2008 Enviro Empress FPI - To Replace the Motherboard or Not?

[Bradley Jacques]

Here's a quick question for all the enviro experts out there... I have a 2008 Enviro Empress FPI with the old style motherboard / daughter board. I know these things had very high failure rates; Do I replace this per-emptively and save the circulatory motor + Exhaust motor, or I do I let the thing run just like it is and worry about it all at once.

Anyone know the failure rate on the boards with the TRIACS? Mine seems to run okay, albeit a bit noisey / I did have to replace the circulator motor once already.

I bought this stove this summer, and the previous owner had ran maybe 20 bags of pellets through it.

thank you guys.... - Brad

 

[steamguy]

If the fans are noisy (humming) when on lower settings, and the noise quits when you turn it up, replace the motherboard.
Now.

You say here that:

I did have to replace the circulator motor once already.
I bought this stove this summer, and the previous owner had ran maybe 20 bags of pellets through it.

Killing a motor this quickly is a for-sure sign of a bad motherboard. Don222 and a couple others here helped me diagnose mine. I'd gone through four replacement blowers (both combustion and convection), one every about two years; my local dealer had no clue.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad (and expensive) news. But once you've made the swap, the stove will be MUCH quieter when running.

the boards with the TRIACS

Everybody uses Triacs. That's the way you control a line voltage with a microcontroller's output. The new boards from Enviro have better Triacs, and better programming.

A little searching... and... Yup, here's where I posted all this information. CLICK HERE

 

[Bradley Jacques]

Good deal, I would say that the noise level is relatively static until it hits level 5; then it sounds like the old truck that's about to die... sheet metal clinging and the motors blowing.

To be fair, The motor was still able to move and power, but the bearing was definitly going, lots of resistance when turning by hand...So the replacement might not have been necessary.

I think the answer is I need to grab the new Mobo... I just wish there was a definitive method to testing this defect.

 

[Bradley Jacques]

If the fans are noisy (humming) when on lower settings, and the noise quits when you turn it up, replace the motherboard.
Now.

You say here that:


Killing a motor this quickly is a for-sure sign of a bad motherboard. Don222 and a couple others here helped me diagnose mine. I'd gone through four replacement blowers (both combustion and convection), one every about two years; my local dealer had no clue.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad (and expensive) news. But once you've made the swap, the stove will be MUCH quieter when running.


Everybody uses Triacs. That's the way you control a line voltage with a microcontroller's output. The new boards from Enviro have better Triacs, and better programming.

A little searching... and... Yup, here's where I posted all this information. CLICK HERE

Thanks for the response, appreciate your input.... I think I'll go ahead and grab that mobo just in case. at 200$ for the circulator motor and 200$ for the exhaust motor, the new mobo is probably good insurance.