Englander 10-cpm newbie questions

[mithesaint]

Did the test burn today on my new-to-me Englander 10-cpm. Seemed to function fine, except for a few things. Burned for about an hour or so.

1. Should I be able to hear anything different when I change the blower setting? Didn't matter if I had it set on 1 or 9, the stove sounded the same. The only noise I really heard was what I presumed to be the exhaust fan and the auger. Should there be an obvious flow of air out the front of the stove? I didn't notice any today. I guess I was anticipating an obvious flow of hot air through the vents.

2. I'm limited to box stores for my pellets. I know you're supposed to buy a few bags before you buy a few tons, but I'm nervous about supplies. No independent dealers around here. Should I just buy some and hope for the best? I already have 2 tons in the shed. My choices are Menards or TSC. Probably going to buy 2 more tons.

Thanks.

 

[DexterDay]

You should have felt air out if the front of the stove. The stove starts in settings 5-5 for 20 mins. Then reverts to user settings. Also the stove must get over 110-120* before the convection blower kicks in.

Are you sure it was an hour? On the #9 setting for blower, that 265 CFM beast should knock a Wig off from 10 ft away!!

Are all the wires and connections tight. A member had a problem with the pot stirrer (agitator) not working on a new stove. Turned out a electrical connector had fallen off..

These stoves are shipped carefully. But the trucks they are in, hit the same bumps your car hits on the highway.

 

[mithesaint]

I burned for at least an hour, but the first time I did mess with the settings a bit earlier than I should have. Either way, no air out of the front. How long is a reasonable amount of time till the stove hits 110? Can't be much more than 10-15 minutes normally, right?

I pulled off the back, the connections look good. Nothing loose that I could see. Now it's either a bad blower or a bad sensor, right? Any easy way to tell the difference between the two? I'm decent with a wrench, but a voltmeter gets the best of me from time to time.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Incorrect AOT setting also.

 

[imacman]

What are the bottom button settings? As Smokey said, if the Air On Temp is more than 1, the blower may not come on....it's all controlled by the white sensor wire going from the control board across the back of the stove and connecting to the exhaust blower housing.....that's what sends the temp signal to the board.

Making a "test" lead from an old lamp power cord could tell you if the blower is good or not.

Is this a used stove, or a factory refurb unit?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

follow this test to see if there is an issue with the blower http://www.englanderstoves.com/help/PelletStove/diagnostic_mode04.html

if the blower is not running within a half hour from the flame lighting i need you to contact me , just dro pme a PM with a daytime phone number and i'll call you to go over this and see what the issue is. this is what i do and im actually pretty good at it so do the test and see if the blower runs, if not drop me a pm, if it will not come on within a reasonable time of firing the stove again pm me, i'll get ya squared away

 

[mithesaint]

Thanks Mike. That's exactly why I bought the englander. I'll run that test today, and get back to you. I'll try to do it over my lunch hour, but it might be tonight after work. Thanks again.

 

[mithesaint]

Ran the test today, and the room air blower came on like it was supposed to. I'll have to check the AOT setting next I guess. Thanks for the help so far.

 

[mithesaint]

AOT is set at 1. Mike, you have a PM. Thanks.

 

[mithesaint]

Anyone else? Thoughts?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Sensor wire is loose at the control board.

 

[mithesaint]

I checked that, and it seems fine. I see where the sensor wire attaches to the exhaust blower....and I don't see a obvious sensor. I expected something hanging down into the pipe. All I see is a brass clamp with two wires going into it. Is is supposed to go into the exhaust, or is it supposed to be on the outside of the pipe?


This is getting frustrating. Installer is coming tomorrow, and really wanted to have this working right, especially since the guy I bought it from (used) claimed it worked fine, no probs.

 

[DexterDay]

I checked that, and it seems fine. I see where the sensor wire attaches to the exhaust blower....and I don't see a obvious sensor. I expected something hanging down into the pipe. All I see is a brass clamp with two wires going into it. Is is supposed to go into the exhaust, or is it supposed to be on the outside of the pipe?


This is getting frustrating. Installer is coming tomorrow, and really wanted to have this working right, especially since the guy I bought it from (used) claimed it worked fine, no probs.

Did you buy it from a guy on Craiglist? In the Toledo/Wassuen area?

He was trying to heat a horse stable with it, I believe. He told me the ignitor didnt work. But he had extra parts. Had it less than a year. I stopped emaiing him then. He didnt seem to know much about them..

Dont know if this is the same stove, but it was only a month ago when it was on Craiglist. Hope Mike gets it figured out for you. Great stoves,.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I checked that, and it seems fine. I see where the sensor wire attaches to the exhaust blower....and I don't see a obvious sensor. I expected something hanging down into the pipe. All I see is a brass clamp with two wires going into it. Is is supposed to go into the exhaust, or is it supposed to be on the outside of the pipe?


This is getting frustrating. Installer is coming tomorrow, and really wanted to have this working right, especially since the guy I bought it from (used) claimed it worked fine, no probs.

I haven't looked at the manual, but suspect it is on the outside. If it is a thermocouple it is basically two wires with dissimilar metals or a semiconductor junction where they come together. Basically anything that changes an electrical characteristic that can be measured and related to temperatures.

 

[mithesaint]

I checked that, and it seems fine. I see where the sensor wire attaches to the exhaust blower....and I don't see a obvious sensor. I expected something hanging down into the pipe. All I see is a brass clamp with two wires going into it. Is is supposed to go into the exhaust, or is it supposed to be on the outside of the pipe?


This is getting frustrating. Installer is coming tomorrow, and really wanted to have this working right, especially since the guy I bought it from (used) claimed it worked fine, no probs.

Did you buy it from a guy on Craiglist? In the Toledo/Wassuen area?

He was trying to heat a horse stable with it, I believe. He told me the ignitor didnt work. But he had extra parts. Had it less than a year. I stopped emaiing him then. He didnt seem to know much about them..

Dont know if this is the same stove, but it was only a month ago when it was on Craiglist. Hope Mike gets it figured out for you. Great stoves,.

Interesting. I did in fact buy this from a guy near Wauseon...approx a month or maybe a little more ago. He never mentioned a horse stable though. Ignitor works fine too. Only extra parts were the exhaust piping. It's an '09 model, and he showed me on the outside of the house where the exhaust had previously come out, although it could have been from any stove. Interesting.

Haven't heard from Mike, although I imagine he's a bit busy this time of year...

 

[mithesaint]

Thanks Smokey. First pellet stove, so I'm finding a lot of things are different that I would expect them to be. Learn something new every day.

 

[DexterDay]

I checked that, and it seems fine. I see where the sensor wire attaches to the exhaust blower....and I don't see a obvious sensor. I expected something hanging down into the pipe. All I see is a brass clamp with two wires going into it. Is is supposed to go into the exhaust, or is it supposed to be on the outside of the pipe?


This is getting frustrating. Installer is coming tomorrow, and really wanted to have this working right, especially since the guy I bought it from (used) claimed it worked fine, no probs.

Did you buy it from a guy on Craiglist? In the Toledo/Wassuen area?

He was trying to heat a horse stable with it, I believe. He told me the ignitor didnt work. But he had extra parts. Had it less than a year. I stopped emaiing him then. He didnt seem to know much about them..

Dont know if this is the same stove, but it was only a month ago when it was on Craiglist. Hope Mike gets it figured out for you. Great stoves,.

Interesting. I did in fact buy this from a guy near Wauseon...approx a month or maybe a little more ago. He never mentioned a horse stable though. Ignitor works fine too. Only extra parts were the exhaust piping. It's an '09 model, and he showed me on the outside of the house where the exhaust had previously come out, although it could have been from any stove. Interesting.

Haven't heard from Mike, although I imagine he's a bit busy this time of year...

There were 2 CPM's for sale in that same area about the same time. Seen both on Craiglist. Niether one would sell below $1200 so I never looked further into them.

The one guy said he was trying to heat his horse stable and it wasnt doing the job. But he did say the ignitor was shot, for sure. So I doubt you got that stove.

If you did, I was going to tell you to make sure you clean the convection blower squirrel cage, as it is probably clogged with hay, straw, and horse hair (I had horses and know how messy a stable/barn can be).

I doubt it was that stove though. Good luck. Englanders are great stoves. Especially the one you got. I am currently looking into getting one. Tiss the reason I called on both of the Toledo area Craiglist CPM's. If I could have got one of them in the $800-$900 range, it would be in my house now. But I shall wait till Spring and buy a new one.

Cheers

 

[mithesaint]

You live, you learn.

Should have just bought everything brand new, but tried to save a buck or two buying used stuff, and oh lord the headache this has become. The installer is here, and the pipe that I bought with the stove won't work because of how the previous owner cemented it together. Off I go to TSC to get a new kit. Still don't have the blower working either.

I'm thiiiiiiiiis close to just quitting and selling the stove and paying the propane guy. It shouldn't be this hard. Between the pipe being in the way for the install, the blower not working, the vent pipe not being right, not to mention the wifey not being 100% on board...Propane isn't that bad right? I can afford $800 per month for the next 3-4 months...ARGH.

Thanks for listening to my whining.

 

[heat seeker]

Hang in there! You'll be glad you did, and you'll know far more about your stove than most people ever learn. You will be able to take the greatest of satisfaction basking in the heat from your stove. You're making progress, don't give up now!

On top of that, the $ incentive of $3200 for propane would motivate the heck out of me…That's what my oil would cost me for a year, and that's way too much!

 

[imacman]

I checked that, and it seems fine. I see where the sensor wire attaches to the exhaust blower....and I don't see a obvious sensor. I expected something hanging down into the pipe. All I see is a brass clamp with two wires going into it. Is is supposed to go into the exhaust, or is it supposed to be on the outside of the pipe?

This is getting frustrating. Installer is coming tomorrow, and really wanted to have this working right, especially since the guy I bought it from (used) claimed it worked fine, no probs.

First of all, you should have had the person you bought it from start it up and show you it operated correctly before buying it. But too late for that, obviously.

The sensor that comes from the control board with the white thermal covering on it, ends with a copper thermocouple that has a hole in it. It is supposed to be attached with a sheet metal screw to the top of the exhaust blower housing.

If you need a pic, I can take one and post it.

 

[mithesaint]

Imacman - I did have the guy run it for me, and it started and burned just like I expected it to. Didn't let it burn long enough to kick on the blower because I was in a bit of a hurry and didn't have a lot of time to wait for the stove to cool down.

Either way, it's installed and working now. Room air blower kicks on at higher settings, but shuts off on lower (4 and below) settings. I think I have a pretty dirty burn going. It's been running for a total of 7 hours or so, and the glass is pretty filthy already. I took a meat thermometer and put it in the vents on the front, and it was only reading 100 degrees. Must not be getting the exhaust temp high enough to kick on the blower.

I'm hoping it's just a bad bag of pellets, as that bag tore open when I brought it home a month ago. That particular bag is almost gone anyway. I'll check gaskets and such tomorrow. Need to order the cleaning/info DVD from Englander too.

Sorry about the previous whining, I had a rough week. Started off with a nasty abscess in my first finger on my right hand (I'm very very right handed, and my job requires my hands), and that abscess turned out to be a MRSA infection. Same night I got the MRSA news I had the worst attack of Sciatica in a long time, ended up hanging off the counter in the bathroom trying not to vomit because it felt like someone was stabbing me. That, and my wife had to go get a malignant tumor removed from her skin. By the way, I'm 31. Too young for all this!

Thanks for all the advice so far.

 

[imacman]

Sorry to hear about the rough week....we all get them occasionally.

One question that I don't think has been asked (if it was, excuse me missing it):

When you brought the used 10-cpm home, did you take it apart and thoroughly clean everything on and in it? Remove both blowers and clean, remove ash trap covers and clean in there, etc, etc?

Also, what bottom button settings is the stove set at? Factory settings are 1-4-1, but a few of us have had good luck with 3-5-1....much more heat.

 

[mithesaint]

No, I didn't clean it, and I know I should have. It was pretty clean, looks barely used, and I used that for my flimsy excuse not to do it. I'm going to order the DVD from Englander and give it a good cleaning one of these days. The stove is about 12 inches out from the wall, so access to the back is easy. Looks a little goofy, but function was more important than form here.

The bottom buttons were set at 1-4-1, but after some searching last night I reset them to 3-5-1 and am currently testing that setting. Thanks for the advice.

 

[alltherage]

i'm having the same exact problem....my blower won't kick on....but it's a brand new stove!

 

[Indiana]

Check my answer in your other post. The Air on sensor is attached at the top of the exhaust fan and goes to the control board. The AOT button controls the cadence of the stirrer in newer stoves.