Englander 55-SHP 10 - Keeps going out

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Michelle Weitknecht

New Member
Nov 17, 2012
7
Templeton, MA
Hello - currently the pellet stove is set at 6-4-1 and we run normally at 4/4 or drop down to 2/2. It will run for hours and then just go out. Sometime we wake up and there is a pot full of pallets in the burn pot and the stove has shut itself down or we there isn't one pellet in the pot. We have had this stove for 4 years and the end of last season and the begining of this year we have had alot of issues. We have replaced the auger motor 4 times since December 2011. I have no idea what is going on with this stove.
 
Michelle, first of all, welcome to the forum.

Please describe the last time the stove was taken apart & completely cleaned. Do not include just the weekly "opened the front door and vacuumed the ash out and cleaned the glass".

Also, please describe the exhaust set-up you have......how many feet of pipe, horizontal or vertical, number of 90 degree bends and/or 45 degree bends, etc.

Also a question....when you replaced the auger motor 4 times, did the new one immediately start working? Did you ever try putting 120v directly to the "old" motor to see if it really was "dead"?
 
The stove exhaust and chimney were brushed out few months ago, along with the burn pot removed and a thorough cleaning inside. the blower was cleaned and new gasket 2 seasons ago. and the regular ash cleaning daily. both augers were removed and cleaned out.
The exhaust pipe is a 4ft flex with a bit less than a 90deg bend. the auger motors seem to be working fine..bottom one constantly turning and top one in intervals.
the issue is it will burn good and then we notice after an hr or so the flame gets really low and we notice the pellets stopped dropping. then we`ll see some drop just in time to re-ignight...then go to sleep and wake to see the stove out with a pot full of raw pellets..assuming that the pellets stopped dropping sometime in the night and didnt get any in time to re-ignight. then it dropped some when the flame was already out. i did notice the top auger hex screws near the bearing were loose so i tightened them but still same issue. was thinking of swapping top and bottom motors, not sure if that even matters?
 
I take it this stove is being vented into a chimney how many tons have been burned since you cleaned the combustion blower? Have you cleaned the exhaust passages from the firebox to the combustion blower?
 
Check to see what mode the stove is in. Could be pellet feed is not high enough to maintain fire. Any error codes when fire goes out??
 
@TLHinCanada - what mode depends on model year right ? My stove is circa 2006 and has no 'mode'.
@Michelle so the stove is a 2008 model ? Is that the date stamp ?
Circuit boards varied throughout the model years so that's why I'm asking.
What brand pellet are you using ? Have you tried switching ?
Just a note - I have the same stove - sometimes pellets will run low in the hopper - and stick to the sides without filling top auger - burn pot loses fire - then a vibration or someone walking by will cause the remaining pellets to drop - where the two augers are still operating - then cause pellets to fill the burn pot unfilled. Sounds like you may have a different problem but just wanted to mention it.
 
It can affect the pellet feed because it makes a mess out of the stoves vacuum and the vacuum sensor can prevent the auger from turning regularly as it has to for the feed to be steady.

The stove needs a really good cleaning after 1 ton let alone 5 tons.
 
Have you changed the brand of pellets this year? I was wondering if if the pellets are longer than usual and are causing a pellet "bridge" in the hopper that stops enough pellets from dropping sometimes.
 
It can affect the pellet feed because it makes a mess out of the stoves vacuum and the vacuum sensor can prevent the auger from turning regularly as it has to for the feed to be steady.

The stove needs a really good cleaning after 1 ton let alone 5 tons.


good to know, i will give it a thourough cleaning tomorrow and let you know how it runs! thanks for the help!
 
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