Can't get my pellets to feed :-(

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
I'm not familiar with this stove, but does it have a switch on the hopper lid that prevent the auger from turning if not closed?
 
Do you have a manual?

If not download it and print it out, there are pictures and diagrams you can look at.
 
Hello

I fixed a problem just like that. It was a bad low limit switch located on the exhaust fan housing in the right side of the stove.
 
jtakeman,

All Dexter and I want to know is if the vacuum switch is cutting off the auger feed at this point.

Don,

I don't know if the low fire snap disc is even in play at this point in the sequence. But if it is faulty, I wouldn't have expected it to start the convection blower.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DexterDay
Stuck at work til 9p tonight so I won't be able to do the jumper thing till later tonite. I will report the results.

I have been looking at the manuals online, they seem to be pretty general and spotty with info.

This is the stove that fell over.

I will report back around 10p EST

BTW smokey beer brewer here myself and hard cider fan also trying to open a nano brewpub/campground.
 
Ok so I pulled the the wires off the vacumn thing, I didn't have any spade connectors but I put my jumper wire thru the little holes on the spades on the vacumn sensor and twisted the wireand put tension on the wire with the weight of a screwdriver, so I am sure there was contact. Plugged the stove in and turn it on, blower starts up up, red light blinks in the middle of the max/min led push the auger button - nothing, goes for a couple mins then shuts down.

Do I need to have a fire going while jumping the sensor?

Going to bed now if you guys have any ideas for me to try I will give them a whirl when I get up in the morning.
 
Is it heat level 3 light thats on? Or heat level 2?

Big difference here. The stove will tell you whats wrong with it.

Its either a snap disc, or vacuum switch.
 
Here is a small tidbit from a troubleshooting guide (PDF online, Manual is also available).


Fire goes out, or stove shuts down automatically. The #2 heat level light is flashing- The stove’s vacuum switch tripped. Check venting, doors, tubes, and vacuum switch. Possible negative pressure in home, or venting configuration incorrect. Stove ran out of fuel- Load hopper. Auger jammed- Empty hopper and remove foreign object. The #3 heat level light is blinking- Proof of fire disk opened because the stove wasn’t hot or the disk needs to be replaced. High temperature snap disk tripped- Stove overheated and the snap disk has to be reset. Possible causes for overheating include: room fan not working/not getting enough power or plugged, stove is plugged, jumper for feed rate in the wrong position, negative pressure in the home, unacceptable fuel being burned in the stove, inadequate air flow around the stove, high limit switch was bumped causing it to trip, etc. Poor quality or wet fuel- screen or dry fuel. Incorrect draft/feed rate setting- Either the draft or the feed rate is off and should be adjusted

3. Fuel will not feed. Hopper is empty- Add fuel to hopper. Auger is jammed- Remove obstruction. High limit is tripped- Reset snap disk. Vacuum switch is not engaging- check seals on doors and/or check connections. Fuel is dirty or wet- Remove fuel and re-load hopper with clean dry fuel. Auger tube is scored- Hone, or buff, out auger tube. Set screw for the auger is loose- Tighten set screw on the flat part of the auger motor shaft. Circuit board not sending power to auger motor- Replace circuit board
 
You need to short the two wires going to the vacuum sensor to each other. Shorting the two terminals on the sensor itself, unless the wires are still connected to it, does nothing.

It would appear, though, that the sensor is working, since I don't recall you mentioning the red lights blinking before. What the lights are telling you is that there is no vacuum, because the wires are disconnected (even though there may be vacuum in reality). It would appear that the vacuum sensor is working properly, and that there is sufficient vacuum to activate it. I think you problem lies elsewhere.

I don't see whether you have checked to see if the auger motor itself is turning. Not the auger, the motor itself. The motor may be turning without turning the auger. Please look at the motor itself, it may be difficult to tell if it is indeed turning. If the coupling screw is loose, the motor may turn without turning the coupling, which is why you need to look at the motor shaft.
 
Ok I couldn't sleep so I jumped the two wires together turned stove on. Blower comes on, red led is on at the min lowest square of the scale, auger light is green blinks steadily, every 5 blinks of the auger light the fan led blinks once (also green) I detect no auger movement, hold down the auger button nothing.
 
If you have a voltmeter, you could see if voltage is getting to the motor when it should. If the motor is getting voltage, and not turning, it's either bound up or dead. That would be my next step at this point.

If you are comfortable with working with 115 volts (house power), you could make up a jumper set and connect 115 volts right to the auger motor (after disconnecting the stove wires from it). You need to be careful, since that voltage could be fatal to you if you get across it.

At this point, it appears to me that either the motor is bad, or voltage isn't getting to the motor. If voltage isn't getting to the motor, and everything else checks okay, it follows that the control board is bad.

Other than blindly swapping parts, I see no other troubleshooting paths other than what I just mentioned.
 
House voltage. Somewhere between 110 to 130 volts.

I'd also go looking for a loose connection in the lines going to the auger and to make certain the high limit snap disc isn't tripped, reset it if it is. There is usually a red button between the terminals of the manual reset snap discs with the power off and the stove unplugged press the little red button if it has tripped the button will go in and click.

That led bar has 5 lights behind it starting at the bottom is 1, above it in order are 2,3,4,5. If the middle light (#3) was on you had an open hi limit snap disc and the auger's power feed was shut off.
 
House voltage. Somewhere between 110 to 130 volts.

I'd also go looking for a loose connection in the lines going to the auger and to make certain the high limit snap disc isn't tripped, reset it if it is. There is usually a red button between the terminals of the manual reset snap discs with the power off and the stove unplugged press the little red button if it has tripped the button will go in and click.

That led bar has 5 lights behind it starting at the bottom is 1, above it in order are 2,3,4,5. If the middle light (#3) was on you had an open hi limit snap disc and the auger's power feed was shut off.
Does this stove have fuses. Dont know if this was mentioned yet. My auger jambed last year and blew the fuse. the stove was 1 day old so had the dealer come out. Replaced the fuse and worked ever since
 
I don't see any loose wires, pulled the wires off the the auger motor and put them back on they seem good and tight. When I turn the stove on I get the blower motor on, LED 1 is lit on the LED bar and the auger LED blinks, like I said above the fan LED blinks every 5 auger LED blinks or so. Pushing repeatedly or holding the auger button doesn't make the auger move I do not see or hear the auger motor moving. With no fire in it after a minute or so the stove shuts off but the auger LED will still blink.

I have never used a multimeter before so correct me if I am wrong. I pulled the wires (they are yellow one has a black stripe) off the auger motor connected the black lead from the multimeter to the wire with a black stripe, the red lead to the other wire, set the multimeter to AC 0-150.

When I turn the stove on the needle jumps to 60DC on the dial which is the easiest to read but it is also 20 on the green headphone symbol gradation which is ohms maybe? +8 on the AC one, then goes to zero after the initial jump. And while doing the described actions above the needle never moves.

I don't think there are fuses? I only see one of what must be the snap discs it is on the backside of the auger "sleeve, casing" whatever it is called and I can push on it but it feels like a button I feel nothing snapping?

Is there another snap disc somewhere? I assume the auger motor is getting no power?
 
I tied holding the on off button in for 7secs and cutting power while holding button for 10 secs for a hard reset. No luck.

After the stove shuts off the #2 LED is blinking.
 
You should look for AC volts on the motor leads. You shouldn't be trying to measure resistance (Ω) on a live circuit, by the way. If the meter is set to read AC volts, and you aren't getting house voltage on the motor leads when the motor should be running, your problem is upstream from the motor. That means bad wiring, blown fuse, bad control board, improper inputs to the control board, etc. At this point, from what I've read here, it appears that your control board is bad.

Did you check for the high limit snap disc, as Smokey suggested? Also, look the wiring to that disc over to make sure it's good. If that checks out okay, I'd say your control board is bad, probably a triac that is inexpensive to replace, but needs someone familiar with circuit board repairs to change it out.
 
Can I jump the snap disc like I did the vacuum switch?

Yes.

All snap discs will have 2 wires on them. Follow the wires from the board. The manual says there is a resetable snap disc. Should be one in there. Unless it was replaced?

When the stove tipped? Did it bend the body of the stove? What side did it fall on?
 
I only see one of what must be the snap discs it is on the backside of the auger "sleeve, casing" whatever it is called and I can push on it but it feels like a button I feel nothing snapping?
 
Have you read the manual?

It tekls what lights come on and why. The auger light flashed when it is supplied power. The heat level starts on level 2. And it shows 3 (Three) snap discs. A High temp (reset), a POF, and a Cooldown.

Page 26 shows the discs. And the pages afterward, explain what lights will be on and for how long.

Here is a PDF of the manual (hope it works). If it doesnt download when you click on it, then just Google Baby Countryside manual. Its free. I suggest everyone read the manual 5 times before even attempting to light. Then while its lighting, read it 2 more times. Then at least once a season thereafter.
 

Attachments

  • magnumbabycountryside-manual-2005.pdf
    994.6 KB · Views: 389
Status
Not open for further replies.