Help with a St. Croix Prescott EXP !!

[RWB1]

Bought a new/used Prescott EXP....burned on low its whole life...guy had a creosote fire in his pipe....fast forward ..got the stove all cleaned up...WOW..what alot of ash in this thing, no wonder it didn't work properly...anyway.
Fast forward to tonight, I get ready to fire it up .....plug it in and instantly the combustion blower turns on?
The control board is dark...in fact if I hit the "on" button it lights up.

I had the combustion blower out for cleaning and new gaskets...I checked the wiring and think its right...the manual gives a basic schematic.

3 wires coming off the blower...black/white and brown. I have the black to blue....white to white....and the brown un plugged as I dont think it was plugged in to begin with.

I am heading over to the St. Croix website now...seems that most blowers are the same ...maybe someone good take a peek and give me some insight.

thanks in advance

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

You got it.

 

[RWB1]

Any idea why the blower is instant on..? I have 2 other stoves and neither does this.....maybe a fried board..I'm puzzled. Stove is really like new inside, all the wiring is neatly tucked away as it should be.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Some stoves start up all motors go through the reset which turns them off, some stoves start up the combustion blower assuming a power failure and will run that blower for a fixed amount of time. Some stoves start up the blower, test the POF and if it is still closed proceed to fire the stove on heat setting one.

There should be a section in the manual telling you how the stove will behave when power is restored.

 

[RWB1]

I didn't see a section in the manual about loss of power.....you may be right....I probably didn't let it run long enough when plugged in to re-set it self. I let it run maybe 5-10 minutes then un-plugged it . I will keep reading and give it another shot tomorrow .

thanks for the help

 

[bbfarm]

I don't know if all St. Croix's are the same, but the fan should not come on when you just plug it in.

On ours we set the thermostat on the wall, then hit the on button on control board. the exhaust fan comes on, room air fan comes on, then goes off, pellets drop, fire starts then room air fan comes back on. hope that helps.

 

[RWB1]

I spoke w/ Larry @ Eventemp ( St. Croix ) via e-mail today, explained what was happening to my stove.From what I told him...he thought it was a bad control board.
Called my local dealer who had one in stock , and he proceeded to tell me that in the last 6 months or so St. Croix upgraded their circuit boards and the one on my 2 year old stove was obsolete and no longer available...so, $168 + tax later I have the upgrade in my hand. I will do the 10 minute install tomorrow and see what happens.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

bbfarm,

What a stove will do when it first sees power depends upon how it lost power and what the actual controller has in it for power available reset code.

Most stoves will do some form of fail safe routine if they think they lost power other than through a normal shutdown. Flue fires don't always result in normal shutdowns.

Some stove makers even outline the process in their manuals.

Just because a stove starts up a blower when the controller sees power upon plugging the stove in isn't unusual or even indicative of a bad control board.

 

[RWB1]

Smokey...whats your suggestion? Plug in the stove and leave it for a while to see if the blower goes off by itself ?
I can return the board if I don't use it...just wanted to have it because they are hard to get in my area. Part of me says put in the upgraded board and be done with it.
thanks

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Do what you wish a 30 minute run wouldn't hurt anything and since the manual is of no help and you have a new one.

I just don't want folks to assume that a fan running when a stove gets plugged in is always a sign of a bad cb.

 

[bbfarm]

That's why I let the big boys answer most questions.

I personally was going to say check the wiring hookup for the fan again and wasn't thinking control board, but wanted to let the poster know the start up sequence for a St Croix.

 

[RWB1]

Installed the new board tonight.....plugged it in, all is good...I think. I burned it in the cold garage so its hard to tell. Didn't seem to blow as forcefully as my ancient Quad but I have yet to see a stove put out as much heat as that old beast.
I think I will install it in the living room tomorrow and give it a shot. If I don't like it , it will be for sale with a new board !!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Hey that's great.