Summers Heat 55-SHP10

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sc0872

Member
Feb 9, 2009
83
MO
I have been having a bad time of the burn pot not burning the pellets all the way. I can clean out the pot and the area below where the fresh air comes in and it burns good for about 12 - 24 hours. I have the low fuel feed on 1 and the low burn air on 7 I think that it needs more air.
 
A lot of people have had and have the same problem with this stove. Good luck! It's a cheap stove that works ok for about a year. Some people are very happy with them others not so happy. You get what you pay for, and its not much.
 
Well, that doesn't really help the original poster, now does it. There are very many people on this forum who have had excellent experiences with Englander stoves, myself included. Not everyone can afford a Cadillac... but a Ford gets along just fine.

sc0872 - have you tried increasing the LFF? From what little you described, it could be a number of things. If you increase the LFF, or run the stove on heat setting 3 or higher, will the pellets burn completely? What pellets are you burning? Do you have an OAK (Outside Air Kit)? Could be your house is so tight that it isn't allowing enough combustion air in (though I doubt that).
 
I have my pellet feed on 5-7 depending on the day the lff on 1 and it still builds up unless I would be better to put it on 3 and try to bump up the lff
 
the LFF only affects the stove when it is on heat settings 1 or 2. Do you have it hooked up to a thermostat?
 
No I have it hooked up to outside air also. I didnt at first and thought that was the problem but its not. I thougth about drilling more holes in the side plates and the bottom to get more air.
 
then you'll just have a lot more ash fall thru the burn plate, and that will require more frequent cleaning out below to keep a clear combustion air path. What pellets do you burn? poor quality pellets may not burn completely. or even damp pellets
 
hmmm. Maybe someone else on here has experience with the brand, I haven't heard of them. So if the stove is not burning all the pellets it feeds in on the higher settings, the LFF adjustments will not affect anything. Try burning another brand of pellets, to see if that changes anything. That way you'll know if it is your Northwest Pride pellets, or a problem with the stove.
 
try drilling a 5-6 7/32" holes around the middle of the wear plate. make sure the plate sits flat with the rails in the burn pot.---worked wonders for me. still clean it about every 12 hours, but it burns hotter and turns pellets into dust.
 
speedoboy31 said:
try drilling a 5-6 7/32" holes around the middle of the wear plate. make sure the plate sits flat with the rails in the burn pot.---worked wonders for me. still clean it about every 12 hours, but it burns hotter and turns pellets into dust.

Can you post a pic?
 
That doesn't add anymore volume of air though. The motor will only draw the same CFM volume of air, just thru more holes, which will equal a slower air speed. The solution would be to increase the combustion blower speed, which draws the fresh air in. However, that can't be done by a layman. I am wondering if you have 1 of 2 things. Either a restriction in your air intake (a clog somewhere), or a defective combustion blower that isn't running fast enough. The latter you would have to talk to Englander about. Hopefully Mike Holton will have something to say about this tonite.
 
slh9 said:
A lot of people have had and have the same problem with this stove. Good luck! It's a cheap stove that works ok for about a year. Some people are very happy with them others not so happy. You get what you pay for, and its not much.

Mine is an inexpensive stove that has worked great for about 4 years. I got what I paid for with about $2000 to spend on pellets. To each his own.
 
Well other than this minor problem so far I am very pleased since I only paid 585.00 on sale at lowes and bought two of them. It is keeping my natural gas furnace and electric furnace on the second floor from running even on the cold nights when its 15 outside. Just need to get this minor problem solved.
 
I just spoke with someone at the factory they want me to call in when I am at the stove as he said there is no way it should have build up with the buttons at the bottem set as follows 1,7,1 he wanted me to try the 1,9,1 but said he thinks something is not setup right.
 
Hold it now... Even with the stove's HEAT settings at 1 or 2, you're getting unburned pellets? I thought, from what you said above, you have the HEAT settings anywhere from 5 to 7. If this were the case, the LFF settings are inconsequential, since the LFF settings only affect HEAT settings 1 and 2.
 
did you tell the Englander tech that you haven't run it on 1 or 2?
 
sc0872 said:
Northwest pride

I am burning Northwest Pride this year(3 ton, dealer could not get the regular Somerset). The clinks left over in the burn pot is horrible with these pellets. I have opened up a couple of the holes directly infront of the auger and blocked off the one large side outlet and it has greatly reduced the build up in the pot.
I feel this is a poor brand of pellets as during the very cold times I switch back over to the Somersets I have left over from last year and I get no clinks and more heat while stove is on a lower heat setting.
 
no he didnt ask will it produce enough heat at them lower settings if I bump up the lff where its suppose to be from the factory. On a heat setting of 1 or 2
 
probably won't produce enough heat on 1 or 2, but that is beside the point. the whole reason for adjusting the LFF and the LBA is to adjust the low burn (HEAT settings 1 and 2) so that you can get 24 hours out of a bag of pellets. The LFF and LBA do not affect the pellet feed rate when you have the HEAT settings on 3 thru 9. So if you are having the unburned pellets or overfeed when the HEAT settings are on 5 or 7, it is not a LFF or LBA setting problem. You need to mention to the Tech that it occurs on the higher settings.
 
ok hopefully Mike will chime in on this tonight as its hard for me to call at home when there customer service is open.
 
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