Breckwell P24 Blazer Insert - Keeps Turning off w/ Diagnostic #2 Light, Stumped

[BreckwellDrew]

Hi,

I have a Breckwell P24L Blazer Insert. The stove has been running fine since November, but the past week it's been giving me issues. The stove will run for a bit and then trigger an error #2 light on the control board, causing the stove to shut down. I thought I fixed it over the weekend, but the case. Here's what I've done so far:

1. Replaced the door gasket
2. Thoroughly cleaned the inside of the stove (the 3 door chambers, the burn pot, the walls, interior top, etc.
3. Confirmed the Air inlet sensor is not clogged
4. Replaced the combustion blower/motor and gasket
5. Cleaned the combustion blower/motor chamber
6. Cleaned about 3-4 feet of the vertical exhaust pipe

After doing all of this the stove ran great at first. But after a day I noticed a lot of build up on the glass door and the burn pot was overflowing with pellets. I was running in on the lowest setting, 1 because it was relatively warm out. I have the damper set to 1/4 when on 1. I cleaned it out again and this time turned the heat up to setting 3. I have the damper out about another 1/4 at this setting. However, when I increase the temp, the stove shuts down after about 20 minutes.

I'm a bit stumped on what could be going on. I called Breckwell support and they said they would call me back...

Steps I'm considering now:

1. Clean more of the vertical pipe. It's probably 15-20 feet in length
2. Replace the glass gasket
3. I think this unit comes with an airwash. It doesn't state that in the manual (from what I've read), but the bottom of the glass on the door does not have a gasket. So I was going to pull that apart and clean that up.
4. Replace the convection blower and the air sensor, but I don't think either are the culprit...
5. Call a professional, but there isn't a Breckwell service dealer near me so I'd be getting someone who doesn't know this brand very well.

Any help would be appreciated. I've read other posts on here related to this issue with Breckwell and none seemed to have a solution.

 

[BreckwellDrew]

After posting this I went and cleaned out the airwash. It was full of ash. So I thought by cleaning this it would help. Now the stove won't even ignite. It's shutting down after 30 seconds. All I hear is the combustion blower running during that time. So the stove is sensing poor air quality and turning off, I think.

Images of my airwash prior to cleaning:

1. https://www.dropbox.com/s/5mapf05i8qa0sde/airwash1.jpg?dl=0

2. https://www.dropbox.com/s/0mdg01rfbzgc5gy/airewash2.jpg?dl=0

Video of my stove trying to boot up after I cleaned the airwash out

Link: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kfsxhyex1bej42m/stove-boot-after-airwash.mov?dl=0

 

[johneh]

Breckwelldre Do you have a manual? if not here is one.
See page 24 . Error lite # 2

 

[BreckwellDrew]

Breckwelldre Do you have a manual? if not here is one.
See page 24 . Error lite # 2

Hi, thanks, yes I do have the manual. I've been following the steps on page 24. The only two steps I haven't not tried yet are 9 and 10. If the unit shuts off after 30 seconds, is that an indicator that the air switch received power from the control board and checked for air quality at that point?

"9. Control board not sending power to air switch"

Possible remedy = "There should be a 5-volt current (approximately) going to the air switch after the stove has been on for 30 seconds."

I'm reading this as the air switch isn't checking air quality until 30 seconds (around the same time my stove turns off).

Digital manual I'm referencing - https://woodstoves.net/documents/breckwell/P24_Manual.pdf

 

[johneh]

The airflow switch is a vacuum switch. If there is no vac
in the stove, it will shut off
Try jumping the wires on the switch and see if the stove runs.

 

[BreckwellDrew]

The airflow switch is a vacuum switch. If there is no vac
in the stove, it will shut off
Try jumping the wires on the switch and see if the stove runs.

Hi John,

Understood. Thank you. I will try that step. If the bypass does keep the stove running, what would be my next step?

 

[Ssyko]

Also make sure the liner is clean all the way to the rain cap. Screens can plug up

 

[johneh]

If it keeps running check the hose for hard spots, cracks, or holes replace as necessary.
Also where the hose connects to the stove make sure it is not plugged. use the hose
to blow through it or a paper clip to clean it out.
And as Ssyko check your chimney termination screen.

 

[BreckwellDrew]

So if the stove runs with the air sensor bypass, it's an indicator that the air sensor may have a cracked hose or blockage, a blockage in the exhaust pipe, or both? I was getting a bit of smoke buildup in the burn chamber yesterday morning prior to it shutting down. Is that an indicator that the exhaust has a blockage?

 

[johneh]

Not really smoke is a by-product of combustion
but if it did not clear from the burn chamber it may indicate a blockage
If it runs OK with the wires crossed it indicates that the vac switch is nfg
a hose with a hole or cracked will also stop the vac switch from working
as would a plugged hose nozzle and plugged exhaust

 

[BreckwellDrew]

Update: I tested a few more things since my last post.

1. I pulled the combustion blower/motor and cleaned the cavity behind it and around the hole.
2. I pulled the exhaust pipe off and clean the outlet attached to the stove and the pipe going up the chimney. I got about 6-7 feet in height with the brush arm. My pipe is 3" connecting into the stove for about 2 -3 feet then connects to a 4" pipe all the way up the chimney. This has worked for me for the past 3 months.
3. I cleaned burnpot, interior combustion chamber again.
4. I cleaned the convection blower
5. I detached the hose from the air inlet to air vacuum and inspected it. It's not clocked and doesn't have cracks or holes that I can see.
6. I put the vacuum side of the hose back on and sucked on the other end lightly. I heard the vacuum switch click

After putting it all back together, I turned the stove on and it actually fired up. It ran for about 2-3 minutes. The pellets got hot and lit and everything seemed to be working. Then it shut down and displayed the #2 error diagnostic. I turned it back on and it shut off after 30 seconds again.

The next thing I did was cross the two wires from the vacuum switch. The stove fired up and continued to run with a nice yellow flame. The convection blower turned on and started pushing heat out the vents.

So the stove works with the vacuum switch out of the equation. Faulty vacuum switch or still possible exhaust blockage? I will try and get on the roof tonight and check the vent cap.

 

[BreckwellDrew]

Unplugged it and let it sit for about 45 minutes. Plugged it back in, turned it on and it ran for 10 minutes then turned on. 5 of those minutes, it had a flame going. Same error code.

 

[johneh]

With or without the vac switch wires connected?

 

[BreckwellDrew]

With or without the vac switch wires connected?

With the vacuum switch reconnected. It runs well without the vacuum switch in play. I e had it in high for st least an hour now. Smoke is coming out the vent pipe atop my chimney. I’m thinking of replacing the door gasket. Maybe in the 3 months it’s been installed it compressed too much.

 

[BreckwellDrew]

I don’t know what else it could be at this point. The door feels like it could be a bit tighter compared to my dads pellet stove.

 

[Ssyko]

Where is your damper rod set?

 

[BreckwellDrew]

Where is your damper rod set?

Right now it’s set about 5/8 to a 1/2. Flame is roaring. I hoping it cleans out the exhaust pipe a bit. When I start it up cold it’s abut 1/4 per manual.

 

[BreckwellDrew]

So I may have solved this. I put a clamp on the vacuum hose to give it a tighter fit. It’s a 2008 stove so it may not be as tight as original. And my stove fired up successfully and has been running for 35 minutes on high. I even turned it off once in between by accident and it booted right up again. I’m going to run it all day tomorrow just to be sure.

 

[Ssyko]

i wold replace your door gasket also just cause. (i might even close up the air wash a bit to)
to easy to clean the glass than fight with vacuum issues.

 

[BreckwellDrew]

i wold replace your door gasket also just cause. (i might even close up the air wash a bit to)
to easy to clean the glass than fight with vacuum issues.

Okay good point about the gasket. I had bought it from a fireplace/stove dealer up the road. It was the same size as OEM but maybe it’s a tad off.

Regarding the airwash, can I cover the whole channel up with a gasket? I’d rather have a better vacuum then clean glass. Seemed like cleaning out the airwash made things worse for me. Have you closed one up before?

 

[Ssyko]

my big -e aka shop frankenstove has no air wash. glass is tight to the door. i would put gasket in the channel and leave a 2 in sec in the middle open. don't want to go to far and suck the fire out either

 

[BreckwellDrew]

Hi again,

I let the stove run for about 36 hours after I got it running. Seemed to have a good flame, nice and yellow, and low ash. House was nice and warm. Saturday morning I noticed I had pellets overflowing my burn pot and some were half burned. I turned the pellet feed setting from normal to low. I cleaned out the whole burn chamber again and restarted the stove. That seemed to help, until today. The burn pot was overflowing A LOT, to the point where my burn chamber floor was covered in half burned pellets and the auger feed hole was covered by a pile of pellets. I opened the stove to clean it out and the chamber was filled with smoke, quickly filling my dining room with smoke. I stirred the burn pot and moved the pellets away. Closed the door and the flame kept going, but went out after a minute. The auger was still feeding pellets, but no flame. I adjusted the damper and that had no effect.

I haven't replaced the door gasket or filled in the airwash vent yet. Do you think that's causing the problem or do I have a clog in the vent pipe? I shouldn't have to clean it this frequently, but if I leave it unattended I'm worried it's going to cause a fire. So right now I'm not using it.

 

[johneh]

Sounds like a restriction in combustion air

 

[BreckwellDrew]

Sounds like a restriction in combustion air

So do I need an OAK? The stove is in a fireplace insert and the vent pipe runs up the chimney and is capped at the top. The home was built in 1942. The room it's in has 2 exterior walls that are mostly glass. My home insulated, but I would say not to the point where it's air tight. When it's set on Heat setting 3, the damper is open pretty much all the way.

 

[BreckwellDrew]

Maybe the air intake for the burn pot is clogged with something. I cleaned it, but that's the only thing I can think of at this point.