Castille Insert: Some questions about fire pot

[G00k]

Hey Pellet Aficionados,

G00k here, with a big update on the Rattle, Rattle etc. thread: The motor WAS bad. The next guy to come out to do a maintenance call (to replace the auger motor) said Heckyeah that noise shouldn't be there, and replaced the main blower motor. Now it's very quiet. I guess you sometimes get the A team and sometimes get the B team.

Anyway, after several years of chipping and scraping clinker and carbon deposits out of the fire pot, I noticed that the floor plate wasn't as tight against the bottom of the fire pot. I could wiggle the lever that opens the bottom, and get a slight gap to show up. Now it has been running fine mostly, but there are times when I expect it to be running - say when I come down in the morning, but it isn't. The red light is on, but the fans are all off. (I assume they've timed out.) I usually clear any small amount of clinker, making syre the bottom of the pot is sitting flush against the pot, then push reset. Even with plenty of pellets in the hopper, the feed is anemic. I run a wire down the hopper (or up the chute) and jiggle it, then hit reset again, and it starts to feed, and continues to work until the next morning.

I don't know if it's the crazy variance in the pellet size, dust build up, or an air leak that's causing the pellet flow to stumble. I adjusted the flow today a little. What do you think?

Also, does the fire pot bottom get fatigued over time? Softened? So that it can be bent loose? Can it be tightened or does it need replacing?


I live in Maryland, where the winters aren't anything like y'all Northerners get, so pellets here are whatever they have, when they have them. I vacuum them, but that only does so much.


Hope to hear from you. Thanks,

G00k

 

[kappel15]

There is a bolt in the swing arm of the firepot, It can be tightened up if loose. Should be able to access it by removing the ashpan. I have not heard of one going bad yet, but I'm sure it can happen. If it doesn't tighten up, that may be the course you have to go. Do these pellets have any length to them? If they are long, they can bridge above auger in hopper,and at top of drop chute. You may have to adjust the feed adjusting rod to compensate for longer pellets, it this is what it is. Also, you may have to try cleaning the pot out before bedtime, to see if this helps the non-start in the morning Sometimes it doesn't take much of a buildup to get a false start. I burn a mix of corn and pellets, I usually dump my pot 3 times a day. Morning, when I get home from work, and before bedtime to keep from getting a false start. kap