How to burn wood pellets in 2006 Auburn corn burner

[Rxwoman1961]

Looks like grey and grey.

 

[Rxwoman1961]

So it was burning ok-ish. Green on/off light still blinking.
While I was opening the sides to take pics of auger wires...out again.

 

[Rxwoman1961]

Who doesn't love the smell of smoke?
Just call me bacon bits.

 

[Ssyko]

Ahh so it smothered out again. I have a couple breckwell boards but the auger is wired where your versa grate would be.. try it again with the feed on the lowest setting and turn the combustion blower trim to its highest setting.. make sure the damper on the intake is wide open.

 

[rickwai]

I don't have a garage and after what I went through to set here, I'm not moving it too far.
But I did disconnect it from stove pipe and used my blow dryer (I dont own a leaf blower) and my vaccuum cleaner. It blew a tiny bit of ash forward. Ive cleaned up inside the cleanout doors and I can see my wire swinging around up at the top near the heat exchangers, nothing more comes down.
This stove rode home face down on a dolly, you'd think any loose ash would have dislodged. So nothing is blocking the exhaust, the air intake is open. I repaced the door gasket, twice (first one was too big!) and the dollar test is better, I at least have resistance now.
Turn the stove on, exhaust fan runs for a minute, then shuts off and #2 light blinks again. I checked the vaccuum hose. Looks good. The exhaust fan looks new, like it was just replaces as well.
I sucked on the old vaccuum switch and it clicked. Thought maybe it was still good so I tried hooking it up again. Same thing happened.
I also just noticed the new vaccuum switch has 2 nipples!
So which is the one to hook up?
Also maybe I'm putting the wires wrong?
Who ever worked on this last put tape on the wires..I'm assuming to mark positive leads?
Which prong does the positive wire go to?
This stove is making me crazy. It will be July again by the time (if) I can make it run! HELP.

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If you did not run a coil brush up the ash traps and suck the stove out with a leaf blower you are chasing your tail. I have been burning one and servicing St Croix stoves for about 10 years. I know what makes them tick. Not trying to be a jerk, just giving you a short cut to the solution.

 

[Ssyko]

If you did not run a coil brush up the ash traps and suck the stove out with a leaf blower you are chasing your tail. I have been burning one and servicing St Croix stoves for about 10 years. I know what makes them tick. Not trying to be a jerk, just giving you a short cut to the solution.

this is from the st croix guru. He knows more than i do on these stoves. He won’t send you in the wrong direction.

 

[Lordtimothy200]

Just spit balling here. This happens to me ever so often and normally it is when there is a strong north wind. Just trying to think of any reason you would be having these issues. Have you checked to make sure no bird or squirrel has crawled in and plugged up the chimney? Any obstruction in the stove or chimney could cause the problem you are dealing with.

 

[rickwai]

this is from the st croix guru. He knows more than i do on these stoves. He won’t send you in the wrong direction.

this is from the st croix guru. He knows more than i do on these stoves. He won’t send you in the wrong direction.

Typically they pull a .1 iwc when plugged then after cleaning i set damper at .3 iwc which typically is with damper against the set screw from factory and they run nicely.

 

[Ssyko]

Typically they pull a .1 iwc when plugged then after cleaning i set damper at .3 iwc which typically is with damper against the set screw from factory and they run nicely.

I don’t see many st croix up here in my area.

 

[Rxwoman1961]

Thank you all so much.
As far as the stove pipe, I will step outside this time, but I can hear the air blowing up it upstairs.
Rickwai, I disconnected it from exhaust and both vacuumed and blew out (hair dryer highest setting. No leaf blower) the exhaust and air intake. Also I have sent a flexible pipestove rod up into those cleanout traps all the way up to under the heat exchanger tubes. I could see my rod flailing around up there. Nothing much blue out when blow dryered it. It rode home face down on a dolly in the back of a pick-up. Seems like hidden stuff would have dislodged. I'm beginning to suspect the guy I bought it from was having these same issues as there was a new vacuum switch inside ( next to the old one, which turns out was bad) and there was very little ash in the ash traps. Just a bunch of burnt and unburnt corn as if it had been doing this same thing before. Also the exhaust fan looks new. He also said a new control board was installed in 2016.

 

[Rxwoman1961]

Ok, tried lighting it again. It went out even faster this time. I pushed the draft trim button. All lights up and flashes 3 times on 3rd push, but the fan doesnt sound any different. The feed trim only changes from #5 to #4, then back to #5.
I went out to look at the chimney, no smoke I could see, just heat waves, but by the time I went back in the fire had gone out while the stove just kept dumping pellets.
Last night I kept the fan running because if I didnt I ended up with smoke, so the stove augured pellets into non- burning pot.
This is what I had in the ash drawer.

 

[Rxwoman1961]

Ok, went to Menards bought brush and brushed out those areas again (wth..$5 brush) and bought an electric leaf blower and tried the leaf blower thing.
Got a bit of stuff with the brush...tablespoon of burnt chunks. Nothing much with the leaf blower, blew through exhaust port ( dont make me disconnect and reconnect that again!) and air intake and up stove pipe.
Reconnected everything yet again.
Relit stove. Exhaust fan shuts off after 15 seconds..#2 flashing again. Wtf???

 

[Rxwoman1961]

So I jumped the vacuum switch because I still had pellets burning in the pot and got tired of hitting the on button to make the exhaust fan run. It was actually burning all right (though the room fan never has kicked on and still didnt even with a toasty stove).
Once I jumped the vacuum switch though, the auger kicked in, started dribbling pellets and corn. Poof! Out went my fire, yet again.
Fellas...WHAT AM I DOING WRONG?!

 

[Ssyko]

Does the auger look like its been replaced? Im wondering if it isn't the proper rpm. Does the exhaust blower stay running for 12-15 min?

 

[Lordtimothy200]

Have you tried to jump the proof of fire switch? If you do the vacuum and proof of fire switch it takes out the safety features that can cause problems.

 

[Rxwoman1961]

Ssyko, it's hard to tell, but I'm guessing no, it's the original auger. There are a couple pictures of it at the top of this page, but I can look closer tomorrow. The exhaust fan was staying on just fine until I disconnected it from the stove pipe to leaf blower it. For some reason after I hooked it back up, lack of vacuum, shuts off after about 15 seconds.
Timothy, no I didnt jump the proof of fire, only the vacuum switch so the exhaust fan would stay on until the fire stopped smoking.
I don't understand why untaping the exhaust vent and blowing it out and reconnecting it would suddenly cause this vacuum switch issue I thought I had fixed?!
Ugh.

 

[Ssyko]

Ok im gonna give you a run down on how the stove is supposed to work, that will give you a better idea of what the stove should be doing.
Pushing the on button, the control board turns on the combustion blower, which creates a vacuum to complete the circuit for the auger to feed fuel. As the fire builds and the stove heats up the low limit switch switch trips and completes a circuit and the convection blower turns on. All the timing for the heat ranges are programmed into the control board and that is the Condensed version. So i think we should go back to the basics and look at this. Do you feel comfortable to pull the exhaust blower out of the stove? You can check its functionality and for a blockage in the housing area. We need to figure out the vacuum issue first.

 

[rickwai]

Ok, went to Menards bought brush and brushed out those areas again (wth..$5 brush) and bought an electric leaf blower and tried the leaf blower thing.
Got a bit of stuff with the brush...tablespoon of burnt chunks. Nothing much with the leaf blower, blew through exhaust port ( dont make me disconnect and reconnect that again!) and air intake and up stove pipe.
Reconnected everything yet again.
Relit stove. Exhaust fan shuts off after 15 seconds..#2 flashing again. Wtf???

You have to hook the suction side of the blower to the exhaust to get the proper effect. Just trying to blower in the front door and ash traps is useless. You can not get to the places that plug up by taking the fan out. Im not sure where it plugs but the leaf blower trick is the only way to clean the hidden areas. I have not had the exhaust fan out of mine for probably 6 yrs. Just suck it out a few times a year. I cringe when I see a St Croix roof vented. Side wall vent is much easier to suck out
Until it is sucked out properly you will continue to beat your head against the wall.

 

[Rxwoman1961]

Oh, so I'm blowing OUT up into the stove pipe? Jeez, I was blowing from the exhaust port towards the front door. Ugh.
I guess that means I'm disconnecting it AGAIN.

 

[Rxwoman1961]

Ok im gonna give you a run down on how the stove is supposed to work, that will give you a better idea of what the stove should be doing.
Pushing the on button, the control board turns on the combustion blower, which creates a vacuum to complete the circuit for the auger to feed fuel. As the fire builds and the stove heats up the low limit switch switch trips and completes a circuit and the convection blower turns on. All the timing for the heat ranges are programmed into the control board and that is the Condensed version. So i think we should go back to the basics and look at this. Do you feel comfortable to pull the exhaust blower out of the stove? You can check its functionality and for a blockage in the housing area. We need to figure out the vacuum issue first.

Ssyko, yeah I can take the exhaust fan off. But I thought it required a gasket, which I dont have. Whats the gasket made of?

 

[Rxwoman1961]

Ok im gonna give you a run down on how the stove is supposed to work, that will give you a better idea of what the stove should be doing.
Pushing the on button, the control board turns on the combustion blower, which creates a vacuum to complete the circuit for the auger to feed fuel. As the fire builds and the stove heats up the low limit switch switch trips and completes a circuit and the convection blower turns on. All the timing for the heat ranges are programmed into the control board and that is the Condensed version. So i think we should go back to the basics and look at this. Do you feel comfortable to pull the exhaust blower out of the stove? You can check its functionality and for a blockage in the housing area. We need to figure out the vacuum issue first.

Btw, the auger looks original?

 

[Ssyko]

this is what rickwai was talking about with the leaf blower

 

[Rxwoman1961]

I get it now. The OUTSIDE exhaust.
Which I'm unable to do because my stove is hooked up to a 2 story vertical stove pipe.

 

[rickwai]

I get it now. The OUTSIDE exhaust.
Which I'm unable to do because my stove is hooked up to a 2 story vertical stove pipe.

Yes but you hook up directly to the stove and suck it out

 

[Ssyko]

How is she gonna do that inside the house?