I've had my pellet stove 4 or 5 years now and have been very happy with it until this year. When it got colder and I started the stove it was like the past years but then I started having problems with very little heat and the stove shutting down. It is set on mode C with bottom buttons at 6-4-1. It seems like it is not feeding enough pellets. I usually run the heat setting on 3 or 4 with the blower up at 7 or 8. Now I'm running the heat setting up at 7 or 8 and still very little heat. In fact I can put my hand on the exhaust pipe without any risk of getting burned. It seems like the top auger is not feeding enough pellets to the bottom auger. It sees like the burn pot keeps running out of pellets. I thought maybe I had a bad motor so I switched them and both seem to be working fine. Can someone tell me when the top auger kicks on how long and how much of a rotation it should move each time? I assume raising the heat setting just makes it run more often but each time would be the same duration. After I started having the problem I cleaned the stove, including both motors, and did the leaf blower clean out thinking I might have had a blockage somewhere. I have done a reset of the board and have tried modes C and D. Can anyone give me any idea of something to try? Sorry for the length of the post but wanted to put out all the information I could think of.
25-PDVC very little heat.
- Thread starter smitty273
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Make certain your vacuum line is clear and check all of your gaskets.
Vacuum issues can appear as low heat output because the vacuum switch cuts in and out disrupting fuel feed, less fuel, less heat.
Vacuum issues can appear as low heat output because the vacuum switch cuts in and out disrupting fuel feed, less fuel, less heat.
does this pertain to both vacuum lines? is there a way to bypass them temporarily to see if that is the problem? thanks.
Both lines from the switch to the stove need to be clear and in good condition, do not stick anything into the switch remove the tubes at the switch and blow towards the stove end, you can also remove the tubes from the stove end an using a paperclip ream out any thing stuck there. Again do not blow towards the switch, or suck on the switch ports, or on any tube attached to the switch. Always go towards the stove end.
Chrisnow86
Minister of Fire
also check the restricter plate on the bottom of your hopper, it may have gotten loose and closed off the hole, restricting pellet flow.
Vacuum hoses seem clear, can blow threw them. Is there any way to check the vacuum switch itself? or bypass it temporarily to see if that is the problem.
Chrisnow86
Minister of Fire
Pennington, I know they're not great but was using them prior to this problem and getting decent heat. Now I can't keep a fire going.
CladMaster
Minister of Fire
Check the top auger, it's bearings, and the motor, after 4 years use it may need some care and attn, pull it from it's housing,. The bearings may need grease, look for a grease nipple, it might have a cap on it. If there is no grease nipple, replace the main bearing that just above the auger motor. Also, make sure that the auger is aligned in the tube, if not it will bind up and not turn like it is supposed to turn.
Pulled top auger, everything looks good. Greased bearings for both augers. Still not making enough heat to keep it running. What different conditions would make the top auger stop? Seems like even when it looks like it's burning good I don't think it's making enough heat to keep running. Going to try to do another good cleaning tomorrow to see if maybe I missed something.
CladMaster
Minister of Fire
OK, number of things could cause this ...
1/ Fuel -- pellets over sized pellets (can restrict the amount of pellets fed via the top auger = low heat output due to lack of fuel) or damp / wet pellets / bad pellets / low quality fuel
2/ Heat sensor -- this is on the bottom of the firebox, could be bad or could have a loose connection - to get to this you need to pull the stove out and look behind / past the room air blower, it's low down in the back of the stove.
3/ Airways blocked - OAK and exhaust vent
4/ Heat exchanger - remove the plate on the back wall and clean out, ash gets trapped in the corners top and bottom on both sides, this will lead to a poor burn if not kept 100% clean / clear. -- Same with exhaust blower.
5/ Check the blades on the exhaust blower -- looking for signs of disintegration and wear from heat / ash / dust.
1/ Fuel -- pellets over sized pellets (can restrict the amount of pellets fed via the top auger = low heat output due to lack of fuel) or damp / wet pellets / bad pellets / low quality fuel
2/ Heat sensor -- this is on the bottom of the firebox, could be bad or could have a loose connection - to get to this you need to pull the stove out and look behind / past the room air blower, it's low down in the back of the stove.
3/ Airways blocked - OAK and exhaust vent
4/ Heat exchanger - remove the plate on the back wall and clean out, ash gets trapped in the corners top and bottom on both sides, this will lead to a poor burn if not kept 100% clean / clear. -- Same with exhaust blower.
5/ Check the blades on the exhaust blower -- looking for signs of disintegration and wear from heat / ash / dust.
Thanks Cladmaster, have checked the heat sensor and everything is tight. Pulled both blowers after started having problems and cleaned them. Reinstalled with new gaskets. Planning on doing another cleaning tomorrow to see if I missed something. Will see if I can find another brand of pellets locally to try.
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