EF3 green light stays on, not enogh combustion air

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G

GregorStove

New Member
Dec 12, 2017
18
Canada
Hi,
I bought a used EF3 to heat our garage. It builds up lot of ashes in that little firebox.
I do have the impression that there is not enough combustion air.
And now the Stove wont start a fire. The green light stays on and the auger does not turn.
I had wood stoves before but never a Pellet Stove. I guess I need some help with that.
 
Hi,
I did clean up the stove with the vacuum. I cleaned behind those little round plates too. The vacuum hose is clean and the nipples are open.
This morning I started the stove. The green light was on solid. Then I opened and closed the damper a few times and the auger did start working then, After a few minutes the light came on solid again and the auger stopped working. I did the same thing again with the damper and it worked again. What else can I check or clean? The chimney goes trough the wall and then 5 feet up. It is a new Selkirk chimney. Combustion air is drawn from outside over a 2 inch copper pipe to the stove. Before had a problem with the dial a fire potentiometer. There was a loose contact. Then there was no light at all and the auger wouldn't work. I was able to fix that. Now it shows the right ohms.
 
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Leave the damper wide open. Start the stove and leave it alone. When the light goes solid the convection fan should turn on. Does it? Set it on setting high and just let it run. Tell me what it does exactly.
 
I think the stove needs a bit of TLC. Are there instructions out how and what to take apart for a proper cleaning.
Not just for a regular clean up. It is a used stove and I had it running only a few times.
How to clean the air intake and exhaust from inside the stove?
 
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Yes. It's on the combustion blower housing. Take off the two wires and connect them. I use 10 gauge wire. Take a short piece and strip off a half in on both ends. I posted a link to the manual for cleaning.
 
I am interested in what you find and have to repair/replace
as I have never seen an Envrio dial a fire have the green light stay On
Please post your results
John
 
Hi,
Like I said, it is a used Stove. I guess it had build up ash inside
I did a clean up with the leaf blower. That worked good.
Since then the Stove works o.k.
But still to much ash.
The damper is wide open.
And I am still not sure if the Draft is O.K
Any recommendations on good Wood Pellets in Canada?
Cheers to the Weekend
Gregor
 
We would need to know where in Canada EH
Big place EH
Yes I am being sarcastic from sea to shining sea
 
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We do live in northern New Brunswick. And we do have a few of those chilly days, -30C.
Now it is -18C with wind-chill -28. So it is nice to have a bit of heat.
 
The problem with the green light is still there. Not as often after cleaning but still shows up after start up.
To jumper the low limit switch does not help.
When the green light stays solid the auger will not turn.
 
Something is not working right. On the EF3, the green light comes on accordingly with the auger moving, then goes off between on and off cycles of the auger. Its also strange that moving the air damper out and in would make the auger work, because when you are moving the air damper in and out, you are changing the vacuum within the stove, (thereby affecting the vac switch opening and closing) which has to do with airflow through the stove. On the EF3, the exhaust blower runs at full speed all the time and the air damper is adjusted for the proper vacuum within. I'd still think the stove has an airflow issue Did you remove the exhaust blower and clean it, the chimney piping, the inner metal bricks and clean well behind them into the exhaust passages? It sounds like one of the timer blocks is not working correctly, for the problem of the green light not working in unison with the auger moving. I've always ran my EF3 at 12 oclock on the feed and convex fan, this corresponds to about a 3-4 sec feed on cycle and about 6-7 secs off cycle. Don't know why you would have a solid green light. This is an EF3 not an EF2 right? The EF2 green light comes on to let you go to auto operation of the stove, but it looks a lot like the ef3. Let us know if and what fixes that problem..... good luck.
 
O.K I am sure now that the solid green light is a sign of -not enough vacuum-
When I open the glass door while the stove is operating the green light comes on and the auger stops working.
That make sense to me.
When the green light comes solid while the stove is working and the door is closed, it is a indicator that there is not enough
vacuum in the fire room.
I did clean the stove so there may be a problem with the vacuum switch, the seal from the door or the exhaust blower.
I think the seal of the door is not perfect or the exhaust blower is weak. Any other ways to test the vacuum?
In the old day we did that with a U-pipe manometer. I guess I have to find those information's again.
 
GregorStove said:
O.K I am sure now that the solid green light is a sign of -not enough vacuum-
When I open the glass door while the stove is operating the green light comes on and the auger stops working.
That make sense to me.
When the green light comes solid while the stove is working and the door is closed, it is a indicator that there is not enough
vacuum in the fire room.
I did clean the stove so there may be a problem with the vacuum switch, the seal from the door or the exhaust blower.
I think the seal of the door is not perfect or the exhaust blower is weak. Any other ways to test the vacuum?
In the old day we did that with a U-pipe manometer. I guess I have to find those information's again.
Click to expand...
Most tech's will use a magnahelic gauge,but you might be able to do it with a u pipe,if accurate enough.
 
I am absolutely telling you the green light has nothing to do with vacuum. The green light on my EF3 since day one only comes on when the auger is turning, I believe one of the timing blocks in yours is not working properly. One block (the blue blocks are internal counters) controls the auger timing, the other I believe is the timing for the ignitor, but not certain. Vacuum is always dependent on air flow through the stove, if your exh blower is working like it should. It runs at a constant speed for the EF3, regardless of dial a fire feed rate. The problem is I've worked on very few EF2/EF3 problems. I think I would lean toward the auger timing and its circuitry. Good luck, please let us know what it is.....
 
After looking at the electronics, the auger light is controlled by the auger timing block. Since the problem seems to be in the auger circuit (if exh blower, and dial a fire is working correctly), I'd think the timer block for the auger is the culprit. I've never had to replace a timer block tho....
 
I did try this, this morning and after I bypassed the vacuum switch the green light went from solid to go only on when the auger moves!
The stove runs then!
 
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