Convection blower cutting in & out on Englander 25 PAH

[farmgirl1985]

Yesterday we started noticing that the convection blower was blowing for a while and then it wasn't then it'd come back on. Today I let the stove go out and cool all day for its daily cleaning, when I restarted it, it lit fine but got really hot, so hot you could almost smell it and the blower didn't come on. So I turned it off and cleaned the burn pot and started again--same thing. I called Englander and finally got thru, we went through the tests everything checked out ok. So I relit the stove and my tech (Rodney) was to call me back to see how it was going, he did but I had an error code E2 come up so I had to empty the pot and start over. He was supposed to call me back before he left but I think he forgot. The blower finally came on about 20 minutes after the start up cycle was done, now it runs about 20-30 minutes and goes off, when the stove gets really hot again it comes back on for a while. We are thinking its the heat sensor (brass thing on the blower) switch?? I think I need Mike from Englander...
We've had so many issues with this stove! Has anyone else had constant problems with the 25 PAH? Its very frustrating and frankly we are tired of working on it every weekend when my husband gets home.

 

[heat seeker]

Have you ever cleaned the blower motor itself out? They get clogged with dust, overheat, and the thermal cutout kills the motor to protect it.

 

[farmgirl1985]

Two weeks ago did the leaf vac trick, this past weekend we took out the doors behind the ash pan and swept them while beating on the back of the stove wall. The blower on the left side (as you are standing inbfront of the stove) has had the fins cleaned with a toothbrush when we were having so many problems with the black soot--which we still have some. The blower motors get swept at least 2x a month. We clean this stove a lot. Since I posted the blower has cut out twice its off now. I'm going to shut it down for the night because I don't want to burn my house down should something short out.. Idk I'm not very mechanical, husband works out of town all week and gets to come home and work on this stove. Seriously considering returning it, its been problemn after problem since we got it in September.

 

[heat seeker]

So it seems the answer is "no". But, if the problem has existed since the stove was new, then dust wouldn't be the problem.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

What is your AOT setting?

 

[farmgirl1985]

What is your AOT setting?

bottom 3 #'s are 1-5-1

 

[acammer]

What is your AOT setting?

That was my thought - if that's where it should be, then you might have a exhaust temp sensor issue. That could cause some of the hard starting you're having - if it's not seeing the flame it might not throttle the combustion blower right and instead throw the error and go into shutdown even though you potentially had a good start.

There are some diagnostic tests right on Englander's website that can test the various components. (broken link removed to http://www.heatredefined.com/faq/troubleshooting-guide/pellet-stove/troubleshooting-for-pellet-stoves-manufactured-2004-to-present/troubleshooting-help/diagnostic-test-mode). If the convection blower runs like it should on this test, it sounds like your temp sensor might not be responding as it should. You're right to watch things until that's made right, as if that convection blower doesn't run that thing will get HOT.

I know you've been having your share of problems with your PAH - frustrating for sure. I can tell you I've had the opposite experience - I bought/installed mine about 6 weeks ago and it's run about 20hrs/day at full power every day since. It hasn't missed a beat - I can get away with cleaning it every other day. I did my monthly clean-out of the exhaust ports last week and had very minimal fly ash in the exhaust chamber. Running at full power I'm sure helps keep it clean with all that heat and airflow. Overall I'm very satisfied, I'm keeping my 2,100sq foot home at a comfortable 70*F today with 20*F outdoor temps. When it gets real cold my furnace will probably have to help a few times a day. But really, I paid $1,000 for my refurb unit from AMFM and it's keeping my whole house warm - that's hard to beat.

Englander has a really good reputation for outstanding customer service - don't give up yet! I know their other reputation is for being hard to get ahold of - I'm sure they're about as busy as they get right around this time of year. Maybe send a PM to Mike Holton on the forums here, I know he's super busy but you may have some success trying to catch him directly. I know he has this stove in his home - it must be a decent piece if it's his choice!

 

[stoveguy2esw]

we spoke this morning , im pretty sure its an issue in the control board , have a new one on its way. board was doing some strange stuff when we went through coding on it. should be up and running in a couple days

 

[acammer]

Awesome - there's that Englander customer service getting it done again.

@stoveguy2esw - when work slows down for you I'd love to chat about this thread and some of the finer details of the PAH. I realize that might be a few months - no rush, my PAH is running nicely!

 

[farmgirl1985]

I actually talked to mike yesterday, after the diagnostic tests he feels all my problems may be related to the control board so they r sending out a new one. Hopefully soon, it's chilly in here. Thanks tho, I do hope this fixes things