Happy Thanksgiving to all, My stove had worked well for a year. Now it will start for 15 seconds and then just cuts off. Any ideas as to what I shoudl or could do to get this stove to burn? Thanks, Dan
EF3 Pellet Stove Starts for 15 seconds and then shuts down
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Here's the teck manual for that stove
http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/2004enviroTrouble.pdf
There are lots of possibilities but I would start at
the vac switch ,switch itself ,hose plugged ,hose nipple plugged ,
if the blowers are coming on
http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/2004enviroTrouble.pdf
There are lots of possibilities but I would start at
the vac switch ,switch itself ,hose plugged ,hose nipple plugged ,
if the blowers are coming on
Thanks for the feedback. OK,,,the blowers appear to come on for the 15 seconds prior to shutdown. Frankly, I haven't cleaned the stove since I got it and am in process of doing that top to bottom. I believe that my cleaning of the stove should eliminate the clogging if any exists. That leaves the vac switch. I see where it can be bypassed to see that the stove continues on its start up process. If it does then the sw is bad...that's next, Dan
Clean that stove first including the combustion blower and where it mounts.
While vacuum switches do fail it is very rare, more likely the tubing or the barb at the stove end gets plugged.
While vacuum switches do fail it is very rare, more likely the tubing or the barb at the stove end gets plugged.
A bad snap disc. The control board does a self test and shuts down of seething is not right. POF most likely but vacuum also Jumper them 1 at a time until you find the bad 1
NorEast
Member
This is from experience. If you haven't cleaned it yet , it has a lot of ash to be cleared. I have the EF2i and have to clean quite often. Be aware if you pull the combustion blower out you will need a gasket. You should be able to buy it from a dealer.
Go by the owner's manual for the cleaning before going by the tech manual because it tells yous exactly where to clean.
Go by the owner's manual for the cleaning before going by the tech manual because it tells yous exactly where to clean.
Thanks to all for the excellent advice. Getting a bit nipy here i the Nations Capitol so want to use the stove as much as possible. General concensus seems to be a good cleaning job first. Not sure what a POF is so f I can get a definition of that it would help. Back at it...will post results as they come available -Thanks again,
After a very good cleaning, the stove continues to turn on for the approx 15 seconds and then turns itself off. I believe I have eliminated the clogged stove issue. So I believe I am on to the second recommendation of jumpering the vacuum switch. Is it simply a matter of taking the 2 leads off the switch and connecting them therby taking the switch out of the equation? or do I need to go elsewhere to jumper the switch? thanks again for the help and Merry Christmas?
Here is the Service Technicians manual for Enviro Stoves.
http://www.enviro.com/images/manual...C-12145 Instruction PELLET Service Manual.pdf
It should help you out.
Good Luck,
---Nailer---
http://www.enviro.com/images/manual...C-12145 Instruction PELLET Service Manual.pdf
It should help you out.
Good Luck,
---Nailer---
If the stove is on for only 15 seconds from hitting the power on button then the vacuum switch hasn't been seen by the controller (combustion blower must start and spin up to speed for this to occur and the damper must be somewhat set and the hose between the vacuum switch must be clear and the barb at the stove end must be clear) it is not the POF if the stove actually lights a fire and then the stove goes out it may be the POF, however this is normally around the 15 minute mark from power on ).
OK. my apologies for what may appear to be a stupid question regarding the last reply,,,but my take away is that the vacuum switch is probably bad because the controller doesn't see it? The blower comes on, I blew out the vacuum hose going to the vacuum switch but don't know what the "barb at the stove end" is ??..bypassing the vacuum switch will drive the stove controller to progress and light a fire if nothing else is wrong...am I on the rite track?
You are on the right track
The barb is the metal piece the hose attaches to on the stove
poke it with a small wire to see if it is plugged and to clean it.
Make sure the combo blower works this is the one that pushes
the exhaust up the chimney not the one that pushes air into the room .
If you have dial a fire you can turn that off to listen for the combo blower
If the hose is good the barb at the stove is clear and you get a good fire with the
switch jumped then you need a switch
The barb is the metal piece the hose attaches to on the stove
poke it with a small wire to see if it is plugged and to clean it.
Make sure the combo blower works this is the one that pushes
the exhaust up the chimney not the one that pushes air into the room .
If you have dial a fire you can turn that off to listen for the combo blower
If the hose is good the barb at the stove is clear and you get a good fire with the
switch jumped then you need a switch
Got it. will take hose off the vacuum switch and poke it with a paper clip to clear out what might still be there. I will ensure that there is a breeze going out the back of the stove to where the chimney pipe would normally connect to, I will bypass the vacuum switch and try and start a fire. Will report back findings later-thanks again
Your take away is not correct. While vacuum switches do indeed go bad it is very rare, I was telling you some of what has to happen for the controller to see the vacuum switch.
There must be a clear path for the vacuum switch to sense the pressure difference inside the firebox this path is provided by the tube between the vacuum switch and the stove, there can not be any ash in that tubing nore where it attaches to the stove (the barb) both the tubing and the barbs are well known for getting crud in them this is the first place to look if the combustion blower is powering on and getting up to speed (provides the suckage that the vacuum switch wants to see). After this comes a crack in that tubing or loose connections for the tubing. When poking around never poke into the barb on the vacuum switch end of the tube. The easiest way to check the tube and barb is to disconnect the tube at the switch and blow into the tube towards the stove. The switch can be somewhat checked if your hearing is good or you have an ohm meter and you gently suck on a piece of tubing connected to the vacuum switch if your hearing is good you should here it click both when you suck on the tubing and when you stop sucking on the tube. An ohm meter connected to the terminal of the switch will visually show the connection making and breaking, be certain to disconnect the stoves connection to the switch when using an ohm meter. This however is not a definitive test for the vacuum switch.
Thats a clear path forward and I thank you for the clarity. will let u know what i find-thanks again, merry Christmas
NorEast
Member
Like Smokey said
My experience
Blowing out the vacuum hose to the switch makes things worse "jammed up my switch". I bought a new vacuum switch after testing for continuity on the switch. When I got the new switch, had to drill out and pry out the old one "stainless steel rivets". All that jiggling and dropping the switch unjammed the problem. Blow out the hose only to the barb on the combustion chamber never the switch. I have an extra switch if I ever need one.
Ok...I can see where the concern is for the blowing into the vacuum switch. I did say that in earlier post but what I meant was I took the hose end from the vacuum switch and blew into that end going to combustion chamber so I think I dodged a bullet there. Next step for me is to revisit the proper end of the vacuum hose and make sure I go a clean and clear path from chamber to the vacuum switch. will advise later.thanks again for the help.
My brothers Breckwell manual states Vacuum switches rarely go bad...his went. He used a jumper wire to fool the control board and it worked. Had to change the switch.
Yes and we have had far more folks replace their vacuum switches only to have the same problem with the new switch. It cost you only time to rule out the most common causes of vacuum issues.
Great link! You wouldn't happen to have a Service manual link for Quadra Fire or St. Croix would you"
I did manage to get the stove to work. I took the hose off the combustion chamber leading to the vacuum switch completely. I ran a soft bristle brush over the metal piece on the combustion chamber and put it all back together. It worked and continues to work. So it wasn't the vacuum switch but just a clogged opening at the hose end of the combustion chamber. Thanks to all for the great help,
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