So I've been running my beast since 2005, but it was a ?1991? machine I bought off of somebody. I've replaced a host of parts in the machine over the years, several ceramic heads, the glass, all 3 snap disks, even the controller back when i first installed it (i blew a capacitor by wiring it in wrong). Long story short now though, I'm stuck with troubleshooting why my auger shuts down after the startup cycle.
Symptoms:
thermostat kicks the machine on, it drops pellets, ignites, flames lick T/C then after a couple minutes the flames die out without the auger kicking on. Reset will trigger a repeat of this. After some testing i narrowed it down to what i thought was the T/C. So for a few weeks while I waited for the new T/C to arrive I would hit the reset button when the flame started to die from the initial ignition and usually the trick 'took' and the pellet stove started normal operation (incl. shutdown). Increasingly it started failing more and by the end it was 3-4 resets before it would stay on.
Indicators it was possibly the thermocouple: I did the 'paperclip trick' on snapdisks 1/2/3 and none of them resulted in normal operation. I removed the tubing for the vac. switch and cleaned it out. I think it's working properly? I just last week cleaned out all of the pipes including a bi-weekly deep-clean on the off chance that was related somehow.
Indicators it might be the control board. I got the new T/C today. Installed it, did a run and I can't even get the auger to continue into normal operation after 4-5 resets in a row. All i get are single ingition cycle after another when i hit reset with zero continual running after that point. I am borrowing a digital multimeter tomorrow to see if the T/C I bought works (heating it up gently with a propane torch and my needle moved slightly on my analog multimeter, but the finest readings I can get are 2.5V max), however I wager the chances of a brand-new T/C being broken are slim.
Thoughts? I'm hesitant to fork out $360/CDN for a new controller for a 30y old pellet stove on the off chance it's not that.
Symptoms:
thermostat kicks the machine on, it drops pellets, ignites, flames lick T/C then after a couple minutes the flames die out without the auger kicking on. Reset will trigger a repeat of this. After some testing i narrowed it down to what i thought was the T/C. So for a few weeks while I waited for the new T/C to arrive I would hit the reset button when the flame started to die from the initial ignition and usually the trick 'took' and the pellet stove started normal operation (incl. shutdown). Increasingly it started failing more and by the end it was 3-4 resets before it would stay on.
Indicators it was possibly the thermocouple: I did the 'paperclip trick' on snapdisks 1/2/3 and none of them resulted in normal operation. I removed the tubing for the vac. switch and cleaned it out. I think it's working properly? I just last week cleaned out all of the pipes including a bi-weekly deep-clean on the off chance that was related somehow.
Indicators it might be the control board. I got the new T/C today. Installed it, did a run and I can't even get the auger to continue into normal operation after 4-5 resets in a row. All i get are single ingition cycle after another when i hit reset with zero continual running after that point. I am borrowing a digital multimeter tomorrow to see if the T/C I bought works (heating it up gently with a propane torch and my needle moved slightly on my analog multimeter, but the finest readings I can get are 2.5V max), however I wager the chances of a brand-new T/C being broken are slim.
Thoughts? I'm hesitant to fork out $360/CDN for a new controller for a 30y old pellet stove on the off chance it's not that.
I honestly was going to aggressively start pricing out new stoves today. I didn't even think to reverse the wires, but I guess I should have looked at their wiring diagram. I probably still wouldn't have figured it out. I'd send you a case of beer but I'm not sure how well that mails 
