Pics of my MT VERNON after 6 hr burn..

[wrkinonfire]

Two days ago I did a full clean. I pulled the convection blower, sides, removed inside panels of the firebox, exaust pipe. This is burning pennington Nature's Heat pellets. My 2000 square ft house and stove are 4-5 years old. It's 57* in here with the help of a gas fireplace on the other end of house.My furnace just clicked on so now it's 56*in here. The Quadra-fire is in the basement. It's 20* outside. My stove is set at -20% feed and not on quadrafire, on setting3.....

Anyone have any ideas? Or should I get a slave to work this fire while I'm at work?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Have you pulled and cleaned the COMBUSTION blower, and have you checked your gaskets?

How tight is your 2000 square foot house?

 

[wrkinonfire]

My house is tight. I'm pulling and cleaning the combustion blower this weekend..

 

[pellet burner]

That is a really bad flame. No wonder you don't get any heat. I wish I had an answer but it seems logical that there is some sort of air problem.Not enough obviously. Possibly leaking gaskets (door or combustion blower)? Or a blockage of the air intake or hole in the burn pot? Good luck.

 

[hossthehermit]

Sure looks like a lack of air to me.What Smokey said, and check the intake, whether you've got OAK or not, obstructions CAN happen. BUT, that's just MY opinion.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

My house is tight. ....... ..

Maybe an OAK is needed, if you can open a window (yeah, I hear you it is too cold out there to do that now), see if the flame picks up then close it and see if the flame dies back.

 

[imacman]

My house is tight. ....... ..

Maybe an OAK is needed, if you can open a window (yeah, I hear you it is too cold out there to do that now), see if the flame picks up then close it and see if the flame dies back.

From what we can see in the pics, there's a serious lack of combustion air there. I understand how cold it is, but you don't have to open the window much....just a couple of inches for a few minutes should show whether it's the tight house or not.

If that doesn't solve the problem, you're back to one of a couple of things:

-dirty stove
-poor draft in the exhaust system
-combustion blower isn't running at correct speed

Can you describe for us the exhaust system? How long are the pipes, how many bends, what type, size, etc, etc.

Have you done the dollar bill test on the door gasket?

EDIT: Forgot to ask...since it's a basement install, is the basement fully insulated? How does the heat move upstairs?

 

[BIGISLANDHIKERS]

Does this Mt Vernon have a fuel selector? If so is it set to the right kind? You either don't have enough air or your feedrate is way too high. But then again, I am not familar with the older mt vernon.

 

[wrkinonfire]

I really apreciate all the responses. I just cracked a basement window next to the stove about 1/4". I haven't done the dollar bill test yet. I don't have any. :lol:
Seriously.. Haha. Tomorrow I'm gonna stop at a local stove shop and get the gaskets or whatever I need to take the blower out, clean and replace.

 

[imacman]

....I haven't done the dollar bill test yet. I don't have any. :lol:

You can use a piece of regular paper about the size of a dollar.

I'd still like to know what your exhaust system is like.

 

[chrisasst]

wow, this looks like my fire with the pellet build up. If we can find the answer this would be good.

 

[wrkinonfire]

My house is tight. ....... ..

Maybe an OAK is needed, if you can open a window (yeah, I hear you it is too cold out there to do that now), see if the flame picks up then close it and see if the flame dies back.

From what we can see in the pics, there's a serious lack of combustion air there. I understand how cold it is, but you don't have to open the window much....just a couple of inches for a few minutes should show whether it's the tight house or not.

If that doesn't solve the problem, you're back to one of a couple of things:

-dirty stove
-poor draft in the exhaust system
-combustion blower isn't running at correct speed

Can you describe for us the exhaust system? How long are the pipes, how many bends, what type, size, etc, etc.

Have you done the dollar bill test on the door gasket?

EDIT: Forgot to ask...since it's a basement install, is the basement fully insulated? How does the heat move upstairs?

Exaust system; 7" from back of stove to Tee with c/out. 49" vertical to a 90* straight out the block approx 3' from 90* to end of pipe outside. A tee and a 90 is it. All 4" OD duravent pellt stove specific.

Flame seems a bit better so far with window open.. Tough to tell..

 

[imacman]

OK, exhaust pipe (as long as you KNOW it's completely clean) looks OK.

You DO realize that even if you get the stove running better, the fact that you're trying to heat up an un-insulated basement is VERY difficult. The concrete blocks & floor soak-up most of the heat.

Has this stove EVER run well and put out good heat?

 

[BIGISLANDHIKERS]

I know I am stating the obvious but there are WAY too many pellets in that burnpot and they are backing up into the drop. No way your going to get heat out of it with it burning like that. When my Mt Vernon is running correct I can't see the pellets in the bottom of the burn pot.

 

[imacman]

I know I am stating the obvious but there are WAY too many pellets in that burnpot and they are backing up into the drop. No way your going to get heat out of it with it burning like that.

Yes, that's his problem....not enough burn air to burn the pellets properly.

 

[wrkinonfire]

The heat radiates up the stairs and throughout the house. When running optimal the floors are heated and the house is nice and toasty.

 

[BIGISLANDHIKERS]

I know I am stating the obvious but there are WAY too many pellets in that burnpot and they are backing up into the drop. No way your going to get heat out of it with it burning like that.

Yes, that's his problem....not enough burn air to burn the pellets properly.

I'd worry about burnback with those pellets backed up like that. Seems like he'd eventually get a low temp error.

 

[tsmith]

I am burning corn and am currently having the same problem, I get a tall lazy flame and eventually the pot fills and the stove shuts down with a minimum firepot temp warning on the thermostat. Definately an air problem. I removed my outside air kit to see if that is the problem. Thinking maybe it is blocked or something. Are you getting any warnings on your thermostat? I have my feed rate at the lowest setting and it still burn out the top and over the baffle plate, too much fuel not enough air.

 

[wrkinonfire]

It's -8* outside now w/o windchill. I shut the window in the basement. Flame is lazy, pellets all over the place again.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I am burning corn and am currently having the same problem, I get a tall lazy flame and eventually the pot fills and the stove shuts down with a minimum firepot temp warning on the thermostat. Definately an air problem. I removed my outside air kit to see if that is the problem. Thinking maybe it is blocked or something. Are you getting any warnings on your thermostat? I have my feed rate at the lowest setting and it still burn out the top and over the baffle plate, too much fuel not enough air.

Yup, it is in most cases a lack of air through the fire pot, not necessarily a lack of air through the stove (and to borrow a krooser tag line 80% of the problems are due to a dirty stove). So we start out with the standard laundry list and a few questions.

Here is the list:

You need to check all of your gaskets (sometimes what appears to be a bad gasket can actually be a loose door hinge or latching system, you change the gasket, the gasket appears to have a good seal, and then the gasket test fails very soon after replacing it), your settings for the fuel you are burning, your damper if any, clean the holes or slits in your burn pot, clean out all air passages from the very end of the vent (including the cap) through to and including the air intake (your heat exchanger is also part of the venting system, as is the area under the burn pot), you need to remove and clean the combustion blower and its cavity, you need to verify that your burn pot is properly seated in its receptacle and that the gasket there if any is in good shape.

Here are the questions:

Please describe in detail your venting system?
How tight is your house?
Do you have an OAK?

wrkinonfire already has a session with the combustion blower scheduled it turns out s/he has a basement install and that can present a couple of problems, one of which is other basement dwelling air suckers that can cycle on and off. This can really be a major issue if a house is tight, as at times there may be a severe lack of air for a pellet stove because a high volume draft inducer on a furnace can leave other appliances starved for air. It is all in the air flow folks even for the pushers out there, however they tolerate it by physically pushing some of the burn pot contents into the fire box and keep on trucking.

 

[tsmith]

I have done a complete cleaning of the stove including baffle, exhaust, burn pot, heat exchanger. I have the Simpson Dura Vent pipe about three feet long, horizontal out the wall with a 45 degree cap with 1 inch screening on end, everything is clean and open. I had been using an outside air kit, but I just disconnected it and plugged it to see how that works. The stove is on my first floor, good insulation but not completely air tight. I am burning straight corn. I used the leaf blower to help clean out the system, but did not actually remove the combustion blower, however, I do this complete cleaning every weekend, so the stove is kept clean.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I have done a complete cleaning of the stove including baffle, exhaust, burn pot, heat exchanger. I have the Simpson Dura Vent pipe about three feet long, horizontal out the wall with a 45 degree cap with 1 inch screening on end, everything is clean and open. I had been using an outside air kit, but I just disconnected it and plugged it to see how that works. The stove is on my first floor, good insulation but not completely air tight. I am burning straight corn. I used the leaf blower to help clean out the system, but did not actually remove the combustion blower, however, I do this complete cleaning every weekend, so the stove is kept clean.

You need to remove the combustion blower in order to clean the impeller blades and the cavity properly. It gets very dirty and it becomes a choke point in the exhaust system. I use a leaf blower and it just doesn't get all of the mess off of the combustion blower blades.

I haven't seen the insides of your unit but am willing to also bet that the path from that blower back into the heat exchanger has crud in it as well.

How long have you been burning and how much fuel have you put through the stove and are you adding any oyster shell (a common chicken calcium supplement available at feed stores) or another form of clinker control?

 

[MSmith66]

Check you PM

 

[BIGISLANDHIKERS]

Is the older style Mt Vernon multifuel? If so, do you have it on the right fuel selector?

BIH

 

[imacman]

You need to remove the combustion blower in order to clean the impeller blades and the cavity properly. It gets very dirty and it becomes a choke point in the exhaust system. I use a leaf blower and it just doesn't get all of the mess off of the combustion blower blades. .......

I agree w/ smokey.....most likely just a dirty stove in places you can't see or know about. And the comb. blower has to be removed ( I usually do mine after 1 - 1 1/2 tons) and the impeller blades need to be scraped or wire brushed carefully. Also, use a putty knife to scrape the flat surface of the motor plate under the blades.

After that's clean, and the rest of the stove is as clean as you can possibly get it, bang on the firebox metal back wall with a small hammer a dozen times or so in different areas, which will make crud fall down that you didn't even know was there. Do a final little vacuuming and re-assemble the stove........THEN use the leafblower!