Lately the cleanout door is not closing completely after autoclean. It seems to be random. Sometimes maybe a 1/2" gap. Tonight I watched the door close completely and then move back leaving a wide gap. I cleaned the rails and the door slides easily. Anyone know what's going on?
Mt Vernon AE Firepot Cleanout Door
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john193
Minister of Fire
I had the exact same issue happen to me back in January. Here is my post about it.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/mt-vernon-autoclean-stuck-gonna-be-a-long-night.104077/
In short - the dealer came out to service my stove and couldnt find anything wrong with it. The technician agreed with me that the stove was appropriately cleaned (which sounds like your is) and could not point to anything at fault. What he did was disconnect the auto clean mechanism and put it back together. Has been fine since, but ever since this episode I have been taking extra care with mine.
Aside from paying more attention scraping the burnpot, here is what I've done which seems to have solved my issue. About once a month I do the following:
- Disconnect the 3/8th nut securing the burnpot from the autoclean arm. Remove the arm and you can freely move the burnpot left and right. I move the bottom of the pot over a few times to disloge any carbon buildup. Usually after going back and forth a few times, the movement feels smoother.
- Apply powdered graphite to the rails
- Apply powered graphite to the nut and screw it back on. Be careful no to go too tight as a super tight fit fill impede the movement of the arm.
If yours isnt closing, undo the nut and manually move the pot left and right to disloge any carbon.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/mt-vernon-autoclean-stuck-gonna-be-a-long-night.104077/
In short - the dealer came out to service my stove and couldnt find anything wrong with it. The technician agreed with me that the stove was appropriately cleaned (which sounds like your is) and could not point to anything at fault. What he did was disconnect the auto clean mechanism and put it back together. Has been fine since, but ever since this episode I have been taking extra care with mine.
Aside from paying more attention scraping the burnpot, here is what I've done which seems to have solved my issue. About once a month I do the following:
- Disconnect the 3/8th nut securing the burnpot from the autoclean arm. Remove the arm and you can freely move the burnpot left and right. I move the bottom of the pot over a few times to disloge any carbon buildup. Usually after going back and forth a few times, the movement feels smoother.
- Apply powdered graphite to the rails
- Apply powered graphite to the nut and screw it back on. Be careful no to go too tight as a super tight fit fill impede the movement of the arm.
If yours isnt closing, undo the nut and manually move the pot left and right to disloge any carbon.
Kory
Member
Hi Folks,
I've been reading this forum for a long time...and I purchased a Mt Vernon Insert ANYWAY (about 3 weeks ago)! I liked the hands off potential and the high BTU's and the aesthetics and so far I like the stove.
BUT, after a couple weeks I did start to have this problem. Autoclean gets stuck and I have to manually help it along from underneath. I had some scheduling issues with the dealer getting here, so in the meantime I have a question about specifics in the Autoclean process and how it is SUPPOSED to work, as opposed to what happens for me. BTW, the burnpot bottom when it gets stuck is very clean.
In the attached pic
the YELLOW arrow points to a metal "sweep" that seems key in how mine gets stuck. As the slide goes to the right the sweep is down (as in the pic) and it slides well. On the return path to the left the sweep rockers up and pushes on the bottom of the burnpot and applies a LOT of pressure. That rocker phenomenon stems from looseness or wiggle at the GREEN arrow. If I support the arm in that area to deter the upward movement of the sweep it has a far better chance of successfully sliding and closing.
My question is: Is that upward movement of the sweep by design? Or is something loose in my stove?
Thanks in advance!
John
I've been reading this forum for a long time...and I purchased a Mt Vernon Insert ANYWAY (about 3 weeks ago)! I liked the hands off potential and the high BTU's and the aesthetics and so far I like the stove.
BUT, after a couple weeks I did start to have this problem. Autoclean gets stuck and I have to manually help it along from underneath. I had some scheduling issues with the dealer getting here, so in the meantime I have a question about specifics in the Autoclean process and how it is SUPPOSED to work, as opposed to what happens for me. BTW, the burnpot bottom when it gets stuck is very clean.
In the attached pic
the YELLOW arrow points to a metal "sweep" that seems key in how mine gets stuck. As the slide goes to the right the sweep is down (as in the pic) and it slides well. On the return path to the left the sweep rockers up and pushes on the bottom of the burnpot and applies a LOT of pressure. That rocker phenomenon stems from looseness or wiggle at the GREEN arrow. If I support the arm in that area to deter the upward movement of the sweep it has a far better chance of successfully sliding and closing.
My question is: Is that upward movement of the sweep by design? Or is something loose in my stove?
Thanks in advance!
John
john193
Minister of Fire
This is exactly how mine behaved as well; however mine has only gotten stuck once. When I called the dealer he had me remove the screw that ties the arm to the motor and I manually rocked the burn pot floor left and right (as far as it will go) multiple times. The first few tries gave me a good bit of resistance but it became evident to me that some amount if carbon had built up on the sliders. After a few minutes of this back and forth the mechanism had cleared itself out and I could hear and see burnt up carbon falling to the bottom of the ash pan area.
I had my dealer come out and he agreed while it is unusual for this to happen he didn't see anything mechanically wrong with the stove. So periodically, usually once a month, I disconnect the mechanism from the motor, rock it side to side as described and then apply powdered graphite to the sliders and rock it again before connecting the mechanism back.
While none of this is in the manual nor is it technically required, it has solved my problem.
Edit- the looseness and the upward motion the arm you described is exactly how mine is.
I had my dealer come out and he agreed while it is unusual for this to happen he didn't see anything mechanically wrong with the stove. So periodically, usually once a month, I disconnect the mechanism from the motor, rock it side to side as described and then apply powdered graphite to the sliders and rock it again before connecting the mechanism back.
While none of this is in the manual nor is it technically required, it has solved my problem.
Edit- the looseness and the upward motion the arm you described is exactly how mine is.
Thanks John. I had the impression that the upward movement of that arm was intentional and that pressure may be to snap off any burnt on gunk.
But I would say that the bars in mine are pretty pristine. I'm literally on my 8th bag of pellets and it's just this darned 4 hour autoclean that is making this an issue.
Once I get the house warm I'll take a look at getting in and trying what you describe.
At the moment it is getting stuck more than half the time.
John
But I would say that the bars in mine are pretty pristine. I'm literally on my 8th bag of pellets and it's just this darned 4 hour autoclean that is making this an issue.
Once I get the house warm I'll take a look at getting in and trying what you describe.
At the moment it is getting stuck more than half the time.
John
john193
Minister of Fire
Is the burn pot floor clean? I recall now when I ran my fingers through it, I could feel large carbon buildup on the pot that wasn't visible. Perhaps it is enough to cause an issue?
As a side note, mine happened about a month or two into using the stove. However, I was under the impression that the auto clean didn't need additional cleanings and rarely cleaned the bottom of the burn pot. Now I know.
As a side note, mine happened about a month or two into using the stove. However, I was under the impression that the auto clean didn't need additional cleanings and rarely cleaned the bottom of the burn pot. Now I know.
Update:
The failure of the autoclean got worse so I had service come by and see what they felt was wrong. They disassembled, cleaned and reassembled the burnpot bottom track mechanism. It worked like a champ for another 7-10 days...then started jamming again.
The second time service came they came with a new assembly. They ship the replacement part with everything assembled on the "floor" that the burnpot sits in. New burnpot, bottom, tracks, the works..
Unfortunately this was not a small job to remove the old one and slap in the new.
As expected, all is working lovely at the moment 20 hours later. We'll give it a month before we say PROBLEM SOLVED.
> > > On a side note I am very pleased with the amount of heat I am getting out of the unit. My log cabin is pretty leaky (working on that) and it does a great job of keeping my oil furnace from going on. I realize it will need help in the colder months, but whatever Btu's I don't have to get from oil is a plus in my book.
Z
The failure of the autoclean got worse so I had service come by and see what they felt was wrong. They disassembled, cleaned and reassembled the burnpot bottom track mechanism. It worked like a champ for another 7-10 days...then started jamming again.
The second time service came they came with a new assembly. They ship the replacement part with everything assembled on the "floor" that the burnpot sits in. New burnpot, bottom, tracks, the works..
Unfortunately this was not a small job to remove the old one and slap in the new.
As expected, all is working lovely at the moment 20 hours later. We'll give it a month before we say PROBLEM SOLVED.
> > > On a side note I am very pleased with the amount of heat I am getting out of the unit. My log cabin is pretty leaky (working on that) and it does a great job of keeping my oil furnace from going on. I realize it will need help in the colder months, but whatever Btu's I don't have to get from oil is a plus in my book.
Z
john193
Minister of Fire
slls
Minister of Fire
If I owned a MV AE, I would only burn softwood pellets. Now that is all I burn in my CB 1200, the manual pot dump never sticks.
i bet you wouldn't... I do own an MVAE, and softwoods were fair, but much dirtier than my good ol' Hamer's Hot Ones. Even a lower quality hardwood (Clearfire) was an overall better pellet for that stove. No more softwoods here...
john193
Minister of Fire
Do you burn on the softwood mode? I recently switched due to the increased time between auto cleanings. The softwood setting has the longest interval. I'm burning barefoot pellets so no issues with it. May not be ideal with a "dirtier" pellet.
Definitely used softwood mode and interval between autocleans is a plus (although only a few minutes more as I recall). My softwood experience was with Cleanfire Pacific Blend. Not bad, but dirty. Sticky ash, although hot. I switched back to Hamer's from three seasons ago and douldn't be happier EXCEPT for the price. Will try some other brands as I see them, but probably in my Whit. I think I am not far from you but have not seen Barefoots locally in Chester county. Where do you buy yours?
john193
Minister of Fire
I'm in Montgomery county. I got mine in Telford, PA at a place called rays greenhouse. They also carry energex and country boys (white lightning).
I agree. I burned softwoods last year and they were actually one of the dirtiest pellets I have ever burned. Back to Hamer's and I am Happy!
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