Trouble shooting Accentra, feed motor INOP

[NHRedneck]

ive got a 7 year old accentra insert in my apt (and its my only heat source) and it is currently kicking my butt. the other day i came home from work and lit it, only to realize it never started feeding once the fire was established. i cleaned out all the pellets from the hopper to check for jams, cleaned out burnpot, ESP probe and exh ports, still no feed motor operation. i figured it was a garbage feed motor and replaced it but to no avail (since the stove is 7 years old it wouldnt exactly surprise me)

so after doing some serious reading here it seems as though i either have a bad board (causing no signal to the feed motor) or i have a problem with draft pressure or the lack therof, and that is where my normally mechanically and 12v electronically minded head runs into a brick wall with diagnosis. some of the threads ive been reading talk about the draft presssure switch having hoses attached to it, however i dont see anything of the sort anywhere behind my stove. looking for some serious help, thanks alot - David

 

[Lousyweather]

the differential switch is mounted to the right of the feeder weldment, roughly about 2:00 for the auger. Its about a 2" disc, with a couple wires going into it, and ONE clear tube coming out.....this tube could go into one fo three places in your stove, but you should see a clear tube. If its gone....likely thats your problem! This switch interrupts your feed motor if there isnt negative pressure at the sensor (via the tube).

Could also be the board......I would pigtail the feeder, make sure it runs ok. Then, I would check the combustion fan, make sure it works (same way).....then, I would check the rear fines container and ensure its empty. Then, i would check the piping, and make sure it isnt blocked. Then, I would check the intake assembly, and make sure the intake damper isnt stuck closed, OR the pathway itself isnt impeded. "No feed" issues can be a myraid of things......

 

[NHRedneck]

you guys rock, i think the original feed motor still is trash, as i found the hose (or shall i say half of the hose on the stone below the stove) and i probably cut the hose when i pulled the stove out of the wall to check the auger/ feeder motor in the first place. i was able to repair the hose with some heat shrink tubing and instantly had the feed motor engage when put in test mode. i kick myself for not snagging a picture , but i sure was dissapointed to see that the hose doesnt attach to a barb on the stove body, but simply is siliconed into the seam on the side of the base of the stove (not sure what the pellet stove guru term for the location is) but it was staring me in the face and i couldnt tell something was missing b/c of the way it was installed it all blended together

 

[ivanhoe]

good for you on finding it quickly and welcome aboard! now you need to put your stove info in your sig so we know what you actually have, helpful hands could be seen more frequent with the right answers down the road......just kidding!