Ash buildup in fire pot

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Sally8

New Member
Dec 31, 2010
3
Connecticut
This is my fourth year with my Yankee by Lopi and each year I continue to have problems. This year, I started off with some hardwood pellets. After a thorough cleaning by my local pellet stove contractor, the stove worked perfectly! Well, for about 4 weeks. Then, I started to get a buildup of ash in only the left hand section of the fire pot. I contacted the pellet stove contractor and they advised me to let in more air, which I did, but that didn't work. The buildup of ash in the left hand section of the firepot begins almost immediately. The ash buildup then becomes pellet buildup and then pellet piling...but only in the left 1/2 of the pot. By 12-24 hours later, I have to stop the unit and clean it out.

Second thought was that the culprit were the pellets I was using. So, I ordered a pallet of Clear Choice Evergreen Blend. They seem much better (not much dust at all). In addition to this, the contractor came out again and did another thorough cleaning of the stove...second time in 2 months. At this cleaning, he got a significant amount of ash out of the liner...everything else was pretty clean. I thought this would be it, but nope...I'm still getting the ash buildup in the left hand section of the fire pot. I have my air flow at the lowest setting (1 out of 4) and I'm running the stove at medium high. I'm getting jumpers in the pot and my flame looks great. Since the cleaning, I have also tried running the stove with more air (setting of 3 out of 4). That didn't help either.

Any thoughts on what could be causing this problem? Remember that for 4 weeks after the initial cleaning in October I didn't experience this problem at all. I could run the stove for a week without having to clean it. Any help would be appreciated!!!

Kiley
 
What is causing the problem is simple.

It is ash build up over time.

You aren't getting the stove and the venting as clean as it should be or you do not have the proper air/fuel ratio to fully burn the pellets or your pellets have too much moisture or inorganic material in them.

Air/Fuel problems can be caused by a large number of things.

Can you tell us when the gaskets were last replaced or tested?
 
I second Smokey's assessment... it's a plugged stove.

Do a search for 'leaf blower trick' here on the forum... if you can do this it will help clean out all those hard to get at places where ash accumulates over time... should be done after each ton of pellets...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLRfu4WNaR8
 
Thanks for your response.

In March 2009, we had the exhaust fan gasket and door gasket replaced and a new control board installed.
 
I'm not familiar with your particular stove so I'm going to ask you if the door to the ash pan has a gasket?

I'll also second what krooser suggested about using a leaf blower to remove any ash that is hiding in the bends inside the stove.

While you are thinking about that can you tell us about the venting starting at the stove and going towards and including the termination cap. We need types of elbow, size of pipe, lengths of and types of runs. Frequently we find that venting is the culprit and it can actually lead to overtaxing other parts of the system as well as producing more ash than would otherwise be the case.
 
Sally,

When they installed your insert did they adjust the damper using a device with a meter on it?

Where are you drawing your combustion air from and is that area clean?

Does the liner attach directly to your stove and is it free of kinks?
 
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