Englander 55-shp240 pellet buildup

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I just did the dollar bill test again to be certain my memory was correct. I did it at the very beginning of the season. There is some resistance but not much. The bill comes out fairly easy. At no point was a pulling hard to get the bill out. Is this failing?
 
If it presents resistance at all test points it is fine.

I'd suggest that you attack the stove with the entire tool box of cleaning devices and at least a replacement gasket for the combustion blower if you have never removed and cleaned the blower and blower cavity.

Do not remove the blower without having a gasket on hand. They tend to fall apart when you remove the blower motor assembly from the stove.

The instructions for doing this should be in the manual.

And by stove I mean everything that is physically part of your pellet heating setup. This specifically includes the venting and OAK.
 
If it presents resistance at all test points it is fine.

I'd suggest that you attack the stove with the entire tool box of cleaning devices and at least a replacement gasket for the combustion blower if you have never removed and cleaned the blower and blower cavity.

Do not remove the blower without having a gasket on hand. They tend to fall apart when you remove the blower motor assembly from the stove.

The instructions for doing this should be in the manual.

And by stove I mean everything that is physically part of your pellet heating setup. This specifically includes the venting and OAK.

Well happened again this morning. I'm going to do another good cleaning. This time I noticed that the lights were flashing on the control board. The 3 and 4 lights were flashing. I found a pretty good manual online but couldn't find anything about codes in the manual.
 
I finally gave up after replacing the convecton blower (which was bad) and the exhaust blower. No change, pellets still pile up. I bought an Enviro Mini for my upstairs sunroom and liked how it burned so much I bought a Vista Flame VF170 to replace the Englander. This VF170 burns perfectly using the same setup as the Englander with one exception. The VF170 requires a 4" vent pipe. There is another person selling his Englander on Craigslist with the same pellet issue. I keep my stoves very clean. I had to clean the Englander every day but the Enviro's can go 4-5 days between cleanings. And the Envio's never have any clinkers no matter what kind of pellets I am burning. I strongly believe the control board on the Englander is bad since that is the only part at this point that I did not replace.
 
I finally gave up after replacing the convecton blower (which was bad) and the exhaust blower. No change, pellets still pile up. I bought an Enviro Mini for my upstairs sunroom and liked how it burned so much I bought a Vista Flame VF170 to replace the Englander. This VF170 burns perfectly using the same setup as the Englander with one exception. The VF170 requires a 4" vent pipe. There is another person selling his Englander on Craigslist with the same pellet issue. I keep my stoves very clean. I had to clean the Englander every day but the Enviro's can go 4-5 days between cleanings. And the Envio's never have any clinkers no matter what kind of pellets I am burning. I strongly believe the control board on the Englander is bad since that is the only part at this point that I did not replace.

Hello - I had the same problem with my 4 year old Avalon Astoria! First 3 years no problem! It also was a basement install and vented into a block chimney like yours. I tried everything even replacing the combustion blower and the control board and still pellet buildup in burn pot! I finally got rid of it and purchased a Harman P61 for this past winter. The Harman ran all winter in the same installation and never a problem!
I also installed the Selkirk DT Masonry conversion system. It did help the Astoria quite a bit but still was not right. The Harman just works much better and is a 10 year old stove!

Good luck with your VF 170 sherwood industries makes a great stove, I think you are all set now!

Did you see this Sherwood Industries stove I am working on right now made in July 1996?
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...s-enviro-auger-motor-out.128191/#post-1726566
It runs like new or even better than new!

One think I recommend, is to use a min 150 to 200 PSI compressor to blow out the ash chambers once a year!
 
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