Soviet stove is driving me nuts

[RickJacobus]

Hi everyone!

Moving into my in-laws summer house I came across the heating system.
It's a Latvian pellet stove and as far as I can see it is mainly made from Soviet-time materials.
(I'm a Dutch guy living in Latvia)

Here comes the fun part: the unit's manual is very brief, the company that made it long out of business and the Latvian heating guys all refuse to come and have a look. The same attitude with our wooden windows: they are looking for quick easy jobs and are not interested in trying to service an older unit.

So as per my usual strategy in this country, I decided to learn about things myself.

Here is the thing:
The stove worked okay-ish (due to my lack of understanding) untill the original pellets ran out.
I went to the local Depo to buy some sacks but it seems these seemed softer? Anyway, the stove clogged up.

Now that I have vacuumed out all of the pellets, I see that the auger does turn ever so slightly. I let it run for half an hour and then chuck in some pellets after which it immediately stops running. I can also move the auger slightly up and down which sounds to me something that I also shouldn't want.

My guesses are:
- These pellets are too soft, get crushed and clog up the auger
- The auger is not sharp enough anymore to cut through them (also has a bit of surface rust at the sharp end)
- The motor is not powerful enough anymore
- The auger has too much wiggle room. I read something about brushing plates?

Every time I googled issues I stumbled on this forum and I see everyone is very helpful. So I hope you can help me tackle my problem! My girlfriend is freezing so she stays with her parents now. Can't have that now can we?

 

[Ssyko]

Sounds like the auger motor is very worn and tired. I would see if you could locate a new one. Check for rpm, rotation as you face the shaft of the motor, voltage/amp

 

[jackman]

I'll second Ssyko's recommendations. To check the pellets try splitting them with your fingers. They should have a good snap and not just crumble and fall apart. If the pellets have absorbed too much moisture they will swell and fall apart turning into a mess.

 

[RickJacobus]

Thanks both of you!
I just checked and the pellets do seem to be too brittle and get pushed apart easily.
Im at a crossroad now: should I try a bag of different pellets? I've seen darker pellets online and they remind me of the rodent feed I had back home for a pet. I remember those really made a snap when pressed in half.

Ssyko, how can I make sure that the motor is the problem?

P.S.: I'm also thinking about how long this stove will still serve us and the hassle that we have now. Seen cheap (200EUR) wood burning stoves that will get me at least through the season. Or am I being blasphemous now in this subforum?

 

[Ssyko]

Can you post some pictures of the components, easyer to give good advice. I have no idea what the russian’s had available or if they outsourced.

 

[FirepotPete]

Or am I being blasphemous now in this subforum?

No way! Everyone here is here to help everyone stay warm and safe. I've seen many a post pointing people away from using pellet stoves. There are many reasons to use a pellet stove and there are many reasons that a wood burner or oil/NG/Propane would be a better choice for someone.

If you decide to go with a wood burner you may be directed to a different forum where your questions would be better answered but bringing up anything besides pellets stove is not a problem.

 

[jackman]

Thanks both of you!
I just checked and the pellets do seem to be too brittle and get pushed apart easily.
Im at a crossroad now: should I try a bag of different pellets? I've seen darker pellets online and they remind me of the rodent feed I had back home for a pet. I remember those really made a snap when pressed in half.

Ssyko, how can I make sure that the motor is the problem?

P.S.: I'm also thinking about how long this stove will still serve us and the hassle that we have now. Seen cheap (200EUR) wood burning stoves that will get me at least through the season. Or am I being blasphemous now in this subforum?

The pellets really can't be too brittle. If they are too long the auger will snap them and the sound is sometime alarming but is perfectly normal. It wouldn't hurt to try a different bag of pellets to determine if there's a performance difference.

I'd check the auger motor by testing it connected directly to a power source with the same voltage/current required for the motor if that's possible. That may eliminate the electronics board as a problem source.

In the USA I'd expect a good pellet stove to last 15 to 20 years. Much beyond that the parts are hard to find.

Yeah, stick around and let us know if you decide to go a different way with your stove. We don't mind if you find another heat source. Whatever works best in your situation is what's important.

 

[Ssyko]

Probably wouldn’t hurt to take all the motors out and clean and lubricate then bench test ea one.

 

[Tonyray]

i don't know of any wood pellets that would stop an auger in it's tracks.
i concur and blame the auger motor...

 

[RickJacobus]

Hi everyone! I've considered many things and in the end the weather made the decision.
It became too cold to stay with only an oil filled radiator so I had a wood stove installed.

The pellet stove is decommissioned. In the end, it seemed to be a combination of the auger motor not being strong enough (whether it was the unit or the circuit we don't know) plus the pellets we had were not very compressed. Either way, I want to thank you all very much for the help. I learned a lot! Now on to the wood fired stove forum to learn more about them.

 

[Ssyko]

Good luck Rick