Pellet hopper getting too hot?

[dandb819]

Not sure if this is normal for a insert or not, but our Whitfield Profile 30 Ins when you run it on medium or high the pellet hopper seams to get really warm. It is just in the front of it were the heat exchanger tubes run under it. It looks like it has a heat shield between the hopper and the steel plate on the main stove. It gets hot enough that I can not put my hand on the hopper bin plate right there. I would say about 110 to 120 degrees is what the plate is runing at in the hopper. Since i am fairly new to pellet stoves this might just be a normal thing, just really wanted to make sure dont want a hopper fire!!

Thanks

 

[jtakeman]

It seems to be common with the inserts. There made slightly smaller to fit in the tighter spots. You should be OK. There is a temp limit switch in the stove that will shut it down around 200º.
If you start to smell burning, Then I would get a little worried.

A freind has a Breckwell insert and he tripped his limit last year in the cold snap(-20º). The pellets in the hopper got real warm, But no fire.

 

[dandb819]

OK thanks for the assurance on that. I can kind of smell just a warm pellet kind of smell nothing like a burning smell. The stove is way under the 200 degree mark i just wanted to make sure it was not something i should worry about. Everyone on this site is so helpfull with giving support on these things, I would have never gotten this thing up and running this year with out the help of all the good people here!!

 

[Delta-T]

is your firebrick all intact? If thats all falling apart or not there at all then you could have excess heat traveling throgh the firewall and thats no fun at all.

 

[dandb819]

The fake fire brick is all in tackt and when i got the stove before i installed it i pulled everything apart and cleaned it all up. The last person did not do the best maintanence on it so it was a little dirty. The stove runs great now, just was not sure about the hopper getting warm.

 

[Dr_Drum]

It seems to be common with the inserts. There made slightly smaller to fit in the tighter spots. You should be OK. There is a temp limit switch in the stove that will shut it down around 200º.
If you start to smell burning, Then I would get a little worried.

A freind has a Breckwell insert and he tripped his limit last year in the cold snap(-20º). The pellets in the hopper got real warm, But no fire.

The flash point of dry wood is well over 500 degrees. The 200 degree limit switch uses a huge safety factor which is good.
Mike -