Fire pot fills after 1 night

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hmanderson

New Member
Feb 6, 2012
23
West Michigan
This past weekend I installed my pellet stove and started running it only at night. I have a Us stove 5500m. Each morning after running the stove I find that the fire pot is completely full of pellets that were not fully burned. Also, after just 2 nights of running the stove there is now a good inch of ash inside the firebox and the window is almost completely blacked out. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.
 
I don't know this stove particularly, but this is a common theme in the forum. What is typically found is that you aren't getting enough air through the burn pot. Look for anything robbing you of air....do dollarbill test on all door gaskets, etc. I recently added a higher CFM combustion fan to one of my units and couldn't be happier with it now. Do you have an OAK installed? If so, try opening that up to give your fire more air. If you don't have an OAK, this would be a good inexpensive place to start after checking gaskets.
 
jrsdws said:
Do you have an OAK installed? .

I keep seeing this term crop up on here. What's an OAK?
 
I will do the dollar bill check later today after the stove has cooled down. I do have an OAK (outside air kit) installed, however I am not sure how I would open it up as you suggest.
 
movemaine said:
I keep seeing this term crop up on here. What's an OAK?

Outside Air Kit. Either the packaged set you buy that has the outside air pipe, wall thimble, and the intake pieces, or more generally an outside combustion air setup.
 
Welcome to the Fourm. :)

From your manual of the 550M:

"Outside Air Supply (optional)
Depending on your location and home construction, outside air may be necessary for optimal performance.
Metal pipe (solid or flexible) must be used for the outside air installation. PVC pipe is NOT approved and should NEVER
be used.
A wind shield over the termination of the outside air pipe or a 90-degree elbow or bend away from the prevailing winds
MUST be used when an outside air pipe is installed through the side of a building. The outside air termination MUST
be at least 1-foot away from the exhaust system termination.
The outside air pipe on your King/Ashley stove is 1 7/8†OD. The outside air connecting pipe must be at least 1 7/8†ID.
The outside air connection used MUST NOT restrict the amount of air available to your stove. The outside air connecting
pipe must be as short and free of bends as possible, and it must fit over, not inside, the outside air connection to the stove."


You could always crack a window open to see if it is an OAK problem before installing one. But I would be more inclined to check for leaks, feed rate settings, how is you venting system set up and type of pellets you are burning. More info is needed. Pics of your set up would really help the pellet guru's on here of which I am not.
 
Here are the pics I have at work. The pic of the stove was on the initial start up.
 

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Is there another 45 or 90 degree elbow in the house in addition to the two 90 degree elbows outside?
 
Is that venting 3" or 4" and why is the vent turned to go past the corner of the building and is there a 45 degree bend behind the stove?

If that is 3" pipe your venting is likely a part of the problem.
 
It is 3" piping. I had to go out past the side of the house so that the termination point would be the required 4 feet from the side of a window. Yes there is a 45 behind the stove.
 
And IIRC that USSC stove you have has an effective EVL limit with 3" of 12. Your venting clocks in at well over that.
 
I'd like to say yes but then you are going against the installation instructions and there have been issues of smoke back on straight horizontal installs with some USSC stoves even during normal shutdowns.
 
Per the manual, 180 degrees is maximum bend in pipe recommended. These stoves dont tolerate restriction very well.
 
hmanderson said:
Could I get by for now without the 3ft vertical pipe instead of going up to 4"?

If it falls within code and manufacturer requiements.
 
What about rotating the cleanout tee about 45 degrees....so the pipe angles towards the corner of the house...eliminate that horizonal run, and finish with a 45 and termination cap. Would get you closer to where you need to be.......then you would only have to buy a 45.
 
Could you also tell us exactly what is behind the stove and how close you are on clearances?

Still looking to eliminate as much EVL as possible.
 
I have the stove adapter, 2 45's to get the pipe line up with the stove, the stove was about 3 inches lower than where the pipe came in through the wall, and a 2ft pipe. I have approximately 10 inches to the wall on one side and 9 on the other.
 
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