Am I causing a problem with my P61A?

[Tonyray]

a mistake I think I am making is after scraping the pot, I take a brush and sweep all the ash from lower burn pot up over the holes and into the ash pan.. why? just to have a clean burnpot assuming the pellets will ignite quicker with less ash around them...compulsive disorder I know..lol
Pellets did not ignite this morning on startup and I got a 5 blink status code which happens 36 seconds after ignitions starts and nothing ignites..

anyone think this is what caused the ignitor not to ignite? did full clean 6 days ago including cleaning out ignitor compartment and I am burning Stove chows which give awsome heat but Ashy as hell but I may be clogging the ignitor box?.I assume the sparks from the ingnitor come thru the burn pot holes or am I wrong about where sparks fire up the pellets.. someone enlighten me on ignition path.

 

[DAKSY]

The ignition IS thru the burnpot holes, but it is caused by air, not sparks. The air gets heated as it is drawn past the igniter. The pellets ignite when enough of the hot air passes thru the burnpot to ignite them. The sparks you see are little pieces of heated sawdust or chips from the pellets being drawn out of the burnpot by the combustion air flow. (aka fly ash)...HTH

 

[alternativeheat]

a mistake I think I am making is after scraping the pot, I take a brush and sweep all the ash from lower burn pot up over the holes and into the ash pan.. why? just to have a clean burnpot assuming the pellets will ignite quicker with less ash around them...compulsive disorder I know..lol
Pellets did not ignite this morning on startup and I got a 5 blink status code which happens 36 seconds after ignitions starts and nothing ignites..




.

If you have killed an established fire and swept out the ash ,pellets and all then I'm not sure what would happen. But the igniter can't light what isn't there. If the stove has shut down anyway and you clean out the pot I would suspect the autolight feature would refill the pot with pellets and light them. Much like a fresh start up after a general cleaning.

Seems you are over cleaning the pot. But hey, its your stove!

 

[Tonyray]

The ignition IS thru the burnpot holes, but it is caused by air, not sparks. The air gets heated as it is drawn past the igniter. The pellets ignite when enough of the hot air passes thru the burnpot to ignite them. The sparks you see are little pieces of heated sawdust or chips from the pellets being drawn out of the burnpot by the combustion air flow. (aka fly ash)...HTH

actually, stove was off all nite...
on startup, pot filled with pellets but never ignited.....thought I might have clogged the igniter by way of brushing and adding more ash than normal to the igniter compartment.
I turned the stove off for few minutes than started up again after which it fired up... not sure what happened this AM..

 

[alternativeheat]

actually, stove was off all nite...
on startup, pot filled with pellets but never ignited.....thought I might have clogged the igniter by way of brushing and adding more ash than normal to the igniter compartment.
I turned the stove off for few minutes than started up again after which it fired up... not sure what happened this AM..

No, me either unless maybe it timed out before ignition . I've heard of this happening but so far not to be.

 

[Tonyray]

No, me either unless maybe it timed out before ignition . I've heard of this happening but so far not to be.

Shutting it down now so I can open Igniter compartment and clean after stove cools down..
be very surprised NOT to see lot of ash granuals in there....

 

[DAKSY]

Make sure all the burnpot holes are clear. I use a small piece of 12 Ga. Romex to punch them out. Just gotta be careful not to damage the igniter...

 

[Tonyray]

Make sure all the burnpot holes are clear. I use a small piece of 12 Ga. Romex to punch them out. Just gotta be careful not to damage the igniter...

that is something I have not done only because when I do a full cleaning, I use a flashlight to look for flat layers of carbon in the burnpot and the holes look clear to me.
but, looks can be deceiving so I;ll make a point of actually cleaning them..

 

[Mr. Spock]

Try giving the burn pot a few tap with the cleaning tool to help knock ash off the top of the ignitor.

 

[Tonyray]

Try giving the burn pot a few tap with the cleaning tool to help knock ash off the top of the ignitor.

can the Ignitor cover itself be tapped gently or leave it alone?

 

[Mr. Spock]

I have never tapped directly on the igniter. Just the burn pot top over the holes. Easy. Also clears the holes of loose ash as well.

 

[alternativeheat]

I have never tapped directly on the igniter. Just the burn pot top over the holes. Easy. Also clears the holes of loose ash as well.

Actually when I scrape my burn pot I generally give it a few good taps with the tool. Also, I haven't found a whole lot of ash in the air compartment below the burn pot plate or on the igniter. There is generally a little ash in there and a few grains of carbon. I think it more feels good to clean it out than anything !

 

[Tonyray]

Actually when I scrape my burn pot I generally give it a few good taps with the tool. Also, I haven't found a whole lot of ash in the air compartment below the burn pot plate or on the igniter. There is generally a little ash in there and a few grains of carbon. I think it more feels good to clean it out than anything !

I get quite a bit every 10 days or so......
very dry like black sand...... have to pull it out with my fingers as shop vac noz attachments are too big...

 

[mikesj]

It doesn't happen much, but I have had that happen too. I usually just make sure to do a really thorough burn pot cleaning- including the ignitor compartment. That takes care of it.

 

[alternativeheat]

I get quite a bit every 10 days or so......
very dry like black sand...... have to pull it out with my fingers as shop vac noz attachments are too big...

yes that sounds right, I had the most on my first cleaning because it had been warm out. I use a little brush that came with my vac, has a brush on it and i just brush it out. But ya, very grainy.

 

[Tonyray]

yes that sounds right, I had the most on my first cleaning because it had been warm out. I use a little brush that came with my vac, has a brush on it and i just brush it out. But ya, very grainy.

realized later on that it is ash that had gotten" Baked" or dried out from the hot air ignitor.

 

[P38X2]

To get a visual confirmation of your pot holes being clear, use a small mirror. Even better, shine a flashlight through the open clean out door on the front of the pot while viewing with the mirror.