Drolet Eco-45 Pellet Stove Electrical Issues

[adk.buttons]

I have an electrical issue with my Pellet Stove (made by Drolet- Model Eco-45). I have owned my stove for three years, clean it thoroughly, and regularly. Recently, I deep cleaned my stove and replaced the combustion/exhaust blower gasket (my annual routine). Upon refilling and restarting my stove, the start-up process began and soon a fire started in the burn pot, when the convection blower flipped on, I heard a "pop" and saw a flash and my stove shut down. After the fire burned out and my stove cooled, I unplugged the stove and opened my control panel box located on the inside wall of the stove. One (7.5A 250V) of the "2" fuses was blown. I grabbed another fuse, replaced it gently (without touching the control panel for fear of static electricity discharge). I then plugged my stove back in to a grounded outlet and it immediately blew the fuse again. It's the same fuse each time. The other fuse is intact and has not blown. Has anyone heard of this before? I'm stuck.... I don't know what to try next. Have I blown my control panel? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[velotocht]

ADK:
Do you have wiring diagrams for your stove? You need to figure out what load that fuse supports. Allthough the fuse is labeled 250V it likely supporting a 120V load. (Your stove is only 12VAC, correct). At 7.5 amps, I am guessing the load is either the combustion blower or the circulation fan. The fuse blowing is probably a good sign - as the fuse has done its job in protecting the other parts of the circuit (the motor, the wires and, hopefully, the control board).

Without further details, I would guess either the combustion bower has shorted internally - or there is a pinched or shorted wire some place in the circuit.

Once you find out what load the fuse supports, look for some labels on the motor. It is probably a 120 VAC fan motor. If so, you can unwire the fan from the stove and hook up a 'cheater cord' to allow you to plug the motor directly into the AC outlet. If you do this and the motor runs fine there is nothing wrong with the motor. Then you need to look for a piched wire in the stove - probably shorted to ground some place. That is likely, as this would also explain the 'flash' you saw. Now, if you plug the motor directly into the AC outlet and it pops the breaker in your fuse box (use a 15 amp circuit) then the motor is shorted internally.

Good luck. Let us know what you find.

PS: When you test the motor on the 120 VAC outlet, make sure you use a 3 wire cheater plug -- and ground the motor housing!

RonB

 

[pete324rocket]

Yes all the things Velo said. Make sure the convection is running free. I just had mine out two days ago because of a grinding whine at startup. If it is really necessary,I may offer to take the fuse out of my eco-45 to see exactly what dies,if that will help. You should resign yourself to retracing the previous steps when cleaning. Its gotta be there somewhere.

 

[heat seeker]

Pinched wire. A fuse blowing that violently indicates a dead short. Assure that all electrical connections were returned to the proper places.