Huge flame, burn pot filling up fast

[andretti05]

Hey all,

I am running an Ashley (us stove) AP5660PE. It has been running great with no issues for about two years. Recently, I noticed the flame is much bigger than usual. It is still putting out a ton of heat, but I am concerned the flame is too big. The burn pot is also filling up very quick. If I run it for a day or so, the burn pot will be completely full with char and un burnt pellets. I feel like the auger may be running too fast, but my model does not have an adjustable auger. I have different heat levels i can set it at, but if i go higher than level one, the burn pot fills up very quick, and the flame gets out of control. I called us stove customer service and they suggested it was getting too much air from somewhere. I checked the gaskets and they look decent. The burn pot sits a little crooked but i dont see how this would create the problem. The exhaust is clean and working ok, no leaks that i can find. I have also tried turning the air damper all the way down with no luck. Any suggestions?

 

[andretti05]

Here are a couple photos of the full burn pot with big flame.

 

[heat seeker]

It looks like the flame is pretty lazy. I think you have an airflow problem - not enough air. If you haven't yet, do a THOROUGH cleaning of the stove's passages AND the venting.
The pellets are building up because they aren't getting the draft needed to burn them fast enough, IMO.
Hard to tell from the photos, but your glass looks black/sooty - another indication of insufficient air for combustion.

 

[jzm2cc]

Ditto on lack of air flow. If the burnpot is sitting crooked and leaking air beneath it that needs to be fixed. Either a new pot, or gasket material, or straighten out metal, etc

 

[andretti05]

Figures customer service told me the opposite, they didnt sound like they knew what they were talking about. I will give it a good cleaning and see what happens, thanks guys.

 

[tlc1976]

I agree with the others. Stove here with similar parts. When it starts doing that, it means it's not getting enough air, and the pipe and passages need cleaned. I have to clean mine after about every ton of pellets, others may vary. Make sure you clean out behind the little side access panels too if yours has these.

It varies with the pellets too. The pellets I originally used (and thank god will be using up this month) don't burn that hot, and I have to run the damper all the way closed to keep the fire from going out on low. I progressively must open the damper as I increase the heat range. If I don't, it will not get enough air and will soot up and plug the pot after a day or two. Running in thermostat mode is impossible. My next pellets burn much hotter and will maintain fire with more air, therefore burning much cleaner on any heat range, plus I can run thermostat.

The main issue I would think a crooked burn pot would cause is ignite failures, because the hole doesn't line up. If no ignite problems then the pot is probably fine. If it's like mine, there is no gasket or anything, it just sets in there.

 

[andretti05]

Update- vent clog was the issue. i took apart the exhaust fan and it wasnt too bad in there, normal soot build up that I expected. The channel into the stove looked good too. The outside vent pipe was another story. The cleanout T at the bottom was fine because I emptied it when the stove first started acting up, however at the very top of the pipe where it turns 90 degrees and vents out, there was a ton of soot almost completely blocking the pipe. I knocked it out with a broom handle, fired up the stove, and its working great. Thanks for the help.

 

[Ssyko]

Chalk up one more for the clean vent repair. Glad you’re warm again

 

[Mt Bob]

Chalk up one more for the clean vent repair. Glad you’re warm again

How many "plugged at top of flue" this year,so far? lol

 

[Ssyko]

I remember 4 off hand

 

[heat seeker]

Thanks for the feedback, and happy burning!