BRECKWELL Analog Board Replacement Pellet Stove Controller Just Plug-In....No rewiring required!

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Mar 23, 2009
46
Ontario, CANADA
This is a replacement digital controller was designed to directly replace an original 6-pin molex analog printed circuit board without having to rewire your Breckwell pellet stove.
After repairing these controller for years, I set out to develop & design a circuit schematic, layed out circuit board artwork, etched, drilled, assembled & soldered circuit board by hand. Used a PIC Microchip ICD to write software and program PIC 16F876 micro on-board.
My prototype board is currently being tested by a good friend who live in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.
You can email me at [email protected] with your model number if you are interested in possibly purchasing one or if you have comment or question about my design.

Provides the following addition features:
Microprocessor controlled timing
Real-time Clock with Backup Battery
Backlighted LCD Display with 8 key Digital User Interface
Dedicated START/STOP, HEAT UP, HEAT DOWN and MANUAL FEED switches
Heat Output Level is adjustable from Off, 10 to 100%

Programmable Start/Setback Timer Control
Adjustable HIGH FAN Cutback Delay Timer
Pellet Feed Rate Cycle Timer
Convection Blower Cool Down Timer
Hotrod Igniter Timer
Convection Blower Speed Trim
Millivolt Thermostat Input

Adjustable Heat Level control (+/- 1,2,5%/step) with programmable Heat Level Limit
Resettable Runtime Hours Counter with Service Reminder for Regular Scheduled Maintenance

Also working on a Built-in Troubleshooting and Diagnostic Help Mode - this feature is not ready yet!

Please email me if there is something I missed.
 

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Looks like you have it pretty well covered. Only thing I see is you could add a variable control for the Combustion blower. This way you could take the damper rod adjustment almost out of the picture. just use for fine tuning the flame.

I always had issues using high/low with my Breckwell on thermostat. When the damper was opened up for high fire, It would go to low fire when I wasn't home. Low fire feed with damper set for high fire would burn the pellets to fast and stove would go out.

With all the other feature you have and The variable combustion blower. It would be a far cry from the current Breckwell controll. So you could go for a larger market. Not just the older analog breckwell controllers. Also giving the end user access to the program, This way they could tweak to there needs. Check out the Bixby stove. I think that is some neat software to bebug and tweak with.

This lack of features there are in the current Breckwell controller is the reason I upgraded to an Enviro stove.

just my 2
jay
 
what I would like to see on both the Enviro and Breckwell Boards.
(The ORIGINAL digital board made by ACE)

Is on a ON and OFF thermostat mode the ability to change the shut down time.
I would like to see when the thermostat is not calling for heat for the stove to go down to LOW heat mode for 3 hours
then if the thermostat does not call for heat in that 3 hours THEN SHUT DOWN.
now the way the boards are times is that it goes into low mode for 30 minutes then goes to a shut down mode.
if you had a 3 hour delay the stove would cycle Less and prolong the life of the ignitor and would have less Fault outs because the burn pot would not build up a much
 
Just finished the board layout for Replacement Digital Control Board for Breckwell Pellet Stoves
Etched and drilled the circuit board last night and will be tweaking the program a bit this weekend.

FULLY PROGRAMMABLE! FULLY DIGITAL! TWEAK ABLE SETTINGS!

Unique Programmable Heat Control Settings (High, Med, Low)
Adjustable Fuel Feed Rate makes this board work with all types of fuel
Variable Combustion (Flame) & Convection (Room Air) Blower Speed Control
Programmable Real-time Clock can automatically turn stove ON & OFF at specific times
Thermostat High/Low Heat Input Control
Automatic Power Failure Restart
Simple LCD Display with 8 key User Interface and built-in diagnostics
Resettable Run Time Hours Counter
Software Selectable 1 or 4 RPM Auger Motor Timing
Automatic Combustion Blower Vacuum Switch test on Startup
Standard 12-Pin MOLEX connector found on BRECKWELL Digital Control boards (# C-E-401)
Designed to work with the following models P23/P24/P2000/P2700/Big-E
(Only for units made in 2002 or newer)

The programmable Shut Off Timer allows the stove to shut off and restart when thermostat calls for heat.
The variable speed Combustion Blower allows for fine tuning of the flame on different settings without having to move damper.


Anyone interested in replacing their Breckwell Digital Controller with this feature loaded board drop me a line.

Here is a photo of the back bottom. Will be assembling parts and will post more photos. Maybe even a YouTube video next week.
Thanks
 

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I'm interested in your board.
Will the shut off and restart feature save on idle time burning of fuel?
My Breckwell P24s and P24i are designed for wood pellets only. Are you suggesting the adjustable feed rates will allow me to use other fuels?
What is your price?
 
Pellet Stove Controller Board-Repairman said:
Just finished the board layout for Replacement Digital Control Board for Breckwell Pellet Stoves
Etched and drilled the circuit board last night and will be tweaking the program a bit this weekend.

FULLY PROGRAMMABLE! FULLY DIGITAL! TWEAK ABLE SETTINGS!

Unique Programmable Heat Control Settings (High, Med, Low)
Adjustable Fuel Feed Rate makes this board work with all types of fuel
Variable Combustion (Flame) & Convection (Room Air) Blower Speed Control
Programmable Real-time Clock can automatically turn stove ON & OFF at specific times
Thermostat High/Low Heat Input Control
Automatic Power Failure Restart
Simple LCD Display with 8 key User Interface and built-in diagnostics
Resettable Run Time Hours Counter
Standard 12-Pin MOLEX connector found on BRECKWELL Digital Control boards (# C-E-401)
Designed to work with the following models P23/P24/P2000/P2700
(Only for units made in 2002 or newer)

The programmable Shut Off Timer allows the stove to shut off and restart when thermostat calls for heat.
The variable speed Combustion Blower allows for fine tuning of the flame on different settings without having to move damper.


Anyone interested in replacing their Breckwell Digital Controller with this feature loaded board drop me a line.

Here is a photo of the back bottom. Will be assembling parts and will post more photos. Maybe even a YouTube video next week.
Thanks

It will also work on the BigE because it uses the same control as 1 RPM controls on the stoves you listed.

Just FYI

I would also like to know the price of the control!

Thanks
jay
 
Im thinking if you say this is for 2002 and newer
so I think you have to have a breckwell with a 1rpm auger using 1 RPM motor
if not you will have to upgrade from 4 RPM to 1RPM and this included changing the auger and motor.
 
hearthtools said:
Im thinking if you say this is for 2002 and newer
so I think you have to have a breckwell with a 1rpm auger using 1 RPM motor
if not you will have to upgrade from 4 RPM to 1RPM and this included changing the auger and motor.

Rod,

As long as you changed to a 1 RPM motor, Couldn't this be used on any Breckwell stove. Including the older stoves as long as you changed the wiring harness and rewired the stove???

jay
 
you would need to tweek the feed rate on and off time because
4 RPM is a lot differnt than 1 RPM and the auger flights are not the same ither
so the amount of pellet that feed in each feed time
 
hearthtools said:
Im thinking if you say this is for 2002 and newer
so I think you have to have a breckwell with a 1rpm auger using 1 RPM motor
if not you will have to upgrade from 4 RPM to 1RPM and this included changing the auger and motor.

Sorry forgot to mention there is a programmable 1 or 4 RPM Auger Motor setting that will compensate for this difference.

Thanks for your comments.

Darn, I forgot to order a 12-pin connector part so assembly has stalled. Will have to keep working with the breadboard circuit. LOL
 
2hotty said:
Board Repairman
Do you have a price on your board?????

Will have that info mid to end of next week. Awaiting costs for nice silk screened front panel. Will post details then.

I just added some more photos of the board with parts installed. Forgot a few items but will get them in soon.

Thanks to everyones response to the posts.
 
I have made this second generation digital pellet stove controller completely from scratch and wrote micro controller software program. Just sending the long weekend tweaking on my prototype board until I get the display and 12-pin molex board mount plug.

Enjoy the photos

If you have any comments or questions please feel free to ask.

Thanks

Pellet Stove Controller Board-Repairman
 

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More pictures!

You got to love surface mount components. There are a few more under the power transformer.

Shot board from artwork created in CorelDraw. Exposed onto GC Chemicals Copper Clad Board material. Then developed and etched the board. Drilled holes on my drill press. Hand soldered all the parts.

I have been making electronic controllers and repairing printed circuit boards since 1980. CET

Thanks

Pellet Stove Controller Board-Repairman
 

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Board Repairman, How Much Will That Board Cost and Will It Be A OEM replacement to my Breckwell P23, Very Clean Looking Board and Nice Soldering, Reminds me when I used to repair motherboards at the chip level and actually made money before Dell and Gateway flooded the market with PC's..... Keep up the great work truly an inspiration. :coolsmile:
 
seems pretty cool. I agree with everyone, I wanna know the price.
also what about warrenty? will you put a warrenty on it? will it affect breckwell's warrenty?
does it work on the P22 which has a slightly different board?
what have you tested it on, all the breckwells(i know that they are practically all the same)

what would you do for a klondike bar?
 
Things are coming along fine.
The wife says it is a waste of my time.
Right now I am just trying to stay out of the dog house.

The smaller display on the board is different that my prototype board display. Big rewrite.
All is working great. Still waiting for RTC Clock chip battery to arrive.
Also have not got information from silk screener about front panel.

Here are some more photos.
Enjoy.

Exact Pricing is coming soon. These should be in the $299.00 to $349.00 range.

Pellet Stove Controller Board-Repairman
 

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snikr said:
Yes...how much will it cost and will it fit my Big-E?

Tom

Tom
Yes, this board should just plug into the 12-pin connector supplied with the stove.

Pellet Stove Controller Board-Repairman
 
2hotty said:
I'm interested in your board.
Will the shut off and restart feature save on idle time burning of fuel?
My Breckwell P24s and P24i are designed for wood pellets only. Are you suggesting the adjustable feed rates will allow me to use other fuels?
What is your price?


Yes if the thermostat is wired into board and there has not been call for heat from the thermostat for a programmed amount of time, the stove will shut down and restart as needed.

Pellet Stove Controller Board-Repairman
 
jtakeman said:
Pellet Stove Controller Board-Repairman said:
Just finished the board layout for Replacement Digital Control Board for Breckwell Pellet Stoves
Etched and drilled the circuit board last night and will be tweaking the program a bit this weekend.

FULLY PROGRAMMABLE! FULLY DIGITAL! TWEAK ABLE SETTINGS!

Unique Programmable Heat Control Settings (High, Med, Low)
Adjustable Fuel Feed Rate makes this board work with all types of fuel
Variable Combustion (Flame) & Convection (Room Air) Blower Speed Control
Programmable Real-time Clock can automatically turn stove ON & OFF at specific times
Thermostat High/Low Heat Input Control
Automatic Power Failure Restart
Simple LCD Display with 8 key User Interface and built-in diagnostics
Resettable Run Time Hours Counter
Standard 12-Pin MOLEX connector found on BRECKWELL Digital Control boards (# C-E-401)
Designed to work with the following models P23/P24/P2000/P2700
(Only for units made in 2002 or newer)

The programmable Shut Off Timer allows the stove to shut off and restart when thermostat calls for heat.
The variable speed Combustion Blower allows for fine tuning of the flame on different settings without having to move damper.


Anyone interested in replacing their Breckwell Digital Controller with this feature loaded board drop me a line.

Here is a photo of the back bottom. Will be assembling parts and will post more photos. Maybe even a YouTube video next week.
Thanks

It will also work on the BigE because it uses the same control as 1 RPM controls on the stoves you listed.

Just FYI

I would also like to know the price of the control!

Thanks
jay

This board will work with 1 RPM or 4 RPM Auger Motor. It has a software programmable switch to select Auger RPM.

Pellet Stove Controller Board-Repairman
 
2hotty said:
Board Repairman How is the development going. Still very interested in buying or testing a unit and offering feedback.

All done program changes and testing. Would like to find a few other people to test the board.

Let me know where you are in Ontario and I will arrange to bring a board by to try in your stove if you want.

Pellet Stove Controller Board-Repairman
 
Board repair man. I have been out of the loop for a week and a half. Please give me a call and ask for Scott 705-456-8248 Glad to test your board.
 
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