Check your fire bricks/cerami-boards

[Mike D.]

Or "Hey pelletstove, your doing it wrong"

Was busy working at the table and looked up to find the living room clouded with smoke (stuffed up cant smell) and just as I did all the alarms went off in the house. When I opened the hopper it was even worse. I managed to scoop most of the pellets out (had just filled it 20 minutes before) and got down to the smoldering ones.
As near as I can tell after inspecting the mess after the fact the firebrick split right above the burn pot and pellets began backing up the auger shoot and ignited the pellets in the hopper. I'm glad I was home. I'm thankful the wife wasn't. I'm also thankful for all the years of fire training the Navy provided me.

2 observations: 1. The off gassing is horrendous! 2. Those little pellets throw a lot of smoke!

So please, double check your firebricks and cerami-boards for damage.

Now time for some coffee and a run to the office.

My best to all,
Mike D.

Silly old Whitfield....

 

[sheetmetaldan]

Or "Hey pelletstove, your doing it wrong"

Was busy working at the table and looked up to find the living room clouded with smoke (stuffed up cant smell) and just as I did all the alarms went off in the house. When I opened the hopper it was even worse. I managed to scoop most of the pellets out (had just filled it 20 minutes before) and got down to the smoldering ones.
As near as I can tell after inspecting the mess after the fact the firebrick split right above the burn pot and pellets began backing up the auger shoot and ignited the pellets in the hopper. I'm glad I was home. I'm thankful the wife wasn't. I'm also thankful for all the years of fire training the Navy provided me.

2 observations: 1. The off gassing is horrendous! 2. Those little pellets throw a lot of smoke!

So please, double check your firebricks and cerami-boards for damage.

Now time for some coffee and a run to the office.

My best to all,
Mike D.

Silly old Whitfield....

Did you figure out exactly what happened? Did a piece from the firebrick split and fall down blocking the chute causing pellet backup? I ask because I have an old Whitfield and the firebrick is split in half and the area above the chute is completly gone. Never had any problems with it, though I have only owned it since late December, but have been running it daily.

 

[Mike D.]

The firebrick was split in half over the auger shoot causing the pellets to back up. It looks like half the pellets were backing up and the other half dropping into the burn pot.

 

[zrtmatos]

Is that a flame I see in the hopper?

 

[Mike D.]

Why yes it is.... Made for an interesting morning.