Another Pellet stove

[Sono]

Awhile back I has a USSC pellet stove I cleaned up and repaired, I ended up selling it as it was too big for my shop, no matter where I put it, there just wasnt enough clearance around it. Well, Today I drove 4 hours and picked up a GlowBoy Shop Heater 300 HGB300, Holds 300# pellets in the hopper... and the sweet part of the deal is I also got 12 bags pellets + several buckets of screened pellets too.
Not a bad deal for $250, Seller said it had an occasional issue with pellets jamming in the auger once in a blue moon, after pulling and cleaning the auger its fine again for awhile. So tonight I broke it down mostly to clean and it REALLY needed cleaning ! The area behind the burn chamber was full of packed ash, took awhile but got it all loosed up and vacuumed out, scrubbed the soot off the walls and in the chambers, the door, sight glass. Its looking good again mostly. Was freezing out as its 5* outside and getting colder with ice on the vehicles. Tomorrow I run to the store to get a through the wall thimble and a 12" pipe so I can get it hooked up ( it also came with most of the vent pipes too, just didnt get the Thimble, 12" pipe and screen cap. Debating hooking the "T" to the stove, up and out the wall from inside or hooking the 12" pipe to the stove, out the wall into the "T" outside and up to the cap ?

 

[Washed-Up]

Well done Can’t wait to see it all cleaned up and running! As for the T, it’s more efficient to have it in up and out inside…I did an install of a HARMAN inside a shop, had to be 18” raised hearth…Code in the area, and it heated 1500ft no problem but yeah check your local building regulations. GREAT FIND!

 

[Sono]

Well done Can’t wait to see it all cleaned up and running! As for the T, it’s more efficient to have it in up and out inside…I did an install of a HARMAN inside a shop, had to be 18” raised hearth…Code in the area, and it heated 1500ft no problem but yeah check your local building regulations. GREAT FIND!

Going in my detached Garage/shop, sitting on a concrete floor.
Got the pipe today to go through the wall ( had to make my own thimble since no one had any... plenty of clearance as it calls for 1" I need to get another sheet steel cover for the inside wall ( basically just cosmetic and keeps pipe centered )

 

[Washed-Up]

Is the T going to be high enough for clean out purposes? Just out of curiosity…looks good!

 

[Sono]

Is the T going to be high enough for clean out purposes? Just out of curiosity…looks good!

Yes, I can go either way for cleaning .... only about 5' total of pipe. Waiting for the RTV to cure , probly run it tonight and start on a project.... taking my monoxide detector out as well to make sure its all safe. Foil taped all the pipe seams as well.

 

[Sono]

Fired up with no issues, ran for a couple hours. Monoxide detector didnt go off or anything, remained at 000.... so looks like its good to go. I ordered abetter , permanent plug in detector to keep in the shop with large display and alarm. Have plans tonight and tomorrow with grandkids school plays so wednesday/thursday I will be able to run it non stop as I can keep an eye on it while working in the shop. In the 2 hours I ran it the shop went from 20 to 60 degrees and was still pumping heat. Shutdown was quick.
The blower was a bit noisy so I may dig into it later and lubricate everything.... it quieted down after running awhile but seeing the lack of cleaning from previous owner I bet its never been maintained.... but in all, it works.

 

[Sono]

Ran it for several hours tonight, Starting temp in shop was 30* and got up to 60* in an hour.... still climbing but Im finished for tonight as I need screws to complete my project.

 

[Sono]

The shop has maintained a comfortable 60 degrees indoor while its 30 degrees outside, had to take off my jacket.
Worked late through the night but had to stop and continue today as I was out of screws, Picked them up this morning and completed both storage racks by noon. This pellet stove works great surprisingly and barely put a dent in the pellets

 

[Sono]

Project tote storage done, Project sewing room conditioning ( converting attached garage for the misses ) almost complete , running additional dedicated outlets and installing a mini split...whew.
Now back to the GlowBoy... been running great, heats my 16x25 shop from 25* to 60* in about 30 minutes so Im happy with it. Bought a new plug in dedicated detector that works really well, Shows PPM, Temp and Humidity. Im surprised the humidity drops as much as it does, shop has fiberglass insulation in walls but nothing really in the ceilings so I may get a few extra bags when I add the the attached garage next month.

 

[Sono]

So the exterior unit needed some clearances so I had to do some figuring... ended up removing the deck boxes and attached them to my shop and got the layout figured out ( waiting on the bracket to arrive tomorrow ) then I can mount the unit. Got the electrical disconnect finished and the whip waiting... Had to buy some paint to cover where the original green was behind the boxes.... going smooth for a first time DIY mini split install.

 

[Sono]

Mini split works great in the attached garage for the sewing room conversion for the wifey...
Now back to the shop and my GlowBoy pellet stove, Had my first issue 2 days ago since using it. The previous owner said it would occasionally bind up and had to pull the auger to clear it and so it did, it bound up. I cleared out 7 bags of pellets with a large shop vac ( what a mess ) I watched the auger try and stop. The motor would spin , stop then would spin backwards once power stopped from the tension built up. This stove is a PITA to get the auger out and yes it was stuck, I got it out , tested and checked everything and all was good. So I noticed the pellets are a bit over 1-1/2" long to 1-3/4" long and a few a tad longer but all under 2" so Im thinking the long pellets are causing the bind up in the auger? The guy went as far as screening all the pellets to remove fines thinking that caused the bind up but I didnt see much in there other than the long pellets, could that be the issue? Im using the bags that he had (all new hardwood ) and dont think Ive ever seen pellets this long from the farm store I used. Im just trying to figure it out for next time as I dont want to have to keep pulling the auger if it happens again ( I tried to free it up from the feed bin before disconnecting everything ) Just a really odd and tight clearances to get the auger out.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Mini split works great in the attached garage for the sewing room conversion for the wifey...
Now back to the shop and my GlowBoy pellet stove, Had my first issue 2 days ago since using it. The previous owner said it would occasionally bind up and had to pull the auger to clear it and so it did, it bound up. I cleared out 7 bags of pellets with a large shop vac ( what a mess ) I watched the auger try and stop. The motor would spin , stop then would spin backwards once power stopped from the tension built up. This stove is a PITA to get the auger out and yes it was stuck, I got it out , tested and checked everything and all was good. So I noticed the pellets are a bit over 1-1/2" long to 1-3/4" long and a few a tad longer but all under 2" so Im thinking the long pellets are causing the bind up in the auger? The guy went as far as screening all the pellets to remove fines thinking that caused the bind up but I didnt see much in there other than the long pellets, could that be the issue? Im using the bags that he had (all new hardwood ) and dont think Ive ever seen pellets this long from the farm store I used. Im just trying to figure it out for next time as I dont want to have to keep pulling the auger if it happens again ( I tried to free it up from the feed bin before disconnecting everything ) Just a really odd and tight clearances to get the auger out.

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC) promotes high-quality, premium wood pellets, generally adhering to international standards like ISO 17225-2, featuring low ash (<0.7% for premium), high durability (>97.5%), specific diameters (6mm or 8mm), controlled length (3.15-40mm), and low fines, ensuring efficient, clean burning

 

[Washed-Up]

I would check the specifications on the auger motor to make sure the hp is correct…sounds like the rpm is….you also may be dealing with a weak worn auger motor.

 

[Sono]

I would check the specifications on the auger motor to make sure the hp is correct…sounds like the rpm is….you also may be dealing with a weak worn auger motor.

I held the motor and let it run (cycle from the board ) after I took it out and its pretty strong as I couldnt prevent it from turning during the cycle timing. But then again, Im not sure how strong it would actually need to be, it looks to be a replacement by the tags but I dont know for sure as this was a used unit. I did clean it up and lubricate it although it was fine to begin with....

 

[Whitenuckler]

With the gearbox it would take quite a bit to stall. The auger fins seem pretty deep and wide to me. I can't see how loose pellets would jam it. Maybe after awhile with a fines buildup but that would take awhile I would think. The only other thing could be binding mechanically but you would hear that. Of course you did find it stuck already....

 

[Sono]

With the gearbox it would take quite a bit to stall. The auger fins seem pretty deep and wide to me. I can't see how loose pellets would jam it. Maybe after awhile with a fines buildup but that would take awhile I would think. The only other thing could be binding mechanically but you would hear that. Of course you did find it stuck already....

Once I cleaned the hopper enough to see the auger, it would start to move them stop during the cycle with light, when it went off the auger would spring back, so something was binding but I didnt see anything from what I could at the port for the pellets, so its possible it was in the tube at the drop point higher up the tube. So pulling the auger it didnt want to come out, it moved back about 1/8 to 1/4" and after a little muscling and yanking it finally came loose and out along with all the pellets that were still in the tube with the auger but didnt see anything to cause concern? I checked the auger for any damages as well as the tube and ports with no signs of damage or hanging up ( burrs or dents ) Been running a few hours last night after repairing and ran several hours today with no issues ( and using the same pellets I removed from the hopper ) so just kind of baffled with it. The seller told me it would do it occasionally, and it came with a dozen bags of these pellets so if they may be the issue I dont know yet but once these are gone Ill be buying my usual hardwood pellets from the farm supply. Since I had the auger out and the stove opened I cleaned everything including the fan/blowers since one of the screws fell into the squirrel cage grrrrrr. Now the stove is operating a little different and trying to find that sweet spot again with the burn and damper adjustments, just not hitting it yet so I may need to tweek the little adjustment screws on the board for feed and fan? as the fire tends to build up and die down in cycles but still putting out decent heat just not as uniform as it did? if I open the damper the pellets burn faster than the feed is feeding them and if I close it down the fire dies down as well as the heat.... I got it close but its just not perfect as it was for some reason now... there was a bunch of crud built up on the blower fan so I guess it was restricted enough to make a difference in the burn? Apparently just needs some tweeking now.

 

[Washed-Up]

While the augers out check to see if there’s any buds in the auger tube….other than that it all looks decent

 

[Sono]

While the augers out check to see if there’s any buds in the auger tube….other than that it all looks decent

I checked it all, smooth... nothing to hang up, auger glided back in and turned no issues, no hang up, solid with no play.

 

[NS P-68]

Check your auger bushings for wear....

 

[Washed-Up]

That should’ve been “BURS” not buds

 

[Sono]

Check your auger bushings for wear....

all tight, clean and lubed

 

[Sono]

That should’ve been “BURS” not buds

Yes I understood the response