Help Breckwell Big e

[slaughter1600]

I have the wireless thermostat should i hook that up and see if it make a diffrence?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Mind humoring me one more time?

What is the number for the control board that is installed in your stove?

 

[BBennett]

ok on setting 4/5 the auger is running 8 seconds on 5 seconds off. The auger is attached to the motor by a pin going through the center of the shaft, so no slippage there. I looked up the tube and put a wire up there and moved it all around and it diddnt feel like anything was bridged. Im going to contac the lady again and make shure no one changed the board,motor, or anything else. This is frustrating.

Did you time the actual auger movement or just the feed light on the control? and check to see if your auger is actually feeding pellets for 8 sec as the motor might be weak and not able to turn the auger properly while the hopper is full.
You could try putting a couple of hand fulls of pellets in the hopper and watch the auger feed them to see if it is indeed feeding the proper amount.
I run my Big E on 3 and use 2 bags a day if running 24/7. With a t-stat i can cut that to 1 1/2 or so. depending on temps. Heating an 1800 Sq foot cape.

 

[buildingmaint]

Where is the selector switch set ? If the former owner used a stat and now your not using one, you might need to set it on manual, my old control board is c-e-401/1rpm.Be sure and let us know what or if you get your stove to run ok. We all like lots of info.

 

[BBennett]

Where is the selector switch set ? If the former owner used a stat and now your not using one, you might need to set it on manual, my old control board is c-e-401/1rpm.Be sure and let us know what or if you get your stove to run ok. We all like lots of info.

Very good question, because if it is in High Low mode it will start and stay on a level 1 burn with out the stat

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If his level 1 burn setting is trimmed he could actually be burning at 1+ showing the 1 and 4 heat range light and burn less than the 1.75 pounds for level two, however the stated auger timing is all wrong for that.

 

[jtakeman]

To the OP the timing you noted on 4 sounds like its just about right(should be on for 9 seconds off for 5.5 seconds). CE 017 is a 1 rpm motor which matches the timing of the board. Sounds like the auger motor might be stahling because you should have a blast furnace on 4 and not down to embers.

Probably need to see how long it takes for the auger itself(not the drive motor-the output shaft that drives the auger) to do a full revolution. It should do a full rev in about 100 seconds or 1 minute 40 seconds. If it takes longer its stahling. Could be a weak motor?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Thanks for dropping in Jay.

 

[slaughter1600]

Ok i got around to timeing it and it was 1min 42 secs to do 1 full rev. I have come down to its an issue with pellets getting into the auger Its like it has alot of voids. The more i run it the better it seems to be getting. Everytime pellets drop into the burn pot im getting alot of ember fly out. I have half an ash pan at 6 bags burned. I called breckwell about my issue and they are sending me plates to restrict the airflow. Ill know more after I get them installed. It sat for a year and a half before it was used again and they think that the parts are "dry" and need to work themselves free. Thanks for all the help and ill let you know if the plates help, next weekend when I clean it im going to use some oil on all the bearings and moveing parts.

 

[jtakeman]

Well you varified the control and auger are doing whats needed. If there was stahling you would have seen a longer time to get the full rev! Sometimes its just pellets that don't tickle the stoves fancy. Not that the pellet is bad, But your stove just isn't too happy with them. A pellet I found that worked really well in my bigE was the Turmans. Also burned Hamers well and did pretty well with softwoods like Spruce Pointes.

But try a few bags before you buy a large amount. 2 to 6 bags should give you a good feel for what it wants.

Keep us posted!

 

[slaughter1600]

to bad i bought a whole ton thes are a little on the long side from what my dad says next time ill look around more before i buy.

 

[jtakeman]

Mixing is an option when you find a pellet that the stove likes. 50/50 mix works for most. And the bigE has a large hoper so you can just alternate bags.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I don't know where you are in the state slaughter1600 but there is a pretty good assortment of pellets available in some places.

You might also have your damper open a bit too much as well but it is hard for us to tell from where we sit and you are as to whether or not you are pop corning the pellets out before they have mostly burnt up.

At least you now have a very detailed view of the pellet feeding system on your stove.

 

[DexterDay]

to bad i bought a whole ton thes are a little on the long side from what my dad says next time ill look around more before i buy.

Agreed. Better pellet and Baffle plates that are coming from Breckwell.. You'll be in much better shape, once you slow the air flow going out of the house.
What is your venting set-up? Is it straight out the back? Do you go up and out? Or out and up? What is the Diameter of your flue?

 

[slaughter1600]

3 inch stright out, outside air kit, and yes my pellets are popcorning out but my flame is not a blow torch it just looks like a strong yellow flame, most of the time the flame is 4 inches above the burn pot but all the other time its unseen. Ill pick up a few bags of something else, I live in Bangor maine any recomendations? I have lowes home depot corinth dystarts endless places to get pellets from.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I'd get 3 bags each of every single pellet you can find and do a bit of testing. Keep a chart so you don't get sidetracked on what you have and have not tested.

Look the pellets over when you load up the stove and add a note on your chart about the size of the pellets, etc ... this will allow you to somewhat group like pellets together so you have some idea that if one pellet brand in the group works great feeding the others that are like it will as well.

Then you can narrow down things to what works.

Also if you are getting a lot of long pellets you should notify the maker of the pellets, it does them no good to make pellets that are over long. Just backup what you have to say with measurements, pallet tags, bag lot numbers if any, pictures of the pellets, and be polite when telling them about the issue.

Most of the good pellet makers don't want their pellets to get a bad reputation and will step up to the plate.

In the interest of helping you please see the following: https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/58243/

In particular visit the threads that the webmaster posted links to and anything that j-takeman posted links to.

 

[slaughter1600]

It was bad pellets i brought them back to lowes and the guy said I wasnt the first one to return curran's. Last night I blew a gasket on the burn motor. The question is buy and install myself or pay 60.00 plus parts for a full service/cleaning/check. I dont know if its relavent to the gasket but it was 62 when I woke up at 6am with my t-stat running high/low to a temp of 72.

 

[perchin]

I'm glad ya figured it out... Sometimes it pays to look at the simple stuff first.

Also you could have gotten a batch of pellets that are not the best of quality.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

Im useing curran Wood pellets. When I cleaned it I did remove them doors and cleaned out the back area good. The fire looks good to me(but i never had a pellet stove before) I know the pot is always near empty when new pellets feed in. and when they drop down I get alot of fly ash.

too much air, ideally with a "dampered" stove you want the air as far down as you can get it and still maintain a clean burn. try slowing down the combustion air a little at a time (wait at least 20 minutes between adjustments) and see how far you can back it down. the faster air moves through a pellet stove the less time it stays in the stove and thus , the less time you have to transfer heat before it leaves the stove

 

[kinsmanstoves]

I have heard of a few people saying they are not getting heat fromtheir Big E. I have searched the globe and located on of these. It is next to my desk at the store and I have been playing with it for over a week. The temp output is very low, the exhaust temp is high and it eats pellets like crazy. As of right now I have spoken to Breckwell Tech about this. I also spoke to Pellet and guess who has been more help to me? I am still attempting to locate the problem of this unit. I do have another post or two out there on this issue.


Eric

 

[jtakeman]

I have heard of a few people saying they are not getting heat fromtheir Big E. I have searched the globe and located on of these. It is next to my desk at the store and I have been playing with it for over a week. The temp output is very low, the exhaust temp is high and it eats pellets like crazy. As of right now I have spoken to Breckwell Tech about this. I also spoke to Pellet and guess who has been more help to me? I am still attempting to locate the problem of this unit. I do have another post or two out there on this issue.


Eric

Eric,

I have a close friend that bought a bigE shortly after I bought mine. His stove was one of the low heat output stoves. I spent several days tinkering on his. The thing that helped the most was adding a rheostat and reducing the blower speed by about 25%. Its almost like they forgot to install something in it and even with the damper fully closed on the medium setting it just blows the heat throw the stove and out the vent.

Give it a whirl, Maybe it can help?

P.S. I installed it with quick connect terminals so as to not alter the wiring. It can easily be removed.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Eric,

The folks back at the plant are likely actually at a call center in outer Mongolia heated by a massive fast breeder nuclear reactor and working for table scraps.

That would explain why Pellet has been of more help to you.

The particular stove here appears to have a feeding problem with the pellets the OP was tossing in the hopper.

Until it actually feeds the proper amount of pellets discussing where the heat that might have been produced, but never was, went is rather pointless.

But likely Jay and Mike have a handle on part of the reason.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Well I did find that I had an air leak at the bottom of the ashpan/bottom lip of the unit. With the help of a block of wood, pry bar, and a few choice words I sealed the gap. This did cause a jump in the heat output temp and a much better flame. I been running it all day and I am a lot more happy with the unit. Not 100% but a little happier. As per Breckwell, no change.

I will be giving Pellet a raise because he is now going to be my Breckwell Question and Answer guy. Breckwell has been loosing loyalty points with me in the last three years and the breaking point is coming very soon.

Eric

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Ah, yes, choice words.

Might not do anything but one sure feels better having vented.

There is a lot of crud on the market, bent this, corroding that, screeching bearings, rusting stainless etc... sure must be nice being in the repair business and working one's hind quarters off.

Is there any money in that?

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Ah, yes, choice words.

Might not do anything but one sure feels better having vented.

There is a lot of crud on the market, bent this, corroding that, screeching bearings, rusting stainless etc... sure must be nice being in the repair business and working one's hind quarters off.

Is there any money in that?

Money? What is this "money" you speak of?

Yes there is a service call fee and a mark up on parts but when it comes down to it you almost want to tell them to contact the dealer or place where they purchased the stove to handle the service end of it. You know the answer from the big box stores on service. Oh well, I live my life to serve others.

Eric