Bosca Stove Problem

[adambulldog]

We have a Bosca pellet stove that has worked well for seven or eight years. Last year the igniter gave out midwinter. For the last part of the season we often had to light the stove using firestarter blocks for the outdoor grill.

A few weeks ago we hired the local chimney sweep to come and clean the stove and the chimney and also install the new igniter. Since that guy (Dave) came, we haven't been able to use the stove at all! The igniter will ignite the pellets but then they go out. We have tried cleaning everything in the stove--the heat exchanger tubes, the firebox, the hopper, the T in back of the stove. We have taken a wire hanger up and behind the cleanouts.

A couple of times the stove has gotten going with gel or paper, and it seems to burn more or less OK when that happens (but we have only gotten it lit twice in forty or fifty attempts). The fire burns kind of dirty, with lots of ash and clinkers. But basically, it seems like the appliance works, apart from the ignition process.

We had another tech come from a local HVAC business. He replaced the control board, but that didn't solve the problem.

All the gaskets that we can see look OK.

What could be the matter? It is getting cold here in Wisconsin without the stove!

 

[vinny11950]

Sorry you are having issues with the stove.

Which Bosca model do you have? It will help other members help you.

It sounds like the first service person made things worse, but first look for the basic stuff. Like are you burning new, crappy pellets that mess up the stove? Try burning a different pellet type, something premium with a good reputation.

Is your stove power plugged into a surge protector? Is the power good?

Are you sure the exhaust pipe is not plugged up some where?

I would look at the simple things first.

Hopefully a Bosca owner will chime in. There is a small group of owners who really like them.

 

[webfish]

Here is a long thread on the Bosca. Not sure he ever got it fixed. Many options to try.
https://hearth.com/talk/threads/bosca-soul-wont-ignite.146941/#post-1978278

 

[adambulldog]

Sorry you are having issues with the stove.

Which Bosca model do you have? It will help other members help you.

It sounds like the first service person made things worse, but first look for the basic stuff. Like are you burning new, crappy pellets that mess up the stove? Try burning a different pellet type, something premium with a good reputation.

Is your stove power plugged into a surge protector? Is the power good?

Are you sure the exhaust pipe is not plugged up some where?

I would look at the simple things first.

Hopefully a Bosca owner will chime in. There is a small group of owners who really like them.

Thanks. It's a Bosca Spirit 500. We have cleaned everything we can and we are using the same brand of pellets as we have before.

 

[WJReeds]

Adambulldog -- I know I am late to the conversation here, but I ran into a similar problem with my Bosca 700 insert and the problem/fix was surprisingly simple. As I had burned pellets, the burn grate (part that sits into the pot where the pellets burn - part no. 22 in your manual) had gotten hot and eventually deformed. As it deformed, it slipped lower into the pot and there was no direct path to the pellets for the heated air created by the igniter to ignite the pellets. I happened to notice the trouble randomly and I could see how it could go unnoticed. To correct this I placed two 1/2" nuts in the bottom of the burn pot (Part no. 20) to hold the grate up in the right spot. I had to experiment with a few different sizes to find the right height. I would imagine any heavy duty metal item could achieve the same result, but I happened to have some extra nuts laying around my shop. My pellet stove is around 8 years old and we probably ran into this issue in year 3 -- so this fix has worked for 5 years and going.

 

[adambulldog]

Adambulldog -- I know I am late to the conversation here, but I ran into a similar problem with my Bosca 700 insert and the problem/fix was surprisingly simple. As I had burned pellets, the burn grate (part that sits into the pot where the pellets burn - part no. 22 in your manual) had gotten hot and eventually deformed. As it deformed, it slipped lower into the pot and there was no direct path to the pellets for the heated air created by the igniter to ignite the pellets. I happened to notice the trouble randomly and I could see how it could go unnoticed. To correct this I placed two 1/2" nuts in the bottom of the burn pot (Part no. 20) to hold the grate up in the right spot. I had to experiment with a few different sizes to find the right height. I would imagine any heavy duty metal item could achieve the same result, but I happened to have some extra nuts laying around my shop. My pellet stove is around 8 years old and we probably ran into this issue in year 3 -- so this fix has worked for 5 years and going.

Yes, this is exactly what the problem was--I figured it out a few months ago. I found a replacement grate on ebay, but your proposed solution would be a lot cheaper. Thanks for posting.