Drolet-45 High temp alarm..shuts off on 3 setting

[sportbikerider78]

I bought this stove used last year..and I'm very glad I had it over the winter! However, it would always high temperature alarm (H1) whenever I ran it on setting 3 or above. It has settings 1-6.
I read every thread on this board already about simliar issues with this stove...i'm a bit fed up. I'm simply not going to replace the computer only to find out it is another issue, like pump, vacuum sensor, blower..blah blah...Even if I fix this issue, I feel another issue will pop up.

Has anyone gutted the 'smart' electronics and run a pellet stove semi-manually? There are only a few functions..
1) Igniter - simple on/off switch
2) Exhaust blower - simple on/off switch
3) Heat exchanger blower - two speeds
4) Auger - variable resistor (potentiometer)
5) System power off - on/off switch

I have done some electrical work and I don't think it would be crazy to attempt this. Obviously, i would have to watch and make sure something crazy isn't going on with the stove because it will not autoshutoff for any reason...but a short will cut the home fuse. Still more protection than a wood stove.

Anyone done this?

Thanks!

 

[MountainSean]

Have you cleaned the stove thoroughly? On those models there was a separate channel up at the top above the heat exchange tubes that if not cleaned properly could get plugged with ash and cause the high limit to trip. Also double check the filters on your convection fans, those can get coated with fur and dust slowing down the airflow through your heat exchange tubes and cause the same problem.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Have you cleaned the stove thoroughly? On those models there was a separate channel up at the top above the heat exchange tubes that if not cleaned properly could get plugged with ash and cause the high limit to trip. Also double check the filters on your convection fans, those can get coated with fur and dust slowing down the airflow through your heat exchange tubes and cause the same problem.

I don't think i have done that. I did not know there was a passageway up there. I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip...but how do I get up there?

Every 3 days, i would vacuum all visible ash. The stovepipe has been cleaned. And the heat exchanger fan filters are clean.

 

[MountainSean]

I don't think i have done that. I did not know there was a passageway up there. I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip...but how do I get up there?

Every 3 days, i would vacuum all visible ash. The stovepipe has been cleaned. And the heat exchanger fan filters are clean.

Look in the left hand side of the firebox with the baffles and rear walls removed, there should be a triangular shaped piece you can get into at the top. Also in the upper left side above the heat exchange tube is another long slot that runs from the front to the back. You will need some sort of narrow attachment tool on a vacuum or a stiff but bendable brush to get into it.

 

[hyfire]

The electronics have built in timers for auger feed rate and monitior auger and exhaust temps, its all for safety, don;t mess with it, its more complicated than you think..

 

[the cug]

is your eco 45 an older model?

 

[sportbikerider78]

Look in the left hand side of the firebox with the baffles and rear walls removed, there should be a triangular shaped piece you can get into at the top. Also in the upper left side above the heat exchange tube is another long slot that runs from the front to the back. You will need some sort of narrow attachment tool on a vacuum or a stiff but bendable brush to get into it.

I did this about a month ago. I still get a high temp alarm occasionally.....less so. So, I cheated the system a bit and installed a small 110V fan to keep the temp sensors cool. Now i can cruise on the 3rd setting without issue. Helps keep the stove externals nice and cool too, which is great for my 2 yr old son that accidentally bumps into everything.

I don't think the stove is too old. Maybe 5 yrs..but i'm guessing.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I did this about a month ago. I still get a high temp alarm occasionally.....less so. So, I cheated the system a bit and installed a small 110V fan to keep the temp sensors cool. Now i can cruise on the 3rd setting without issue. Helps keep the stove externals nice and cool too, which is great for my 2 yr old son that accidentally bumps into everything.

I don't think the stove is too old. Maybe 5 yrs..but i'm guessing.

Sounds like you still need more cleaning and cooling just the heat sensors is a dangerous thing to do, they are all in one or more ways safeties.

 

[the cug]

sounds like an older one. there r 2 sensors at the top and bottom of the auger. u don't see the one at the top. they r the auto 250 snap disks. the newer models have only the one snap disk at the bottom of the auger. maybe that's why they took out the top snap disk on the newer models. I'm new at this but by the time I fix mine I should know what im talkin about. (probably not) mine has the h 1 code and it doesn't go away. its locked. so speaking to the techie he says it has to be the auto 250 being stuck. he told me to bypass it since I have the top one there or vice versa. stove is at camp so i'll let u know what happens. did u call drolet and tell them your situation?

 

[sportbikerider78]

I completely took the stove apart. There is nothing left to clean.

Life is all about calculated risk. I'll take this gamble any day of the week. It is performing perfectly and the externals are cooler then it would normally run, not hotter.

Driving to work was likely 1000x more dangerous.

 

[sportbikerider78]

sounds like an older one. there r 2 sensors at the top and bottom of the auger. u don't see the one at the top. they r the auto 250 snap disks. the newer models have only the one snap disk at the bottom of the auger. maybe that's why they took out the top snap disk on the newer models. I'm new at this but by the time I fix mine I should know what im talkin about. (probably not) mine has the h 1 code and it doesn't go away. its locked. so speaking to the techie he says it has to be the auto 250 being stuck. he told me to bypass it since I have the top one there or vice versa. stove is at camp so i'll let u know what happens. did u call drolet and tell them your situation?

Yes. I do have 2 of the snap disks. I must have an older one. I have reset them many times with same results. Which one is causing you issue?

How did he tell you to bypass it?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

In detail list what taking the stove apart entailed and what you did to clean the stove, you see we don't believe stories about I cleaned the stove only to discover on page 5 of a thread that they forgot about the the area behind the firebox half way between the two ash trap covers or didn't even get in between the tubes in the heat exchanger or between the exhaust blower cavity and the clean out tee and so on etc ...

As for taking a calculated risk I hope you also figured the risk to anyone else and gave them a chance to agree to it.

 

[sportbikerider78]

In detail list what taking the stove apart entailed and what you did to clean the stove, you see we don't believe stories about I cleaned the stove only to discover on page 5 of a thread that they forgot about the the area behind the firebox half way between the two ash trap covers or didn't even get in between the tubes in the heat exchanger or between the exhaust blower cavity and the clean out tee and so on etc ...

As for taking a calculated risk I hope you also figured the risk to anyone else and gave them a chance to agree to it.

I realize you don't know me and want to err on the side of caution. I'm the kinda guy that works on all of my cars, motorcycles, dirt bikes, and atvs as well as all home repairs. I drive, buy and sell all used vehicles and haven't been to a mechanic in 8 years. I'm also a mechanical engineer that manages machining, grinding, CNC and molding facilities.

Scrubbed all heat exchanger tubes. Brushed clean.
Removed all steel panels behind firebox. Cleaned all passageways.
Removed burn pot and cleaned underneath passageway from blower
Inspected main blower...it was not dirty.
Cleaned filter from both heat exchanger blowers.
Removed every single plate, screw and bolt that could be removed and cleaned the passageway under it.
Took off the insulated pipe and cleaned it. My 6" woodstove chimney is clear.

I would be very shocked if I missed anything.

Yes. Calculated risk. You could say that we are all taking calculated risks by having a live roaring fire in the middle of our living rooms. One could easily say that is just waiting for disaster. We all take calculated risks, unknowingly and deliberate.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Did you clean the room air side of the heat exchanger from the fans to the room exit?

Are all of the stove's shell ventilation slots or holes free of dust, cobwebs, or animal fur?

If there is a damper on that stove is the stove still set for proper firebox vacuum?

How tall is your 6" wood chimney and what is the EVL of your vent system from the stove to the top of that chimney?

What is the size of venting connecting the stove to the chimney?

Is that a round 6" flue or a square 6" on a side?

How many bags of pellets have you burned since the cleaning?

I don't really have to know you just what you did to clean the stove.

My goal is to find the problem and to hopefully correct any obvious errors.

 

[the cug]

u have it going to a 6 inch chimney?

 

[the cug]

so ure talking about the 2 automatic 250's right. not including the 250 manual. as for what he told me to do I written it down but too confusing. when I do it to mine ill let u know how I did it. he says if there is an issue its most likely the disc underneath the auger. im thinking mine is the upper but I didn't know it was there. u have to take out the hopper to work on it. also I remember someone writing about receiving a insulated blanket for inside. if that makes sense????

 

[papa bears stove]

I have also had this fault, all I have done to get rid of it was clean all the ash from under the pot, "I mean the floor, not the area where the igniter is." And get all of the ash that accumulates behind the pot cleaned out. Haven't had the fault since and I can't believe how much cleaner my glass has stayed. I believe by cleaning those two areas that I have much better air flow in the burn chamber.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Did you clean the room air side of the heat exchanger from the fans to the room exit?
Yes

Are all of the stove's shell ventilation slots or holes free of dust, cobwebs, or animal fur?
Yes

If there is a damper on that stove is the stove still set for proper firebox vacuum?
No damper. Only adjustment is on the blower that adjusts how much air is allowed to be taken in by the blower. Very crude but OEM and completely stock.

How tall is your 6" wood chimney and what is the EVL of your vent system from the stove to the top of that chimney?
I have very high ceilings. There are no bends at all and the 6" pipe did attached directly to the top of a wood stove. I have two, 45 bends, of insulated 3" piping from the pellet stove, that then goes to 3" - 6" funnel adapter. It is all sealed very tightly and no smoke comes out.
It is about 18' to the roof. And about 5' above the roof to the top of the chimney.

What is the size of venting connecting the stove to the chimney?
3" then 6"

Is that a round 6" flue or a square 6" on a side?
Round pipe, not insulated till it reaches the ceiling interface. I don't know the technical term for that.

How many bags of pellets have you burned since the cleaning?
About 20 by now.

My goal is to find the problem and to hopefully correct any obvious errors.

Good questions,,,I hope I answered them properly.

 

[sportbikerider78]

I have also had this fault, all I have done to get rid of it was clean all the ash from under the pot, "I mean the floor, not the area where the igniter is." And get all of the ash that accumulates behind the pot cleaned out. Haven't had the fault since and I can't believe how much cleaner my glass has stayed. I believe by cleaning those two areas that I have much better air flow in the burn chamber.

I did that. I clean below the burn pot every week.

 

[Lake Girl]

Have you done the Leaf Blower Trick?

 

[the cug]

I'd like to hear that trick again.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Sounds like the kinda trick that turns your carpet black.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Good questions,,,I hope I answered them properly.

Well let's us see what raises red flags.

1. That 3 to six inch adapter and the 23' feet of 6" venting will create a resistance for the combustion blower to overcome which can delay heat being dumped up the flue this alone if severe enough can cause a stove to high limit out. This is also equivalent of having a damper closed too much and resulting in a poor burn and additional cleaning being required. It will also cause more ash to be deposited closer to the burn pot the area just above the burn pot is where your heat exchanger is and ash being an excellence insulator if deposited there it will degrade the heat exchangers ability to provide heat for the convection blower to remove by dumping it into the room. Once again raising the temperature seen by the high limit system.

This makes your EVL 11.5 plus the 2 45degree elbows which makes it 16.5 which should call for 4" from beginning to the end in most vent tables and we haven't even considered any impacts of your location's altitude.

I would like to point out the reason for me asking if that was a 6" diameter round versus 6" on a side square. It is the difference in weight of 339.4 cubic inches of air and 432 cubic inches for each foot of vent length, most combustion blowers have trouble with a square flue of that size and can barely tolerate the smaller cross sectional area.

BTW, done correctly the leaf blower trick leaves all of the mess outside the house and nothing on the carpet but I digress.

We really were not kidding when we say 80% of all pellet stove issues are caused by a dirty stove.

The best investment you can make is taking the time to follow the air flow through your pellet stove, every turn, dip, and rise gives ash (your very worst enemy) a place to stay and really mess up the works.

 

[Lake Girl]

I'd like to hear that trick again.

There are videos on youtube - essentially use the vac portion of the leaf blower attached to outside end of venting, disconnect vac switch or leave door open. Fire away - beware big black cloud coming out the other port of the leaf blower. Would be wise to wear safety glasses/dust mask minimum.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Just don't do a geek, that will get the carpet black and the air blue.