Pellet Stove does not start

[Sharanjit]

Hey Guys,

I finally jumped on the pellet stove band wagon and got a great deal for a used PelPro Home Heater 120. Got the vents finally hooked up and started it up yesterday but could not get the pellets to light up. The Auger turns, pellets are being fed to the burn pot and the igniter glows red but no fire. I tried again using a new batch of pellets and some starter gel. I started the fire with match but it was just a lazy flame like from a candle. Turned on the stove, the fan ran but the fire stayed as a lazy flame until finally running out of gel. Checked the vent and fresh air pipes but found no blockage. Any ideas?

I bought it used and it is about 2 years old but worked fine before we moved it.

Thanks,
Jit.

 

[Fsappo]

Can you look inside to see if the combustion fan is moving? Something could have came loose during the move, a wire, a snap disk, etc. Sounds like a combustion air issue and you already checked the vent.

 

[Sharanjit]

Yea i'm suspecting the combustion fan too. According to the manual it should for 60s at full speed when i push start. While i hear a fan running i'm guessing it's the convection fan instead. I'll open it up when i get home. Do you know how many wires it should have and where the wires should to? As i only have some DIY experience what is the easiest way to test the combustion fan?
Thanks.

 

[Fsappo]

No idea how many or where the wires are on that stove. It's more of an off brand. I know my service man will just disonnect the fan from the stove and hot wire it into an extension cord. (not sure if this is safe or not)

 

[Sharanjit]

Yea i hesitate having to hot wire it into an extension cord but the combustion fan is my likely issue. It costs about 150-200 to get a new combustion fan so i would want to make sure it is the issue before getting a new one. Hopefully i just find some loose wires....wishing thinking.

 

[imacman]

Yep, sounds like comb. blower not working. Most of them have just 2 wires to the motor.

Get an old lamp cord, and make an extension, and plug in....fan should run. You might want to remove the blower before trying it (you'll have to remove it eventually anyway if it's no good), plus you can try "nudging" the fan blades after plugging in....might get it started if it hasn't run in a long time.

BTW, get the motor info and see if you can just buy the motor, instead of the whole motor/fan assembly.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

if you hear a fan but the fire looks like a candle it may be the room air fan , does the stove blow air out th front when you turn it on? may be simply miswired, the combustion fan starts with the "on button" and the room fan when the unit reaches temp, pull the wire chart and see if miswired

 

[rottiman]

My pelpro insert has both fans running on the startup, so you should get a strong blast out the front @ start-up. Which contol board is on it. I think they use Accutron 2's & 3's on their units. Did you try to manually adjust your air intake. Should be a rod out the side by the control board. Also check the fan pot adjustement on the control board if it is a Accutron. Turning it counter-clock wise should increase your combustion fan output. Hope this helps.

 

[Sharanjit]

I took the combustion fan off last night and it was full of ash. I also found plenty of ash in one of the ash traps too. When moving it, we had it on it's side and i suspect thats why the combustion fan and ash bins got clogged up. I spent most of the night cleaning it and will put it together tonight after giving it another once over. The combustion motor was hot so i am optimistic it still works. In any case, now i can replace the combustion fan myself if necessary.

I will let you know how it goes and thanks guys this forum has been immensely helpful

By the way,

As Rottiman mentioned, i believe both fans run on startup. I do get a strong blast coming from the front. Opening the side panel, i could see the fan moving but it was just the convection fan. The combustion fan was fully enclosed so i didn't realize it had another fan.

 

[Fsappo]

I took the combustion fan off last night and it was full of ash. I also found plenty of ash in one of the ash traps too. When moving it, we had it on it's side and i suspect thats why the combustion fan and ash bins got clogged up. I spent most of the night cleaning it and will put it together tonight after giving it another once over. The combustion motor was hot so i am optimistic it still works. In any case, now i can replace the combustion fan myself if necessary.

I will let you know how it goes and thanks guys this forum has been immensely helpful

By the way,

As Rottiman mentioned, i believe both fans run on startup. I do get a strong blast coming from the front. Opening the side panel, i could see the fan moving but it was just the convection fan. The combustion fan was fully enclosed so i didn't realize it had another fan.

A fan full of ash would do it. Hopefully it didnt get burned out. Let us know what happens

 

[Sharanjit]

It Works like a charm Thanks guys.

I tested the combustion fan before putting it back and it worked so i put it back together and started it. Everything worked perfectly, even the igniter. Got the front of the house toasty in less than an hour. Easily the best money i ever spent.

Thanks again guys!

 

[imacman]

It Works like a charm Thanks guys.

I tested the combustion fan before putting it back and it worked so i put it back together and started it. Everything worked perfectly, even the igniter. Got the front of the house toasty in less than an hour. Easily the best money i ever spent.

Thanks again guys!

As we always say, most stove problems are due to being dirty....ESPECIALLY ones that are sold cheap. Original owner gets disgusted with "that !@#$%^&* stove!!", but usually it's their own fault for not cleaning.

In this case, one persons "@#$%^&* stove" is another man's bargain.

Congrats on getting it running....enjoy the heat!