Glow Boy FGB Classic Freestanding

[Bleed4Me]

Im new to a forum concept and honestly new to pellet stoves. Bought a house and there it was. If I use incorrect terms while trying to explain my problem please forgive me and feel free to correct me. I tried to fire up my stove and nothing happened, auger doesnt engage...exhaust fan doesnt turn...nothing happens at all. Below I will list things I have done and things the manufacturer has told me to do.

1. Removed pellets from hopper, looked for any jams and cleaned out hopper completely.No Jams

2.Tested the auger motor by jumping it. Auger works great.

3. Took the clean out tee cap off and cleaned the insides and vacuumed. Clean as a whistle. The pipe does a slight 45 degree angle then goes through the roof, and I havent checked that part yet.

4.Check the vacuum switch for continuity. If I suck in slightly on the hose I get continuity. Even checked it while the stove is on and get no continuity. I clearly have a air flow problem here.

5. Bypassed the vacuum switch altogether and jumped the two wires, auger turns on just fine, no exhaust fan though.

6. changed the vacuum hose.

7. Was told the high limit switch should be closed and it is , fan limit should be open and it is, low limit switch should be open and it comes out closed when checked with a multimeter. Firguring that was my problem child disconnected one lead and turned on the stove, still nothing.

8. Test the exhaust fan by jumping it, works great.

If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Im trying to work with the tech but its a slow process, they are open while im at work so its call and get ideas and when I get home test those ideas and report back the next day. Its clearly something to do with that exhaust fan. Without that back pressure you cant trip the vacuum swith. Question is why wont the exhuast fan turn on. Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

 

[bbfarm]

Welcome to the forums!

bad control board? clog in the venting? have you cleaned the entire stove really well?

 

[WoodPorn]

Are there any error codes given?
Have you checked the board for blown control fuses?
Hopper lid switch?

 

[bbfarm]

Is there power to the stove? Is it plugged in?

 

[Bleed4Me]

I have cleaned the stove out complety, I even made sure the all the connections were clean. As for the clog in the venting I have not checked anything after the 45 degree angle that goes throught the ceiling. As far as an error code mine must be old school cause all the control panel has is an on/off switch, start, auger speed dial, and fan speed dial , nothing more. If there is a hopper lid switch its an elusive lil one cause I dont see it anywhere nor did the manual online speak of it even having one. Yes there is power to the stove upon initial setup, and does get unplugged while im fiddling around inside. If power is needed to do a test then it briefly gets power . Today I did talk to the tech and he did say this is clearly an exhaust fan problem ( auger motor is fine and will function as it should if vacuum switch is bypassed ) and if I can jump the exhaust fan and it works it must be an issue with the circuit board. He mentioned the fuel modual or potentially the phase control unit. According to him there is not test that can be done with these but I find that hard to believe, then again I may be wrong. He also said that they (authorized Pelpro/Glow Boy dealer ) can not get those parts and there is a CHANCE if I go straight to manufacturer Dansons I could possibly get one. If not a new circuit board is needed.

 

[Bleed4Me]

So what exactly does the phase control unit do? I found the potential problem parts online. The fuel modual seems to be what controls the pellet amount ( which works just fine if I bypass the vacuum switch ) unless it serves another function.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Do you have a manual for that stove and if so a circuit diagram should be in the manual. You might also want to lookup a series of threads by Don2222 on the Pelpro unit he did a refurb job on. There are two digital control boards at will operate that stove and if you decide to stick with it the Accutron III is the one you want.

Manual link: http://www.dansons.com/pdfs/manuals/manual-glowboy-fs.pdf

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

A phase controller provides the means to control the speed of the combustion blower, if it is otl the combustion blower might not spin or it might spin at the wrong rate.

The control system that your pellet stove has is the old kind, and frequently the parts to maintain it are not easily available fortunatly there are digit control upgrade kits available to allow you to operate the stove.

 

[Bleed4Me]

Do I have the physical owners manual that came with the unit....no. The unit was in the house when I bought it. I think I have found it online but it does not include a circuit diagram. And the manual I did find says nothing about the old control system, they stopped using those in 2005. If the phase control was bad would it prevent the exhaust fan from starting? Also is there a way to test it? That fan purrs like a kitten when I jump it so the problem lies within the control board.

 

[DexterDay]

If you have not cleaned the entire vent? Then I would check the termination cap up top?

They plug pretty easily. And if you dont know when it last was cleaned???

Welcome to the Forums

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Do I have the physical owners manual that came with the unit....no. The unit was in the house when I bought it. I think I have found it online but it does not include a circuit diagram. And the manual I did find says nothing about the old control system, they stopped using those in 2005. If the phase control was bad would it prevent the exhaust fan from starting? Also is there a way to test it? That fan purrs like a kitten when I jump it so the problem lies within the control board.

Since the fan isn't turning at the correct speed (zero rpm is definitely not correct) yes a bad phase controller could be the cause of your problem but so could a broken wire or burned out fuse. You need to locate a wiring diagram and trace the ac power from the power cord through the phase controller.

 

[Bleed4Me]

You are absolutly right Dexter, tomorrow I will get up there and take a gander and clean it out. As far as finding a wire diagram I hope google is up for the challenge. Ive got the control board sitting in front of me 2 wires go directly into to the fuel modual, 1 wire is a direct power and 1 wire goes to the 3 second timer block. This should be fun.

 

[DemonGT]

i replaced my board on my stove, i still have the old board. the old board would still run my stove the problem was once the stove was done with the start up the ignitor would stay on.

where are you located?

 

[Bleed4Me]

Im located in Helena Montana.

 

[DemonGT]

your stove has the accutron control board? is it a II or a III?

 

[Bleed4Me]

I have the standard control board ?accutron?. Its not the fancy one just the 2 turn nobs and on off switch and a start.

 

[johnny1720]

My glowboy had that same control board, I ordered the accutron II for like $180 and the wiring harness. Then I sold the old working control board for $150 to a guy on ebay. Does that old control board have the blue boxes on it? If so just save yourself the time and order a new control board and get the thermostat kit.

 

[DemonGT]

If you wanted to see if it was your board i could ship my old board to you? My accutron II board still works to run the stove but the ignitor will stay on constent so you would have to not use the ignitor or manually unhook it some how. If it turns out it is your board you would want to upgrade to the accutron III board with built in thermostat.

here is were i bought my board
http://www.spaplaceinc.com/products.php?cat=18

 

[johnny1720]

My glowboy had that same control board, I ordered the accutron II for like $180 and the wiring harness. Then I sold the old working control board for $150 to a guy on ebay. Does that old control board have the blue boxes on it? If so just save yourself the time and order a new control board and get the thermostat kit.

Wow the price on that went way up, the new control board with the integrated thermostat sounds like the ticket. My thermostat actually stopped working but I never had a chance to investigate it.

 

[Bleed4Me]

I do have to apolagize to all of you, I thought I had the settings set up to email me when I had a new post. I was wrong. I didnt mean to disappear on you guys. Sinse our last chat a few days ago the top half of the pipe wasnt dirty at all. ... I cleaned it anyways. From what Im gathering from the Tech and everyone else the problem points to the phase control module and for the life of me I cant find that part anywhere and the weather is suppose to get shilly next week. DemonGT thinking we dont have the same control board, ill put some pictures below to see. I think you have the upgraded version. Id hate to upgrade the whole board when its just one module that went bad. I read a post that was extremely similar to my problem and a person by the name of snowy rivers suggesting using a fan speed controller to bypass everything. Any thoughts on that?

 

[johnny1720]

I would save yourself the aggravation and order a control panel and a wiring harness. You would be done with the install in 15 minutes and enjoying your stove. If you don't you will be messing with it all winter long.

 

[Bleed4Me]

I would have to agree but sadly the funds just arent there at this time to pull that off. If a little frustration and ingenuity can solve my problem I am more than happy to venture down that route.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

You need to find a cross reference that can match the numbers on the defective component to what is available today. Sometimes putting those numbers into google search and hitting search will land you on an ebay page where someone is dumping that component, stranger things have happened.

 

[DemonGT]

Your board is much different then mine. I was thinking you could just unhook your wiring harness and plug it into the board i have but that dosnt seem to be the case? The board i have just has one single plug in with all the wires.

 

[Bleed4Me]

If only it were that simple DemonGT, I do wish to thank you though for the thought. If done hours upon hours of google searching the part number and the only thing that shows up is a company called masline, still waiting for a response from them ( request a quote ). As for ebay tons of hits for Infitec but none in my model number.... the search continues.....