Glow Boy shop pellet stove, does not get hot, what can I do.

[electrifierus]

Recently purchased a Glow Boy shop pellet stove. I cant figure out how to make it burn hot. I can get it up to 275* out the blower and thats it. I have an Avalo Astoria and I can get up to 550* out of it with the same pellets.
The glow Boy has a 22' - 4" exhaust 90ed on the back and then straight up. I thought maybee the heat was being sucked up the stack seeing that its 22' long, so I restricted the fresh air intake temperairly to see if a change, no change. I adjusted the high setting on the pellet feed to run at real hot. Yes more pellets make a bigger flame but still 275* reguardless of the blower motor setting. With the blower setting on the lowest and the pettet rate fast (faster than I like) still only 275*. Whats going on????? Any ideas.
The Astoria kicks out 3 X the heat with less pellets.

 

[webbie]

Is the Avalon in the same place? In the shop?

You cannot compare the output temps of fans....because the input temp is most likely very different.

Also, each stove is designed differently - the Glow may put out some of the heat - when turned up - as radiant heat.

Again, when you compare the Avalon - have you had it in the same shop in the same weather?

I have a pellet stove in my shop and it takes MANY hours (if ever) to get it slightly warm in there during very cold weather. Pellet stoves typically put out about 30K BTU max, which gets lost quickly in an unheated area.

 

[littlesmokey]

Don't confuse the heat "output" of a pellet stove with the heat output of a woodstove. Depending on how it was designed the stove may intentionally be set for a lower surface temp. Also on many stoves there is more than one outlet for heat. Two of my stoves have oulets directed at the floor in front of the stove, dogs favorite spot. Also, you may not be getting all the heat the stove is capable of, because it is dirty. There are lots of nooks and crannies for ash to build up. Those passages behind the baffles are intended to take heat out of the air stream and move it to the heat exchanger "tubes" and into the distribution air stream. Clean the stove thoroughly, get into all the baffles and clean clean clean.

One of the factors in the temperature of the air coming out of the stove is the temperature of the air going into it. If you start out with very cold air as "make up" air, you can only raise it so much in the stove. When you don't heat overnight, you are starting out at the heat bottom. Try to run some heat overnight, or start your warming much earlier. If I am not in my shop for awhile I run the stove at the minimum, keeps it about 45-50 degrees. If I am going to put in a ling day in it, I crank the stove up the evening before. Not high but at a maintenance level of about 60*. It doesn't get there when it is really cold, so the stove runs on high for a few hours. I have this month alone raised the shop to 65* when the outside was running over and under zeroF. The stove is a little small for the actual space, so I do close certain unused area, but it still brings up the temp to a comfortable level. That stove output temp at 65" maintenance is not so hot i can't hold my hand in front of the outlet, A worry when the dog want to hug it. Frankly, the glass is hotter.

Comparing one stove to another needs to have the same situation, like web said, put them side by side if you want to compare, but use the same conditions and comparison to other stoves of the same make and model.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Temperatures out of the blower are greatly impacted by the volume of air being moved, a 500 degree temperature measured when the blower is on maximum and blowing 105 CFM of air will be a lot hotter than if the blower was moving 180 CFM of air on the same stove. So don't ever confuse the blower temperature as a direct measurement of relative heat being produced by stoves with different blowers.

Temperature is not the same as heat.

The blower CFM ratings are from a couple of stove manuals.

 

[jtakeman]

Recently purchased a Glow Boy shop pellet stove. I cant figure out how to make it burn hot. I can get it up to 275* out the blower and thats it. I have an Avalo Astoria and I can get up to 550* out of it with the same pellets.
The glow Boy has a 22' - 4" exhaust 90ed on the back and then straight up. I thought maybee the heat was being sucked up the stack seeing that its 22' long, so I restricted the fresh air intake temperairly to see if a change, no change. I adjusted the high setting on the pellet feed to run at real hot. Yes more pellets make a bigger flame but still 275* reguardless of the blower motor setting. With the blower setting on the lowest and the pettet rate fast (faster than I like) still only 275*. Whats going on????? Any ideas.
The Astoria kicks out 3 X the heat with less pellets.

The convection blower CFM has alot to do with how hot the stove can or wont get. If the Glowboy has a larger CFM blower or the blower is running at a higher speed. The convection air will be less, But it will be moving more air around the given area. Also the heat exchanger effiency has some to do with how much heat the stove extracts and how much goes out the ventpipe.

Another thing is the actual amount of fuel being supplied to the burn pot. Max on the Glowboy is 5.5 LBS/HR est, and the Astoria approx the same. But there are variables that apply. It will depend on which stove feeds the most volume of fuel to the burnpot.

 

[johnny1720]

How long does it take to burn 40 pounds of pellets?

From that you can determine if you need to increase the feed rate of your stove or not. On my glowboy insert stove I can push through a 40 pound bag in about 7 hours, 7*7800 BTU = 54600 BTU per hour. I used a 7800 as an average as I am burning some garbage pellets right now.

On that stove there are little screws labled 1 and 4. Turn the number 4 and then observe the timing of the auger light. When mine is turned up all the way the auger is off for 3 seconds and on for about 6 seconds.

 

[Don2222]

Recently purchased a Glow Boy shop pellet stove. I cant figure out how to make it burn hot. I can get it up to 275* out the blower and thats it. I have an Avalo Astoria and I can get up to 550* out of it with the same pellets.
The glow Boy has a 22' - 4" exhaust 90ed on the back and then straight up. I thought maybee the heat was being sucked up the stack seeing that its 22' long, so I restricted the fresh air intake temperairly to see if a change, no change. I adjusted the high setting on the pellet feed to run at real hot. Yes more pellets make a bigger flame but still 275* reguardless of the blower motor setting. With the blower setting on the lowest and the pettet rate fast (faster than I like) still only 275*. Whats going on????? Any ideas.
The Astoria kicks out 3 X the heat with less pellets.

The convection blower CFM has alot to do with how hot the stove can or wont get. If the Glowboy has a larger CFM blower or the blower is running at a higher speed. The convection air will be less, But it will be moving more air around the given area. Also the heat exchanger effiency has some to do with how much heat the stove extracts and how much goes out the ventpipe.

Another thing is the actual amount of fuel being supplied to the burn pot. Max on the Glowboy is 5.5 LBS/HR est, and the Astoria approx the same. But there are variables that apply. It will depend on which stove feeds the most volume of fuel to the burnpot.

Hi Jay

I just picked up a Pelpro Bay Window similar to the Glow Boy. My Avalon Astoria does put out alot of good heat. On high (Setting 6 - 5.5 lbs per hour) I get approx 600 Degrees F with the 165 CFM convection blower. The Glow Boy I just picked up has an enormous 265 CFM blower with the highest heat setting 4 at 5.0 lbs per hour!! However I will try it with the Temp probe when I get it setup

See my Pelpro/Glow boy specs
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/82555/

It will take time to get mine going but to help with resolving this issue the trim pot for the Fan Speed on the glow boy control panel can be adjusted down to decrease the fan speed per the instructions in the Pelpro or Glow boy manual as copied here below. Also see pic below

TRIM POTS (Fine Tune Adjustments)– Factory Settings
The COMBUSTION FAN (FAN), HI (4) and LO (1) FEED RATE trim pots have been preset at the
factory, but may need to be adjusted onsite after your installation is complete. Due to different
installation setups, length and size of venting, and pellet fuel quality, the preset from the factory will
not always be correct. These settings will accommodate virtually all wood pellet fuels.
FUEL FEED rates at the Lowest (number 1) and highest (number 4) settings can be adjusted by
adjusting the fine tune trim pots located on the control panel. To raise fuel feed turn trim pot
counter clockwise and to lower turn clockwise. To assist in knowing what the change is you
should note the amount of time the light on the AUGER CYCLE LED stays OFF. (Note: The light
stays on when ever the fuel feed motor, AUGER CYCLE, is running). Lengthening the time this
LED stays OFF lowers the fuel feed and shortening the off-time increases the fuel feed.

COMBUSTION FAN SPEED (FAN)
In a few instances because of prevailing conditions pertinent to your specific installation, or even
different batches of pellet fuel, the COMBUSTION FAN SPEED may be adjusted to raise or lower
the amount of air moving through the grate for the cleanest burn. The FAN speed can be adjusted
by adjusting the FAN trim pot COUNTER CLOCKWISE to INCREASE the speed and CLOCKWISE to DECREASE the speed
of the combustion fan.
Note: If you attempt to adjust the Fuel Feed Trim Pots, use a small precision screwdriver.
The Trim Pots do not make a full rotation.
If using a metal screwdriver, be gentle as the plastic trim pot slot can be damaged or stripped.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I talked to Treavor in Pelpro Support in Alberta Canada and discussed the low heat issue.

I stated at heat level 3 on the Astoria is about 300 degrees F and on a Magnum Baby Countryside it is 200 Deg F with the IR gun. On the Pelpro Bay View I am measuring 110 Deg F and he stated that is normal and ok!!

I hope there was not a communication breakdown if I was thinking Farenheit and he was thinking Celcius.

110 C = 230 F !!

Also asked if it was normal not to have any baffles below the heat exchanger tubes and he said yes that is the way it should be.

Still I will do more investigation.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Talked to Treavor in Support again today. He and I were thinking Deg F.

So I stated that I measured

Heat Level__Deg F
___1________80
___2________95
___3_______110
___4_______140

He said those readings are correct. He also said to keep the convection fan on low for the most heat output.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I was discussing the engineering of the design of both the Pelpro (see pic below) and the Astoria. The Astoria has a 165 CFM convection blower and is rated at 45,000 BTU per hour. The Pelpro Bay View has a 265 CFM convection fan and is rated at 42,000 BTU per hour. So they are very close in how much heat they put out. The pelpro puts out lwoer heat at a faster rate. The Astoria puts out Higher heat at a slower rate. Therefore they should even out.

As far as which one is best. I could not tell unless I put the Pelpro where the Astoria is and see if there is a difference.

So for now the Pelpro is doing a great job in the shed with the convection fan on 1-Low and I assume it would work just as well in a house with the convection fan on 3-high.