Dutchwest - Everburn not kicking in

[Engineer2]

My Dutchwest 2479 non cat is not going into everburn mode recently.
Where should I be cleaning to correct this?
I do get it up to 400 - 450 before I close the damper - I used to kick in at this point.
Thanks for any suggestions,
J~

 

[Engineer2]

Hi Folks,
Hoping for some ideas from this group.
I cleaned the stove as well as I could, including taking out the refractory shoe and cleaning this area. Looked up with inspection mirror and passage is open.
With the damper open but the doors closed the thing is just starving for air. When I open up the ash door it will blaze up but as soon as I close it the file starves and practically goes out.
Any ideas on what could be causing this??
I had the flue cleaned yesterday because I thought this was the issue. The flue was not blocked at all.
Thanks
J~

 

[ecocavalier02]

is your refractory falling apart by anychance in the back. infortanately these stoves are notorious for this happening which actually resulted in me gettin rid of it.

 

[ecocavalier02]

if you look up tradergordos videos on the everburn system you can see how he operates it might help ya out. i know these stoves are just real finicky

 

[Engineer2]

Hi Bobby,
Thanks for the reply..
I did check on the condition of the refractory after I took the shoe part out. It is flaking or scaling but it is intact and had a clear opening to the top. The sweepers just cleaned the back of the stove through the flue collar. It did not seem plugged.
I myself opened up the area where the shoe is. Its pretty easy to get the shoe out and I've cleaned a few times over the past few seasons. The only place I did not look or feel is inside the flue collar and all the way down.
The stove has been firing pretty well until this happened. I know its a touchy appliance and I've been doing pretty well until this happened.
I'm trying to burn now, as I damp the stove the fire (that I had going real strong using the ash door ) the flames are actually out already. This must be some pretty big blockage of some kind but I just cannot find it.

Thanks,
J~

 

[Hanko]

bob, there are two things you have to keep track of. take the top off (two bolts from inside) there are two chambers that run down on each side. you have to get a small vacuum attachment to get down there and clean it. Also if you let the ash build up to high, that interferes with it also. Despite what some of these people say, its a great stove. You just need an IQ above 50 to operate it which there is a lack of around here

 

[Engineer2]

Hi Hanko,
Took a look at the stove and I believe I can see what you mean. The stove is in its 5 season and I've never done this before.
When I take it off will the damper or any other parts be coming off too? Will I need to replace any gaskets when I take if off?
I want to get some idea of what I'm taking on.....
Thanks,
John

 

[Hanko]

if you havnt done it in 5 years im sure thats the problem. reach up through the front door (cold stove for sure) you will feel two studs on each side. remove the nuts, remove the top. it shouldnt effect the gasket. if it does replace it. you will see the top of the stove, and the everburn do dad. you dont have to mess with the flu collar or the stove pipe.

 

[Engineer2]

sounds straight forward....I'll let the stove cool off and I'll give it a try tomorrow....
Thanks for the help,
John

 

[Hanko]

good luck, let me know how it goes

 

[bsa0021]

If you had the flue cleaned by an incompetent sweep, they could have run the brush through the refractory in the back. You should not have a hole directly under the flue collar when you remove the top. Note:There will be two openings toward the outside edge of the refractory.

 

[Hanko]

If you knew anything about that stove, you would that its impossible to do what your saying. If you run the brush down to far, all you hit is the top of the burn chamber, Its a down draft stove dude. .

 

[Hanko]

If you had the flue cleaned by an incompetent sweep, they could have run the brush through the refractory in the back. You should not have a hole directly under the flue collar when you remove the top. Note:There will be two openings toward the outside edge of the refractory.

sad thing is, I see you have the same stove. Obviously if you have had the top off, you will see that cant happen. The refractory you talking about is below the everburn by pass.

 

[bsa0021]

Excuse me, I meant to type fountain. I do currently have my stove apart and it is very possible to damage the fountain when cleaning the flue pipe. The is a small block plate below the flue collar but if someone where to force a brush down the pipe it is possible to hit the fountain. The fountain, for those have yet to replace this expensive and fragile part, looks like drywall and is very brittle and it is what gives you the everburn (secondary burn).

 

[Engineer2]

Update on the cleaning...............In short, it is still not producing any secondary burning and it really seems starving for air.


Took off the top. Not to bad at all. Inspected the two chanbers and they really were pretty clean.
I used 1" hose taped on to shop-vac and cleaned out some minor stuff. Got all the way down and the chamber are nice and clean.
I inspected the fountain also. I again inspected but this time I really too a very close look. Used flashlight to see if openings are blocked.
I can see light on both sides of the fountain - from inside the two chambers I was inspecting below the top.
I'm not actually sure what it means to see light though......but these chanbers do not seem to be plugged.

When I started the stove with the from door open, it fires up well and in short time reads over 400. At 450 I closed the damper
and did not hear the typical roar that the secondary burn produced. Shortly after the damer is closed the flame becomes lethargic.
The tempature continually drops until it reaches 250 to 275. From here on, the fire will continue to burn. When the wood is 50 - 75% burned and there
is an amber bed the flame actually gets a bit bigger, but still no where near what it looked like just a week ago.

I'm wondering of this fountain is my problem. Its a pretty expensive part and I do not want to repace it unless I'm sure it is the problem.
Is there some way to verify this piece has failed?
Otherwise, I'm not sure what else I can check......Stove is only 5 years old (young)....
I'm wondering if I'll need to invest is a new stove, I'm in RI and we have plenty of winter left.....
Thanks for all of the input to date,
John

 

[bsa0021]

I want to make sure I have this correct. You are shinning a flashlight down the two openings in the back of the stove to the right/left of the flue collar (after the top is removed) and you can see light inside the stove? Is the light coming from the area of the shoe?

 

[Badbob]

I have the same stove. my dealer got me a new fountain after two seasons under warranty.I took it apart, it was crumbling in my hands what a piece of crap My stove is going on third season hope i dont have to replace it again but i have a funny feeling the new one wont last, seems like a crappy system for a expensive stove. My shoe plate was also cracked but i was not having the same symptoms as you are having

 

[Engineer2]

The way I "tested" the fountain was just the reverse, I placed a work light inside right in the middle (took out the shoe first, then placed the light inside).
From here I removed the flue color and looked for light on the two chambers. Light was present, there is no block on either side.
I visited my local dealer for some advice, they were able to show me what a fountain looks like outside of a stove. Pretty fragile part, but seeing the part gave me
the confidence to pull the stove apart again and insure the paths on either side were clear. They were both clear. Also, i noticed the group of venting holes inside the
fountain........I hoped that this may be the problem but after cleaning all of the holes with wire, (pretty difficult :-( job) they also seemed clear.
If something is wrong with the fountain, it is not obvious. I have had this stove apart multiple times in the past few days, I do not know of any other places on this thing to clean or check.

New fountain from dealer is in the $320 range, a lot of cash to pay when I'm not sure this is the problem.

I'm burning the thing now......it is burning but as far as I can tell there is no secondary burning. The temp lowers as soon as I close the main damper and outside
you can see a fair amount of smoke from the pipe. It just looks like I'm loosing a lot of fuel out the stack.

 

[bsa0021]

Engineer2: You should not be able to see light as you describe. It sounds like the enclosed chambers inside the fountain have disintegrated. My fountain was toast after 3 years of 24/7 burning (see photo). Do you have flaking material above the shoe? Before you buy another fountain, make sure you don't have cracks around the bypass door as I did.

 

[bsa0021]

Engineer2: You should not be able to see light as you describe. It sounds like the enclosed chambers inside the fountain have disintegrated. My fountain was toast after 3 years of 24/7 burning (see photo). Do you have flaking material above the shoe? Before you buy another fountain, make sure you don't have cracks around the bypass door as I did.

You might want to check with your dealer to cover the cost of the fountain. These were orginally warrented for the life of the stove. My dealer listed my stove as a newer model failure thereby replacing it under the "new" company warrentee.

 

[fire_man]

bob, there are two things you have to keep track of. take the top off (two bolts from inside) there are two chambers that run down on each side. you have to get a small vacuum attachment to get down there and clean it. Also if you let the ash build up to high, that interferes with it also. Despite what some of these people say, its a great stove. You just need an IQ above 50 to operate it which there is a lack of around here

Obviously you need to scan the numerous negative posts on the Everburn system. There have been lots of post with similar experiences as Engineer2's. The system may occasionally work, but not all the time and not for everybody. Why else would it be nicknamed Neverburn? to make a statement like yours about IQ above 50 was needless and derogatory to the many people that have struggled with this stove. You are entitled to your opinion that it's a great stove, just layoff the IQ comments.

 

[webby3650]

bob, there are two things you have to keep track of. take the top off (two bolts from inside) there are two chambers that run down on each side. you have to get a small vacuum attachment to get down there and clean it. Also if you let the ash build up to high, that interferes with it also. Despite what some of these people say, its a great stove. You just need an IQ above 50 to operate it which there is a lack of around here

Obviously you need to scan the numerous negative posts on the Everburn system. There have been lots of post with similar experiences as Engineer2's. The system may occasionally work, but not all the time and not for everybody. Why else would it be nicknamed Neverburn? to make a statement like yours about IQ above 50 was needless and derogatory to the many people that have struggled with this stove. You are entitled to your opinion that it's a great stove, just layoff the IQ comments.

No kidding dude, what the heck?

 

[Hanko]

becaused IM sick and tired of people bashing my stove. I believe in my heart that 99% of the poor performance is either install issues, or operator error. There are three of these stoves in my family and they all have been great. Im not talking about the folks like the thread starter who have developed problems, Im talking about the person who shouldnt have a wood stove, the one that cant or wont read the owners manual. The one that puts in his own system and fails. This crap had been going on for a few years now, and IM just tired of reading about incompitance. GO but a gas fireplace, maybe you can figure that out.

 

[webby3650]

becaused IM sick and tired of people bashing my stove. I believe in my heart that 99% of the poor performance is either install issues, or operator error. There are three of these stoves in my family and they all have been great. Im not talking about the folks like the thread starter who have developed problems, Im talking about the person who shouldnt have a wood stove, the one that cant or wont read the owners manual. The one that puts in his own system and fails. This crap had been going on for a few years now, and IM just tired of reading about incompitance. GO but a gas fireplace, maybe you can figure that out.

How old is your Dutchwest?

 

[bsa0021]

becaused IM sick and tired of people bashing my stove. I believe in my heart that 99% of the poor performance is either install issues, or operator error. There are three of these stoves in my family and they all have been great. Im not talking about the folks like the thread starter who have developed problems, Im talking about the person who shouldnt have a wood stove, the one that cant or wont read the owners manual. The one that puts in his own system and fails. This crap had been going on for a few years now, and IM just tired of reading about incompitance. GO but a gas fireplace, maybe you can figure that out.

There's no reason to get personal. This is supposed to be a friendly fourm to discuss, learn and help others with wood burning.