Big E Sporadic Auger Stoppage?

Pretty sure the auger motor has a thermal switch as well. If it gets too hot it would trip. Once it cooled it would reset and the auger would start once the stove was restarted. Just another idea for a cause!

Just to add to the list some Big E's have manual reset high limit switches and others have auto reset high limit switches.

The leaf blower cleanout was done in the beginning of the fall.

I watched the stove when I got home yesterday and the fire kept going out due to lack of pellets. I think that issue stemmed from switching to the Cheat River pellets I just got. They seem to burn quicker and hotter than the couple bags of Green Supremes leftover from last season that I started with, so the stove was not feeding the pellets fast enough or at enough volume. I changed the trim setting and heat level and it ran without going out.

I still think it has the auger issue that just stops feeding altogether as explained earlier but I will monitor and see what happens now.

I put my P23i on Heat 2 for the last day, no failures of auger feed, its not the pressure switch, control board I am sure, there seems to be a statistical failure of the controller boards here in certain heat settings. I also cleaned my vent pipe from top to bottom, disassembled and hand cleaned all blowers and passages which there is almost zero residue at all in my system at any time. I am going to go back to heat #3 again and see what happens. I burn a lot of pellets on Heat #2 compared to #3 so lets see if it fails again.

Billy, you may be on to something with the control board. Since I switched to heat setting #4 I have had no issues. I will monitor and see what happens.

What model boards do you have? Snap a pic of the back side, I believe there was an update to the controller and it carried a 403 part number.

I have one(new) of them left and will let it fly pretty cheap, If anyone is interested please PM.

Well I came home from shopping today and it was off again, burn pot empty and #3 light blinking. Seems the auger stopped again, in heat level #4. I did not get a pic of the controller yet.

I would still change Proof of fire thermodisk. They are cheap and sounds like what you are experiencing

I just worked on a Breckwell Golden Eagle blinking # 2 light similar to the Big E and I found the exhaust blower had so much hard caked ash on it, that it could not create enough vacuum to keep the vacuum switch closed! This was on a 1 year old stove! Take out the exhaust blower and give it a good cleaning and then spray with Dry Molly Spray to protect it. I had to use a wire wheel on my drill to clean all the crap off! Also you may need a new 6" diameter Lytherm gasket too!

I'm still not sure you have a controller issue. Dang I wish it was easier to debug these sometimes. POF disc maybe, But sounds more like auger motor.

You can eleminate the POF with a simple toggle switch. Wire it the POF wires. With the switch off start the stove. Once you see fire turn the switch on and leave it. If it still goes out I would say auger motor. If it keeps chuggin alone, Its more likely its the POF dropping out. Best to do if you can keep an eye on it. Like a long holiday weekend(hint).

Here's a pic of the controller:

Looks like you already have the latest board. It seems like the board was already replaced, Probably for the reason you are discribing. The resistors near the triacs are the givaway. I just don't think its the board causing the problem.

Hello

Well, it is back to basics. You may have resolved the #2 light "no vacuum" problem by cleaning the blowers. Cleaning the exhaust blower usually fixes that. Now the #3 blinking light is a different problem.

From the manual. Now check your firebox. Troubleshooting is a step by step process! LOL
Blinking #3. The firebox is not properly sealed.
Make sure the door is closed and that the gasket is in good shape.
If the ash door has a latch, make sure the ash door is properly
latched and the gasket is sealing good. If the stove has just a small
hole for the ashes to fall through under the burnpot, make sure the
slider plate is in place to seal off the firebox floor.

The stove was brand new in the crate when I purchased it, but the build date is from 2006. Not sure how the board got replaced. I have a new auger motor sitting here and I also will be ordering a new POF thermodisc, found them on ebay for $8/ea or best offer. I'll try the POF disc first and see if that works. Here is the description:

"Small automatic reset 110F CLOSE ON RISE snap switch found in many Breckwell models often referred to as the proof of flame (POF) switch. Switch is Normally Open, closes when the temperature reaches approx. 110 degrees Fahrenheit (+/- 5 degrees) and resets when the temp drops to around 80F. Breckwell part no. cross reference is C-E-090-22. Mounting bracket is loose on this model and it is a surface or flush mount style rather than through hole or air stream 36TXE22."

Don, I did not have a #2 light issue, you may be thinking of the other poster. The firebox is properly sealed because the stove will burn perfect for 4,5,6 hours at a time. Then the auger just stops receiving signal from the controller. The fuel feed light no longer blinks and the fire goes out.

When was the last time the hopper was vacuumed out and you removed the auger cover located in the hopper?


Eric

Probably was in a dealers stock somewhere and they changed it as many were replaced under warrantied by Breckwell.

The hopper was vacuumed out at the end of last season but I didn't remove the auger cover.

Should be done once a month unless using ducsty pellets then every other week.

Eric

Gotcha, I only ran about 5 bags so far since it's been done. And only one ton all last season, as I only heat my garage to 62f, so it doesn't get alot run through it. Is the POF thermodisc in the burn box or the one in the combustion blower?

POF is mounted on the combustion blower housing.

POF is on the combustion blower housing.

It only takes a cup of fines to mess with the auger. Less if it has been sitting and collecting moisture which can happen in a garage.

Eric

Hmmmm, a handfull of good people fighting to answer a question. well played "J".

Nah, I just type quicker! hehe!

We closed early today so I was walking to the back room for a refreshment so it took a minute or two longer.

Eric

I appreciate all the help, guys. I'll bypass the POF disc and see what happens. If I don't have a toggle, can I just connect the wires together? Does that POF disc have any type of seal/gasket that I need to worry about? I'll also let the hopper run low and then give it a good cleanout. If that ceases to remedy the situation I have the new auger motor sitting on the work bench. If all else fails I'll get the board from jtakeman.

On a different note - hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I have a funny story. Had a 24lb'er in the oven, put it in at about 1030am. Planning to eat at 4pm. 4pm comes along, I check the temp and its like 92 in the thigh. Figure i'll give it another hour and jack the oven to 350. 5pm comes around and its only at 98. Thought, wow, this is taking forever. Brother in law says, "are you sure that's not celsius..."

DOH.. my digital temp was in C mode and not F. Switched it over.... 200f.. TURKEYS DONE!~