Hudson river - West Point feeding issues

[Newpelletpig]

Hi all!

So bear with me i'm new at pellet stoves!

So my above mentioned stove is having a feeding issue where it is feeding too much, creating the "moon rocks" and causing the pan to overfill. We've changed the panel on it to see if that is it. We are currently using Green Supreme pellets and BRIEFLY tried different pellets (the dealers gave us 2 bags of new England pellets) and that didn't fix the issue. I know we have the auger on the lowest setting, we are using the stove on the 2 sometimes 3 heat levels. But the dealer ( who I don't have much confidence in) can't figure out what is wrong. We are currently having to turn off the stove and clean out the burn pan twice a day.

Does anyone have any ideas? Do I need to try different pellets for longer? Or is there something I am missing?

Thanks for the help

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Welcome Newpelletpig.

Maybe I'll feel like telling you what to do with that stove sometime after supper.

Please post pictures of your burn pot and tell me about how well the area at the top of the auger flight inside the hoppers looks, pictures even bettter.

Please describe your vent system.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I have thuis stove and hopefully l will be able to answer your questions....the feed rate is going to be around 2.3-2.5 lbs per hour on the lowest setting. This is level one with 4 lit up. Level 2 will be over 3.25 and level 3 is somewhere around 4.5 I think.....this is a lot of pellets to be burning but you should not be getting much build up if there is no air bypass and the venting is proper and clean.

 

[Newpelletpig]

Lets see Smokey,

I'm a software engineer so my heating vocabulary is horrid, however, the vent is going out the chimney but the stove is free standing. I do have a separate intake tube that comes in thru the chimney as well.
Here is a pic of the auger (I think this is what you want) and the burn pot when it fills it actually goes up the chute and we have had a fire in the chute and behind the wall. Is this what you want?

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Lets see Smokey,

I'm a software engineer so my heating vocabulary is horrid, however, the vent is going out the chimney but the stove is free standing. I do have a separate intake tube that comes in thru the chimney as well.
Here is a pic of the auger (I think this is what you want) and the burn pot when it fills it actually goes up the chute and we have had a fire in the chute and behind the wall. Is this what you want?

Is there any space around the burn pot as it sits in the liner...paying close attention to the front and sides.

 

[Newpelletpig]

Is there any space around the burn pot as it sits in the liner...paying close attention to the front and sides.

a little wiggle room, but not much, Is that what you mean?

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

a little wiggle room, but not much, Is that what you mean?

Yes....if there is any space around the pot try wedging a little rope gasket in there to see if it burns better. I originally had some pile ups when I first for mine ....this and a few things Smokey pointed out fixed it dramatically. Now I almost have too much air and almost never have any buildup at all. And if I do I give it a quick stir and its good again for a while. I permanently put rope gasket around the whole pot. This works nice....although I am not sure how long it will last before replacing. I really wish they would weld a lip around these post like you see on other brands.

 

[Newpelletpig]

Thanks so much! Where would I get the rope from? and I never thought of stirring the pot. Easy fixes.

oh by the way! I Can't stand propane! If I didn't get this stove I would have to spend near $9000 to heat my house this winter with the 1000 gallon propane tank we had to fill 3 times last winter. 200+ year old house over 2000 sq ft. lots of nooks and crannies and not enough plastic and sealant in the world to fill the gaps. But I love it!

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Thanks so much! Where would I get the rope from? and I never thought of stirring the pot. Easy fixes.

oh by the way! I Can't stand propane! If I didn't get this stove I would have to spend near $9000 to heat my house this winter with the 1000 gallon propane tank we had to fill 3 times last winter. 200+ year old house over 2000 sq ft. lots of nooks and crannies and not enough plastic and sealant in the world to fill the gaps. But I love it!

Any stove shop will have it...also Lowes and Tractor Supply....it is the same gasket used on the doors...you will also want to make sure the stove is completely cleaned....venting, ash traps, combustion blower(you will need a spare gasket)...also pictures of you venting will help determine a proper installation...not so much myself but others...you can also check the gasket one the door by closing it on a dollar bill. It should not pull out easily.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

That area where the small pellet bunch is in the picture of the hopper where the auger flight cover ends is also a place that shouldn't have any gap.

If there is a gap there as the pellets get used up and the level drops below that spot you'll get an air leak there. I'd use a small piece of flat stove window glass gasket to seal that area with.

As IHATEPROPANE has already mentioned you want to place some stove rope gasket under the rim of that burn pot. It should be a bit larger than the depth of the rim, this should allow it to just sit under the rim with out needing any thing except pressure to hold it there. This gasket section will partially seal off the top row of air holes and any gap between the rim and the burn pot. Sealing the rim will remove one burn pot air bypass, and partially sealing the top row of holes wil remove a substantial portion of another burn pot air bypass.

By doing this sealing a lot more air will be going through the bottom of the burn pot and thus the pile of burning pellets. This provides a lot more air flow to also eject fly ash instead of it piling up in the burn pot and subsequently warping the pot and creating giant clinkers.

There may also be other places that might need some RTV sealant, the primary one I'm aware of is where the auger flight on the underside of the hopper meets the drop chute, there is a metal flange there that sometimes isn't gas tight.

 

[Ray's lawn care]

Hi all!

So bear with me i'm new at pellet stoves!

So my above mentioned stove is having a feeding issue where it is feeding too much, creating the "moon rocks" and causing the pan to overfill. We've changed the panel on it to see if that is it. We are currently using Green Supreme pellets and BRIEFLY tried different pellets (the dealers gave us 2 bags of new England pellets) and that didn't fix the issue. I know we have the auger on the lowest setting, we are using the stove on the 2 sometimes 3 heat levels. But the dealer ( who I don't have much confidence in) can't figure out what is wrong. We are currently having to turn off the stove and clean out the burn pan twice a day.

Does anyone have any ideas? Do I need to try different pellets for longer? Or is there something I am missing?

Thanks for the help

Did any of the suggested "upgrades" fix, your issues i am having the same issues with the same stove.

Thanks

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Did any of the suggested "upgrades" fix, your issues i am having the same issues with the same stove.

Thanks

I don't know about Newpelletpig's final result as he didn't tell us, but IHATEPROPANE's issues went away, and the same issues I had with my stove a different model definitely went away.

 

[Ray's lawn care]

I don't know about Newpelletpig's final result as he didn't tell us, but IHATEPROPANE's issues went away, and the same issues I had with my stove a different model definitely went away.

I will try the rope gasket tomorrow and will post to let everyone know. This problem is driving me nuts. On level two I have to empty the pot 3 times a day.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I will try the rope gasket tomorrow and will post to let everyone know. This problem is driving me nuts. On level two I have to empty the pot 3 times a day.

I know all about it, just remember there are all kinds of areas for possible air leaks. For example the place in the hooper only starts causing problems as the pellet level drops.

The burn pot gasket was a modification provided by the maker.

Do you know where the exhaust flow goes in your stove because it is likely you have ash all through the stoves internal passages which isn't going to help matters.

 

[Ray's lawn care]

I know all about it, just remember there are all kinds of areas for possible air leaks. For example the place in the hooper only starts causing problems as the pellet level drops.

The burn pot gasket was a modification provided by the maker.

Do you know where the exhaust flow goes in your stove because it is likely you have ash all through the stoves internal passages which isn't going to help matters.

The stove is like new been doing it since I got it I've had the thing all apart this weekend cleaned everything cut off the extra grates on the burn pot. It works great on level one now finally after I did that. Still sucks on any higher level.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

What extra grates on the burn pot?

 

[Ray's lawn care]

What extra grates on the burn pot?

The bottom of the burn pot had a second set of grates welded making x's for air holes. One of the other members on here cut them off along with the rope gasket fix and the other holes you told me about.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Good grief.