Englander/SummersHeat 55-SHSSP01 recall/fix

[JoeShmo]

I got a call today from Englander about the SmartStove 55-SHSSP01, and a potential issue where smoke builds up in the chamber, and the stove fails to light, yet still under the safely ignition timeout, then suddenly it ignites with a bang.
They are sending me a new burn pot and igniter. Although I personally have not had any issues yet, I've only had it for a few months, and due to a mild winter here, have not even put a ton of pellets through it. The slight smoke before the fire on mine clears quickly, as the exhaust fan is running during that time.

Anyway, just a heads up to anyone who has this stove, and have not yet registered with Englander yet (Its a new model). Might want to get in touch with them.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

guess its time I weigh in on this.

we have initiated a voluntary "recall to repair" for this model stove. there have been some incidents where when the unit was not cleaned properly or frequently enough that have caused the unit to start aggressively, pushing smoke out past the door gasket and in a very few extreme cases caused the glass to crack. we have worked some pretty long hours diagnosing and finding a solution to this issue. I have personally been deeply involved in this process of developing this updated igniter system and burn pot and am quite satisfied that this update will literally make it next to impossible for this issue to happen in an updated stove provided the unit is maintained to the standard listed in the operators guide.

as for the OP's post im happy that he has made this post, and I agree that if your unit has not been registered to please contact ESW so we may get this repair kit shipped out asap. I am including a link on our website with more information as well as a quick and easy way to get in touch with us so we may get this kit out to you. I should also include that the only model affected by this is the 25-SSP01 "Smartstove" pellet unit. no other ESW units are affected.

Contact us using the following methods

1. click on this link to do so via our web support (broken link removed to http://www.heatredefined.com/notice/) this is a direct link or you can visit our home page at www.heatredefined.com and click on the "notice" block on the home page

2.send me a PM on this site (hearth.com) as I am monitoring this forum and will see the PM pop up in my box and will respond as quickly as I see the notice.

also, feel free to contact me via PM if you have registered your stove and have not yet been contacted by my Customer Service staff. I will then make sure a representative will be in contact you as quickly as possible. or if you have questions in general about this issue. We at England's have worked diligently over the years to ensure that our customers are provided quality products and superior support. we fully intend to continue this tradition.

Mike Holton
Senior Technician
England's Stove Works Inc.

 

[bogieb]

Good of you guys to get behind this so quickly!

 

[Lake Girl]

only had it for a few months

Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[BUBIBEAR]

Thank you ESW , FOR GREAT SERVICE AND CARING. That's the reason I have three of their stoves running in our home . As I said before ,I beleve in building things by using the KISS METHOD . { KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID .} Great stoves lots of heat and comfort for myself and family over many years.Plus made in USA . Great techs.

 

[Myoutdoors88]

You guys have been absolutely great to work withwhen it comes to customer service...top notch. I just installed the new igniter and burn pot. It has eliminated the "aggressive " start up completely. My only wish was that you would have added another 1/4-1/2" additional lip to the front center edge to prevent the excessive loss of pellets while its gravity feeding.

 

[richtb2]

I have the SSP01 as well, and had to call ESW about an issue when I initially tried to run the stove through it's test run. They were awesome, even called me back (may have even been Mike from above that called) right away after the first tech escalated the issue. They sent me the igniter & burn pot replacements right away too, even though that wasn't the issue I had called about. It was an easy replacement.

Recently had an issue with the door gasket so I emailed them this time. They went right ahead and sent me a replacement! This is my first stove, and very glad I bought an ESW one.

With the new gasket installed (which is a much tighter seal than before) I have way more ash around the burn pot, and the glass is getting coated with a tacky white covering that I need to use a wet paper towel to remove. Used to get some black soot that would come off with a dry towel, and not a lot of ash. If anyone has any suggestions it would be appreciated. I clean out the burn pot & area every day, and vacuum the hopper and the stove (including behind the baffles) every weekend. Installed the OAK that came with it as well.

 

[JoeShmo]

I've always had that issue with the glass being coated with the tacky white soot. After running for about 24hrs, I can no longer see the flame, just a glow there, and the ash has built up about an inch up the front of the glass. So I do a cleaning around that time (or earlier if its warm enough to shut it down for a few hours). Guessing the problem is the somewhat shallow burn chamber compared to some of the other stoves I've seen. But yeah, ash all over the place in there that needs to be cleaned up. Not sure if its a pellet quality problem or thats just how it is. I'm burning the cheat river pellets. I might try something else next year.
All in all, it's been a good stove, no real complaints. And it's the first pellet stove I've ever owned.

 

[Lake Girl]

Better to have ash than black soot With black soot, you are just a step away from creosote formation! Glad to hear England Stove Works is looking after you!

 

[stoveguy2esw]

With the new gasket installed (which is a much tighter seal than before) I have way more ash around the burn pot,

what's happening is the ash that is not blowing around in the stove with the updated pot is ash that predominantly collect in the bottom of the pot which resulted in a richer A/F mix and soot on the glass. the cleaner whitish ash is the result of a hot fire with good A/F mix and a complete burn which is far and away the lesser of 2 evils. the better seal on the door gasket is probably contributing quite a bit to this along with the new pot.