Breckwell shuts off and on at heat level 4

[Sagesmom]

Hi everyone- I'm trying to find out what is wrong with my stove. It seems to work ok on heat settings 1,2, and 3 for the most part. However, when I put it on #4, it runs for awhile and then the high fan will shut off, then start up again. It goes back and forth like this.
So far I have: taken the inside plates off and seen no ash buildup, poked a hanger into the air flow hole inside the stove, blown through the air hose, cleaned the firepot and replaced the door gasket, checked my pipe leading outside. I also replaced the combustion blower last year.
Other symptoms which may or may not be related: black buildup on the glass, esp. on the side that opens and buildup of pellets in the firepot on higher settings.
Any help figuring this out would be greatly appreciated. My house heats best fully when the stove is on #3 or 4, so shutting off on 3 is not a good thing.
Thanks in advance!

Oh btw- the #2 light is flashing when it shuts down and it seems to go off and on for awhile on 4, with the high fan going off and on, but eventually it just shuts down with the #2 light blinking.

 

[Flexpipe]

Hello,

Sounds to me like the stove is not vented properely, or the damper is not adjusted properely. You can download the manula at Breckwells site, and it explains the EXACT symptoms you speak off. The overtemp on the blower is tripping, cools down, and resets. Download the manual and go through thte troubleshooting, and you will be fine.

 

[Sagesmom]

Ok, thanks. I did look at the manual last night and started working my way through the options and hadn't fixed it yet.
I just vacuumed everything, disconnected the back pipe, cleaned that out and reconnected everything. I noticed that the flames were really high. When they were, the fan shut off after a bit. I've never really paid much attention to the damper setting- just push it in to start and pull it out almost all the way when running...

 

[Sagesmom]

Update- I oiled the blowers, blew them out with compressed air- still same problem.
Last night and today, stove stayed on without a problem, as long as the high fan wasn't on.
I emailed Breckwell tech support, but no answer yet. Seems another poster here is having a similar problem.
How much does a high limit sensor cost?

 

[hearthtools]

Most of the parts and trouble shooting needed are listed on my website
http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/Breckwell_help.htm

 

[Sagesmom]

Thank you... I've been looking through it. Do you think it's the high limit sensor?

 

[hearthtools]

#2 light reading my guide for the new control board

Airflow switch tripping due to lack of vacuum or hole plugged.
could be door not sealing, Ash pan not sealing. Hose and hose barb to the stove plugged.
or FLUE AND COMBUSTION CHAMBERS FULL OF ASH.



Grey wiles loose on the Molex connection.

Combustion blower failing after it get hot.

Control board not giving power to the air switch
Control board not giving power to the Combustion blower.



MY note
If you are getting black soot this is from lack of air
can be from the door or ash door not sealing
and then it could be from a dirty flue or ash traps full of ash
or you blower slowing down from failer.
could also be your air is not adjusted correctly.

 

[Sagesmom]

Thanks a lot. I will check all you mentioned.

 

[Sagesmom]

This morning I woke up to a pile of unburned pellets overflowing the burnpot. Does this help any?
I won't be able to check other things until tomorrow night.

 

[hearthtools]

Im 90% sure it is going to be in the vacuum area
Try Bybassing the Vacuum switch and run it that way.
But I would just try cleaning the stove and blow out the vacuum hole from the switch to the stove
First.

 

[Sagesmom]

Thanks a lot for the help!!

 

[Sagesmom]

I blew out the hose last night (and mistakenly blew the switch also, which I think ruined it). #2 light blinked pretty much as soon as I turned the stove on.
I just bypassed the switch and it has at least started up.
So... do I order a vacuum switch now? All wires appear ok, as well as fuses.

 

[hearthtools]

I blew out the hose last night (and mistakenly blew the switch also, which I think ruined it). #2 light blinked pretty much as soon as I turned the stove on.
I just bypassed the switch and it has at least started up.
So... do I order a vacuum switch now? All wires appear ok, as well as fuses.

First CLEAN THE STOVE completely
Pull the Combustion blower and clean
Clean the Housing and the exhaust chamber in the stove behind where the blower and houseing mounts.
Clean behind the bricks and any ash traps
Run a BRUSH down the pipe and make sure the cap is clear.
Clear out the Vacuum line and Port that connects to the stove.

make sure the door(s) are sealing.

I PERSONALLY in over 1000 stove service have never seen a vacuum switch go bad.

 

[Sagesmom]

Ahh... I know what I'll be doing this weekend! Thanks a million.

 

[savage]

Sagesmom-

I've had the *exact* problem as you over the same number of days. Overflow on number 4 followed by #2 light problems at setting 4. Finally the #2 light came on at 3 or 2 or....

So I cleaned everything.

But what finally made it work was the thing i cleaned last. I unhooked the vent pipe, bought a 3 or 4" vent pipe brush, with a 10 foot reach and scrubbed the vent pipe. then I vacummed out the combustion blower from both the side detached from the vent pipe and through door C. I also ran the cleaner brush up door C.

This seems to have solved it. Altough all the other things I did like vacumming the fins on the blower on the other side probably helped too.

Good luck.

 

[savage]

Sagesmom-

I've had the *exact* problem as you over the same number of days. Overflow on number 4 followed by #2 light problems at setting 4. Finally the #2 light came on at 3 or 2 or....

So I cleaned everything.

But what finally made it work was the thing i cleaned last. I unhooked the vent pipe, bought a 3 or 4" vent pipe brush, with a 10 foot reach and scrubbed the vent pipe. then I vacuumed out the combustion blower from both the side detached from the vent pipe and through door C. I also ran the cleaner brush up door C.

This seems to have solved it. Although all the other things I did like vacuuming the fins on the blower on the other side probably helped too.

Good luck.

 

[Sagesmom]

Thanks for the tips. That's exactly what I'll do tomorrow, in addition to cleaning everything I can possibly reach!
It's running like a charm at the moment with the vacuum switch bypassed tho- that's saved me come cold days!

 

[savage]

ugh!

The problem is back. Please tell me sagemom how you bypassed the switch. Please! I have 4 tons of pellets out in the yard that need to be burned and I HATE hearing the oil burner come on instead. I am starting to go NUTS!

 

[savage]

I found how to bypass the vacuum switch. Thanks. Will post progress later.

by the way - what's the downside to this bypass?

 

[hearthtools]

You are going to have to run a hard wire into the port that the vacuum hose connects to the stove.
Some of the older P24 when to the ash pan
I bet a beer this is the problem.

 

[Sagesmom]

Hmm.. back to plan A clean everything I can possibly get to....Sorry to hear that didn't fix the problem. My stove overfed once and went out once since jumping the vacuum switch. This has saved me from hearing the boiler go on, which I dread as well....
Today is dismantle day [once I can bear to turn the stove off] : )

 

[Sagesmom]

The guy at the local stove store said to check the tubing that goes to the switch also. Since it's rubber, it may have cracks in it. I told him I blew some air through it to make sure it was clean, and he said that wasn't really a good indication of how clean it was. Come to think of it, it was kinda hard to blow through.
Be nice once we figure this out and fix it for good....

 

[Sagesmom]

Quick update- have the stove apart now and bought a dryer vent brush to get inside. Once I stuck it in the right side opening that is covered by a metal plate (held by two screws), a pile of ash was brought out by the brush, ash like I'd expect to find in the ash bin and handfuls of it-not from the walls either. There was a pile sitting in there somewhere.
More later....hope this might help.

 

[Sagesmom]

That pile of ash come from behind the blower on the right side of the stove. So...stove venting WAS blocked! Just not in the pipe like I assumed- it was blocked before and into the blower on the right side.
I expect that when I start it up again, that everything will be good. I just have to wait for the pile of pellets in the ash pan to quit smouldering.
Hearthtools, thanks for all the help!

 

[Sagesmom]

GUESS WHAT
#2 light blinking, stove won't start.
Bypass vacuum switch, stove starts. Checked the hose while cleaning.
Did I kill the switch with the compressed air, or is there something else I missed?
ARGH!