I'm going nuts trying to figure out what the problem is here, and after extensive searching I haven't found anything online that looks like anyone else has had this issue. But if the answer is out there, I'm sure this is the place to find it!
The background: I bought this P38 new about 13 years ago and it has been my primary heat source for most of the time since. This fall I upgraded to the new 3-knob control board and the stove worked great for a few weeks. One day it stopped running and gave me the six blinking lights. I checked for obstructions, cleaned the ESP (which was new with the control board kit) and did the usual cleaning tasks including checking and emptying the fines box. I restarted it and it was OK for a few days then it quit again. I checked everything again and noticed that there was sawdust instead of pellets coming out of the auger. I pulled out the auger and it was packed with sawdust. Assuming this was some fines buildup from 13 winters of full-time use I cleaned that and tried again. The stove ran fine for a week then on a warm day I shut it down. I restarted it the next evening, and woke up to find it had quit again. I checked the auger and it was packed with fines again.
Three days ago after pulling the sawdust-packed auger, I reached and poked up inside the auger tube to the passage where the pellets fall from the feeder to the auger. There was some sawdust packed up in there too, so using my fingers and assorted tools I poked and scraped until I was sure the path between the feed tray and the auger tube was totally clean. Feeling confident this time, I fired up the stove and it ran fine until I shut it down yesterday when we had a houseful of family over for Thanksgiving. At the end of the day I cleaned the burn pot to find the familiar sight of sawdust. The auger was packed with fines again.
To summarize:
- my auger fills with sawdust in a matter of days, and the pattern seems to indicate it could be happening, or at least worsening, during shutdown.
- I have thoroughly cleaned the stove including burn pot, hopper, feed mechanism, fines box, auger and auger tube, intake, circulation and exhaust.
- The feed mechanism pushes pellets down to the hopper just fine when I watch it run, and it moves smoothly when I move it manually. No apparent obstructions.
- I have tried three brands of pellets from three different sources, all being premium grade pellets. I am primarily using CleanFire Pacific, which have served me well for six or seven years.
- I have confirmed that the auger motor is running when it is supposed to.
I'm a hard-core DIYer, so calling in a professional will be my last resort but I'm getting there quickly. But before I do that I'm hoping I can get some help from the Hearth community. So what's my next move? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
The background: I bought this P38 new about 13 years ago and it has been my primary heat source for most of the time since. This fall I upgraded to the new 3-knob control board and the stove worked great for a few weeks. One day it stopped running and gave me the six blinking lights. I checked for obstructions, cleaned the ESP (which was new with the control board kit) and did the usual cleaning tasks including checking and emptying the fines box. I restarted it and it was OK for a few days then it quit again. I checked everything again and noticed that there was sawdust instead of pellets coming out of the auger. I pulled out the auger and it was packed with sawdust. Assuming this was some fines buildup from 13 winters of full-time use I cleaned that and tried again. The stove ran fine for a week then on a warm day I shut it down. I restarted it the next evening, and woke up to find it had quit again. I checked the auger and it was packed with fines again.
Three days ago after pulling the sawdust-packed auger, I reached and poked up inside the auger tube to the passage where the pellets fall from the feeder to the auger. There was some sawdust packed up in there too, so using my fingers and assorted tools I poked and scraped until I was sure the path between the feed tray and the auger tube was totally clean. Feeling confident this time, I fired up the stove and it ran fine until I shut it down yesterday when we had a houseful of family over for Thanksgiving. At the end of the day I cleaned the burn pot to find the familiar sight of sawdust. The auger was packed with fines again.
To summarize:
- my auger fills with sawdust in a matter of days, and the pattern seems to indicate it could be happening, or at least worsening, during shutdown.
- I have thoroughly cleaned the stove including burn pot, hopper, feed mechanism, fines box, auger and auger tube, intake, circulation and exhaust.
- The feed mechanism pushes pellets down to the hopper just fine when I watch it run, and it moves smoothly when I move it manually. No apparent obstructions.
- I have tried three brands of pellets from three different sources, all being premium grade pellets. I am primarily using CleanFire Pacific, which have served me well for six or seven years.
- I have confirmed that the auger motor is running when it is supposed to.
I'm a hard-core DIYer, so calling in a professional will be my last resort but I'm getting there quickly. But before I do that I'm hoping I can get some help from the Hearth community. So what's my next move? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
