Another new problem encountered this weekend, Breckwell **This Saga will continue**. Maybe this sh

[kinsmanstoves]

I intalled a Breckwell Big E in a basment in Sept, 2009. The venting was all 4" and went as follows adapter, Tee (increaser), approx 7' vertical, 90 elbow, 24" horiz. out 18" above grade with a cap. NO COMBUSTION AIR. New construction 3 yrs old and poured basement walls and a ranch house with approx 1,700 sqft.

Customer has been saying that the unit was not putting out the heat that he thought it should. Numerous brands of pellets were used and all the same results. Numerous cleanings have been done but nothing changed.

I been to the house a few times and found the vent pipe was almost to hot to touch when almost all Breckwells I have used 4" on this is not the case. No actual temp readings were taken.

Well after another conversation with the customer I took a Heatilator PS50 to the house and swaped out the stoves. The customer instantly liked he Heatilator over the Big E for numerous reasons with one concern aboput the hopper size being slightly smaller. Well as soon as the unit was started, warmed up, and the blower running they were very happy. Numerous comments were made in favor of the Heatilator. Well we left the house and have since hooked up the Big E in the store and running it right now as I type.

I will say that the Big E is running and doing "well". Not great but a big improvement than it was proforming in the basement as it was set up at the customer's house. I am also waiting from a report on how the Heatilator is doing.

Saga to continue.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Eric, were there any additional baffles in the exhaust path in that Big E you pulled?

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Eric, were there any additional baffles in the exhaust path in that Big E you pulled?

The add on baffles?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Eric, were there any additional baffles in the exhaust path in that Big E you pulled?

The add on baffles?

Yes those puppies?

 

[kinsmanstoves]

No this unit does not have those. I have looked into those and Breckwell did try them for a short period and what i "heard" from my Distributor is that they did not have much luck with them.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

At 3pm I was called by the customer. He said as it stands right now I will have to fight him to get the Heatilator back. He said the difference between the two stoves is night and day. No damper to mess with and the difference in the burn pot are two of the top ten reasons he likes the Heatilator. Another claim is that running the Heatilator on low keeps almost the entire basement between 62-65 degrees where the Big E could not do this on level 3. I do not have any reason for this as of yet.

I am running the Big E on level 3 inside my office and it is a little cooler than what it was running the Heatilator.

Eric

 

[checkthisout]

I intalled a Breckwell Big E in a basment in Sept, 2009. The venting was all 4" and went as follows adapter, Tee (increaser), approx 7' vertical, 90 elbow, 24" horiz. out 18" above grade with a cap. NO COMBUSTION AIR. New construction 3 yrs old and poured basement walls and a ranch house with approx 1,700 sqft.

Customer has been saying that the unit was not putting out the heat that he thought it should. Numerous brands of pellets were used and all the same results. Numerous cleanings have been done but nothing changed.

I been to the house a few times and found the vent pipe was almost to hot to touch when almost all Breckwells I have used 4" on this is not the case. No actual temp readings were taken.

Well after another conversation with the customer I took a Heatilator PS50 to the house and swaped out the stoves. The customer instantly liked he Heatilator over the Big E for numerous reasons with one concern aboput the hopper size being slightly smaller. Well as soon as the unit was started, warmed up, and the blower running they were very happy. Numerous comments were made in favor of the Heatilator. Well we left the house and have since hooked up the Big E in the store and running it right now as I type.

I will say that the Big E is running and doing "well". Not great but a big improvement than it was proforming in the basement as it was set up at the customer's house. I am also waiting from a report on how the Heatilator is doing.

Saga to continue.

Obviously the stove is horribly inefficient.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I'd check to see if that combustion fan is running full tilt all the time, I don't know anything about the Big E but there is at least one stove out there that draws so much combustion air that it almost completely over powers the stoves ability to gain ground via the convection system.

It actually sucks almost as much air out through the stove as the convection system can move. The stove requires outside air. Care to bet that folks have it installed without outside air.

 

[BBennett]

I have been running a Big E in my basement , (below grade) no insulation on the walls and on level 3 with the convection blower on high.With temps outside in the 20's I can get the basement to 80+. I use a remote thermometer in front of the air tubes(not touching any metal) I get temps from 190*-210* with (okenagans and Presto logs) I can even get temps of 220*-230* with hamer's. exhaust vent temps with an infrared gun are about 200 or so.

I have been able to heat my whole 1800 sq ft cape with the stove in the basement, after setting up the air vents. I wonder if your Big E control board is deffective or a bad combustion blower motor ? How about a faulty convection blower not getting enough air out of the stove? Something had to have been deffective from the start. Auger slipping (if that can possibly happen ) not feeding the proper volume of pellets? I dont know just thinking outloud at this point.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

I'd check to see if that combustion fan is running full tilt all the time, I don't know anything about the Big E but there is at least one stove out there that draws so much combustion air that it almost completely over powers the stoves ability to gain ground via the convection system.

It actually sucks almost as much air out through the stove as the convection system can move. The stove requires outside air. Care to bet that folks have it installed without outside air.

The Big E's combustion fan is a constant speed. It does not change like a few other brands. I am leaning towards that but want to get a "controlled" burn in my office. I am monitering the output temps.

Eric

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I have been running a Big E in my basement , (below grade) no insulation on the walls and on level 3 with the convection blower on high.With temps outside in the 20's I can get the basement to 80+. I use a remote thermometer in front of the air tubes(not touching any metal) I get temps from 190*-210* with (okenagans and Presto logs) I can even get temps of 220*-230* with hamer's. exhaust vent temps with an infrared gun are about 200 or so.

I have been able to heat my whole 1800 sq ft cape with the stove in the basement, after setting up the air vents. I wonder if your Big E control board is deffective or a bad combustion blower motor ? How about a faulty convection blower not getting enough air out of the stove? Something had to have been deffective from the start. Auger slipping (if that can possibly happen ) not feeding the proper volume of pellets? I dont know just thinking outloud at this point.

Small or big window?

 

[BBennett]

I have been running a Big E in my basement , (below grade) no insulation on the walls and on level 3 with the convection blower on high.With temps outside in the 20's I can get the basement to 80+. I use a remote thermometer in front of the air tubes(not touching any metal) I get temps from 190*-210* with (okenagans and Presto logs) I can even get temps of 220*-230* with hamer's. exhaust vent temps with an infrared gun are about 200 or so.

I have been able to heat my whole 1800 sq ft cape with the stove in the basement, after setting up the air vents. I wonder if your Big E control board is deffective or a bad combustion blower motor ? How about a faulty convection blower not getting enough air out of the stove? Something had to have been deffective from the start. Auger slipping (if that can possibly happen ) not feeding the proper volume of pellets? I dont know just thinking outloud at this point.

Small or big window?

Large window, also with an oak.

The constant high speed combustion blower is a knock on the Big E, i would love a variable speed combustion blower. Oh well..

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Eric,

What is the air flow through that combustion fan and exactly how far down can you get the damper?

 

[kinsmanstoves]

I do not have an air flow meter but on a magnehelic I get .39 (damper closed) to .5 (damper closed) on level #3.

 

[Regor]

Eric,
I had the exact same experience with my Big E last year, it was exhausting all of the heat out of the vent. After several email discussions with Breckwell, they sent me 2 baffle plates that fit on either side of the heat exchanger. The plates block part of the exhaust path, sending more heat thru the heat exchanger resulting in a much better heat transfer. After installing the plates I had much better convection air temperatures and the exhaust temperature dropped significantly.

Here is the post that documents the whole thing along with photos. Please excuse the ranting, my frustration was showing. https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/52181/

You may want to contact Breckwell for the plates and see what results you get. I would be interested in your findings.

Roger