Enviro Control Boards

[smwilliamson]

Don and I were going back an forth on a Maxx thread about Enviro Control boards. He said that there was a reported bug in the boards, this is halfway true. There were issues with early versions of Enviro boards. Not all but some. To identify those boards the TSTAT operation selector was a jumper on the back of the board. Newer replacement versions will have the TSTAT selector on the face.

Depending upon your model and year, the newer board retrofit may or may not work out. Some models like the Milan, EF5, Windsor and Empress has cut outs on the stove body or surround for the board to mount to and there is no room for the selector switch to poke through. There are 11 boards in total that were ever used, here is the list and what is needed to upgrade.

Ultimately the #50-2164 board has everything you need and can be used with all of the stoves except the Milan FPI and M55 insert. If the board will fit in yer older stove, this board needs to be programmed, instructions are provided.

I'm not 100% in this but this is the info I have been going on for some time, corrections are welcome.

http://www.enviro.com/tech-notes/1284143917-Circuit board info sheet May 2010.pdf

 

[Don2222]

Don and I were going back an forth on a Maxx thread about Enviro Control boards. He said that there was a reported bug in the boards, this is halfway true. There were issues with early versions of Enviro boards. Not all but some. To identify those boards the TSTAT operation selector was a jumper on the back of the board. Newer replacement versions will have the TSTAT selector on the face.

Depending upon your model and year, the newer board retrofit may or may not work out. Some models like the Milan, EF5, Windsor and Empress has cut outs on the stove body or surround for the board to mount to and there is no room for the selector switch to poke through. There are 11 boards in total that were ever used, here is the list and what is needed to upgrade.

Ultimately the #50-2164 board has everything you need and can be used with all of the stoves except the Milan FPI and M55 insert. If the board will fit in yer older stove, this board needs to be programmed, instructions are provided.

I'm not 100% in this but this is the info I have been going on for some time, corrections are welcome.

http://www.enviro.com/tech-notes/1284143917-Circuit board info sheet May 2010.pdf

There is one comment I would like to make here. Being a software developer in the past for many years, I have seen and made many changes to solve problems with coding changes. These coding changes included fixes to problems incurred when using the device out in the field. There always seemed to be many types of different environments and usages not tested for in the development test lab. Additional changes were also made for feature enhancements and more functionality. In my experience so far I have found it NOT uncommon for these pellet stove digital boards to have new changes in their software programming. I know Harman and Pelpro Accutron boards have most certainly had some updates to their control boards as we call them. Most manufacturers do not like to talk about fixes too much and may not even know to the extent of what has been changed in the algorithms. I know Harman had some issues with their control board programming on the manual stoves not being able to turn off when moving the knob to off!

So to get as much info as possible on this issue, we need to contact Sherwood Industries to see what they have to say.
Jory Eling is the support guy. He is very knowledgeable.
His number is 250-652-6080 and they are on Pacific Standard Time.

 

[smwilliamson]

Yea

There is one comment I would like to make here. Being a software developer in the past for many years, I have seen and made many changes to solve problems with coding changes. These coding changes included fixes to problems incurred when using the device out in the field. There always seemed to be many types of different environments and usages not tested for in the development test lab. Additional changes were also made for feature enhancements and more functionality. In my experience so far I have found it NOT uncommon for these pellet stove digital boards to have new changes in their software programming. I know Harman and Pelpro Accutron boards have most certainly had some updates to their control boards as we call them. Most manufacturers do not like to talk about fixes too much and may not even know to the extent of what has been changed in the algorithms. I know Harman had some issues with their control board programming on the manual stoves not being able to turn off when moving the knob to off!

So to get as much info as possible on this issue, we need to contact Sherwood Industries to see what they have to say.
Jory Eling is the support guy. He is very knowledgeable.
His number is 250-652-6080 Ext 276 and they are on Pacific Standard Time.

Yeah, I'm not sure Jory wants his extension out there, I would ask him before you publish it for everyone. Maybe retract that. Call him yourself and tell us of your findings.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I just got off the phone with Jory
In March 2009 there was an updated control panel 50-1929
Two major issues
1. Make the board more adaptable to fit different model stoves.
2. Make the trim pots be incremental for more range as opposed to the small range of the older board.
There could be other fixes but those 2 were the major changes.

The older board was component code before March 2009
Designated
C-11302

The newer board that has the new component code
Designated
C-11652

However some of the new boards were not stamped with C-11652 and they do have the latest code.

Therefore
My Stove made Aug 2008 would benefit by a new control panel.

The Omegas probably would also.

 

[nailed_nailer]

EEEK

Who knew.........

Sausage...Legislation.....and now Pellet Stove Manufacturing Upgrades.

Three things you like/need but don't want to see made.

---Nailer---

 

[Don2222]

EEEK

Who knew.........

Sausage...Legislation.....and now Pellet Stove Manufacturing Upgrades.

Three things you like/need but don't want to see made.

---Nailer---

That is why I got 2 new style doors for my Harmans. Just 2 $200 upgrades! The new doors have the upgraded CAM latch that works better than the old style paw latch. To fit them on you have to cut the sheet metal in the body of the stove so the new round latch will close!

Now they look like the new P61a Harmans. However they both have the much heavier cast iron fines box cover. The Best of the Best! ! ! LOL

 

[stovelark]

Hi all, very common for mfrs to make running changes in software (and hardware) and not necessarily tell anyone. If they are good at logistics, they track each software labeling by the units serial no. They also almost always put disclaimers that they can and will change things at their choosing. Being In retail, sometimes you see this change first n a customer's house or when an issue happens. My favorite woodstove, the Jotul Oslo F500 did this to me once and a customer gave me a little comeuppance. I thought I was a SME (subject matter expert) on that stove, but did not notice an ashlip for the side loading door being a separate piece that was bolted on. (The original design and the one we had on our showroom was the original single ashlip molded into the baseplate of the stove as one part) I was on the phone for a half hour emphatically trying to tell a customer that it wasn't a bolt on piece, that it may have been broken off in shipment or delivery. Finally, going look at the latest units received in the warehouse, woe and behold, you know what I found. I called the customer back, apologized and made it a point to not think I knew it all from that point. We as technicians need to realize (and as we get older, I think most of us do) we just don't know all about everything. PS I did call Jotul and got the SN that the ashlip change was made, and reviewed the tech memo Jotul did send out to its dealers. Sorry so long-winded. I still like Enviro (and old Whitfield Adv 2T) stoves......

 

[smwilliamson]

Yeah, changes are made from time to time; to Don... Just cause they made a change doesn't mean it's an upgrade and it also doesn't mean it better... Just a change the dealer decided to make. Usually these changes add some benefit but the benefit may only be slight of for a situation you may never encounter, depends how you run your stove and the pellets you use etc...

 

[Don2222]

Yeah, changes are made from time to time; to Don... Just cause they made a change doesn't mean it's an upgrade and it also doesn't mean it better... Just a change the dealer decided to make. Usually these changes add some benefit but the benefit may only be slight of for a situation you may never encounter, depends how you run your stove and the pellets you use etc...

Dealers and stove Manufacturers usually do not make coding fixes to algorithms in the micro code and burn them in! When this is done the boards have to be labeled with the new Rev when the boards are built! These types of changes have to be done and tested very carefully by the control board manufacturer. Since the process is so long and drawn out they do all the changes and fixes they have listed at once very carefully! It is a very expensive process too, so the software rev update is not done unless it really does help alot!

 

[smwilliamson]

I meant manufacturer....they may make changes and the may study study study but they can't replicate every scenario. St Croix recently upgraded their boards to go in to a 6 minute feed delay once an hour to help clean the burn pot and prevent feed chute fires....problem being, if you are burning softies, yer fire may be out by the time he feed resumes. That board was an upgrade.