Breckwell 24I feed problems

[brunosrk]

I've been lurking a bit and decided it was about time to ask for help and introduce myself. I'm in Western Washington State down around the south end of the Hood Canal. Anyway I have a Breckwell 24I. It was new in January of 1997. I've used the stove since I bought the place ten years ago. For the most part the stove has performed flawlessly for those ten years. Now it seems the auger is not feeding pellets at an even/steady rate. I use the manual feed button to prime the auger and after 90 seconds there are just one or two pellets that drop. I've got the thing apart so I can see the auger is turning and stirring the pellets. I had the thing burning yesterday for about four hours with the feed rate on the highest setting. It seemed like it was producing a fire with a lower feed rate setting. At some point during the night the fire must have gone out and pellets continued to feed. I've now got a burn pot over flowing with unburned pellets and probably a jammed auger. This has happened once before. Any way . . . any thoughts on what may be causing the irregular feeding of pellets?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I've been lurking a bit and decided it was about time to ask for help and introduce myself. I'm in Western Washington State down around the south end of the Hood Canal. Anyway I have a Breckwell 24I. It was new in January of 1997. I've used the stove since I bought the place ten years ago. For the most part the stove has performed flawlessly for those ten years. Now it seems the auger is not feeding pellets at an even/steady rate. I use the manual feed button to prime the auger and after 90 seconds there are just one or two pellets that drop. I've got the thing apart so I can see the auger is turning and stirring the pellets. I had the thing burning yesterday for about four hours with the feed rate on the highest setting. It seemed like it was producing a fire with a lower feed rate setting. At some point during the night the fire must have gone out and pellets continued to feed. I've now got a burn pot over flowing with unburned pellets and probably a jammed auger. This has happened once before. Any way . . . any thoughts on what may be causing the irregular feeding of pellets?

If the auger motor isn't doing the stall routine (old ones have been known to) and the pellets are not bridging, and the controller is still working correctly it is possible you have an "issue" with the vacuum detection system.

The vacuum switch will stop the auger from turning even if the control board is providing the correct voltage at the correct times and for the correct duration.

It is also possible that the auger is no longer sitting in its flight properly (warn bushings, etc ...) and thus rides above the pellets enough to not move them like it should.

Those are some of the possibilities.

 

[Roadstar]

I also have a Breckwell P24I. Mine is of the 1994 vintage. I live in Puyallup, WA.

If you can see the auger turning and stirring the pellets then my guess would be that something might be preventing them from dropping down the shoot into the burn pot. I hope you’re not using CleanBurn. The only problem I ever had with the auger was the set screw in the coupler came loose and chewed up part of the auger shaft. You would know if that was a problem because the screeching noise made by the loose screw turning against the auger shaft is quite annoying.

I suggest getting a coat hanger wire and sticking it up the drop shaft (when the stove is off and see if something is stuck.

An unrelated question for you:
Do you still using the analog controller board or have you rewired your stove for a digital board? I am dreading the day when my board goes out.

Take care

 

[brunosrk]

I also have a Breckwell P24I. Mine is of the 1994 vintage. I live in Puyallup, WA.

If you can see the auger turning and stirring the pellets then my guess would be that something might be preventing them from dropping down the shoot into the burn pot. I hope you’re not using CleanBurn. The only problem I ever had with the auger was the set screw in the coupler came loose and chewed up part of the auger shaft. You would know if that was a problem because the screeching noise made by the loose screw turning against the auger shaft is quite annoying.

I suggest getting a coat hanger wire and sticking it up the drop shaft (when the stove is off and see if something is stuck.

An unrelated question for you:
Do you still using the analog controller board or have you rewired your stove for a digital board? I am dreading the day when my board goes out.

Take care

I can see up the drop shoot using a mirror and I don't see any obstruction. I've used Clean Burn for years and haven't noticed any problems . . . . what are your concerns with Clean Burn?

 

[Roadstar]

I also have a Breckwell P24I. Mine is of the 1994 vintage. I live in Puyallup, WA.

If you can see the auger turning and stirring the pellets then my guess would be that something might be preventing them from dropping down the shoot into the burn pot. I hope you’re not using CleanBurn. The only problem I ever had with the auger was the set screw in the coupler came loose and chewed up part of the auger shaft. You would know if that was a problem because the screeching noise made by the loose screw turning against the auger shaft is quite annoying.

I suggest getting a coat hanger wire and sticking it up the drop shaft (when the stove is off and see if something is stuck.

An unrelated question for you:
Do you still using the analog controller board or have you rewired your stove for a digital board? I am dreading the day when my board goes out.

Take care

I can see up the drop shoot using a mirror and I don't see any obstruction. I've used Clean Burn for years and haven't noticed any problems . . . . what are your concerns with Clean Burn?

The Clean Burn pellet diameter is larger than any pellet I have used. When I did use them they were also longer than most pellets. I remember hearing the auger snaping them before they dropped. I blame them for putting stress on my auger and causing the problem I previously mentioned. Of course that might not be the real cause of my stated problem.

 

[brunosrk]

If the auger motor isn't doing the stall routine (old ones have been known to) and the pellets are not bridging, and the controller is still working correctly it is possible you have an "issue" with the vacuum detection system.

The vacuum switch will stop the auger from turning even if the control board is providing the correct voltage at the correct times and for the correct duration.

It is also possible that the auger is no longer sitting in its flight properly (warn bushings, etc ...) and thus rides above the pellets enough to not move them like it should.

Those are some of the possibilities.

Sorry not that familiar with the jargon. What's stall routine? pellets are not bridging?

 

[heat seeker]

Stall routine = auger not turning, and keeping the motor from turning (stalling) - or the motor just doesn't have the guts to turn the auger with a normal load. (Bad motor.)

Pellets bridging = longer pellets bridging the gap from the hopper to the auger, so no pellets fall into the auger (sort of a mini logjam). Result is that while the auger may turn, no pellets get fed.

 

[bchapaz]

I also have a Breckwell 24I and did have feed issues when I purchased the stove used. Here are a few things that I did (through posting on this board and getting my questions answered) in no particular order:

1. Replaced auger motor - my old motor was getting very hot to the touch (just testing without a fire)
2. Tried the coat hanger trick
3. Took apart the auger assembly and cleaned
4. Timed the feed rate (I called Breckwell and got the cycle times) - I have the analog board

Non the of the above "technically" worked, they helped by my stove would keep going out.

In my case, it turned out to be the auger itself. After ripping the auger assembly apart for the third time I noticed that the top "rung" of the auger was bent downward, so the pellets were not getting high enough to drop consistently. I "reformed" the top of the auger and it's running like a champ now. I can't really claim too much credit as everyone on this board was great at answering any questions I had.

Hope this helps!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If the auger motor isn't doing the stall routine (old ones have been known to) and the pellets are not bridging, and the controller is still working correctly it is possible you have an "issue" with the vacuum detection system.

The vacuum switch will stop the auger from turning even if the control board is providing the correct voltage at the correct times and for the correct duration.

It is also possible that the auger is no longer sitting in its flight properly (warn bushings, etc ...) and thus rides above the pellets enough to not move them like it should.

Those are some of the possibilities.

Sorry not that familiar with the jargon. What's stall routine? pellets are not bridging?

Older and sometimes new augur motors stall (stop turning) because of heat stress.

Bridging when something (pellets for one example) gets turned around so it complete fills whatever tube it is going through and jams across the tube, this will stop (pellet jam)or slow down a pellet feed.

 

[jtakeman]

In my case, it turned out to be the auger itself. After ripping the auger assembly apart for the third time I noticed that the top "rung" of the auger was bent downward, so the pellets were not getting high enough to drop consistently. I "reformed" the top of the auger and it's running like a champ now. I can't really claim too much credit as everyone on this board was great at answering any questions I had.

Hope this helps!

I seen this once before on a Breckwell. If I remember it is supposed to have a flag/kicker piece on top. Without it the pellets get force to the top of the chute. This is what caused the down pressure to bend the top auger flight. FYI.