Castle Serenity - No vacuum icon

[acorren1]

Hey guys - new here and pretty new to pellet stoves in general. We have a castle serenity stove that was installed early this fall.

Stove was starting to burn a little lazy and smoky so we shut it down for a good cleaning. Seemed like it was a good time to also take out the exhaust fan to clean in there as it had not been done yet.

Now when I turn on the stove it ignites, burns lazy during start up, feeds seemingly a ton of pellets, and when it switches from ignite to heating there’s no vacuum icon present.

The diagnostic screen has a circle that is not filled in next to NTC1. Is this the one for the proof of fire switch? Could the exhaust fan just not be sealed properly after putting back together and that’s what the cause is?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Lots of good info on here.

 

[Mt Bob]

Cannot help you,but,welcome to the forum.

 

[acorren1]

Cannot help you,but,welcome to the forum.

Thanks!

 

[Ssyko]

Vent pipe clean? No obstructions? Birds nest? Dead cats? There are some castle folks im sure will chime in to guide you.

 

[acorren1]

Vent pipe clean? No obstructions? Birds nest? Dead cats? There are some castle folks im sure will chime in to guid you.

Going to make sure it’s clean tomorrow once I’m off work. Hopefully that does the trick.

 

[mikkeeh]

Tell me what your stall settings are?

 

[Deezl Smoke]

The stove should go into shut down mode if vacuum is lost for a set short amount of time.

When you removed the blower unit, did any of the wires or sensors on the housing of the fan get bumped? There are two sensors just above the fan. One has wires on it, the other is just there with no wires. That is a "spare" proof switch. Take the side panel back off and switch the wires to that spare switch.

Another thing is the door seal. If the rope seal is compromised, the vacuum will be low.

 

[acorren1]

The stove should go into shut down mode if vacuum is lost for a set short amount of time.

When you removed the blower unit, did any of the wires or sensors on the housing of the fan get bumped? There are two sensors just above the fan. One has wires on it, the other is just there with no wires. That is a "spare" proof switch. Take the side panel back off and switch the wires to that spare switch.

Another thing is the door seal. If the rope seal is compromised, the vacuum will be low.

Double checked the connections on the wires last night, seems all is ok there. Saw someone mention the spare POF switch and tried that, but same thing.

Will have to check the door seal. Could the blower unit not be sealed to the stove as well as it was before removal? Thanks for the help!

 

[acorren1]

Tell me what your stall settings are?

I can check the settings when I get home this evening, hopefully I can get the stove back up and running tonight.

 

[mikkeeh]

I can check the settings when I get home this evening, hopefully I can get the stove back up and running tonight.

I had the same issue. Was told by the factory to check exhaust and fan stalls. Apparently they need to be within 10v of each other, in each heat level. Didn’t make a lot of sense to me....but it worked.

 

[acorren1]

I had the same issue. Was told by the factory to check exhaust and fan stalls. Apparently they need to be within 10v of each other, in each heat level. Didn’t make a lot of sense to me....but it worked.

Interesting, gonna have to check this out. Appreciate the tip!!

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Double checked the connections on the wires last night, seems all is ok there. Saw someone mention the spare POF switch and tried that, but same thing.

Will have to check the door seal. Could the blower unit not be sealed to the stove as well as it was before removal? Thanks for the help!

I personally doubt it as you mentioned having the lazy flame smoky fire before removing the fan. The fan can however be running too slow. It can be going out or as mikkeeh mentions, the voltage stall can be low now that you have some time on the stove. My control panels do not require me to be within any voltage perimeters. But the exhaust blower is in an abrasive environment as ash actually is in contact with the blower blades. So it may be that you just need a higher stall voltage to speed up the blower a bit.

I also take the burn pot to a drill motor and find a bit that is the size of the original holes before use. With use, hard carbon will build up inside the holes and they will get smaller, reducing the flow of air through the fuel load.

 

[acorren1]

I personally doubt it as you mentioned having the lazy flame smoky fire before removing the fan. The fan can however be running too slow. It can be going out or as mikkeeh mentions, the voltage stall can be low now that you have some time on the stove. My control panels do not require me to be within any voltage perimeters. But the exhaust blower is in an abrasive environment as ash actually is in contact with the blower blades. So it may be that you just need a higher stall voltage to speed up the blower a bit.

I also take the burn pot to a drill motor and find a bit that is the size of the original holes before use. With use, hard carbon will build up inside the holes and they will get smaller, reducing the flow of air through the fuel load.

True, I thought maybe since even though it wasn’t burning great before it would at least continue to burn and had the vacuum icon present. I’m going to just have to check everything mentioned here when I get home late this afternoon and try and get it up and running. Don’t wanna be stuck relying on just the electric heat!

 

[acorren1]

Vent pipe clean? No obstructions? Birds nest? Dead cats? There are some castle folks im sure will chime in to guide you.

Okay so it looks like I’m back up and running. Have vacuum pressure again. Feel a little dumb but the vent pipe was very dirty so took care of that today.

Thanks again to everyone for all the help. Definitely going to stick around the forums!

 

[Gravey]

Hey guys - new here and pretty new to pellet stoves in general. We have a castle serenity stove that was installed early this fall.

Stove was starting to burn a little lazy and smoky so we shut it down for a good cleaning. Seemed like it was a good time to also take out the exhaust fan to clean in there as it had not been done yet.

Now when I turn on the stove it ignites, burns lazy during start up, feeds seemingly a ton of pellets, and when it switches from ignite to heating there’s no vacuum icon present.

The diagnostic screen has a circle that is not filled in next to NTC1. Is this the one for the proof of fire switch? Could the exhaust fan just not be sealed properly after putting back together and that’s what the cause is?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Lots of good info on here.

Yes sir. The NTC1 is the proof of fire switch. The should be a spare already mounted on the left side facing the front of the stove. Remove the left side panel, after unplugging the stove, switch the wires from one pof switch to the other. Should do the trick!

 

[mtm105]

Okay so it looks like I’m back up and running. Have vacuum pressure again. Feel a little dumb but the vent pipe was very dirty so took care of that today.

Thanks again to everyone for all the help. Definitely going to stick around the forums!

I'm having identical problem after sitting over summer. As soon as vacuum indicator flashes off, red light BEEP x10.

Which is vent pipe? By the blower??
Also, how does one clean the rope part on door??