Breckwell Big E heat output? How hot is hot?

[Bail22]

Greetings,
My brand new Breckwell Big E seems to have a magic spot on level 4 (damper open halfway). The highest temperature I have recorded off the front of the room blowers is 200 degrees. I can run it on 5 for small durations & it only increases the temperature by about 25 degrees. I was hoping for hotter air but not sure what to expect. Does anyone else record this temperature output????

 

[BIGISLANDHIKERS]

How are you measuring the temp?

 

[buildingmaint]

I used a photograph developing thermometer on mine and the best I ever got out of mine was like 140-150 degrees. If I'm remembering correctly. But never 200-225.

 

[BIGISLANDHIKERS]

The temp can vary alot depending on how it is taken. If your touching metal the temp will be much higher. I held a meat therm about 1 inch from the stove and got about 200 on ML. A magnetic therm stuck to the front will give me about 275-300 on ML

 

[Bail22]

How are you measuring the temp?

I am using a thermometer designed to be used with grilles. It goes from 100-700 degrees. I used some metal strapping to get it mounted about an inch off the front grille. I am tempted to permanently mount it to the front of the stove by drilling a 1/8 inch hole just centered above the grille for the blower.

 

[Regor]

My Big E runs around 185 on setting 4. This is from an oven thermometer hung on the front grill, which I doubt is very accurate but it does give me a reference point. This is also without an OAK. When I connect the OAK it runs a little cooler if it is real cold out.

I'm curious if your Big E came with baffle plates installed. When I got mine last year, it did not have the plates and I had a terrible time getting any temperatures at all. My trials and tribulations are documented here if you're interested https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/52181/

 

[BBennett]

I have been using my Big E for about a month now. I am currently using Okenagan pellets, on setting 3. I run the room air fan on high and have a 20 inch box fan behind the stove, on low. I get 190 deg from remote oven thermometer, cliped to to the front grill.
The box fan behind my stove increases the output temp by about 8 degrees. I have never run my stove on 4 yet as i am already going through 2 bags a day.
How many bags are you guys going through a day on setting 3 or setting 4?

 

[buildingmaint]

On #3 my stove would go through 2 bags in a day or 72-80 lbs, where do you put your box fan behind the stove? On the floor? or sitting on the hopper ? How fast do you run the fan ?

 

[Dodge]

I am burning about 1.5 -2 bags a day on #3. I am curious did anyone else have the baffle plates installed on their Big E that Regor was talking about and did they make any difference?

 

[littlesmokey]

Air temp is only part of the equation. As you turn the stove "up", you increase the burn rate and fan speeds, exhaust and convection/circulation. I would think they best situation is for little change in actual temperature and marked increase/decrease in air volume. I have a speed limited blower, so the stove gets hotter, but the 200* level is about the limit I would think, Can't see why you would want more.

 

[BBennett]

On #3 my stove would go through 2 bags in a day or 72-80 lbs, where do you put your box fan behind the stove? On the floor? or sitting on the hopper ? How fast do you run the fan ?

The fan is on the floor about 2 feet behind the stove, on low or 1. Found it by accident, Iwas trying to increase air circulation in the basement. And when i started measuring temps out of the front, the fan got shut off by accident. i lost about 8-10 degrees i thought somthing was wrong until i noticed the fan was off. Plugged it in and the temp came back up! Who knew.
Any one try Heat sinks on the sides of these stoves? they run about 300 deg, could be more free heat if it can be used.

 

[Regor]

Last year I ran on setting 4 and went through a little more than 2 bags a day (OHP's and Rocky Mountain pellets). This year I am getting by with running on setting 2 and it uses a little less than 1 bag a day (Rocky Mountains). I spent the summer re-doing my shop with more insulation and sheathing on the walls and an insulated drop ceiling so I am now heating an 800 sq ft area with 12 ft ceilings. So far I am averaging about 68 degrees.

I will have to try a box fan.

 

[Bail22]

My Big E runs around 185 on setting 4. This is from an oven thermometer hung on the front grill, which I doubt is very accurate but it does give me a reference point. This is also without an OAK. When I connect the OAK it runs a little cooler if it is real cold out.

I'm curious if your Big E came with baffle plates installed. When I got mine last year, it did not have the plates and I had a terrible time getting any temperatures at all. My trials and tribulations are documented here if you're interested https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/52181/

Baffle plates huh? I will check on that this evening when I shutdown for cleaning. Breckwell stood behind there product when I had an issue. I missed the small detail to where you had to register your stove within 10 days for warranty information. Regardless, they shipped me a new ash pan & a collar for my firebox. The collar thing is interesting, it looks like a dude with a pair of pliers made a collar to see what it would do. The collar extends the firebox up to the height of the feed tube. I think it was designed in retro of dudes like me trying to maximize my investment and accidentally warp the ash pan by getting the stove too hot. I never witnessed that moment but that was the reasoning Breckwell gave me. My Big E is very picky! It takes some patience, time & journaling to find the sweet spot. My Big E does not operate well unless on level 4. Level 4/damper half open, the Big E is impressive. Any other level on the beast sucks!

 

[Bail22]

I have been using my Big E for about a month now. I am currently using Okenagan pellets, on setting 3. I run the room air fan on high and have a 20 inch box fan behind the stove, on low. I get 190 deg from remote oven thermometer, cliped to to the front grill.
The box fan behind my stove increases the output temp by about 8 degrees. I have never run my stove on 4 yet as i am already going through 2 bags a day.
How many bags are you guys going through a day on setting 3 or setting 4?

I am running setting 4 on nights & weekends & setting 2 otherwise. I am using 2 bags a day with this method.

 

[Regor]

This collar thing sounds intriguing. I'm beginning to visualize a warehouse full of retro parts for the Big E as the baffle plates were not OEM either, apparently there are a lot of them out there without the plates. I'm also thinking Big E may stand for Big Experiment. ;-)

Mine runs pretty well on settings 2, 3, and 4. Setting 1 seems to just be a smoke maker with an occasional burst of flame no matter what position the damper is in. I have never tried the 5th setting.

It also appears, from what I've been reading, that each Big E has it's own distinct personality.

 

[jtakeman]

This collar thing sounds intriguing. I'm beginning to visualize a warehouse full of retro parts for the Big E as the baffle plates were not OEM either, apparently there are a lot of them out there without the plates. I'm also thinking Big E may stand for Big Experiment. ;-)

Mine runs pretty well on settings 2, 3, and 4. Setting 1 seems to just be a smoke maker with an occasional burst of flame no matter what position the damper is in. I have never tried the 5th setting.

It also appears, from what I've been reading, that each Big E has it's own distinct personality.

I found with my bigE that if I reduced the voltage on the blower to 90 volts I could open the damper some and it actually burned pretty well in the low setting. If you look in the damper plate(viewed thru the air intake tube) you will see a hole in it. This hole is probably too large for the low setting. I was going to remake the damper plate with a smaller hole but sold the stove instead. I bought a stove with a variable speed combustion motor via control board settings. So I don't mess with the damper anymore unless I change pellet brands.

I was working on a controller that might give the breckwell a variable combustion blower, But was advised there could be liability issues. So that was that. All I will say is that several stoves use a similar board as the breckwell. Most have variable combustion blowers. So you would just need to pick one with similar feed rates. Most also have feed trim and blower trim adjustments that make life easier with the variaty of pellets we see today.

 

[doublewide]

I found with my bigE that if I reduced the voltage on the blower to 90 volts I could open the damper some and it actually burned pretty well in the low setting. If you look in the damper plate(viewed thru the air intake tube) you will see a hole in it. This hole is probably too large for the low setting. I was going to remake the damper plate with a smaller hole but sold the stove instead. I bought a stove with a variable speed combustion motor via control board settings. So I don't mess with the damper anymore unless I change pellet brands.

I was working on a controller that might give the breckwell a variable combustion blower, But was advised there could be liability issues. So that was that. All I will say is that several stoves use a similar board as the breckwell. Most have variable combustion blowers. So you would just need to pick one with similar feed rates. Most also have feed trim and blower trim adjustments that make life easier with the variaty of pellets we see today.[/quote]

I think the Breckwell's problems stem from the damper plate. I feel that it is so flimsy and cheap that it drifts open or closed slightly, or the push of outdoor wind might change it. It seems to me like it is always something that needs some tweaking.

Also, when I run mine P2000fs on setting 3 I get nice heat and the damper is open about 1/4" - 3/8," When I switch to setting 4 or 5 I have to open the damper up almost all the way to stop the flame from hitting the top of the stove, is it safe to run the stove with the damper completely open?

 

[jtakeman]

When I switch to setting 4 or 5 I have to open the damper up almost all the way to stop the flame from hitting the top of the stove, is it safe to run the stove with the damper completely open?

There is a warning in the manual about running for long periods on the highest(#5) setting. Running with the damper wide open isn't the issue and is necassary to get the proper air flow to consume the fuel. The issue is the stove doesn't dissipate the heat and will go into overfire if run for long periods in the highest setting. So if your stove isn't going into overfire(tripping the high limit switch) You should be fine.

 

[BBennett]

I was working on a controller that might give the breckwell a variable combustion blower, But was advised there could be liability issues. So that was that. All I will say is that several stoves use a similar board as the breckwell. Most have variable combustion blowers. So you would just need to pick one with similar feed rates. Most also have feed trim and blower trim adjustments that make life easier with the variaty of pellets we see today.

So "hypotheticaly" if someone were to try another control board which one "in theory " would one look for? If an individual were un happy with the amount of adjustability. ( I believe all factory setting are too conservitive! and that goes for Everything from cars to you name it. There is more potential built in to everything. just my 2 cents)

My stove on level 2 seemed to go through more than a bag a day could my auger control timing be messed up? Does anyone know what the on off times are for Level 2? /level3 ? Or is controlled by temp? I doubt its controlled by temp but i am curious how to get 1 bag a day on level 2 ( that would be great)

 

[jtakeman]

I was working on a controller that might give the breckwell a variable combustion blower, But was advised there could be liability issues. So that was that. All I will say is that several stoves use a similar board as the breckwell. Most have variable combustion blowers. So you would just need to pick one with similar feed rates. Most also have feed trim and blower trim adjustments that make life easier with the variaty of pellets we see today.

So "hypotheticaly" if someone were to try another control board which one "in theory " would one look for? If an individual were un happy with the amount of adjustability. ( I believe all factory setting are too conservitive! and that goes for Everything from cars to you name it. There is more potential built in to everything. just my 2 cents)

My stove on level 2 seemed to go through more than a bag a day could my auger control timing be messed up? Does anyone know what the on off times are for Level 2? /level3 ? Or is controlled by temp? I doubt its controlled by temp but i am curious how to get 1 bag a day on level 2 ( that would be great)

There is a timing chart in the manual for the stove. You should be able to varify if the auger is cycling in the correct times. Using said chart and comparing to other stoves with similar control boards you can find something. But I found that they either over feed in low or higher settings. As most other stoves have different burnpots(larger) and or the air flow is different. So you need to choose wisely. I am not going into details! Tips or pointers maybe, But due to what I said above, I'll not point you any farther. Probably best to stick with what the stove came with.

 

[BBennett]

I was working on a controller that might give the breckwell a variable combustion blower, But was advised there could be liability issues. So that was that. All I will say is that several stoves use a similar board as the breckwell. Most have variable combustion blowers. So you would just need to pick one with similar feed rates. Most also have feed trim and blower trim adjustments that make life easier with the variaty of pellets we see today.

So "hypotheticaly" if someone were to try another control board which one "in theory " would one look for? If an individual were un happy with the amount of adjustability. ( I believe all factory setting are too conservitive! and that goes for Everything from cars to you name it. There is more potential built in to everything. just my 2 cents)

My stove on level 2 seemed to go through more than a bag a day could my auger control timing be messed up? Does anyone know what the on off times are for Level 2? /level3 ? Or is controlled by temp? I doubt its controlled by temp but i am curious how to get 1 bag a day on level 2 ( that would be great)

There is a timing chart in the manual for the stove. You should be able to varify if the auger is cycling in the correct times. Using said chart and comparing to other stoves with similar control boards you can find something. But I found that they either over feed in low or higher settings. As most other stoves have different burnpots(larger) and or the air flow is different. So you need to choose wisely. I am not going into details! Tips or pointers maybe, But due to what I said above, I'll not point you any farther. Probably best to stick with what the stove came with.

ahhh the manual who would have thunk it.
gotcha ya on the control board issue. consider it a dead issue.
on another note though I did want to get in touch with you, in a post in an earlier thread I had posted you had mention that you stuffed a larger romm air fan in your buddies Big E, what were the details on that? Or is the fan behind the stove that i am using acting as the same thing?

 

[jtakeman]

ahhh the manual who would have thunk it.
gotcha ya on the control board issue. consider it a dead issue.
on another note though I did want to get in touch with you, in a post in an earlier thread I had posted you had mention that you stuffed a larger romm air fan in your buddies Big E, what were the details on that? Or is the fan behind the stove that i am using acting as the same thing?

I can help there! More fan lets the stove run in the higher heat settings with less fear of overfire!

I used this blower

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=16-1386&catname=electric

You will need to cut the hole out larger in the stove and make a gasket for the blower. I redrilled the mounting holes to match the blower. But you could try redrilling the blower to match the holes already in the stove.