Pellet stove 101

[xraycer]

Trying to make sense of how a pellet stove work, so I have a couple of questions:

1. What is the purpose of the vacuum sensor?

2. My stove has a built-in heat tube cleaning mechanism and I can see the glow from the flame through the hole where the cleaning rod sticks out. I am perplexed as why this area is not air sealed with a gasket like the doors and windows. Furthermore, why is the seal on the door and windows so important when flame is fed by an air-intake/OAK?

 

[khenault]

The stove works on negative air pressure, the exhaust blower gives ventilation by sucking the air through the burn pot.. If the blower were to fail, and the stove kept feeding pellets, your house could fill with smoke. But the vacuum sensor will detect the failure, and shut down the auger.

Because it's a negative pressure system, air will get sucked in to the hole around the cleaning rod. not enough air to bother anything. The air wash system works the same way. Stoves with an air wash don't have a gasket on the bottom edge of the glass. Other than these "leaks", the airflow is carefully controlled.

Everything else is sealed tight to create the optimal burning environment. Try opening the door, and see what happens to your flame when the vacuum goes away. You need the active ventilation to get an efficient burn.

 

[HillbillyMD]

Best thing I found is to do multiple searches around here and see what you find out, both on what you are looking for and anything generic about your stove. In addition, like Ken-H suggested, open the door, play with the damper, adjust the feed rate, you can learn a lot just by watching what the stove does under different conditions.

 

[DexterDay]

Very good explanation above... Vacuum switch is just another safety device to keep you and your family safe....

If you want to know why the Ash pan and Door gasket are so important, then open your door while.its running. See what the flame does. The combustion blower "pulls" air throughout the system. So.if there is a Big leak, then the flame (efficiency) is greatly affected.

The little crack (hole) for the exchanger cleaning rod is such a small leak, the stove doesnt notice it. There are "leaks" built into the unit. That little hole, the airwash, and the hole that your combustion blower shaft goes through. These are built in leaks. Its when you add to these leaks, that effect the burn.

The OAK feeds the system. Yes.... But if there are leaks in your gaskets, then the OAK is getting less air to pull through the pot. A leak in the door or ash pan is after the burn pot. So that air is wasted air. Never used for combustion.