Fresh air intake closed yet too much air in the stove

[omcmurph]

Newby here.
I’d like to hear the views of you guys’ opinions about this dilemma I have. We have recently given a used enviro ef3 bay freestanding pellet stove. After I have installed the stove I have noticed it runs even when I manually block the fresh air intake with aluminum tape. If I remove the tape the flame is almost torch like and I can tell it’s oxygen rich. Where does an air tight pellet stove draw all this air? Through pellet hopper? I’d like install a fresh air intake and stove to use outside air yet there’s no point if it’s going to burn this rich. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[johneh]

What happens if you close the damper on the left side of the stove?
The rod with the black knob
Note a pellet stove is not air-tight!

 

[omcmurph]

What happens if you close the damper on the left side of the stove?
The rod with the black knob
Note a pellet stove is not air-tight!

Good question. Damper handle is stuck/stiff. I assume it’s preset and locked but I haven’t opened the side panel to see.. yet..

 

[Mt Bob]

As said, not all fresh air tubes are "connected" or direct to the fire box. Yours is unsealed, the pipe you see feeds a unsealed box, which basically just dumps air into the bottom of the stove.