can't keep up

[hamelpe]

I have a Harman Accentra insert and I'm trying to heat about 1700sft. The issue is when the out side temperature drops into single digits I' can't get the temp above 65.The stove is on max and runs 24 / 7 . Is this normal or do I have problem. I clean it out every 2wks.I run it in room temp mode set at max feed rate at 6 . What should the temperature of the air com ming from the stove be? I could use some help in CT.Thanks

 

[HEMI]

I heat 2200 sq ft with my P43, house is constant 72, I think you have enough stove there to heat you very well. maybe give it a complete cleaning including the blowers and pipe.......i run in stovetemp mode, not sure if changin over would help but worth a shot

 

[newf lover]

I don't have an Accentra, but I do have a P68. Doesn't sound normal to me. I have a 1400 sq. ft. ranch with the pellet stove in a great room with skylights and a sliding glass door that the dog is constantly asking that we open to let her out. The stove keeps up. I put my feedrate at 3, temp 75. What do you set your temp at?

 

[jtakeman]

What brand of pellets are you burning????

 

[cornstoves]

Open floor plan, choppy floor plan?
Insulation?
Windows?
Ceiling fans?
How tall of ceilings?

 

[hamelpe]

I set the stove in room temp mode setting at 90 feed rate at 6 .The temp of the exhaust air is 134 on the left and 181 on the right. I will shut down and clean the stove. I have a open floor plan between the family room which where the stove is and the kitchen. When it gets in the single digits I can's get the temp above 65 in the family room. I'm using New England premium hardwood pellets.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I set the stove in room temp mode setting at 90 feed rate at 6 .The temp of the exhaust air is 134 on the left and 181 on the right. I will shut down and clean the stove. I have a open floor plan between the family room which where the stove is and the kitchen. When it gets in the single digits I can's get the temp above 65 in the family room. I'm using New England premium hardwood pellets.

Check your convection air blower (room air blower) make certain it isn't full of dust and pet hairs and that the area around the blower's air intake is clear.

Also do you have a blower switch in the control panel area if so set it to high.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Also where is your room sensor located?

 

[newf lover]

Something is definitely wrong. I have never run my stove on feed rate 6 with a temp of 90. I can't imagine how hot it would be. Did you ever get good heat out of it? If you did, and are having trouble now, I would say something is dirty in your stove. I have burned 2 tons of the NEWPs, and while I have no problem with the heat, I personally thought they were very ashy, and it was a heavy ash. If this is a newer stove and a good cleaning doesn't do the trick, I would have the dealer out. This is not the way it's supposed to work.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

How many pellets have you put through the stove and how many bags a day is it burning now?

 

[hamelpe]

I have the blower set to high and I'm burring about 1.5 bags a day .How hot is your exhaust temp .I use a digital kitchen thermometer and place in the grates on the from of the stove.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

And your room sensor is where?

It sounds like the stove thinks it is maintaining temperature, perhaps the room sensor is in the wrong location.

 

[hamelpe]

my room sensor is installed inside the Honeywell thermostat . I installed this per the tech bulletin. So its about 20ft from the stove and 4 ft off the floor.

 

[hamelpe]

What makes you think the stove thinks its maintaining temp

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

my room sensor is installed inside the Honeywell thermostat . I installed this per the tech bulletin. So its about 20ft from the stove and 4 ft off the floor.

Is there any air circulation inside that thermostat box and what kind of thermostat is it. What I'm looking for is any possible source of heat inside that box and a means of trapping it, thus faking out the sensor.

I would expect the stove to burn more than 1.5 bags a day to maintain a 90 degree room setting when you are saying the temperature is only 65 and I assume that the temperature is also measured at the same location as the room sensor.

 

[jtakeman]

I set the stove in room temp mode setting at 90 feed rate at 6 .The temp of the exhaust air is 134 on the left and 181 on the right. I will shut down and clean the stove. I have a open floor plan between the family room which where the stove is and the kitchen. When it gets in the single digits I can's get the temp above 65 in the family room. I'm using New England premium hardwood pellets.

Are the Newp's from the Jaffery NH. Plant or the Schuyler NY. Plant. Marked right on the bottom of the bag. Also on the back or the bag in the left corner of the red out line there is a number there. It is the date code. Can you post it please.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Your insert operating full out can burn 5 pounds of pellets an hour or 3 bags a day. It has a gross input at that firing rate of 42,000 BTUs an hour. If you have a clean heat exchanger and an operating convection fan you should be able to to extract at least 33,600 BTUs.

In order for that kind of stove to burn only 1.5 bags a day something has to be telling it that it is maintaining its set point or you have turned down the temperature for many hours and then turned it up and haven't waited long enough for it reach temperature. If I was having trouble maintaining temperature I wouldn't be lowering and raising the temperature settings. So I'll assume (and yes I know exactly where that can get one) that you also wouldn't.

 

[hamelpe]

the pellets are from Jaffery and the date code is KA

 

[hamelpe]

when Its very cold out I leave the stove running 24/7. The stove was on high so I think it was still calling for heat. Today its 24 degs and the stove is controlling right at the set point. When its colder is doesn't regulate at all and the room temp follows the outside temp. ie if it gets colder the the room temp is lower. Is there any tests or measurements I can make to evaluate the performance?

 

[imacman]

I agree with Hemi above....try changing to stove temp and see if that helps.

 

[hamelpe]

I ran it on stove temp mode for a while and didn't get a change. It look like it was regulating because the flame would increase and decrease. So I changed back to room temp on high and would get a constant high flame with the air temp from the stove at 183.

 

[HEMI]

I ran it on stove temp mode for a while and didn't get a change. It look like it was regulating because the flame would increase and decrease. So I changed back to room temp on high and would get a constant high flame with the air temp from the stove at 183.

room temp is where you should get the increase and decrease, stove temp is more of a consistent size fire

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If when the stove is on high and the your temperature in the room goes down it can only be because of a couple of things, very high heat loss due to air infiltration or poor insulation that exceeds the ability of the stove to deliver heat into the room. This situation should result in an automatic burn system such as in the Harman to burn at a very high firing rate and for the pellet usage to exceed 1.5 bags a day.

Since it didn't do that something must think things are just ducky. You have the room sensor, the esp, and the control board. Take your pick, HEMI's suggestion will remove the room sensor from the mix.

 

[imacman]

.......I will shut down and clean the stove.........

Can you explain what you do exactly to clean the stove? How long have you had the stove? How many tons have gone through it since the last MAJOR cleaning? ( do you know what a MAJOR cleaning includes??)

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Be sure to clean that ESP it can make a huge difference in how the stove burns.