Before I blame my pellets . . .

[drewmo]

Ok, so I'm likely to blame my pellets. I've started to burn a new brand the last couple of days and I'm noticing on a cold start that the time to ignite is taking a loooooong time. The pot fills and I need to push back the pellets so they don't fall into the ash pan or I open the hopper lid to keep the auger from turning. Once lit, the burn is horrible and doesn't keep up with the new feed of pellets. Small flame and sort of burns only on the outside edges. I'm running at a feed rate of 2.5 on my harman p43. So I open the hopper again and let the pellets burn down. Once things settle and with feed rate still at 2.5 it burns great. It looks like the deeper in the throat of the burn pot the fire is, the better the burn.

A couple of questions:
- from a cold start on auto, is the feed rate predetermined until fire is engaged?
- do different pellets ignite differently?
- on start up, does opening the hopper lid effectively shut down the igniter?
- did I mess something up on my last cleaning (which coincides with the switch to new pellets)?

 

[railfanron]

Are you sure ALL the holes in your burn pot are clean. Especially the last row in the pot. Sometimes they get plugged with carbon and need to be poked out so that the heated air from the igniter can get to the pellets. I made a little cleaner out of a piece of wood about 1" square and 10" long. In the end I drilled a hole the size of a ten penny finish nail. I then took a ten penny finish nail and bent the end into a 90 degree angle. Then I super glued it in the end of the stick. I can use this to poke the holes clean. In the last row of holes you will fell the igniter when you put the nail in the hole. Don't force the nail past the thickness of the burn pot metal. If the holes get plugged on one side of the pot the ignition will be just on the other side and cause the problem you're having.
Ron

 

[fmsm]

I had a similar issue after cleaning last year. It was a plate not seated perfectly. I would rte clean and make sue everything is seated properly.

 

[drewmo]

I had a similar issue after cleaning last year. It was a plate not seated perfectly. I would rte clean and make sue everything is seated properly.

Thanks. What wasn't seated properly?

Before I started her up this morning, I scraped and scraped and scraped, but had the same result. Loads of pellets before she ignites, then as the auger kicks in, the flame essentially is pushed out of the pot. The pellets burn fine once I manage to get things back to normal. Been running her in manual all day and think I'll stick with it through the night.

If the igniter is to blame, anything that I could look for when I remove the plate to access it?

 

[fmsm]

My side exhaust passage plate on the right side was not seated perfectly.

 

[MarkSJohnson]

Drew, I'm pretty new to all of this having just gotten my stove a couple of months ago.

But.... one of the things you asked was "do different pellets ignite differently?" and I can answer that....yes, they do!

I had a concern with my new stove taking so long to "get going" with Fireside Ultra pellets, and it was suggested that I try a different pellet. Sure enough, as I checked them with a stopwatch, the new pellets were lighting much, much quicker than those Fireside Ultras.

That doesn't mean they're bad pellets (as a matter of fact, I just made them "my choice" for the season and bought 3 tons last weekend). But now that I know that those particular pellets just need more time to get going, and that there wasn't a poblem with the stove, I'm fine with that! I can always grab a handful of an easy-to-start pellet to put in the burn pot when re-starting a cold stove.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

there shouldn't be too much difference in ignition, before you slam the pellets you are trying its not an honest test unless you do a deep cleaning before you start the new fuel. if the unit is ashed up it slows down airflow, in most stoves (especially those with "non-contact" igniters which rely on good airflow to move igniter heat to the fuel efficiently) its not a fair test.

 

[newf lover]

Is your outside exhaust clear? I had a problem last weekend with the pot filling up to an alarming rate, and I noticed the cage on my outside exhaust was covered in ash. Cleaned it out, did the leaf blower trick, and it's running like new.

 

[WoodPorn]

If the new pellets are inferno's or NEWP's all this advice could be out the window.