Stove not getting hot fast enough for the POF, bedding pellets? auger?

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Stephan in BC

Member
Dec 10, 2014
17
BC Canada
So I'm refurbing this Breckwell Big-E, I think I've now successfully repaired the circuit board (time will tell), and some other little things, but the biggest issue right now is the stove doesn't get the exhaust duct / outlet hot enough, fast enough. The start-up cycle is 15min, but it takes 18-19 min at the startup feed rate for the outside of that duct to hit 110F and trigger the POF. Even 10 minutes later with the stove running on its highest setting, it only read 125F at the POF. I'm burning these white pine "stallion" bedding pellets that were given to me when I got the stove. Could this be the culprit? I can get fir premium pellets here at $339/ton vs the white pine bedding pellets at $245/ton, so there is a considerable difference, but I will do what's best.
or
Is my auger motor wearing out and not delivering enough fuel. I have timed the run times and they match up with what the manual says, 12 seconds on in a 14.5 second cycle on high (5/5). Sometimes at the lower levels, I notice that on some of the auger cycles no pellets come out, or maybe just one, then other times at the same setting a dozen will drop out, is this normal?

At level 2/5 the exhaust duct external temperature at the POF is only 89-91F. The stove will maintain a fire on level 1, but just barely, so maybe it is getting enough fuel but not hot fuel? I've read on here of others using bedding pellets quite successfully, but nothings to say that those pellets are the same makeup as these.

I'm a little stumped here.
 
Remove all the pellets from the hopper, disconnect the power from the stove, remove the auger motor and then remove the augur shaft from the auger tube, clean the auger and it's tube out, check the bushings and bearings for the auger shaft, replace them if needed.

Re-install all components in the reverse order and place a small amount of pellets in the hopper, test feed cycle / run the stove and make note of any changes.
 
Get a bag of good pellets and try them .
I think you will find a big difference. The
bedding pellets are not compressed as tightly
as fuel pellets so don't burn as hot ! Some of
the bedding pellets state they should no be used
in a pellet stove !
 
Is the combustion blower path clean?
Are the gaskets all tight?
Is the fire active or lazy? It should change when you open the door
Are the pellets burning completely?
You need to describe the vent setup for us.
 
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Sometimes the pellets may be a bit to long and not giving the pot a full charge. Bedding pellets don't need to adhere to the industry standard of 3/4 inch long or ash content. I had grief when I tried using a bag of Penningtons that were hitting over 2 inches long.
 
Have you cleaned behind the area that the POF is attached to and between the POF and the stove. Ash in particular on the inside surface (yes inside the exhaust system, exhaust blower may need removing, be sure to have a combustion blower gasket on hand before removing the blower, those gaskets can fall apart easily) of where that POF is can stop the POF from seeing the correct temperatures in time for the stove to consider it has fire in it.
 
Thank you guys, you've given me more things to check for. Pellets are burning completely but don't smell of fresh pine wood like I read they should, they smell kind of glue-ish. I'm getting a good bright fire at middle air range on the air in gate. The vent is two short lengths of double wall pipe venting straight outside.

I'll work on all the above mentioned ideas and report back.
 
Need to try different pellets - you're in the land of "douglas fir" pellets which burn the hottest so you should be able to get a couple of bags of decent pellets. Wait to buy the ton until you know your refurb is successful and have experimented with a few brands to see which burn best...

The bedding pellets - give away to friends with horses or use in the garden for mulch:)
 
If the cleaning doesn't help IIRC the Big E has a one rate exhaust blower and you have to adjust the damper at each setting so it doesn't just blow the stove out.
 
Ok, we are fully functional! My circuit board soldering job seems to have been ok as it's now working properly. I took temp measurements and started pulling things apart. Exhaust motor, housing, and fan were fine. While in there, cleaned up the accumulated soot in the output, which wasn't much. Auger got removed and inspected. Sintered bushings got a new soaking in oil. Vacuumed a bunch of crud sitting under the auger base. I removed the auger motor and took apart the gear box, cleaned the old grease out and put in the proper amount of a lighter grease that tends not to harden up and will work with the mixed materials used in all of those gears.

I ran multiple heat cycle tests with the 110F POF snap disc on the bench using my paint warmer which runs up to 145F and found that it had an intermittent fault. I replaced it with one that kicks on 10 degrees higher (for my safety and peace of mind because I'm mucking with the system), but one that also has double the contact area on the sensor, which is what I really wanted.
Finally, I refilled with premium Douglas Fir pellets. These new pellets produce a lot more flame and heat.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1418790767.264007.jpg

Thank you all for the help. I've learned a lot about my stove in the process.
 
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