Osburn 45 mysterious "E" code

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brooksdm

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Aug 1, 2008
11
southern me
Twice in the past 24 hours my Osburn 45 has totally shut down, displaying an "E" code. The stove is clean and has a nice flame burning when this happens and the hopper has plenty of pellets. A few minutes after stopping the convection fan will start/stop a couple times and then, after about 10 minutes, will come on and stay on cooling down the stove. After resetting, the stove starts with no problem. It ran for 17 hours before shutting down this afternoon. When it shut down this PM it cut out, came back, and then finally stopped. Is it a problem with one of the heat sensors? With the control board? The stove is an early version, ser #249 bought new in 2008. Both the Combex fan and the convection fan have been replaced in the past two years.
 
Lake Girl, Thanks a lot. My owner's manual did not have the item listing a bad thermistor as being an item to check. Mountain View Hearth Products seems to have a thermistor for stoves under serial #1619; it doesn't look exactly the same as what came with the stove but it looks similar so I will give it a try. A previous customer of theirs said he had to talk with customer support for installation advice but was able to install it and was happy. Again, thanks.
 
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My owner's manual did not have the item listing a bad thermistor as being an item to check.

Fairly recent revision on the manual (2014) so they likely figured it out along the way. Hope it cures what ails the stove, keep us posted...
 
Owner's manual shows E code on page 23:
http://www.osburn-mfg.com/upload/documents/manuels/45165A_05-08-2014.pdf

Thermistor would be worth a try before worrying about the control board but, your serial # doesn't show up on one of the on-line parts vendors...


Unless your stove has been updated, the early versions do not have a thermistor or the two extra tabs on the circuit board where it connects, they have a ceramic POF snap disc on the exhaust housing. Something to check or replace.

See pics of each version cb here
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...cuit-board-compatibility.142452/#post-1921816
 
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It could also be a faulty thermal overload circuit built in to the convection fan. Replacing the fan is the only fix for that,
 
Don may be on to something... looked at the wiring diagram on page 28 in the manual linked above. There is still a proof-of-fire snap disc F160 part #44058. This snap disc has to be activated to start convection blower. You could test this by unplugging the stove, disconnecting the wires to the snap disc, reconnecting the wires together with jumper wire making sure there is no possible chance of short, try running the stove... This is a temporary test situation and stove should not be run this way. Snap discs are usually relatively inexpensive to replace. Jumper wires can be made to specifically mate to type of connectors used on the appliance.

Keep us posted.
 
Don may be on to something... looked at the wiring diagram on page 28 in the manual linked above. There is still a proof-of-fire snap disc F160 part #44058. This snap disc has to be activated to start convection blower. You could test this by unplugging the stove, disconnecting the wires to the snap disc, reconnecting the wires together with jumper wire making sure there is no possible chance of short, try running the stove... This is a temporary test situation and stove should not be run this way. Snap discs are usually relatively inexpensive to replace. Jumper wires can be made to specifically mate to type of connectors used on the appliance.

Keep us posted.
The fan was new at the start of the season. I think I may have another bad thermodisc. Unfortunately they're not that cheap - $50 with shipping. I think I got the last one Mountain View Hearth Products had in stock. They now say this is a special order item and will take two to four weeks to receive. I will try the jumper wires and see what happens. I'm glad it's almost the end of the heating season.
 
There are apparently two heat sensors involved with the convection fan - the F140 unit that attaches to the Combex exhaust housing (which I replaced and whose replacement I think is defective) and the F160 high temperature switch that is located where the convection fan attaches to the intake port. This is the latest version (I think) of the F140: http://www.stove-parts-unlimited.com/Osburn-F140-Thermodisc-p/se09242.htm . The one I removed and the replacement were one piece units and identical to each other. The new switch appears to be a two piece unit. Frustrating to spend $52.00 and not fix the problem. I'll try again.
 
Try jumping around the snap disc to see how it runs. Still same symptoms, you've got another problem lurking. If it runs as it should and fan comes on, it's the snap. Since you have two to isolate - may have to jump one, then two at the same time, then other one... if that makes sense. Always remember to unplug and ensure whatever method you use to jump around switch, you don't allow a chance to short.
 
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