Help with my 1100i pellet stove igniting

[Gusmom]

Hey y'all, this is my first post and it's kindof urgent because we have a massive winter storm heading our way that could result in ice accumulation and power outages for several days. I'm prepared with my generator and extension cords, water stocked up, etc... But... I have had off and on problems with my stove. I usually manage to figure out solutions. I have asked a few questions on other threads, but here I am begging for help at almost the last minute.

The issue that is my main concern right now is problems with start up when the thermostat calls for heat. All of the moving parts appear to be doing their jobs as intended. When a start up fails, I will sit in front of the stove watching everything it is doing, or not doing, to try to figure out the problem. I have both side panels off the stove, and I just replaced a bad thermocouple this morning. Thanks to you guys, I was able to get my old thermocouple to limp along until the new one was delivered by pulling through more wire, trimming off the damaged part, and tightly twisting the 2 wires together, pressing the tips as hard as I could with pliers! And it worked for several days. New one is in now and working perfectly. Well, that took a bit because the wires were transposed on the AM thermocouple I bought. I remembered reading comments from others who had experienced this so I switched them and it worked. Lesson learned. Only OEM parts, if possible, from now on. EXCEPT, after going through numerous of those fragile igniters, which are ridiculously expensive, I decided to try a stainless steel igniter and it is amazing! Even when I'm clumsy, it stays strong and works perfectly! BTW, I still have the ceramic burn pot.

So, I have tried adjusting pellet feed, the air inlet slide on the left side of the area under the fire pot, blew air into the vacuum tube, ensured the door seal and other gaskets are doing their jobs, and still just not getting consistent results. Today, as I sat in front of the stove pondering what could be the issue, I was studying the parts on the left side. I placed my hand over the intake and could feel the air pulling through. As I did this, the pellets in the fire pot ignited. I will back up to also state that I had found that when the pellets were smoldering, but just not really igniting, if I opened the door of the stove, the pellets would start smoking and quickly ignite. I could close the door and usually have a fire in just a minute or so. Problem is, I would like for my stove to provide heat all night without me sitting in front of it opening the door, and all the other manual things I have found to work. I just kinda prefer sleeping and waking up to a warm house!

Could this be a problem with the exhaust needing to be cleaned out? I have the air inlet closed as much as possible at this point because that's how I'm getting the best results. And it still does better if I actually block more of the air intake with my hand or, right now, I have slid a metal funnel over the opening inside the left panel to see if that will work similarly to my hand blocking more of the intake. It is working, so far. I'm just so frustrated and concerned that doing this could cause problems with the stove. Helllllpppp Said in the best damsel in distress wail I can manage because I'm usually pretty good at figuring stuff out and frustrated that I'm having to ask for help!

 

[Whitenuckler]

https://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installManuals/250_1310.pdf

I don't know your stove at all, but it sounds like you are not getting enough air flow through your stove. Check your combustion fan blades and make sure you have a nice clean flame when running with no black tips. Check the air intake. I use OAK (outside air)with minebut I know it's hard to do on inserts. If it does burn good when up and running put it in a mode where it keeps running 24/7.

 

[Gusmom]

https://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installManuals/250_1310.pdf

I don't know your stove at all, but it sounds like you are not getting enough air flow through your stove. Check your combustion fan blades and make sure you have a nice clean flame when running with no black tips. Check the air intake. I use OAK (outside air)with minebut I know it's hard to do on inserts. If it does burn good when up and running put it in a mode where it keeps running 24/7

I appreciate your quick reply! I don't have the outside air system which might help, but would be too costly for me to add. I have watched the convection blower, on the right side of the stove, and it only comes on once there is a good flame and the other fans are going. I cleaned it just a few days ago, as well as I can considering how difficult it is to reach. When that fan starts, it runs quiet and smoothly. I understand that the fire box is supposed to be a vacuum to work properly, so why would opening the door, and losing any vacuum, result in ignition? I wonder if it is an issue with the negative draft blower? It seems to be working because there is a strong pull of air into the fire box. The flames are good height with no black tails. If I don't get this figured out before the freeze hits, I will probably use your suggestion and detach the thermostat so it will run 24/7. It will go through a lot of pellets, but I have plenty. I'm planning on bringing a stockpile of them inside so I don't have to go out in the cold! Well, I won't have to go out as long as I don't lose power. If that happens, I will have to go out and fill the generator gas tank. I'll be getting that all set up today with cords to where power is needed, just in case. I would rather be doing that job in today's 54 degree temps than below freezing the next several days! Thank you for your suggestions!

 

[Whitenuckler]

I appreciate your quick reply! I don't have the outside air system which might help, but would be too costly for me to add. I have watched the convection blower, on the right side of the stove, and it only comes on once there is a good flame and the other fans are going. I cleaned it just a few days ago, as well as I can considering how difficult it is to reach. When that fan starts, it runs quiet and smoothly. I understand that the fire box is supposed to be a vacuum to work properly, so why would opening the door, and losing any vacuum, result in ignition? I wonder if it is an issue with the negative draft blower? It seems to be working because there is a strong pull of air into the fire box. The flames are good height with no black tails. If I don't get this figured out before the freeze hits, I will probably use your suggestion and detach the thermostat so it will run 24/7. It will go through a lot of pellets, but I have plenty. I'm planning on bringing a stockpile of them inside so I don't have to go out in the cold! Well, I won't have to go out as long as I don't lose power. If that happens, I will have to go out and fill the generator gas tank. I'll be getting that all set up today with cords to where power is needed, just in case. I would rather be doing that job in today's 54 degree temps than below freezing the next several days! Thank you for your suggestions!

Yes, the combustion blower draws air into the burn pot area, and creates a vacuum. If your stove is running fine once started, then perhaps the igniter has ash on it. On most stoves if you open the door you will lose vacuum and the auger will stop. Some people do not have igniters and use a torch. I did not read your operation manual, but in thermostat auto mode there may be a mode where it will keep running at a minimum flame. Manual Mode would do it too, it should not go out. There is something called the leafblower trick (you can search it). That may help.

 

[Gusmom]

Yes, the combustion blower draws air into the burn pot area, and creates a vacuum. If your stove is running fine once started, then perhaps the igniter has ash on it. On most stoves if you open the door you will lose vacuum and the auger will stop. Some people do not have igniters and use a torch. I did not read your operation manual, but in thermostat auto mode there may be a mode where it will keep running at a minimum flame. Manual Mode would do it too, it should not go out. There is something called the leafblower trick (you can search it). That may help.

While I was outside today running extension cords to be ready in case of power loss, I was thinking about what my pellet stove was doing. I had decided I needed to check the igniter and then saw your suggestion! But it had to wait until I got all that outside stuff done because I don't want to have to be outside tomorrow or the next few days! I had unplugged the stove before going outside thinking I needed it to be cool when I came back in to have a look at it. I twisted the fire pot around so I could feel where the igniter enters at the back and where the tip is at the clean out. I realized that it wasn't really in the best position for the pellets to ignite, so I repositioned it and carefully turned the fire pot back to the right position while holding the igniter in place. And it has been running perfectly ever since! Yay! I have seen a video of the leaf blower trick to clean out all the exhaust mess! It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for me to try it but I'm not sure where to access that clean out. I will have to watch that video again, as well as some of the Quadra Fire ones.

I mentioned in my initial post that I replaced the old ceramic style igniter with a stainless steel one that I believe is usually used for pellet smokers. Those old igniters are so dang fragile and expensive. This new one is a little too long, which was the reason it wasn't really positioned properly. But it is so tough and no amount of shifting it around, removing from the pot, etc... does any damage to it. I need to do some more searching to see if I can find one that is a little shorter. I have been struggling to find good replacement parts. The thermocouple I just installed is working, but the wire is so flimsy, it will not even support the protective cover! I have to prop the covered thermocouple on the edge of the fire pot, otherwise the cover will just slide off. The wire is about half the thickness as the old one. I have come to the conclusion that I'm going to have to pay the higher price for an OEM thermocouple and hope that it isn't another of these cheap ones that only last a couple of months before the wires just burn out and require replacement.

Thank you for your help!