Enviro Mini sporadic ignition

[NowhereMan]

I have an old Enviro Mini, and ignition has become sporadic. Specifically, it almost never lights on the first attempt. But, strangely, it usually lights easily on the second attempt. After the first (failed) attempt, all I do is empty the pellets from the burn pot.

I've been using cheapo ignitors for many years. They typically last about 1 year before needing replacement, but it's still far cheaper than using an OEM ignitor, which is crazy expensive and doesn't last tremendously longer. I've read that the ignitor should read 48 ohms, but the ones that I use are consistently 36 ohms. In any case, the ignitor seems to be fine--I replaced it just to verify, but I still get the same sporadicity (if that's a word...).

I'm guessing it might be a circuit board issue, and I'll take a look at that. Years ago, I had to replace the circuit board after a power surge, but it's been on a surge-protected circuit since then. Everything else about the Mini seems to be working fine.

Anyways, I'm just wondering if anybody has had a similar issue, or if anyone has suggestions of things to try---preferrably, much cheaper things than replacing the circuit board!

 

[ARC]

Ignition requires 3 things heat(ignitor), Fuel (pellets) and air, As you have the ignitor and pellets I would be looking at the air, is there ash in front of the ignitor, holes clear in the burn pot, stove and vent clean?

 

[johneh]

First question. Have you cleaned your stove air intake to exhaust termination?
Including removal of interior plates?
When you start the stove, is it cold? Had a full cooldown (cold stove)
I have found that the cheap ignitors do not seem to get as hot or last as long as OME
The ignitor in my Envrio is 24 years old and still doing what it is supposed to
What kind of pellets are you using

 

[NowhereMan]

Thanks for the quick replies.

The pellets are Green Supreme. The are certainly not as good as Golden Fire (my favorite), but Golden Fire is 50% more expensive, and we burned Green Supreme almost all of last winter without this kind of problem.

In addition my usual routine vacuuming inside the stove, I recently did the leaf-blower-on-top-of-the-chimney trick, which does a good job of cleaning out the ash. Regardless, I'll take it all apart and give it a thorough cleaning, with an emphasis on air flow. However, I'm fairly convinced that it is just not getting hot enough to ignite pellets--when it fails, there are few, if any, barely-charred pellets.

 

[johneh]

Just something off the top of my head !
Make sure the burn pot is in properly
and that the liner is in the right way around
The igniter hole is facing the back of the stove
Curved lip towards the back of the stove

 

[NowhereMan]

Just something off the top of my head !
Make sure the burn pot is in properly
and that the liner is in the right way around
The igniter hole is facing the back of the stove
Curved lip towards the back of the stove

Those kinds of things are always worth checking, but I think that's all been done correctly.

I have always wondered if could move the ignitor incrementally forward, so as to concentrate the heat on the burn pot a bit better. But, before I do anything drastic, I plan to get a bag of known-good pellets (i.e., Golden Fire) and see if I have the same problem. Best to rule out the simplest things first...

 

[johneh]

The Igniter for a mini is preset with the mounting bracket welded to the igniter
Vacuum out the igniter installation hole as mentioned before
Also, make sure the holes in the burn liner are clean

wondered if could move the ignitor incrementally forward,