1.) fine black soot 2.) stove now slow to start with 2a.) lots o'smoke

[gglater]

I have a Lopi Yankee Bay, just installed in Nov 09. Stove works great, but...

1.) On 3 occasions I've come down in the morning to find the inside of the stove all black with fine black ash. The stuff cleans right off of everything, but I don't know what causes it. When I go to bed I've got a good fire with a dancing flame, but when I come down I've got a lazy flame and black.

2.) Yesterday, the stove went out for some (unknown) reason. Pellets were piling up in the firebox. I stopped the stove, cleaned the firebox, and restarted the stove (manual start). The start took much longer than usual, and while it was starting a ton of smoke (also much more than usual) came out of the pile of pellets. Finally it started and things worked great.

I also noticed that in the last few days there has been something that sits in the ashbox and issues a thin column of smoke. I assume this is a pellet that was ejected from the firebox and is smoldering.

Ideas?

Thanks.

--glen

 

[krooser]

If you have burned more than a ton of pellets (or if you have been burning on "low" quite a bit) it's time to THROUGHLY clean your stove... use the search feature for "leafblower trick" and read on...

 

[imacman]

If you have burned more than a ton of pellets (or if you have been burning on "low" quite a bit) it's time to THROUGHLY clean your stove... use the search feature for "leafblower trick" and read on...

oldmoose, I agree with Krooser....sounds like a dirty stove. I had an Avalon Astoria last year, the sister stove to yours, and the only 1 time I woke up to a stove that was out was because it was past due time to clean it. Black soot indicates poor air supply for combustion.

 

[gglater]

I cleaned the inside of the stove, including making sure that the hole in the firepot through which the starter heat is shot was clean and not crusted with hardened ash. When I restarted it, the stove started in 3 minutes with little smoke, as normal. So, perhaps that hole had gotten crusted with clinker and I didn't notice.

The fine black ash has happened 3 times, and it couldn't really be due to a dirty stove. I say that because 1.) the stove was just installed in the middle of November and 2.) the first time it happened I hadn't burned even close to a ton. perhaps just a couple of hundred pounds at that time.

So, things seem to be OK now and I'll write the black ash off to poor air flow through the regulator. I'll continue to work on that.

About the leaf blower method: my vent goes up the chimney and to the roof. I don't have any mechanism for attaching a leaf blower to either suck or blow at the exhaust pipe.

How do you use the leaf blower method when the stove is in the fireplace and the vent goes up the chimney? Do I need to pull the stove out and detach the vent tube to do this?

--glen

 

[smoke show]

IF your ok with it just climb up on the roof and do it(check avatar)
recommend not doing it when roof is snow covered :lol:

 

[imacman]

I cleaned the inside of the stove, including making sure that the hole in the firepot through which the starter heat is shot was clean and not crusted with hardened ash. When I restarted it, the stove started in 3 minutes with little smoke, as normal. So, perhaps that hole had gotten crusted with clinker and I didn't notice.

The fine black ash has happened 3 times, and it couldn't really be due to a dirty stove. I say that because 1.) the stove was just installed in the middle of November and 2.) the first time it happened I hadn't burned even close to a ton. perhaps just a couple of hundred pounds at that time.

So, things seem to be OK now and I'll write the black ash off to poor air flow through the regulator. I'll continue to work on that.

About the leaf blower method: my vent goes up the chimney and to the roof. I don't have any mechanism for attaching a leaf blower to either suck or blow at the exhaust pipe.

How do you use the leaf blower method when the stove is in the fireplace and the vent goes up the chimney? Do I need to pull the stove out and detach the vent tube to do this?

--glen

Don't be so sure that the stove isn't dirty too. It isn't always due to amount of pellets burned....the brand pellets may have some bearing too. Did you clean in the ash traps? Did you pull the cleanout off the T and check for ash there?

Oh, and what is it that your referring to as the "regulator"?

As for the leaf blower, you have the same situation I do.....I don't do roofs....LOL.

I use the LintEater from the inside T cleanout:

www.amazon.com/Linteater-System-And-Extension-Kit/dp/B000CPKKQM