Sometimes we learn again, old lessons we once knew.
Lately my stove has been running "poorly", lazy flame, unburned pellets, black sooted door glass shortly after cleaning, you all know. I first thought was a flu issue, was looking to buy parts to change it, looked at correspondence with Bill A. here for ideas. I became convinced that maybe the TC was bad after all. I cleaned the stove, thought maybe was a door seal but tried a dollar bill, it was tight.
In reviewing my notes, etc. I saw where this old stove was running might near perfect last season. I had forgotten just how good. I tested both my TCs, have even got one on order .... but last night I retested them, both test great by testing for signal with changing heat and continuity. I know I can change my combustion blower any time now, it owes me nothing, it has a like new still fore box.
Still, every time we've tried it this season, we've shut it down. I knew was running great last season after some issues.
Yesterday I decided to clean the flue. It's out a wall behind the stove 3-1/4 feet counting a 45* adapter, a tee with cleanout cap outside, 5 feet straight up, a 90* turn and a horizontal termination. I was thinking of adding more vertical pipe. I have a 13 or so amp Craftsman 2 speed leaf blower / vacuum / mulcher, it's a two hand deal.
My cleanout cap is easily 5 feet off the ground. First I put the vacuum on the clean out, and my goodness, the huge black cloud that exited the blower nozzle. Then I put a round blower extension on it and stuck it up the cleanout well past the stove branch, hit high. 2nd cloud out the flu termination. I meant to vacuum it with stove doors open, but I can do the stove with a smaller vac.
Today I did a good stove clean since the stove was cold, vacuumed every thing, heat exchangers, combustion air supply, lower part of burn pot, got the glass squeaky clean, etc.
Stove is running into 4th hour now, there ain't a wooden cooking spoon worth of stuff in the ash pan, and most of what is there is from the starting.
About perfect.
I think part of it is the long non heating seasons allows one to forget the basics is part of it, and then like yesterday took me awhile to get the clean out tee cap off. I think was mainly very slight corrosion of the galvanized steel with the 4 indented slots where you insert and twist it 90 degrees to secure it. I coated all those surfaces with nickel anti seize and just pushed it up into the tee, no twist lock. I'll make a securing strap to make it easier getting off .... and then it'll be an easy 5 minute chore after shutting the stove off for a periodic clean.
Lately my stove has been running "poorly", lazy flame, unburned pellets, black sooted door glass shortly after cleaning, you all know. I first thought was a flu issue, was looking to buy parts to change it, looked at correspondence with Bill A. here for ideas. I became convinced that maybe the TC was bad after all. I cleaned the stove, thought maybe was a door seal but tried a dollar bill, it was tight.
In reviewing my notes, etc. I saw where this old stove was running might near perfect last season. I had forgotten just how good. I tested both my TCs, have even got one on order .... but last night I retested them, both test great by testing for signal with changing heat and continuity. I know I can change my combustion blower any time now, it owes me nothing, it has a like new still fore box.
Still, every time we've tried it this season, we've shut it down. I knew was running great last season after some issues.
Yesterday I decided to clean the flue. It's out a wall behind the stove 3-1/4 feet counting a 45* adapter, a tee with cleanout cap outside, 5 feet straight up, a 90* turn and a horizontal termination. I was thinking of adding more vertical pipe. I have a 13 or so amp Craftsman 2 speed leaf blower / vacuum / mulcher, it's a two hand deal.
My cleanout cap is easily 5 feet off the ground. First I put the vacuum on the clean out, and my goodness, the huge black cloud that exited the blower nozzle. Then I put a round blower extension on it and stuck it up the cleanout well past the stove branch, hit high. 2nd cloud out the flu termination. I meant to vacuum it with stove doors open, but I can do the stove with a smaller vac.
Today I did a good stove clean since the stove was cold, vacuumed every thing, heat exchangers, combustion air supply, lower part of burn pot, got the glass squeaky clean, etc.
Stove is running into 4th hour now, there ain't a wooden cooking spoon worth of stuff in the ash pan, and most of what is there is from the starting.
About perfect.
I think part of it is the long non heating seasons allows one to forget the basics is part of it, and then like yesterday took me awhile to get the clean out tee cap off. I think was mainly very slight corrosion of the galvanized steel with the 4 indented slots where you insert and twist it 90 degrees to secure it. I coated all those surfaces with nickel anti seize and just pushed it up into the tee, no twist lock. I'll make a securing strap to make it easier getting off .... and then it'll be an easy 5 minute chore after shutting the stove off for a periodic clean.
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