American harvest 6100 optimal settings & vent question

[boroak]

Hello,

i am new to pellet furnaces / stoves and i am trying to find the optimal settings for an American harvest 6100 pellet furnace. we have it plugged into a thermostat at the moment and it is set on PR-5. we cant really feel any (forced) air out of the vents ( is that normal)? it does appear to be keeping the house at the temperature though, we did just start lighting it up and it has only been a few hours though. should we get an induct blower fan to help push air along?

Any tips would be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[ARC]

The 6100 has two room blowers the first one comes on when the temperature reaches a set temperature at exhaust blower, the second blower comes on when the plenum reaches a set temperature, is the second blower coming on? Is the 6100 plumbed into a existing forced air furnace ducting? Or is does it have it own duct work? If it is plumbed into a existing forced air duct some times you have to add a electric "door" to close off the cold air ducting on the force air furnace because the blowers on the pellet furnace push hot air into the cold air system and not into the house. The 6100 has the ability to close this door when it is on, the spaded connections are on the secondary/daughter board.

 

[boroak]

i will look to double check if the second blower is coming on. it is plumbed into an existing force air furnace ducting, we are looking into adding a way to block it from the other furnace with a damper or piece of sheet metal we can pull in and out. is C-13 where you see what the temperature is for the 2nd blower to turn on at?

C-13- Room Fan On Setpoint (above ambient) – (0-200) - This is the number of degrees
above ambient that the measured flue gas temperature can reach before the flue controlled
fan turns on. If the measured temperature is higher than ambient + this setpoint, the control
will turn on the flue controlled ran fan. This variable also serves to indicate to the control
that the stove is warm. If the measured temperature is higher than ambient + this setpoint,
the stove is considered warm and will not create and ER3. Whether or not the stove is warm
also determines if the unit will recover from a power failure. If the stove is warm also
determines if the unit will recover from a power failure. If the stove is warm when power is
lost and cold when it returns, it will shut down with an ER4. The default is 80°F above
ambient.

Thank you

 

[ARC]

I believe C13 controls the first blower to come one reads thermistor that is connected to exhaust blower housing, C15 controls second blower reads the thermistor that is in the plenum.

C-15- Low Temp Vent Setpoint - (70-200) - This variable is used to control the vent
controlled room fan. If the measured vent temperature is greater than the Low Temp Vent
Setpoint. The vent controlled room fan will turn on. If the measured vent temperature is
less than the low temp vent setpoint-5, the vent controlled room fan will turn off. The
default for this setpoint is 115°F.

 

[boroak]

I think we are all set. we got it working. thank you

 

[boroak]

Arc, do you happen to know if there are any special settings you would have to use to use a thermostat? i keep seeing a reference to adjusting blower speed and heat range on other posts from low medium high. when i hit the heat range button it adjusts the pellet rate ( from PR-1 to PR-5) is that the same as HR1 - HR5? we put the jumper back in tonight to see if auto mode would work well for now tomorrow but i was trying to control the temp with a thermostat and it did not seem to be working very well. can you run the pellet furnace on auto mode with the thermostat plugged in? it may be that most of the heat is being pushed out the exhaust since it is running at 100% all the time on manual.

 

[ARC]

Sorry for the late reply no power last night and just finished snow blowing 18 inches fun in the north country.

special settings you would have to use to use a thermostat

No special settings pull jumper and hook up external thermostat.

from PR-1 to PR-5) is that the same as HR1 - HR5

Yes same as HR (Heat Range) the P means you are in Pellet burning mode you can also burn corn in a 6100 and you would change from Pellet burning mode to Corn burning mode then it would say CR instead of PR.

jumper back in tonight to see if auto mode

can you run the pellet furnace on auto mode with the thermostat plugged in? it may be that most of the heat is being pushed out the exhaust since it is running at 100% all the time on manual.

Jumper has nothing to do with mode it only controls whether you are using external thermostat or not. You are indeed pushing some of heat out the vent. Manual mode only controls the draft/exhaust fan in manual mode the fan is running at 500 and you control draft using the damper in Auto (Automatic) mode the stove controls the draft fan at your highest heat setting PR5 the draft fan only runs at 225 so you are running more then double the manufactures preset setting. If you want to use auto mode you can adjust the C codes C6 and C7. The way to do this is in auto mode set your stove to PR1 make sure stove can stay running if not enough draft raise the draft setting using C6 default is 215 if to much draft lower the 215. Wait 15-20 minutes after any change to see effect. After you get stove to run on PR1 Set it to PR5 then use C7 to raise or lower draft fan default is 225 the few furnace I have worked on all had to raise the upper end draft to get it to run correctly increase it 10 at a time and wait the 15-20 minutes before increasing it again. After you get both the PR1 and the PR5 draft setting set right PR2,3,4 are set Proportionally by the stoves control board. It takes some patience and time but you can fine tune the fire so it will run in Auto mode on the thermostat. Don't worry that C codes state heat range goes from 1-9 some of the first generation 6100 went from 1-3 the some 1-5 and the newest board goes from 1-9. Default settings are still the same as stated. I thinkJeremy6500 even lowered his PR1 feed rate so it ran more like a pilot light. If he jumps in he could give you instructions on how the dialed in his U S Stove 6500 the big sister to the 6100.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...on-heat-range-3-or-above.185561/#post-2490688


6100 C Codes
To Adjust the Operation Constants, Press and hold the MODE and AUGER DELAY buttons
simultaneously for 3 seconds. The display will show “C-1”. Use the HEAT RANGE UP or HEAT
RANGE DOWN buttons to change the constant number (see the list of values below). When the
desired constant is displayed, Press the ON button to toggle between viewing and editing the
values. While editing a parameter use the AUX UP and AUX DOWN buttons to adjust the value to the
desired point, then press the ON Button again to return to the constant number list. Press the OFF
button to exit the adjust operational constants mode.
 C-1- Reset to defaults -hold MODE and AUGER DELAY buttons for 3 seconds to reset all to
defaults.
 C-2- Fuel Lbs. Per Hour HR 1(0-8.0) - This is the fuel rate in pounds per hour for a heat
range setting of 1. The default is 2.0lbs.
 C-3- Fuel Lbs. Per Hour HR 5(0-8.0) – This is the fuel rate in pounds per hour for a heat
range setting of 5. The default is 6.0lbs. The fuel rates used between settings 1 and 9 are
linearly interpolated between these two settings.
 C-4- Agitator On percentage HR 1 (0-50) - This is the percent on time for the agitator for a
setting of 1. The default is 25%.
 C-5- Agitator on percentage HR 9 (0-50) – This is the percent on time for the agitator for a
setting of 9. The default is 50%. The percent on time for the agitator used between setting 1
and 9 are linearly interpolated between these two settings.
 C-6- Draft Fan Level HR 1 (0-500) – This is the Draft fan output level for a draft fan setting
of 1. The default is 215.
 C-7- Draft Fan Level HR 9 (0-500) – This is the Draft fan output level for a draft fan setting
of 9. The default is 225. See next Parameter for disbursement.
 C-8- Draft Fan Full On at Setting 9 (0-1) – If the parameter is set to 1, the setting for C-7 is
used for a fan speed of 8, and a value of 500 is used for a fan speed of 9. If the parameter is
set to 0 (default), the setting for C-7 is used for a fan speed of 9, and all remaining fan
speeds are set based on the interpolation between C-6 and C-7.
 C-9- Ramp Seconds for Increasing Level (0-300) – When the heat range setting is adjusted,
the control will ramp from the current setting to the target setting to avoid abrupt changes
in the outputs that could cause problems with the flame quality. The Ramp Seconds value
sets the amount of time to spend on each heat range setting (1-9 pseudo ranges not 1-3 user
ranges) as the current setting is ramping toward the target. If the current set ramping
toward the target. If the current setting is ramping down toward a lower target, the ramp
value is half this number. The default value is 90 seconds.
 C-10- Startup Minutes for Detection Warm Furnace-(10-60)- This is the amount of time the
control will wait for the furnace to reach the warm temperature (110°F) after the furnace
has been started before shutting down and reporting an error condition Err3. The default is
30 minutes.
 C-11- Over temp Setpoint (above ambient) - (0-300)- This is the number of degrees above
ambient that the measured flue gas temperature can reach before an overtemp condition
exist. If the measured temperature is high than ambient+this setpoint, the control will stop
auguring fuel until the temperature returns to a safe operation point. The default is 255°F
above ambient.
 C-12- Cutback setpoint (above ambient)-(0-280) - This is the number of degrees above
ambient that is measured flue gas temperature can reach before a cutback condition exists.
If the measured temperature is higher than ambient + this setpoint, the control enforces the
PID temperature control algorithm. The Default is 220 degrees above ambient.
 C-13- Room Fan On Setpoint (above ambient) – (0-200) - This is the number of degrees
above ambient that the measured flue gas temperature can reach before the flue controlled
fan turns on. If the measured temperature is higher than ambient + this setpoint, the control
will turn on the flue controlled ran fan. This variable also serves to indicate to the control
that the stove is warm. If the measured temperature is higher than ambient + this setpoint,
the stove is considered warm and will not create and ER3. Whether or not the stove is warm
also determines if the unit will recover from a power failure. If the stove is warm also
determines if the unit will recover from a power failure. If the stove is warm when power is
lost and cold when it returns, it will shut down with an ER4. The default is 80°F above
ambient.
 C-14- Cold Stove Setpoint (above ambient) - (0-100) - This variable is used to determine
when the furnace is cold and ready to be shut down. If during the shutdown sequence the
measured temperature is less than this value+ambient, the furnace will stop running the
fans to cool it off. The default is 40 degrees above ambient.
 C-15- Low Temp Vent Setpoint - (70-200) - This variable is used to control the vent
controlled room fan. If the measured vent temperature is greater than the Low Temp Vent
Setpoint. The vent controlled room fan will turn on. If the measured vent temperature is
less than the low temp vent setpoint-5, the vent controlled room fan will turn off. The
default for this setpoint is 115°F.
 C-16- High Temp Vent Setpoint - (70-200) – This variable is used to limit the maximum vent
temperature. If the measured vent temperature is greater than the maximum vent
temperature. If the measured vent temperature is greater the high temp vent setpoint, the
furnace will reduce the heat range by 1. If the vent temperature falls below the setpoint -5,
the heat range will ramp back to normal. The default for this setpoint is 180°F.
 C-17- Calculate Ambient-(0-1) - If set to 1 (default), the ambient temperature sensor and
flue gas temperature are combined to calculate the ambient temperature outside the
furnace. If set to (0), the ambient temperature is assumed to be 70°F.
 C-18- Proportional PID Constant-(0-1000) - Proportional constant for cutback Temperature
Control. Default is 100.
 C-19- Differential PID Constant- (0-1000) - Differential constant for cutback temperature
control. Default is 100.
 C-20- Integral PID Constant- (0-1000) - Integral constant for cutback temperature control.
Default is 50.
 C-21- Blast Cleanout Period-(0-1800) - Number of seconds between blast cleanout periods.
The default is 900 seconds=15 minutes.
 C-22- Blast Cleanout Duration- (0-300) - Number of seconds to perform the blast cleanout
function. The default is 60 seconds.

 

[boroak]

thanks for getting back to me, no worries, we only got a little snow here yesterday luckily. so we were going through the settings and alot of the default values didnt match. for example. I believe our c7 value was also 300 not 225 if I remember right.
C8 started at 120 and i believe it was c19 or c18 that only went to 1-9. it also seems to only got up to C-20. any ideas? we reset it back to default except for c6 & 7 ( by using c1). the values that were available for most of these were not the default setting when we reset the board.i stopped trying to make changes and set the furnace back to default after a lot of the C settings did not seem to match.

 

[boroak]

so i just found this.. https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachm...-multi-fuel-furnace-4-digit-board-pdf.191791/
is it normal to have that board instead? i believe this is the manual

 

[ARC]

is it normal to have that board instead

Yes you could have that board and it would be right 6100 and 6220 use same board version so if the defaults listed more match what your stove is reading then you probably have that board. If it is still there a small sticker with 80502 model number should be on the board. The C codes I posted were from 80498 version which is the original board when stove was first put into production. The new 80502 says version 6. US stove uses the same board in many stoves but program them different the board from a 6039 would not work in a 6100 but as stated the 6100/6220 use the exact same board version.

 

[boroak]

Yes you could have that board and it would be right 6100 and 6220 use same board version so if the defaults listed more match what your stove is reading then you probably have that board. If it is still there a small sticker with 80502 model number should be on the board. The C codes I posted were from 80498 version which is the original board when stove was first put into production. The new 80502 says version 6. US stove uses the same board in many stoves but program them different the board from a 6039 would not work in a 6100 but as stated the 6100/6220 use the exact same board version.

Yes you could have that board and it would be right 6100 and 6220 use same board version so if the defaults listed more match what your stove is reading then you probably have that board. If it is still there a small sticker with 80502 model number should be on the board. The C codes I posted were from 80498 version which is the original board when stove was first put into production. The new 80502 says version 6. US stove uses the same board in many stoves but program them different the board from a 6039 would not work in a 6100 but as stated the 6100/6220 use the exact same board version.

View attachment 311056

Okay thanks for clarifying that for me, would we still want to set it to the default settings for the 6100 above? since it is still a 6100 furnace? ( just compare the two test manuals and make sure that the settings we are changing match the other?) It says version 6 on start up so that makes sense.

 

[ARC]

, would we still want to set it to the default settings for the 6100 above

No US stove probably updated the defaults to make stove run better I would leave the defaults alone to start with. What is happening to stove that you can not run it in Auto mode. Pot filling up? Pellets all burning up and fire going out? Not good fire/flame? Does it happen on each heat setting or just one?

I would get a note book and run through the C Codes and write every default down that way you can always change one back to default without resetting the whole board. Then note what you change any setting to when you start trying to fine tune stove that way you can always go back to a setting that was working.

 

[boroak]

No US stove probably updated the defaults to make stove run better I would leave the defaults alone to start with. What is happening to stove that you can not run it in Auto mode. Pot filling up? Pellets all burning up and fire going out? Not good fire/flame? Does it happen on each heat setting or just one?

I would get a note book and run through the C Codes and write every default down that way you can always change one back to default without resetting the whole board. Then note what you change any setting to when you start trying to fine tune stove that way you can always go back to a setting that was working.

alright, it is working better in auto mode but we just seem to be getting ~ 70ish degree heat out of the vents and i thought it should be able to push out more heat. that was on PR5 that it was pushing the 70-75 degrees. it was not pushing a ton of air but lowering the draft fan helped that. we were just trying to get the most heat out of it that we can so i was not sure if i should be changing the pellet rate on C-2 and C-3 or the draft fan speed settings. i will reset the board again to get everything back to defaults, to make sure everything is default again.

 

[ARC]

i should be changing the pellet rate on C-2 and C-3 or the draft fan speed settings

If you are using PR5 the most I would just raise the C3 rate you "might" end up increasing the C7 draft rate if the current rate does not burn well enough after you raise the C3 feed rate. Just remember you will use more pellets the higher you set the pellet rate

 

[boroak]

If you are using PR5 the most I would just raise the C3 rate you "might" end up increasing the C7 draft rate if the current rate does not burn well enough after you raise the C3 feed rate. Just remember you will use more pellets the higher you set the pellet rate

Alright thank you.

 

[ARC]

Is the PR flashing, the PR itself not the dash, dash flashing means stove is ramping up or down. PR flashing has to do with over heating, I am just wondering if on PR5 with Draft on Manual stove might be sensing over heat at exhaust Thermistor and cutting back pellet feed making stove not produce heat.

Quickly Flashing Heat Range Setting Indicator (changes twice per second): This indicates that
the stove is in normal operation and that an over-temperature condition exists causing the fuel to
stop.

Slowly Flashing Heat Range Setting Indicator (changes once per second): This indicates that
the stove is in a cut back condition in an attempt to prevent an over-temperature shutdown

 

[boroak]

Is the PR flashing, the PR itself not the dash, dash flashing means stove is ramping up or down. PR flashing has to do with over heating, I am just wondering if on PR5 with Draft on Manual stove might be sensing over heat at exhaust Thermistor and cutting back pellet feed making stove not produce heat.

Quickly Flashing Heat Range Setting Indicator (changes twice per second): This indicates that
the stove is in normal operation and that an over-temperature condition exists causing the fuel to
stop.

Slowly Flashing Heat Range Setting Indicator (changes once per second): This indicates that
the stove is in a cut back condition in an attempt to prevent an over-temperature shutdown

we started running it on auto mode so i will check and pay attention to that tonight when i can take a look at it again.

 

[ARC]

Ok, with my us stove 6039 in auto mode or manual mode I can not run it on highest level HR9 after 20 minutes it will trip overheat sensor and shutdown. Even on HR8 it sometimes overheated would run days then middle of night shut down, lol. I run my stove on auto mode external thermostat HR7, thermostat is set at 74 when it reaches 74 stove will go into idle fire until thermostat ask for heat again. Air coming out right at stove is 350-375 to hot to hold hand in front. Your 6100 has a function where it senses overheat and cuts back on pellets instead of shutting down.

 

[boroak]

Ok, with my us stove 6039 in auto mode or manual mode I can not run it on highest level HR9 after 20 minutes it will trip overheat sensor and shutdown. Even on HR8 it sometimes overheated would run days then middle of night shut down, lol. I run my stove on auto mode external thermostat HR7, thermostat is set at 74 when it reaches 74 stove will go into idle fire until thermostat ask for heat again. Air coming out right at stove is 350-375 to hot to hold hand in front. Your 6100 has a function where it senses overheat and cuts back on pellets instead of shutting down.

Yeah, I don't believe I am getting air that is that hot coming out of the top of the furnace. I will test it again to see about the heat that is coming out of it now. I tried to use a heat gun to test it but I don't know if that is a good way to test. I did test the door and it was like 650 degrees. At one point.

 

[boroak]

Arc, I did find out that I have an 80502 board. I was just going through the settings and I am a little confused about c15 on this board the control panel says 3 and goes up to 9. According to the manual the default should be 115? Any idea?



Is this considered a good flame? I have the draft fan on 250 50 below the default. The exhaust pipe is getting somewhere around 150. When I took the temp off the back. The glass is around 625. The plenum on top is about 90-94

 

[boroak]

Arc, I did find out that I have an 80502 board. I was just going through the settings and I am a little confused about c15 on this board the control panel says 3 and goes up to 9. According to the manual the default should be 115? Any idea?

View attachment 311074

Is this considered a good flame? I have the draft fan on 250 50 below the default. The exhaust pipe is getting somewhere around 150. When I took the temp off the back. The glass is around 625. The plenum on top is about 90-94

Another question, when we bought this used it had an 8 inch duct attached. when i talked to some guys at work they said that would cause an issue because i believe it has 2 500 CFM blowers. does that mean it will be pumping out 1000 CFM from the top? would using 12-16 inch flex duct be okay off the main rectangle to round if we need to buy new? we have 15 ft of 8 inch round (metal) and 3 elbows to the main supply duct with all the vents right now.

 

[ARC]

I am a little confused about c15 on this board the control panel says 3 and goes up to 9. According to the manual the default should be 115? Any idea?

I am alot confused C15 should be default 115 and be able to adjust from 70 to 200. Is the second blower coming on? Not sure what to tell you have never seen that before.

Is this considered a good flame?

Could not get video to play could only see start of video , if you are on PR5 flame looked to small and 90-94 is to low of a temperature for PR5. Once again is second blower coming on it should come on at 115 so if 90-94 it should not come on.
This is not your stove but shows a good video of what your flame should look like on PR5

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i believe it has 2 500 CFM blowers. does that mean it will be pumping out 1000 CFM from the top? would using 12-16 inch flex

2 500 cfm blowers will only push 500 cfm the two blowers just help fill/move volume not speed. 10 inch ridged pipe is recommended I do not believe 8 inch will cause enough problems to change it

 

[boroak]

I am alot confused C15 should be default 115 and be able to adjust from 70 to 200. Is the second blower coming on? Not sure what to tell you have never seen that before.


Could not get video to play could only see start of video , if you are on PR5 flame looked to small and 90-94 is to low of a temperature for PR5. Once again is second blower coming on it should come on at 115 so if 90-94 it should not come on.
This is not your stove but shows a good video of what your flame should look like on PR5

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2 500 cfm blowers will only push 500 cfm the two blowers just help fill/move volume not speed. 10 inch ridged pipe is recommended I do not believe 8 inch will cause enough problems to change it

 

[boroak]

We took the side off and the 2nd blower was running. Good to know about the 8 inch duct though. I was looking at a duct sizing chart and saw that 8 inch duct only supports 180 CFM. I was not sure if upgrading it to the 12 inch flex duct would be a lot better. We are feeding it through the bottom of the supply plenum , do you think that would cause an issue? We were going to move it to the side or front if it does. I will try giving us stove a call and see if I can figure out what c15 is.. I'll try to send another video. How would I get that flame to look like that? Raise or lower the duct fan? I am going to try to get it to the side of our supply run instead of going through the bottom. I learned today that could be causing some issues as well. I attached the duct work diagram and the video(hopefully it is the right one I took a couple) again.

 

[boroak]

Hey Arc, so i called US stove, apparently the numbers 1-9 relate to the temperatures in some way on C 15. 3 must be 115 on that range. we are going to adjust where we are putting the air in to the supply duct tomorrow. i am going to reset the furnace to the defaults again after that change and adjust the flame with the damper to see if i can get a good result. thanks for the help so far.