'll ever have to do and I don't really want to do that. I also do not know for sure if my installer who did the recent cleaning and charged a hefty amount did check and/or clean the distribution motor.

Sorry to be so long winded. Please help as I would really appreciate any and all information//comments on this problem. Thanks!

 

[jackman]

It almost sounds like the blower speed potentiometer has developed some dead spots. I call it a ratty pot. It's been a frequently reported problem. It can sometimes cause the stove to start/stop when the knob is set to OFF. Search the forum for "potentiometer" and you'll get lots of results.

If you can use a soldering iron you can buy the replacement pots on ebay for about $10 and save yourself the cost of a replacement board. In the meantime try working the knob back and forth quickly to see if the dead spot can be wiped clean of the dust or corrosion.

It could be a different problem but that's my hunch.

 

[Old Smokey]

Hey thanks jackman for the reply. It's in the single digits here and the unit is getting hot and the distribution motor has completely shut off and on several times in the last couple hours, in fact it is shutting off pretty often now.

I've used soldering irons but only for simple auto/motorcycle wiring, never on a circuit board. But I did read up on some potentiometer searches and they sound similar but not exact.

First, I don't have a problem with the stove starting/stopping when the Mode Selector (room temp/stove temp) dial is turned to OFF. When it's in OFF mode it just shuts down like normal. The problem only happens when it is in its normal burn cycle in room temp mode, which I almost always have set at LOW.

I did try working the knob back and forth quickly. I did it just now after the distribution motor had stopped, hoping for the best. The only thing that happened was the light for the distribution motor dimmed slightly when at LOW then grew brighter on HIGH.

When I rotated the knob back and forth BEFORE it cut out, the only thing I noticed was a slightly louder 'hum' when it was on high, but no increase in the velocity of the air coming out. It's like it wants to blow harder but can't. I may be totally wrong, but I almost think this is like a bad water pump in a car, and so it can't circulate the coolant (air in this case) as it should, therefore the temp of the engine increases to a certain point where some sensor determines the temp is too high so it shuts down the pump. I know, this might be crazy, but that's what my gut is telling me.

Also, I haven't cleaned the chimney cap at all. From down below it looks fine, but could this be causing too much heat to build up, get the unit to hot, and cause the distribution motor to shut down? Just throwing that out there since it's good to provide all info possible.

So, that's where I'm at. I'm gonna do some more research on the potentiometer and see if it's easy to get to and if so exactly what I have to do if I want to hook my multimeter up to it and see what it reads. Thanks again and if there's anything else please let me know.

 

[jackman]

Well, based on your latest info I may change my hunch. I wonder if it's a problem with the distribution blower. I had to change mine out about 3 weeks ago because it wouldn't budge. All the lights indicated normal operation but the blower wouldn't spin. It quit after 6 years and I don't have a very dusty environment. I know you said it's a PITA but that may be the better repair pursuit.

 

[borisblank]

Hey thanks jackman for the reply. It's in the single digits here and the unit is getting hot and the distribution motor has completely shut off and on several times in the last couple hours, in fact it is shutting off pretty often now.

I've used soldering irons but only for simple auto/motorcycle wiring, never on a circuit board. But I did read up on some potentiometer searches and they sound similar but not exact.

First, I don't have a problem with the stove starting/stopping when the Mode Selector (room temp/stove temp) dial is turned to OFF. When it's in OFF mode it just shuts down like normal. The problem only happens when it is in its normal burn cycle in room temp mode, which I almost always have set at LOW.

I did try working the knob back and forth quickly. I did it just now after the distribution motor had stopped, hoping for the best. The only thing that happened was the light for the distribution motor dimmed slightly when at LOW then grew brighter on HIGH.

When I rotated the knob back and forth BEFORE it cut out, the only thing I noticed was a slightly louder 'hum' when it was on high, but no increase in the velocity of the air coming out. It's like it wants to blow harder but can't. I may be totally wrong, but I almost think this is like a bad water pump in a car, and so it can't circulate the coolant (air in this case) as it should, therefore the temp of the engine increases to a certain point where some sensor determines the temp is too high so it shuts down the pump. I know, this might be crazy, but that's what my gut is telling me.

Also, I haven't cleaned the chimney cap at all. From down below it looks fine, but could this be causing too much heat to build up, get the unit to hot, and cause the distribution motor to shut down? Just throwing that out there since it's good to provide all info possible.

So, that's where I'm at. I'm gonna do some more research on the potentiometer and see if it's easy to get to and if so exactly what I have to do if I want to hook my multimeter up to it and see what it reads. Thanks again and if there's anything else please let me know.

hi smokey,

i realize this is a little late, but did you ever find the fix for your issue? ours is doing *exactly* the same thing now. the guy we purchased it from says it's just reaching room temperature - but it's never behaved this way before, but is doing exactly as you describe. i can crank the "room temp" gauge all the way to 90F and it still stops and starts again pretty randomly. it's barely 58 degrees in here!

FWIW, i can also use the "stove temp" range settings and get the same behavior.

thanks a lot for any insights, anyone!

-boris

 

[Old Smokey]

Hi Boris,
For my problem it ended up being a completely clogged distribution blower. The guys we had clean it never touched the distribution blower on the bottom of the unit. Since it was doing the same thing this fall I decided to finally build a track support out of 2x4s and pull it out myself and check underneath. There was so much dog and cat hair I couldn't believe it. After cleaning all of that out it works like a charm. I guess I just trusted that they cleaned it. Oh well lesson learned. Hope you can get problem fixed.

 

[F4jock]

Hi Boris,
For my problem it ended up being a completely clogged distribution blower. The guys we had clean it never touched the distribution blower on the bottom of the unit. Since it was doing the same thing this fall I decided to finally build a track support out of 2x4s and pull it out myself and check underneath. There was so much dog and cat hair I couldn't believe it. After cleaning all of that out it works like a charm. I guess I just trusted that they cleaned it. Oh well lesson learned. Hope you can get problem fixed.

Curious. Did your techs clean the ESP when they came? I had a similar problem and cured it by cleaning the ESP and replacing the room sensor. There is an interaction between them that can cause fluke operation. Now the blower operates constantly when it's cold outside and intermittently when it gets warmer.

 

[borisblank]

thanks to both of you for replying so quickly. this was really helpful.

i opened up the little side window on the exhaust blower chute to inspect the ESP - couldn't believe how much ash fell out of the window. i vacuumed it out really well - got as deep down into that chute as my ash vacuum spout would go - and wiped down the ESP as best i could. the unit is back up and running now - too early to tell if that solves my problem, will post back when it heats up. but the combustion blower looks like it's pushing much more air across the burnpot than it has been recently....

but i also don't think that our stove "cleaners" ever cleaned our distribution blower. so how do you get the stove up high enough to do that - do you use lever jacks, like for a car? that damn thing is pretty heavy...

 

[F4jock]

thanks to both of you for replying so quickly. this was really helpful.

i opened up the little side window on the exhaust blower chute to inspect the ESP - couldn't believe how much ash fell out of the window. i vacuumed it out really well - got as deep down into that chute as my ash vacuum spout would go - and wiped down the ESP as best i could. the unit is back up and running now - too early to tell if that solves my problem, will post back when it heats up. but the combustion blower looks like it's pushing much more air across the burnpot than it has been recently....

but i also don't think that our stove "cleaners" ever cleaned our distribution blower. so how do you get the stove up high enough to do that - do you use lever jacks, like for a car? that damn thing is pretty heavy...

You pull it out on rails that you can make yourself if need be out of-two-by fours. You can search Harman insert rails to take a look.

 

[borisblank]

right - i know how to get it pulled out. i did that to get the ESP cleaned.

how do i get it lifted up so i can remove the distribution blower? 2 inches isn't enough vertical clearance to do this.

 

[F4jock]

right - i know how to get it pulled out. i did that to get the ESP cleaned.

how do i get it lifted up so i can remove the distribution blower? 2 inches isn't enough vertical clearance to do this.

Sorry. Can't help you thru experience here. I have a raised hearth. Perhaps another member can.

 

[Old Smokey]

Yeah sorry I can't help either, mine is raised as well, about 20'', so when we pulled it out onto the 2x4 rails there was plenty of room to crawl under and clean it out. But for you since it's only 2'' seems like you'd pull it out like normal making sure to disconnect the various wires (keeping track which is which) and tip it over onto something soft and something you're not afraid to get dirty. I would definitely remove all the panels inside first just so they don't come loose. Hopefully someone else will chime in and give you some ideas.