Enviro Empress won't start/light-Need help/suggestions

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The Coopers

The Coopers

Member
Aug 13, 2013
71
Dover, PA
Hello everyone!

I hope some of you have few suggestions and can provide feedback.

We tried firing up the stove over the weekend. Augur works. Pellets are being dropped. Igniter is bright orange (replaced last season, by the way). See few sparks and at one point small flame but then nothing. We tried numerous times with same results.
Took the stove apart and gave it another cleaning . (we cleaned the stove after we were done burning last season) Vents are clean and clear. Husband tested fuses and all work. Combustion blower comes on and works. Is there anything else we can try? I did search the forum on here for Empress troubleshooting and tried the few suggestions but (blocked vent, combustion blower, etc) but nothing worked. Any suggestions/tips would be greatly appreciated. Pellet stove is not our main source of heat. The stove is installed in our basement in the family room that gets frequently used over the winter.
Thank you.
 
Did you put in a fresh sealed bag of pellets or were they in the stove all summer
Is your burn pot in the right way ( big lip toward the front) Combustion fan running?
 
johneh said:
Did you put in a fresh sealed bag of pellets or were they in the stove all summer
Is your burn pot in the right way ( big lip toward the front) Combustion fan running?
Click to expand...

Actually, pellets from last season as the hopper was all but full when we stopped burning.
My husband, did however, put some fresh pellets in the burn pot thinking maybe old pellets were the issue.
The burn pot is in the right way. Combustion fan running.
 
Have you tried to manually light the stove to see if everything else works?
 
If you hit start and pellets feed check to make sure igniter working
should lite pellets within 5 to 10 min with cold start
Pellets should drop and combustion fan on ignitor getting hot (red)
draft adjustment rod pulled out about 1/4 of the way all things being equal should light
If pellets damp from summer may have to hit start twice
 
johneh said:
If you hit start and pellets feed check to make sure igniter working
should lite pellets within 5 to 10 min with cold start
Pellets should drop and combustion fan on ignitor getting hot (red)
draft adjustment rod pulled out about 1/4 of the way all things being equal should light
If pellets damp from summer may have to hit start twice
Click to expand...
Tried it multiple times. Even added new batch of pellets to burn pot with no luck.
 
I would double check the vent pipe. We have had a couple bird nests already this burn season.
 
If you have an OAC check for blockage as SSYKO said birds nest wasp nest
or another critter
 
Husband was checking the motherboard out. He was trying to find supply voltage for the igniter. Does anyone know what the voltage should be coming off the board? His reading was very low and he is wondering if the board is going bad.
 
Did you manually light it and see if everything else is working like John suggested? If the igniter is glowing red that’s most likely not the problem either. Are you able to take a draft reading? If not open the draft all the way when you start it. Us Enviro guys only get a repair thread every second blue moon so we’re a little excited.
 
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If it can be lubricated with some 3in1 oil, you may get it freed up. if not then yes its time to replace it.
 
Ssyko said:
If it can be lubricated with some 3in1 oil, you may get it freed up. if not then yes its time to replace it.
Click to expand...
He can move it by hand and it doesn’t appear to be stuck so he thinks it’s shot.

I do have another question. Can a bad fan cause start up problems? I was always under the impression the fan starts up after the fire has Been established and stove is out of tie start up mode.
 
The Coopers said:
He can move it by hand and it doesn’t appear to be stuck so he thinks it’s shot.

I do have another question. Can a bad fan cause start up problems? I was always under the impression the fan starts up after the fire has Been established and stove is out of tie start up mode.
Click to expand...
The convection fan wouldn’t cause start issues.
 
Wanted to provide an update. Husband replaced the fan and ignitor and stove fired up immediately. We didn’t think ignitor was the issue since we replaced it in 2017.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
 
And I am back!
Stove worked perfectly fine up until i cleaned it. I tried turning it on and even though ignitor is burning orange, it wouldn’t kick on. After few attempts, it kicked on. Combustion fan wouldn’t spin, again. Upon shut down, combustion fan kicked on. I think husband is getting fed up with the stove. Is there anything else we can try?
 
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