Having Problems with My Breckwell - and others too?

[JoeTammy]

If you are contemplating buying a Breckwell pellet stove think twice. I purchased a Breckwell Big E and have had problems with it since day one. From a steel nut rolling out of the pellet chute upon initial start-up to the stove pushing smoke out into the room all the time to the auger not working after only a ton and one half pellets (yes, I do dust every bag of pellets and the auger is free of any debris). This stove is nothing more than a dust collector in my family room now.

I’ve been in contact with a service tech from Breckwell about the auger and he instructed me to disconnect the wire from the auger and “hot-wire” them together with a paperclip...are you kidding me? What do you think happens to any warranty should I short something out in the process? My wife called Breckwell yesterday explaining that this is completely unacceptable and the company rep hung up on her.

STAY AWAY FROM BRECKWELL! Their stoves are second rate, cheaply made and do not heat as reported.

 

[jng518]

Interesting...I had the same thing with the nut.
It came from the auger cover.
When I checked rest of the nuts they were tight.
The only problem I had was a bad board which was replaced by the dealer.
I have burned 2.5 tons of pellets so far with no problem.

 

[hearthtools]

Sounds like after a ton and a half your Vacuum switch tripped and you need to clean the flue and or Un block the vacuum hose
Simple maintenance and your stove will go.
See the Yellow Sticky pages at the top of the pellet room
there is links to Breckwell trouble shooting.

 

[MCPO]

If you are contemplating buying a Breckwell pellet stove think twice. I purchased a Breckwell Big E and have had problems with it since day one. From a steel nut rolling out of the pellet chute upon initial start-up to the stove pushing smoke out into the room all the time to the auger not working after only a ton and one half pellets (yes, I do dust every bag of pellets and the auger is free of any debris). This stove is nothing more than a dust collector in my family room now.

I’ve been in contact with a service tech from Breckwell about the auger and he instructed me to disconnect the wire from the auger and “hot-wire” them together with a paperclip...are you kidding me? What do you think happens to any warranty should I short something out in the process? My wife called Breckwell yesterday explaining that this is completely unacceptable and the company rep hung up on her.

STAY AWAY FROM BRECKWELL! Their stoves are second rate, cheaply made and do not heat as reported.

Heh,heh,heh.

Welcome to the world of pellet stoves, most other mechanical devices , and the myriad of associated problems often encountered with such infernal devices. Get used to it. It`s part of life.
Anyone of us are liable at any time to encounter a bad salesman, dealer, or service tech but to blame the whole Breckwell brand isn`t reasonable in my view.
During the past year I`ve read of numerous posted problems with many brands of stoves but rarely do I read a blanket statement of condemnation like this one above.
Now, be real, how many folks do you think are going to actually take your personal word that Breckwells are not worth purchasing based on your complaint?

 

[hearthtools]

If you are contemplating buying a Breckwell pellet stove think twice. I purchased a Breckwell Big E and have had problems with it since day one. From a steel nut rolling out of the pellet chute upon initial start-up to the stove pushing smoke out into the room all the time to the auger not working after only a ton and one half pellets (yes, I do dust every bag of pellets and the auger is free of any debris). This stove is nothing more than a dust collector in my family room now.

I’ve been in contact with a service tech from Breckwell about the auger and he instructed me to disconnect the wire from the auger and “hot-wire” them together with a paperclip...are you kidding me? What do you think happens to any warranty should I short something out in the process? My wife called Breckwell yesterday explaining that this is completely unacceptable and the company rep hung up on her.

STAY AWAY FROM BRECKWELL! Their stoves are second rate, cheaply made and do not heat as reported.

Heh,heh,heh.

Welcome to the world of pellet stoves, most other mechanical devices , and the myriad of associated problems often encountered with such infernal devices. Get used to it. It`s part of life.
Anyone of us are liable at any time to encounter a bad salesman, dealer, or service tech but to blame the whole Breckwell brand isn`t reasonable in my view.
During the past year I`ve read of numerous posted problems with many brands of stoves but rarely do I read a blanket statement of condemnation like this one above.
Now, be real, how many folks do you think are going to actually take your personal word that Breckwells are not worth purchasing based on your complaint?

I agree. I still think Most Breckwells are a POS but they work fine as long as you can keep them serviced.
Im 100% believe the problem with the posters stove is that it just needs to be cleaned. After 1.5 tons you do need to clean the thing. and with 3" vent and high ash pellet the T or if someone used a 90 will fill up and trip the vacuum switch.

there is a lot of help pages on the TOP OF THE PELLET ROOM.

 

[ajwoodman]

On the other side, I have had absolutely no problems with mine. As long as you clean and service it!! When I first got it I had a few questions as I had never used a pellet stove before and contrary to what you have stated, I had excellent service from Breckwell. I emailed the tech department several times with just questions and they were very helpful. I think it is probably your attitude that makes you receive bad service!! Chill!

 

[jtakeman]

If you are contemplating buying a Breckwell pellet stove think twice. I purchased a Breckwell Big E and have had problems with it since day one. From a steel nut rolling out of the pellet chute upon initial start-up to the stove pushing smoke out into the room all the time to the auger not working after only a ton and one half pellets (yes, I do dust every bag of pellets and the auger is free of any debris). This stove is nothing more than a dust collector in my family room now.

I’ve been in contact with a service tech from Breckwell about the auger and he instructed me to disconnect the wire from the auger and “hot-wire” them together with a paperclip...are you kidding me? What do you think happens to any warranty should I short something out in the process? My wife called Breckwell yesterday explaining that this is completely unacceptable and the company rep hung up on her.

STAY AWAY FROM BRECKWELL! Their stoves are second rate, cheaply made and do not heat as reported.

If you gave us a little more info, We could probably get you going again. I think what the tech was trying to tell you to do. Was by pass either the vacuum switch or the proof of fire switch. My Big E would smoke(or smell of smoke) on low. It would run fine on 2 or higher. Burned the pellets faster than the auger could feed them. Even with the damper closed and feed trim on 1-4 setting.

Now the Dealer not helping you sucks and I feel your pain. My original Dealer was usless. I called Breckwell and pleaded my case. They had me contact another Dealer in my area. This Dealer took care of me and had the stove purring in no time. Yes they are not the best stoves on the market. But for the money they do throw heat. You kind of get what you pay for. And I have heard of others buying the x brand high price stoves and also having issues. Same goes for stoves as what goes for any retail item. You win some and you lose some.

I am sure if you spent a little time you could get this stove working again. Most times it's like what hearthtools said. The answer is in the manual!

jay

 

[kdp7462]

All I've gotta say is that I know of 4-5 people, myself including, who'd give ya 500 for that "dust collector" in your living room. Breckwells might not be the cadillac of pellet stoves, but she'll give ya heat when you want it.

 

[flamegrabber]

I had the same thing with the nut in my Big E's hopper when it was brand new.

The nut came loose from the top cover of the stove during shipping, and fell down into the hopper and into the auger chute. They probably never tightened it down at the manufacturer.

Fortunatly I saw it before I ever turned the stove on, and was able to dig it out from the top. It sort of got wedged between the first and second turn of the auger so I had to unwedge it.

Check and make sure the top of your stove is screwed down on all 4 corners, just lift up each corner to check if each is tight. If one doesn't feel tight chances are the nut belongs there. Just look inside the hopper up into each corner and you'll see a bolt in coming down into each corner, and each one should have one of those nuts.

If you can't see the bolts, run your hand along all the inside top edges of the stove top and find them that way, then you'll know where to look.

Good luck.

FG.

If you are contemplating buying a Breckwell pellet stove think twice. I purchased a Breckwell Big E and have had problems with it since day one. From a steel nut rolling out of the pellet chute upon initial start-up to the stove pushing smoke out into the room all the time to the auger not working after only a ton and one half pellets (yes, I do dust every bag of pellets and the auger is free of any debris). This stove is nothing more than a dust collector in my family room now.

I’ve been in contact with a service tech from Breckwell about the auger and he instructed me to disconnect the wire from the auger and “hot-wire” them together with a paperclip...are you kidding me? What do you think happens to any warranty should I short something out in the process? My wife called Breckwell yesterday explaining that this is completely unacceptable and the company rep hung up on her.

STAY AWAY FROM BRECKWELL! Their stoves are second rate, cheaply made and do not heat as reported.

 

[jtakeman]

Wow, must be something with the BigE. On the first fire my auger jammed within a ½ hour. Had to clean the hopper and fish out the nut from the cover plate. I can believe so many peeps have loose nut issues. I just though it was a fluke!

jay

 

[kinsmanstoves]

You all are mean.

Eric

 

[jtakeman]

You all are mean.

Eric

Were not mean, Were just nuts or Loose. Forgot which. I'm old and forgetful ya know! Maybe loose nuts even?

jay

 

[treehackers]

Wow, must be something with the BigE. On the first fire my auger jammed within a ½ hour. Had to clean the hopper and fish out the nut from the cover plate. I can believe so many peeps have loose nut issues. I just though it was a fluke!

jay

Same thing here - took me a little while to fine where that nut came

 

[yeekins]

Big E Problems:

We purchased & used our stove last winter. Has anyone had issues with soot everywhere with use of the Big E? At the end of last winter, I had to wash the room down because there was soot everywhere. I don't believe it can be healthy to breathe in soot. The auger that you use to clean the pipes exits just below the blower & I notice there is a collection of soot here. The blower is narrowly grated so it is difficult to vacuum this. I am not sure if this is the source of the soot I found in the room with the stove, & two rooms next to the stove. It seemed like a lot of soot.

As the winter progressed the stove got glitchy & would shut off because the unburned char-coaled pellets would fill & block the burn pot. A guy who does chimney work suggested we need fresh air intake pipe to bring cold air in from outdoors. The stove is now giving us problems burning at higher levels so that we can only burn it at the 1 level. It shuts itself off if we try to burn it above level 1.

We burned 3 tons & cleaned the stove thoroughly 2 times & cleaned the burn area every day or so.

Another issue is that the stove is very loud! I wouldn't mind the noise if I could figure out what's up with the soot. Our dealer is not returning our calls.

 

[treehackers]

Big E Problems:

We purchased & used our stove last winter. Has anyone had issues with soot everywhere with use of the Big E? At the end of last winter, I had to wash the room down because there was soot everywhere. I don't believe it can be healthy to breathe in soot. The auger that you use to clean the pipes exits just below the blower & I notice there is a collection of soot here. The blower is narrowly grated so it is difficult to vacuum this. I am not sure if this is the source of the soot I found in the room with the stove, & two rooms next to the stove. It seemed like a lot of soot.

As the winter progressed the stove got glitchy & would shut off because the unburned char-coaled pellets would fill & block the burn pot. A guy who does chimney work suggested we need fresh air intake pipe to bring cold air in from outdoors. The stove is now giving us problems burning at higher levels so that we can only burn it at the 1 level. It shuts itself off if we try to burn it above level 1.

We burned 3 tons & cleaned the stove thoroughly 2 times & cleaned the burn area every day or so.

Another issue is that the stove is very loud! I wouldn't mind the noise if I could figure out what's up with the soot. Our dealer is not returning our calls.

It is kind of loud - no doubt about it. I never had the soot issue you speak of and I have 3 Big E's running. They all have the OAK though.

 

[imacman]

....The auger that you use to clean the pipes exits just below the blower....... The blower is narrowly grated so it is difficult to vacuum this.........We burned 3 tons & cleaned the stove thoroughly 2 times & cleaned the burn area every day or so.......... Our dealer is not returning our calls.

First of all, soot in the house from a brand new stove probably means your vent pipe isn't sealed correctly. I burnd 4.5 tons through my Astoria last winter, and the only soot was from when I opened the door to the stove while it was running to scrape the burn pot occasionally.

The thing you mention about an "auger that you use to clean the pipes exits just below the blower".......not sure what you mean there.

Blower "grated"???? Lost me on that.

Please explain what you did to "cleaned the stove thoroughly 2 times"

90-95% of pellet stove problems end-up being traced back to a dirty stove, in one form or another.

Dealer not returning calls....did they EVER return calls before?

 

[ronlat]

Breckwell mmmmmmm, lets see, multiple board failures has been the root cause of my issues with them. P2000FS does not burn very clean, glass is completely covered with ash in short time, but heats like crazy. I have found the pellet quaility to be the most important variable with Breckwells and Keep Them Clean. Since I started a monthly maintenance program that includes the leaf blower my burn issues have been dramaticly reduced. Breckwell recommends a vertical pipe installation to help with natual draft. I would add that this vertical lift should occur inside the house to help maintain heat in exhuast pipe, I treid a vertical lift outside (northern Wisconsin) and found the exhaust flow to be poor (too cold). After further discussions with the dealer and Breckwell it was decided if a vertical lift is installed in exhuast pipe this should happen inside then the horizontal run to the outside. My Big-E heats nowhere like the P200FS but what would you expect for $1000.00 less?

Pellet Stoves are not without some issues (all brands), unless you are able to do some basic trouble shooting and maintenance I would suggest you not buy one, as the dealers are often very busy doing the same thing. The pay-off is a much lower heating bill in my case but the learning curve has been steep.

 

[travlnusa]

I have a Big E, going into my second season with it. I could not be happier. The problems I had were operator errors and lack of cleaning.

Every other day, I pull out the burn pot and clean the ash out that is under it.

Once per week, I shut it down and clean it top to bottom.

Twice per year I clean the exhaust pipe.

Heats like a champ.