Classic 1200i intermittent problems, now the exhaust blower isn't coming on but the igniter gets hot

[irises]

I have had trouble with my stove failing to light intermittently for 2-3 years now. Hitting the reset button would allow the stove to light and come to temp. The red call light comes on and you can see a blue light flash.

At the beginning of the season, the exhaust blower and firepot were replaced and have been working well. The issue with intermittent lighting continued. The exhaust fan would come on, the igniter would heat, but no fire. Pushing the reset button would get enough pellet feed to get the stove lit. Some days it would light every time. On rare occassions the fire would light but would go out.

This morning I hit the reset button (the red light was on) but the exhaust fan did not come on. There were no pellets in the firepot. I checked the owners manual and wonder if snap disc #2 might be the problem. Of interest- though the exhaust fan has not come on, the igniter is heating up.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Ssyko]

First thing is unplug the stove.Jump the wires on snap disc #1. Snap disc #2 controls the feed auger motor

 

[irises]

Jumped the wires on Snap Disc #1 and the convection blower came on, but not the exhaust. I jumped #2 and no change which would be expected if it was the auger. I suppose it is possible that the exhaust fan only lasted 2 months. That would be pretty disappointing since the prior one lasted 10 years.

 

[Ssyko]

If you have an old lamp cord try hooking it to the motor and plug directly into the outlet, that will tell us if the motor is good or bad

 

[SidecarFlip]

Ever cleaned out the exhaust plenum and / or serviced the fan and motor? Sounds to me like the motor is tying up from dry bearings and/or the combustion fan is loaded with fly ash and the exhaust plenum the fan mounts in is loaded with fly ash.

 

[irises]

Jumped the wires on Snap Disc #1 and the convection blower came on, but not the exhaust. I jumped #2 and no change which would be expected if it was the auger. I suppose it is possible that the exhaust fan only lasted 2 months. That would be pretty disappointing since the prior one lasted 10 years.

If you have an old lamp cord try hooking it to the motor and plug directly into the outlet, that will tell us if the motor is good or bad

Great Suggestion. The 2 month old fan IS bad. I was a little unsure that I had rigged my cord correctly, and I grabbed the old fan. It actually powered right up (though in the sad fashion that had led to its replacement in the first place) I removed the new fan and tested it outside of the pellet stove just in case. It is definitley dead. SO I will get a replacement exhaust fan and see what happens. Frustrating as it will return me to square one with the intermittent firing issue. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[Mt Bob]

Kind of strange.initially I would suspect possible restriction in the chimney,except it has not been lighting properly for some time. Would be nice to know what is wrong with the motors,seized bearings,or windings burnt up? If burnt up,I would seriously get someone to check several things-the quality of the power supply to your house outlet,and the house, and, when new fan installed,quality of the power/ground to the motor.

 

[Ssyko]

I concur with bob its pretty strange to have a new motor fail in 2-3 months. And not damage a control board keep us up to date on what you find

 

[irises]

Kind of strange.initially I would suspect possible restriction in the chimney,except it has not been lighting properly for some time. Would be nice to know what is wrong with the motors,seized bearings,or windings burnt up? If burnt up,I would seriously get someone to check several things-the quality of the power supply to your house outlet,and the house, and, when new fan installed,quality of the power/ground to the motor.

I was looking more closely at the new exhaust fan. It wasn't burned and turned freely - and then I realized one of the fan blades is broken off. While I am waiting for the replacement fan, I got the old exhaust fan cleaned up and running a little more quietly. At least the stove is burning.

I had the stove cleaned professionally before I started it up this fall so I wouldn't think its an issue with the chimney. We discovered the bottom of the door of the firepot had a hole burned through it (somehow we both missed that the firepot also had some material burned away- I discovered that myself when burning pellets were finding their way into the ash pan) then had the technician out again to check on the intermittent issue. He didn't do any electrical tests and left me with a new ceramic thermocouple cover. I realize that intermittent issues are very hard to diagnose on a visit, but have no confidence that the store I got the stove at has a technician that diagnose even simple issues. I did order a replacement thermocouple as some threads seemed to implicate a broken wire in the thermocouple.

 

[Overfireinthehole]

I was looking more closely at the new exhaust fan. It wasn't burned and turned freely - and then I realized one of the fan blades is broken off. While I am waiting for the replacement fan, I got the old exhaust fan cleaned up and running a little more quietly. At least the stove is burning.

I had the stove cleaned professionally before I started it up this fall so I wouldn't think its an issue with the chimney. We discovered the bottom of the door of the firepot had a hole burned through it (somehow we both missed that the firepot also had some material burned away- I discovered that myself when burning pellets were finding their way into the ash pan) then had the technician out again to check on the intermittent issue. He didn't do any electrical tests and left me with a new ceramic thermocouple cover. I realize that intermittent issues are very hard to diagnose on a visit, but have no confidence that the store I got the stove at has a technician that diagnose even simple issues. I did order a replacement thermocouple as some threads seemed to implicate a broken wire in the thermocouple.

Do you have a picture of this hole that was burnt in the firepot floor? That’s something I’ve never seen.

 

[irises]

Do you have a picture of this hole that was burnt in the firepot floor? That’s something I’ve never seen.

I dug it out of the scrap pile. It looks just a little larger than it is because I set the old floor on top of the new one. I was rather alarmed when I saw this, but looking online- there was some indication that 3 years was how long a firepot should last and this stove is 10 years old. This is my first pellet stove and I suspect I may not have cleaned the pot often enough.

 

[Ssyko]

Wow mine is 20 yrs old and is nowhere near that bad. Thanks for posting the pic.

 

[Mt Bob]

Wow mine is 20 yrs old and is nowhere near that bad. Thanks for posting the pic.

Yep,Ssyko,still many old pots running here. But,is he original owner,and(the biggest thing,I think,) was the stove cleaned in spring,and protected from moisture? Summertime rust has ruined many pellet and wood stoves,from being left dirty. Oh,hiya!!

 

[Ssyko]

So true so true brotha bob. I couldn’t even count the cans of fog oil I’ve used over the years. Oh yeah hiya lol

 

[Overfireinthehole]

Never seen a 1200 pot floor get that bad... mine is 10 years and running strong. I’ve seen plenty of 1100s from the 90s with original pots as well.