Almost Had Disaster...

[1BadTitan]

I came home from work this morning and smelled burnt toast when I walked in the front door. I immediatly ran downstairs to the stove and its a mess. The burn pot is overflowing with pellets, they were all over the bottom of teh stove burning and smoldering. The whole pot had a lazy rolling flame like the comb. blower was blocked. PLease help, my wife and 2 babies were here last night and now I'm afraid to even fire this thing up.
I know it was clean, I carefully clean it once a week. What could have happened?

 

[mnkywrnch]

When was the last time the complete exhaust system was cleaned,definetly sounds like it's blocked.

 

[1BadTitan]

The stove is only a month old... I just got done tearing the whole thing down for another cleaning. It seemed like it wasnt getting enough combustion air. I used compressed air to blow out the combustion blower assembly and vaccumed out everything else. I stuck my leaf blower on the exhaust and blew out very little soot. I still havent confirmed the culprit.

 

[mnkywrnch]

Well then that rules out plugged exhaust, hopefully someone else chimes in.

 

[krooser]

Check the door gasket... and check the ashpan...if the ashpan is not tight it will act the same way.

The same thing happened to me two years ago after I first got my stove... I didn't understand the ins and outs of how a pellet stove operates and I didn't tighten the two screws that hold the ashpan in place... I had an overflo in the burn pot, smoldering pellets in the ashpan and a very lazy flame.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Also tell us about your exhaust system, air intake, and damper settings if any.

 

[imacman]

I came home from work this morning and smelled burnt toast when I walked in the front door. I immediatly ran downstairs to the stove and its a mess. The burn pot is overflowing with pellets, they were all over the bottom of teh stove burning and smoldering......

What setting was the stove at? Was it on a very low heat setting?

 

[1BadTitan]

Also tell us about your exhaust system, air intake, and damper settings if any.

T out of the stove, 3ft vertical into a 90 elbow, 2ft horizontal through the wall to horizontal cap. The intake is drawing from the room air and teh damper was about 75% open.


Yes it was burning on the lowest setting. with the blower on the middle setting

 

[mnkywrnch]

Even though your stove is new I'm wondering if thers a problem with your combustion blower not spinning fast enough. Having the damper open 75% seems excessive.Can you hear the combustion blower running,does it sound as strong as before?Checking voltage to the blower would be the next step.

 

[1BadTitan]

I dont really know how fast it should be blowing. I can hear and see it running. It doesnt really sound any different than from the day I first fired it up. When its on high, the pressure switch cuts the auger off. I have to shut the damper some to get the pellets to flow again. I cant get it right.

 

[imacman]

.....When its on high, the pressure switch cuts the auger off. I have to shut the damper some to get the pellets to flow again. I cant get it right.

That's weird.......have you checked this link?

www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/13499/

 

[krooser]

I think your your stove is plugged with ash... AFAIK if the pressure switch stops the auger it means you have an obstruction that isn't allowing air flow hence the poor burn, pellets piling up in the pot, etc...exactly what happened to me after 6 weeks or so of burning during my first year.

If you have to have your damper open that far to get the fire going you have a plugged stove... you really should keep the damper open about the width of a pencil...that's it. When i quit messing with the stove's damper my stove worked better.

Clean the ash traps out...use a hammer to tap the ash down... and, of course, buy a leaf blower and suck all that ash out of the stove...

I know what you are up against as I've been there.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If you didn't happen to plug the combustion exhaust fan with ash when you cleaned the stove, or inadvertently changed the damper, it is possible that you have something plugging the air intake or a negative pressure situation in the house.

A pile up is always caused by not enough air pressure to remove the ash. Burning pellets that do not meet the standard required by your stove will do it as the air system can't keep up with the ash. Any bypassing of the fire pot by the air stream can do it (loose door gasket, ash pan door gasket, even the hopper lid at times of low pellets). Something as simple as not having properly seated the burn pot or cleaning the holes in the burn pot can also cause this problem.

Your exhaust system is within spec as far as EVL is concerned, however that horizontal cap could be plugged or it is creating a back pressure issue by being well a true plug even without being plugged by ash.

 

[1BadTitan]

I think your your stove is plugged with ash... AFAIK if the pressure switch stops the auger it means you have an obstruction that isn't allowing air flow hence the poor burn, pellets piling up in the pot, etc...exactly what happened to me after 6 weeks or so of burning during my first year.

If you have to have your damper open that far to get the fire going you have a plugged stove... you really should keep the damper open about the width of a pencil...that's it. When i quit messing with the stove's damper my stove worked better.

Clean the ash traps out...use a hammer to tap the ash down... and, of course, buy a leaf blower and suck all that ash out of the stove...

I know what you are up against as I've been there.

I cleaned this thing inside out. I dont think anything is plugged.... But then again, I dont know what I should be looking for when adjusting the damper. I set it up like this... I start with it closed, then slowly open it until the embers in the bottom of the burn pot start jumping from the draft. Is that too much?

 

[1BadTitan]

If you didn't happen to plug the combustion exhaust fan with ash when you cleaned the stove, or inadvertently changed the damper, it is possible that you have something plugging the air intake or a negative pressure situation in the house.

A pile up is always caused by not enough air pressure to remove the ash. Burning pellets that do not meet the standard required by your stove will do it as the air system can't keep up with the ash. Any bypassing of the fire pot by the air stream can do it (loose door gasket, ash pan door gasket, even the hopper lid at times of low pellets). Something as simple as not having properly seated the burn pot or cleaning the holes in the burn pot can also cause this problem.

Your exhaust system is within spec as far as EVL is concerned, however that horizontal cap could be plugged or it is creating a back pressure issue by being well a true plug even without being plugged by ash.

Everything seems to be clear. How much airflow should I feel when I put my hand in front of the exhaust outside?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If you didn't happen to plug the combustion exhaust fan with ash when you cleaned the stove, or inadvertently changed the damper, it is possible that you have something plugging the air intake or a negative pressure situation in the house.

A pile up is always caused by not enough air pressure to remove the ash. Burning pellets that do not meet the standard required by your stove will do it as the air system can't keep up with the ash. Any bypassing of the fire pot by the air stream can do it (loose door gasket, ash pan door gasket, even the hopper lid at times of low pellets). Something as simple as not having properly seated the burn pot or cleaning the holes in the burn pot can also cause this problem.

Your exhaust system is within spec as far as EVL is concerned, however that horizontal cap could be plugged or it is creating a back pressure issue by being well a true plug even without being plugged by ash.

Everything seems to be clear. How much airflow should I feel when I put my hand in front of the exhaust outside?

Remove the horizontal cap and see if the problem recurs or you are then able to reduce your draft. I don't have a copy of your stoves manual so I have no idea how much air the stove should be moving.

 

[Excell]

when i installed my stove I was told that it wouldn't work properly with out installing an out side air duct . That could be part of your problem ?

 

[1BadTitan]

If you didn't happen to plug the combustion exhaust fan with ash when you cleaned the stove, or inadvertently changed the damper, it is possible that you have something plugging the air intake or a negative pressure situation in the house.

A pile up is always caused by not enough air pressure to remove the ash. Burning pellets that do not meet the standard required by your stove will do it as the air system can't keep up with the ash. Any bypassing of the fire pot by the air stream can do it (loose door gasket, ash pan door gasket, even the hopper lid at times of low pellets). Something as simple as not having properly seated the burn pot or cleaning the holes in the burn pot can also cause this problem.

Your exhaust system is within spec as far as EVL is concerned, however that horizontal cap could be plugged or it is creating a back pressure issue by being well a true plug even without being plugged by ash.

Everything seems to be clear. How much airflow should I feel when I put my hand in front of the exhaust outside?

Remove the horizontal cap and see if the problem recurs or you are then able to reduce your draft. I don't have a copy of your stoves manual so I have no idea how much air the stove should be moving.

http://www.fiamma.us/images/Lennox/Profile-stoves(II&OP.pdf

 

[1BadTitan]

when i installed my stove I was told that it wouldn't work properly with out installing an out side air duct . That could be part of your problem ?

This could potentially completely hijack my thread... Too many other posts for this. I've tried to crack a window, to check the draft, no change... My house isnt that tight to make that a problem. The ridge vent spanning the length of my roof should cure any vaccum trouble probability.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

That link doesn't work. It appears to be garbled by the forum software even doing a copy and paste didn't work.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

When you cleaned the stove how did you clean it?

It is possible that you actually plugged up something while cleaning another area. For example, cleaning out a flue from the outside using a brush can plug up the run between the T and the exhaust blower even with the T cap off.

 

[Excell]

when i installed my stove I was told that it wouldn't work properly with out installing an out side air duct . That could be part of your problem ?

This could potentially completely hijack my thread... Too many other posts for this. I've tried to crack a window, to check the draft, no change... My house isnt that tight to make that a problem. The ridge vent spanning the length of my roof should cure any vaccum trouble probability.

Sorry that was the last thing that I wanted to do .

 

[jjdesch]

"blower was blocked"

Please elaborate - no air was coming from the convection blower that forces the heated air into the house, or no air was being forced out by the exhaust blower?

I have the same stove - you may have to get this stove tuned by a tech who knows his way around the service adjustments accessible near the the bottom of the controls via a little flap you pry open with a screw driver. These controls adjust auger revs, air flow, etc. I wish someone would post the info on how to adjust these on this forum. I was talked through it once but stoopid me lost my notes.

 

[hearthtools]

"blower was blocked"

Please elaborate - no air was coming from the convection blower that forces the heated air into the house, or no air was being forced out by the exhaust blower?

I have the same stove - you may have to get this stove tuned by a tech who knows his way around the service adjustments accessible near the the bottom of the controls via a little flap you pry open with a screw driver. These controls adjust auger revs, air flow, etc. I wish someone would post the info on how to adjust these on this forum. I was talked through it once but stoopid me lost my notes.

what stove do you have that has the trim setting. A lot of brands have them but they all do diffent thing

on the advantage IIt the only adjust the rate of feed and blower speeds for the low and or thermostat keep fire setting

 

[jjdesch]

I have the same Whitless Profile 30 as the original poster. On the control panel that allows you to set fan speed and heat levels, there is a little flap near the bottom you need to pry open with a small screw driver. This is where the fine trim adjustments are located, but they were not meant to be adjusted by your average joe-six pack. I was talked through the process of how to adjust the combustion air trim and feed rate once over the phone by a friendly tech, but I lost my notes. There has to be someone on this forum who knows the procedure. You basically use these trim in conjunction with the up and down control buttons for the fan and heat levels