Enviro EF-III Bay i

[Judah]

Hi guys,

Hope someone can help me out here. My pellet stove is almost 2 years old and I've encountered a problem with it. The scraper for the heat exchange tubes is stuck. My husband has been doing all he can to free it but no luck so far. We find out that apparently this seems to be a common problem for alot of Enviro pellet stove owners. So, just wondering if there's any pellet stove owners here and if so, are you familiar with this problem and if so what solutions could you offer me...please & thank-you?

 

[Shane]

What kind of build up is on the tubes? Is it creosote or fly ash? Get an old hacksaw blade and start scraping the tubes. If you've ever pulled the rod while the stove was hot you may have warped the plate. In which case you're probably not going to get it to move ever again. I've seen plenty of scraper plates that are stuck and I've got them moving again. It takes alot of cleaning and pulling. I wouldn't say the "problem" is related strictly to Enviro stoves either. I've seen stuck scraper rods on every stove that has one incorporated into it's design. Quite honestly the usual cause of the problem is operating the scraper while the stove is hot, or not operating the scraper at all for extended periods of time allowing too much fly ash to accumulate. The worst one that I've ever seen was from an extremely dirty stove, with the air turned all the way down. This thing actually had 3rd degree creosote all over the exchanger and scraper. I took a propane torch and metal wire brush to it. 4 hours later it moved like it was brand new. (It happened to be an Enviro EFII)

 

[Judah]

Hi Shane,

Thanks for your reply. My husband scraped the tubes and it's still stuck solid. I did at one time last year pull the rod out and in while the stove was burning at the suggestion of the sales rep who hooked up & mantains the stoves. It worked fine for a year after that so that shouldn't be the problem or could it be? Would it do any good or hurt anything by spraying some lubricant on the plate?

 

[Judah]

P.S. It was a slight creosote buildup.

 

[Judah]

Bump!

 

[Judah]

Well hubby worked on it again yesterday, for hours, and it's still stuck there. He scraped it with hacksaw blade, sprayed it with lubricant and even left the top ash pan out and turned the heat up full blast to try and bake the creosote off, I think that's the reason. *LOL* He spoke to the service guy and these were all recommendations of his. Apparently he has been making some housecalls and prying this same thing loose from other stoves. He said that one time he had 2 people sit on top of the stove while he yanked on it to free its hold. Unbelievable! I wish I had known beforehand how important it was to pull the rod in and out everyday to prevent this from happening. Any other suggestions or help here would be so greatly appreciated guys. Thanks.