Lopi Pioneer Pellet Stove Problems (UPDATE: FIXED!)

[SmokeyTheBear]

Did you get any diagnostic lights this time?

I'd clean that vacuum hose one more time and re-seat the hose and make certain that the blower motor connections are also full seated.

If the problem continues then I'd just replace the blower motor.

The reason the motor doesn't rattle outside of the mount is because holding the motor stopped the rattle or what is rattling is where the motor mounts to the blower housing. This is one of several reasons why macman kept asking about the gasket.

I don't know what action your stove takes if it overheats other than stopping the pellet feed, hopefully it doesn't stop the combustion blower as well.

 

[jtakeman]

Karen, sorry to hear that the rattling problem still exists. One thing I noticed that your son said was that the flames got tall & orange and the blower stopped...which blower? If the combustion blower (the rattling one on the left side of the stove) stopped, that's a big problem

Also, I'm not sure what the "vacuum tube seal" is that he's trying to describe...maybe the vacuum switch tube?

I think I might have mentioned this in a previous post, but the air control does NOT have to be pulled all the way out on the higher heat settings. When I had my Travis stove, I NEVER had the air control out farther than #3, and that was because the stove was starting to get dirty & needed to be cleaned. Normally, even on "1st High" heat setting, I would have it at #2 or maybe #2 1/2. The fire may nave "flamed out" due TOO much air...... like blowing a candle out.

I don't know that this is going to help you before the new service person shows up, but my advice is to not tell him anything at first, except that the stove makes noise, and the fire goes out. Wait & see what he comes-up with first as the cause of the problem.

macman, If the blower that quit was the combustion blower. I would bet it thermal over loaded and was hot as heck. The rattling is probably a bad bearing in the motor. Once the comb blower quites it will go into the no vacuum shutdown! I think the OP should get that blower swapped out ASAP!

Just my 2 and only tring to help.
jay

 

[imacman]

Smokey, the only diagnostic lights that these stoves have are:

Fault light and #2 (LOW) Light Flash = Flow Switch Fault
" " and # 4 (MID) Light Flash = System Snap Disk Fault (pellets run out & stove goes cold)
" " and # 6 (HIGH) Light Flash = Safety Snap Disk Fault

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I just got through most of the latest video, if nothing was done to restart that stove you need to get yourself a new exhaust blower. It is a typical thermal protection circuit operation I saw. Thermal cuts the motor off, temp falls below the cutoff temperature, the protection circuit says good to go and applies power to the motor and off it goes blowing air again.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Smokey, the only diagnostic lights that these stoves have are:

Fault light and #2 (LOW) Light Flash = Flow Switch Fault
" " and # 4 (MID) Light Flash = System Snap Disk Fault (pellets run out & stove goes cold)
" " and # 6 (HIGH) Light Flash = Safety Snap Disk Fault

Yep, macman I know what the stove has for fault lights (have yet an other manual in the collection, they sure leave a lot to desire, at least this one actually mentions cleaning the exhaust blowers fan ;-) ). I just didn't know if any were actually showing this time.

 

[magsters]

To everyone who replied today, Jan 30:

I'm getting the feeling that I should not be running the stove until the exhaust blower motor is replaced, which will be in about three weeks. I am more upset with the service and less than professional advice I have been getting than with the stove. I certainly understand that things can and do go wrong with these things, but I expect excellent service when I pay for it.

Anyway, time to let go of that issue and move on. I did briefly explain to the new guys about the problem, but when they come up, I will let them try to figure it out on their own. I am actually pretty fed up with the whole situation and am thinking of having a minisplit AC/heating system installed. The stove is my only source of heat right now so I get pretty cranky when it's not working. Fortunately, we are having a mild winter here in Eastern Washington so far. The flame out only occurs when the stove is on the higher settings, so I could run it on low to medium, but I am concerned that if I keep running it, something worse could happen.

I have learned more about the stove in the last three weeks on this forum than in the last four years from the service guys and dealership. These guys have never answered my questions in any meaningful way. I think I should have investigated more options when I bought the stove instead of just buying it from the local guy. I did a lot of online research about pellet stoves, but not too much research about the dealers in the area.

 

[imacman]

.......I did a lot of online research about pellet stoves, but not too much research about the dealers in the area.

This is exactly why when someone comes onto the forum and asks about "what stove should I buy?", one of the first things that I try to emphasize is SERVICE....what kind of rep does the dealer have when it comes to knowing & fixing problems.

You can have the greatest stove in the world, but they ALL have issue's from time to time, and if you're not mechanically inclined or "handy" with things mechanical, then you're reliant on the dealer/service person.

All that said, I wish you luck when the "new" service person comes. please let us know how you made out. I, for one, will be very interested in knowing what was making all the noise in the stove.

Good luck!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Karen,

I too am interested in how it goes with the new service folks. So all you have to do is post to this thread and we will all know what the problem turns out to be.

The stoves have too many things that give the same indication when things go bump in the night.

Trying to understand what you are hearing or seeing in a video is difficult when you can't see or hear everything.

I understand cranky when it comes to heating issues.

Good luck.

 

[magsters]

.......I did a lot of online research about pellet stoves, but not too much research about the dealers in the area.

This is exactly why when someone comes onto the forum and asks about "what stove should I buy?", one of the first things that I try to emphasize is SERVICE....what kind of rep does the dealer have when it comes to knowing & fixing problems.

You can have the greatest stove in the world, but they ALL have issue's from time to time, and if you're not mechanically inclined or "handy" with things mechanical, then you're reliant on the dealer/service person.

All that said, I wish you luck when the "new" service person comes. please let us know how you made out. I, for one, will be very interested in knowing what was making all the noise in the stove.

Good luck!

You are absolutely right about the service part of the purchase. These guys sounded really good when they were selling the product, but the follow up left a lot to be desired. The follow up and service part of the purchase is the MOST important issue to consider when buying a stove, because it's your family and home at stake. If the only thing that is important to them is wheeling and dealing, they don't have your best interest at heart. By the way, I heard from a friend looking for a used pellet stove that this guy bragged about how he purchases used stoves off Craig'sList, changes out some of the parts, cleans them up, marks up the price significantly, and sells them in his store. I suggested they look elsewhere for a pellet stove.

A strong work ethic and integrity is the most important quality you can find in anyone who does any kind of work in your home. Of all the people I have had on my property doing work for me, I would recommend only two because they stayed until the job was done, or came back without charge to make sure it was done right, and gave me options so I could make informed decisions. So, to all you people out there in the market for any kind of stove, do your research on the reputation of the dealership and the service they provide BEFORE making the purchase. It won't matter if you have the most expensive stove in the world if you can't trust your service guy to give you the straight story.

I have heard some good things about the new guys and feel good about them at this point. The fact that they aren't really located in this town and are booked solid for the next three weeks is somewhat positive. I will continue to do research on them for the next few days.

I will keep you updated. Karen

 

[magsters]

Pellet stove fixed yesterday!

As many of you determined from my posts and videos, the combustion blower was the problem. Between paying $113 in December basically for nothing, and $210 yesterday for a combustion blower, service call, and professional advice.....I really, really wanted to take the old blower back and...... well, I decided I am just happy to have the stove in good working order again! And it appears the new service tech is trustworthy.

Hope those of you who live back east haven't been buried by those snow storms. I think Vancouver could have used some of that snow! Thanks again for the advice and information. Follow the link to the "after" video my son posted to see what you think.

P.S.: Don't know if the flame might still be too high, but we're still working on getting the air adjusted just right.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8LJxjLl5VE

Karen

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Hey Karen, that's good to hear.

As for us here in the east, heck we haven't had any snow to speak of since the middle of January. It all went south of here, which is good. However the thermometer could not get above freezing for some reason.

 

[imacman]

Karen, glad to hear you're up and running, and the service tech is a good one. Keep the stove clean, and it will burn well for a long time.

Enjoy the heat!

 

[summit]

give it some more air on low, maybe not enough to keep the flame at proper temp and it smolders out: shouldn't happen on low irregardless of feed air setting, but if you got some pellets w/ a bit higher moisture content than norm, them it could happen... another factor could be a ventway thats become restricted w/ fly ash.. this can slow air flow down thru the whole system, thus stoping combustion. Lastly (and most unlikely) the circuit board could be faulting. I would check for cleanliness 1st in the pipes and firebox chambers, then open up the air control a little. One other factor, fairly easy, is the door seal. If it has never been replaced, then the leakage could cause more air to be pulled thru the door seal than the burn pot (and thus into the fire) resulting in what you got going on right now...

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If you are saying that you get more pellets dumped into the burn pot at some times than others, you might also want to make certain the auger flight gets cleaned, sometimes they get overloaded with fines and then the auger doesn't push the pellets consistently. I've seen it get so bad that the flame goes out and the auger flight is full of fines with a few pellets at one end just sitting there.

If you have that stove's damper set for a good fire you shouldn't need to change it when you change feed rates. The combustion blower rate change is all that is needed.

However everything that summit has said can come into play as well.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If you are saying that you get more pellets dumped into the burn pot at some times than others, you might also want to make certain the auger flight gets cleaned, sometimes they get overloaded with fines and then the auger doesn't push the pellets consistently. I've seen get so bad that the flame goes out and the auger flight is full of fines with a few pellets at one end just sitting there.

If you have that stove's damper set for a good fire you shouldn't need to change it when you change feed rates. The combustion blower rate change is all that is needed.

However everything that summit has said can come into play as well.

I'm not sure if it's that. We let it run out of pellets every now and then to vacuum out the hopper and the pellets and pellet sawdust in it. We get the auger since it's down there, too.

The auger flight is generally hidden along part of its travel it is possible for this area to get loaded up with fines and unless you removed the flight cover you might not get most of any fines out of the auger flight. The fines can actually stop pellets from continuing up to the drop chute. They can also lead to uneven feeding of pellets to the fire pot. I am not saying this is it, just that the entire auger flight should be checked and periodically cleaned.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

It should be accessible by opening the hopper and removing the pellets. Take a look at the manuals that came with the stove. You are looking for the auger (or auger flight) cover and it will be over where the auger goes somewhere above the bottom of the hopper up to the drop chute (somewhere near the top front of the hopper). The cover is normally held on by a few screws. Just remember never work on the stove with it running, the auger can do serious damage to your fingers and hands.