Recently purchased a used 6041. On first fire up I had alot of smoke in the firebox before ignition.......Burned ok...but kinda lazy flame.Then shutoff and showed "Err-2." Per manual was checking the door gasket ( which was ok). I dont understand why no seal/gasket on the ash drawer. Anyone know where combustion air comes from.?? No OAK as of yet. Seems to be some kind of an air flow problem. New pipe, 4 foot verticle with just 1 90...so that shouldnt be a problem. Any thoughts /advise appreciated.
USCC 6041 Help/advise
- Thread starter mikkeeh
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mikkeeh said:
Error 2 is lack of proper stove temp......in other words, the stove never got hot enough. Sounds like classic "lack of burn air". Have you tried opening the damper a little, as per the owners manual?
As I'm sure you know from searching the forum, most used stoves are sold because the original owner wouldn't or couldn't keep the stove truly clean, and decided to get rid of it because "it has to be something wrong with that d**n stove
"Before you installed it, I'm sure you tore the stove apart, removed all blowers, augers, blew compressed air though every nook & cranny, used vacuum and wire brushes to dislodge all the crud and old ash in the ash traps and exhaust system............right?
The previous owner had done a pretty good job of cleaning. I did some more...and replaced a bad exhaust fan gasket. It actually looked pretty good. Previous owner used it for 2 yrs for primary heat....Upgraded to a Harman.
I agree with the "lack of air theory'. Just not sure where to start.
I agree with the "lack of air theory'. Just not sure where to start.
mikkeeh said:
Well, then it comes down to just a couple of things.....either there is a blockage in the stove or exhaust pipe, or the combustion blower isn't running at the correct speed.
Might try sending forum member "schoondog" a PM and ask him to take a look at this thread. He seems to have a pretty good handle on the USSC stove he has, and has helped out others in the past.
mikkeeh said:
The combustion blower pushes the exhaust gases out and pulls air in through the pot. All stoves have them.
If you or previous owner didnt get the inner workings of ash (there are odd and small passages on some stoves) Then the stove will not be able to breathe properly and you will get a lazy flame. Stove needs cleaned properly and motors cleaned and oiled (if applicable). Before you can determine if anything else is wrong. Starting with a "Clean" stove is crucial.
mscj
Member
mikkeeh said:
I believe this stove is almost identical to my 6039 except with auto ignite....combustion blower is under the right side panel when looking at the front of the stove....pulls air through the burn chamber. With the damper almost fully open, the fire should look like a blowtorch on most all heat settings but the lowest. My money is on a restricted (at least partially) exhaust in that area....I know mine gets crusty there after a season of burning.
UPDATE: OK..I did a total teardown again....re-cleaned every passage I could find and decided to try it again. Before re-starting I reset the board to "factory default settings. The biggest issue seems to be this stove has a "startup" cycle of about 9 minutes. Just about the time I started to see smioke...it went into shutdown cycle. I unplugged it for a second...and restarted. Lots of smoke in the firebox before ignition.....6-7 min. but it finally took off. Good looking flame....seemed to run best with the damper about 1 inch open. Seems ok. Im wondering if my ignitor is just weak....or the startup cycle isnt long enough. FWIW my Harman starts in about 3 min.
Thx to all for the help
Thx to all for the help
mikkeeh said:
This is why we stress the need to REALLY clean the stove. There too many pellet stove owners out there (and on this forum) that still think vacuuming the firebox and firepot is plenty for a "full cleaning". Hope it keeps running OK for you.
As for the ignitor, they CAN become weak. If you remove yours from the stove, and connect it to 120v, it should get cherry red within about 3-4 minutes. They also get hot in "zones"....and many times 1 zone will stop working.
BTW, since you're located in NE Ohio, you should probably get in contact with Eric at Kinsman Stoves.....he works in the Brookfield store. He sells and services Harman stoves, and I'm sure he can help on the USSC stove too. He is a GREAT guy to work with, and he is a Certified Stove Tech.
330-448-0300
www.kinsmanstoves.com
330-448-0300
www.kinsmanstoves.com
SmokeyTheBear
Minister of Fire
mikkeeh said:
You have to keep the area around your igniter clean of ash. What lights the stove is superheated air if anything prevents sufficient air flow around the igniter it will not be able to do its job. Most igniters work with a zone out, however a fully operational one will not operate with a compromised air flow.
My 6041 starts in about 4 minutes. Make sure the agitator is vertical in the burnpot before startup. You can move it when the stove is off by pressing the aux button. If its sitting at an angle it can block pellets from gettiing near the ignitor. I pull the damper out all the way before turning it on, then push it back in after its started, then pull it out about 2 inches for normal running. It took me about 5 times before I learned the secrets my stove was looking for at startup.
My 6041 with the auto ignitor willl start in about 3/4 minutes using somersets or prestos........ Lucky if it starts at all with the "easy heats"
Just picked up some awf from lowes......will try them tomorrow after a thorough cleaning.
Just picked up some awf from lowes......will try them tomorrow after a thorough cleaning.
OK...Still havent got this thing running right.....was burning good for about 3 hours BUT.....I have to lock the draft fan on 9. If I leave it on auto...at some point it decides to slow down the draft fan...and the fire goes out. Ive had to shut down 2X today to clean the glass door. Smokes up so bad you cant tell if its burning or not. 4 calls to USSC...ran diagnostics..increased the pellet flow...increased the draft fan limits.....seemed to work ok...then for some reason the fire goes out and the stove fills up with smoke. Theres fresh fuel in the burn pot.......Also tried bypassing the vacuum switch...and high and low limiters......no change.
Ive literally messed with this thing ALL day.
Anyone want a good deal on a stove????
Ive literally messed with this thing ALL day.
Anyone want a good deal on a stove????
mikkeeh said:
Where abouts are you in Ohio? Close to Cleveland? Want to sell it? Or do you want to fix it?
Seems your POF is losing touch with the fire.
Have you tried to manually light the stove?
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