Enviro M55 Cast FS flame Pattern

[Keith M.]

So I just had my M55 Cast FS installed and I am certain it is not performing properly and have called my dealer/ installer for service. This video reflects the burn pattern on level 3 with factory defaults of feed 3 and Combustion 3 after approximately 1.5 hours of burn time. This is the most active flame I have had. Most of the time, the flame does not even extend above the burn pot. Upon initial startup there is more flame but as the initial pellets burn out the flame level drops significantly. I adjusted the feed trim up and it helps but not enough. Not to mention, if I am already starting at max trim of 5, there is no place left to go. I imagine this is not the way it should be performing. Any input? Thanks
Keith

 

[jtakeman]

I don't see the pellet brand listed. What brand you burning? It does matter as some pellets just don't feed enough in(size density thing). You may need to adjust the plate over the auger tube to allow more fuel in. I would mark the plate before you move it. Just in case you burn one of the brands that do feed more volume in.

Brands that produced the best flame in my Omega(same engine) was Hamer Hot ones. Many other of the top shelf stuff also produce consitent flames! Barefoots, Lignetics, Somersets just to name a few.

Penningtons, Green Supremes and Inferno's are probably the worst IMHO.

 

[Millsk]

Agreed that the pellet brand would help. How's the heat out put?

That looks like level 2 on my stove burning fire side. Level 3 has more flames. I would think cheap pellets my be the issue. Also I suspect that too much air may also give these results.

 

[DexterDay]

Dont own an M-55. But was it set with a Mag when installed?

I agree with both posts above. It could be the pellets. Some pellets produce a smaller flame (long pellet/poor fiber). It could be the air? To much air, will cause a flame to be smaller. To little air, creates a tall, lazy flame.

With a multi fuel unit, the air can be slowed considerably. The agitator allows for a lazier burn than a standard top feed will allow.

What brand of pellet are you burnin??

 

[flynfrfun]

X2 on the adjustable auger cover plate! With the new blower it's not even necessary IMHO. Since he has the FS, he can open the hopper and see if the auger cover plate is all the way down towards the bottom of the hopper. Report back what you see Keith. If it's down, you can loosen the screws and slide it all the way up. It will allow more pellets to feed.

 

[Keith M.]

Currently using the HD specials. Stove Chow... The Heat output was low. I could open the door panels with bare hands. Sadly I did not right down the temps that I measured from the heat exchangers yesterday.

I found this for a comparison.
http://woodpelletreviews.com/reviews/pellet-stoves/enviro-m55-multi-fuel-stove.html

The level 3 burn in that video is a fair approximation of what I am seeing at level 5.
Here is a vid from yesterdays burn at the same specs 3/3/3. This was after 1 hour of burn time. These are the same batch of pellets. There were no changes in any adjustments, and this burn was far less energetic. You can see that the feed rate here is less than in the prior video, but since there were no changes made to any settings, I would question why the feed rate is not very consistent. If I decide to not wait for the service people to come, which is probably at least 2 weeks, can anyone estimate approximately how many pellets I would be shooting for in each feed? Anyone know where I could find any technical drawings for the adjustments I would need to make. Thanks!!

 

[kykel]

I just put a bag of timber heat in and the flame is much higher than when I was burning the green supremes. What brand are you burning?

 

[Keith M.]

Well sadly, the installer did not test the unit. They installed it and left, so I don't know if the Vacuum is correct

 

[kykel]

Currently using the HD specials. Stove Chow... The Heat output was low. I could open the door panels with bare hands. Sadly I did not right down the temps that I measured from the heat exchangers yesterday.

I found this for a comparison.
http://woodpelletreviews.com/reviews/pellet-stoves/enviro-m55-multi-fuel-stove.html

The level 3 burn in that video is a fair approximation of what I am seeing at level 5.
Here is a vid from yesterdays burn at the same specs 3/3/3. This was after 1 hour of burn time. These are the same batch of pellets. There were no changes in any adjustments, and this burn was far less energetic. You can see that the feed rate here is less than in the prior video, but since there were no changes made to any settings, I would question why the feed rate is not very consistent. If I decide to not wait for the service people to come, which is probably at least 2 weeks, can anyone estimate approximately how many pellets I would be shooting for in each feed? Anyone know where I could find any technical drawings for the adjustments I would need to make. Thanks!!

I dont see many pellets falling in the video. If this is what your stove looks like I would open up the auger plate to allow more pellets to load. The flames rise above the burn pot on level 1 on my stove.

 

[DexterDay]

Well sadly, the installer did not test the unit. They installed it and left, so I don't know if the Vacuum is correct

Stove needs set with a Mag....

Again, I dont own this model of stove. But of I did, I would have it set to the manual specs.

I would call the installer/dealer and ask them to do it? This is something that NEEDS done. And should have been done already.

Till then, follow the advice of those that have posted. Kykel, Flyn, and Jay are all well versed in Enviro.

 

[Keith M.]

Opened the auger plate 1 position and it made a huge difference. May open it just a touch more. Thanks for the great info All.
Regards,
Keith

 

[Brokenwing]

Keith I have the same stove just the regency model. Glad that it worked for you. I was going to say your not gettiing enough pellets fed. On start up mine has a continous drop of pellets. Glad it worked out for you.

 

[jtakeman]

Glad that worked for ya! I'd still have the installer come back and set the draft with a mag.

By the way, Welcome to the group. Enjoy the new toy!

 

[BradH70]

Opened the auger plate 1 position and it made a huge difference. May open it just a touch more. Thanks for the great info All.
Regards,
Keith

That is good news, however, you should still have the vacuum level checked. You may end up burning more pellets then necessary by opening up the auger plate. In my opinion, from the first video you attached, the mag level was way too low, meaning you do NOT have enough air flow and that damper needs to opened a bit.

Did you try adjusting the damper before opening up the auger plate?

 

[corkman]

hi Keith.i have the vistaflame vf55 which is pretty much the same stove.i am having similar issues as you.ive been burning green team and trebio pellets and my flame pattern is pretty much the same as what i see in your video.i think the auger tube cover is set for a smaller pellet(okies,hamers,somersets)which will deliver a sufficent volume of pellets to the pot.i think because the GT and trebio are longer i will have to adjust my auger cover accordingly to get more of the longer pellet to the fire.
on my stove i can see about 2" of the auger.is that roughly where yours was set and how much did you slide the cover up when you made the adjustment.maybe you could post a pic
i have a magna gauge but i am having problems setting the draft at the recommended setting of .15-.17. i cant get it below .21 and that is with the draft adjuster pushed in as far as it will go.i'm thinking that my gauge might be banjaxed so i am gonna borrow one in the meantime to see if i can get the stove dialed in.i will let you know how that goes.enjoy the new toy

 

[flynfrfun]

You guys with adjustable auger covers should slide the cover as far open as it will allow. That cover is not needed since they updated the convection blower (this is my experience). I don't have the adjustable auger cover plate and the stove never overheats...even with some of the hottest pellets available (Doug Fir). You are wasting your time trying to dial in the auger. With the plate open all the way, you can turn the heat level down if it's too much heat. Otherwise you will be running at a higher heat level (faster fan speeds) with a lower heat output by restricting the pellet feed. Yes, the stove will use more pellets at a certain setting, but then like I said, you just turn it down or adjust the feed trim down. That way you are using less electricity and wear and tear on your blower motors since they will be turning at lower speeds. The adjustable auger cover plate was a temporary fix to the stove's overheating problem before Enviro updated the convection blower to a much higher output blower. With the new blower, the plate won't do anything but make the stove run even cooler which is contradictory to what we all want...heat.

 

[Keith M.]

I raised the auger cover plate from its initial position which was the second hole from the top of the 5 center holes where you could see the bottom edge of the auger housing thru the hole. Initially I raised the cover plate to the center of the third hole and it made a huge difference. I raised it somewhere in between the third and 4th position but have not had a chance to test it since its been quite warm here the last few days. The spacing from the bottom of the hopper to the bottom of the cover plate is now about 2.5 inches. In the pic, you can see the marks indicting the initial positioning. It is 1 inch from center from the original position. Having read Flynfrfuns post, I may just open it up all the way. Anyone know when they started using the new blower. Although my unit is new, its manufacture date was June 2011.

 

[Keith M.]

Opened all the way. Working good so far.... Just too friggin HOT!!

 

[flynfrfun]

You will appreciate that when it gets colder. You can lower the feed rate with the feed trim or lower the heat level settings to fine tune for the weather.

 

[kykel]

You will appreciate that when it gets colder. You can lower the feed rate with the feed trim or lower the heat level settings to fine tune for the weather.

fly, I bought my stove last oct, and it had new blower but also had the adjustable auger cover.Never thought about taking it off. Might have to give it a try some time.

 

[kykel]

Keith, Not sure if you have the new blower. If you look at the convection blower located on the right side of the stove( if your looking at the front) the end on the new blower is round black plastic and the old version was square black plastic. there were some pics posted here last year but I dont know how to find it.

 

[corkman]

thank you guys for all that info and for the pic.when temps drop a bit i will test it with the cover plate all the ways open.cant wait to see what the difference will be.was getting pretty bummed out with the heat ive seen so far.
thank you fly for the info on the cover.i was under the impression the blower and auger cover were part of the same modification that was made on the stove

 

[flynfrfun]

thank you guys for all that info and for the pic.when temps drop a bit i will test it with the cover plate all the ways open.cant wait to see what the difference will be.was getting pretty bummed out with the heat ive seen so far.
thank you fly for the info on the cover.i was under the impression the blower and auger cover were part of the same modification that was made on the stove

This is one of those things like what comes first the chicken or the egg? I think Enviro was initially relying on the adjustable auger cover to keep the stove from overheating due to the weak output of the original convection blower. Once the new much higher output blower came on the scene, I think the auger cover became obsolete (speculation on my part). I say this because I've never had the adjustable auger cover and since the new blower, I've not had any overheating (tripping the high limit switch). I guess there is a possibility that some day I might encounter some super dense fuel that would require me to reduce the feed rate to keep the stove from overheating. But, I haven't found that yet and I burn some of the hottest pellets known to mankind . So, in the meantime, I just don't see any advantage to unnecessarily reducing the heating capability of the stove by restricting the pellet feed rate. With that said...if you have to run at heat level 5 for hours on end, you might want to be able to restrict the pellet feed rate. But, how many of you really run on heat level 5? I know I sure don't. The most I ever use is heat level 3 and the stove will cook us out at that setting.