Enviro M55 Hopper overheating

[petergriffon]

My stove just shut down due to the hopper overheating, it was flashing the #4 light which I have read is due to high temp in the hopper. I hit the reset button and the stove starts back up so that was definately the issue. I removed all of the pellets from the hopper and they were definately warmer than normal.

Any ideas why the hopper would overheat? I would like to fix this before I turn the stove back on. Thanks

 

[ohbix]

First, do you have the old convection fan, or the new? My demo stove had the old convection fan when it started doing this, but in my case the combustion fan was going. Replaced under warranty, problem solved. For others, once they replaced the old conv. fan, problem solved.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Well there are plenty of things that can cause that to happen.

First on the list is a cruded up, failed, or failing convection blower.

Second would be a plugged up exhaust vent or exhaust air passage ways in the stove.

Third would be the damper is set too low (acts exactly like a plugged up exhaust system).

Fourth would be too many pellets are being fed due to the auger flight cover not being properly placed (exposing the auger to too many pellets).

There are others but that list and the fact that a combination can also be at play here should get you started.

 

[Delta-T]

smokey's #4 reason can sometimes be remedied by adjusting the restictor plate in the hopper that leads to the auger. loosen fastener, slide plate down a bit, tighten fastener.

 

[petergriffon]

Thanks everyone. I've had the stove back on for about 4.5 hours now and it's running ok, the hopper and pellets don't seem hot like they were before.....but the outside and top of the stove are very hot, much hotter than normal. Usually when I empty a bag of pellets in, I put the cut off piece of plastic on the top of the stove while I dump the bag.....if I did this now, it would melt in seconds.

I went outside and it seems to be venting ok and the blower inside seems to be functioning ok. I'm not an expert by any means with this stuff so I'm not really sure what to look for or check. Can anyone be more descriptive on what could be happening to cause the stove to get much hotter than normal on the outside / top panels and any suggestions on how to fix it. Thank you again.

I'm about to leave for a few hours and I'm shutting the stove down as I don't feel comfortable leaving it running while I'm not here.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Ever see dust bunnies (crud), pet hair (crud) in a hot air furnace filter? That kind of stuff in the convection blower reduces that blowers ability to remove heat from the stove and put it into the room. When that happens the heat produced in the stove has two options it will actually pick both options, option one is to send some of it out the vent and option two is to raise the temperature of the metal and everything else in the stove and what you get is a high limit trip.

Now since I mentioned some of it goes up the flue I might as well haul the combustion side of things into the discussion. If the vent system or combustion blower is dirty (read full of ash or the motor is failing or its cooling fan is covered in pet hairs etc ) it gets somewhat blocked in going out that way, if enough doesn't get out that way the stove heats up and you get a high limit trip (indecently it has nothing to do with the hopper, the stove is overheating).

Some stoves have a fuel restriction device (usually a plate that can slide up and down over part of the auger flight (where the auger turns inside of a tunnel)) this plate allows for long or short pellets to be burned without over-firing the stove (short pellets generally load the auger up more than long pellets) so if you close the re-stricter you cover up more of the opening exposed to the auger and reduce the amount of fuel being fed to the fire.

Your stove comes in several configurations at least one of them benefits from an increased convection (room air) capacity at the expense of noise level.

Your stove is a couple of air pumps both need clean air paths and the stove needs to be setup for its vent system and the pellets being burned as the air paths get dirty it slowly degrades in operation.

 

[Lake Girl]

Cleaning is usually the #1 problem so that's a cheap fix! How old is the stove? Remember to clean out windings (compressed air) on both blowers when you clean the fins...

Once you've tried what Smokey suggests, if it is still shutting down - refer to page 44 & 45
http://enviro.com/custom_content/docs/manuals/C-12145 Instruction PELLET Service Manual.pdf

Keep us posted!

 

[petergriffon]

Thanks again everyone. This is the stove's 4th year in operation and really the first time I've had any issues with it. Tomorrow I'm going to try and open the side panels and take out and clean everything I can. Hope that helps.

 

[Lake Girl]

Thanks again everyone. This is the stove's 4th year in operation and really the first time I've had any issues with it. Tomorrow I'm going to try and open the side panels and take out and clean everything I can. Hope that helps.

Cleaning always helps! Just unplug when you're rooting around the innards cleaning.

 

[petergriffon]

Just finished taking everything out and cleaning it and the stove is still getting pretty hot. I just ordered a new convection blower so hopefully that does the trick. Thanks again everyone for the help!!