Is there a trick to lighting my pellet stove?

[robscot]

My husband and I just installed a Harman P38. We are both having a horrendous time lighting the damn thing.
We are using the lighter gel stuff, but it takes us about 10 attempts (at least) before we can seem to get
it lit. Is there some trick to it? HELP

 

[Hammerjoe]

The trick is when you turn the fire on the gel, let it burn for a couple minutes to get the flame going and only then close the door.

 

[robscot]

Sounds like we might be closing the door too soon. It's been very frustrating... Thanks, We'll give it a try.

 

[seaken]

The trick is when you turn the fire on the gel, let it burn for a couple minutes to get the flame going and only then close the door.

Yes, I agree. But it can be tricky to get the timing right. And sometimes there smoke drifting out. You can also use some small pieces of kindling or a small fire starter. Some folks have reported good success lighting the pellets with a small propane torch.

 

[seaken]

i put cup of pellets in firebin
squirt some lighter fluid or kerosene on pellets
place crumpled newspaper on top & light
works fine
gel?

Don't use lighter fluid or kerosene. Please.

 

[robscot]

i put cup of pellets in firebin
squirt some lighter fluid or kerosene on pellets
place crumpled newspaper on top & light
works fine
gel?
vote4meifulike@linkbelow.+imfrommaine!

The gel is a type of firestarter that you squirt on the pellets before you light them. Our
manual says to not use any other type of starter, especially any kerosene or gas product.

 

[Hammerjoe]

There shouldnt be any smoke!!
At least when I light my Accentra manually it never smokes.

 

[Mr Whitfield]

I just push the on button , the stove starts right up. Do they make a ignition kit for your stove??

 

[seaken]

I just push the on button , the stove starts right up. Do they make a ignition kit for your stove??

Sorry, the P38 is manual light only.

 

[pelletheat]

Mix the gel & pellets in a plastic bowl prior to putting them in the burnpot, this allows the pellets to be fully saturated with stating gel. The Exhaust Sensing Probe (ESP) needs to reach 165 degrees before the stove will run the feed motor. If you are squirting gel on top of the pellets in the burnpot, the gel will burn off before the stove establishes a hot fire & the feed motor will not start without 165 degrees on the ESP.

 

[Corie]

The gel is alcohol based and recommended for starting pellet stoves. Lighter fluid and kerosene are not and it will void her warranty on a brand new stove if they find out that she is doing that. Stop telling people to the stupid things that you do, just because it hasn't harmed you yet.


Ignoring the gnome for a second; OP, if the gel isn't working, you can try a torch, wax covered flakes or the alcohol soaked starter pellets. I have to say truthfully, that the gel is my least favorite way to light a pellet fire.

 

[robscot]

The gel is alcohol based and recommended for starting pellet stoves. Lighter fluid and kerosene are not and it will void her warranty on a brand new stove if they find out that she is doing that. Stop telling people to the stupid things that you do, just because it hasn't harmed you yet.


Ignoring the gnome for a second; OP, if the gel isn't working, you can try a torch, wax covered flakes or the alcohol soaked starter pellets. I have to say truthfully, that the gel is my least favorite way to light a pellet fire.

What is your preferred method? I haven't looked for the wax flakes or the alcohol pellets yet. I agree with the gel method...it seems like WAY too much work.

 

[seaken]

The gel is alcohol based and recommended for starting pellet stoves. Lighter fluid and kerosene are not and it will void her warranty on a brand new stove if they find out that she is doing that. Stop telling people to the stupid things that you do, just because it hasn't harmed you yet.


Ignoring the gnome for a second; OP, if the gel isn't working, you can try a torch, wax covered flakes or the alcohol soaked starter pellets. I have to say truthfully, that the gel is my least favorite way to light a pellet fire.

Poor gnomes, getting bad name. [grin] More of a troll, really.

 

[FireJumper]

The trick is using enough starting gel. I usually put a couple hand fulls of pellets in the burn pot and squirt a good bit of starting gel on top of the pellets and use the scraper tool to mix the two together, kinda like mixing soup. Then when I feel that everything is mixed together good enough I take a lighter and light the end of the scraper tool that has gel on it (good way not to burn yourself) then start the pellets. At this point I shut the door and and turn the unit on. I never have a problem starting them.

 

[Corie]

The gel is alcohol based and recommended for starting pellet stoves. Lighter fluid and kerosene are not and it will void her warranty on a brand new stove if they find out that she is doing that. Stop telling people to the stupid things that you do, just because it hasn't harmed you yet.


Ignoring the gnome for a second; OP, if the gel isn't working, you can try a torch, wax covered flakes or the alcohol soaked starter pellets. I have to say truthfully, that the gel is my least favorite way to light a pellet fire.

What is your preferred method? I haven't looked for the wax flakes or the alcohol pellets yet. I agree with the gel method...it seems like WAY too much work.

If I'm manually lighting a pellet fire here, I almost always use the wax-flakes.

 

[MrWinkey]

Please do not use Kerosene/Gas or Diesel to light your pellet stove!

It's also not a good idea to put newspaper in your pellet stove IMHO.

Personally I use a small propane torch or I use firestarter gel and let it sit for a few minutes.

Where is that video that was on the ash can? That's a great video of why not.

Edit:
From the ash can.....

(broken link removed to http://www.blunzn.com/uploads/Dondorf_Feuer.mpg)

 

[pelletheat]

Personally I use a small propane torch or I use firestarter gel and let it sit for a few minutes.

I would not recommend letting the the pellets sit in the burnpot with gel. If you would happen to close the door on the stove and come back later, the gases from the starting gel will accumulate in the firebox, this could result in a mini explosion, causing serius injury or burnt eyebrows to whoever lights the pellets.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

NEVER EVER use liquids such as kerosine, gas or charcoal lighter fluid to start a pellet stove! its an extremely dangerous practice that could lead to personal injury or possible house fire!
i use the gel mostly or flakes, but also have gotten the little wax and sawdust bricks , crunched them up and mixed with pellets, light with a long lighter in a few places. at this point i turn the stove on with the door cracked, the door open switch should not allow pellet fed but the exhaust blower would be running , this allows the smoke from the initial start (if any) to be pulled out , and the cracked door starts pulling a little airfrom under to help get it going. after a couple minutes , the fire should be well established enough to close the door and allow feeding

the trick is to get the pellets themselves to start to burn. closing the door too soon allows the gel to burn away much too rapidly, ditto with the chips , but the crunched wax/sawdust chunks last longer so there is a better chance of the pellets getting lit.

to "crunch them " i usually put them in a bag , and pop em with a hammer a couple times. usually this will produce "acorn sized" chunks which are the perfect size IMHO.

NOTE: this is with ESW units which are equipped with the "door ajar" vacuum switch , i do not know if the p-38 has such an arrangement in it. hope this is helpful

 

[stoveguy2esw]

The gel is alcohol based and recommended for starting pellet stoves. Lighter fluid and kerosene are not and it will void her warranty on a brand new stove if they find out that she is doing that. Stop telling people to the stupid things that you do, just because it hasn't harmed you yet.


Ignoring the gnome for a second; OP, if the gel isn't working, you can try a torch, wax covered flakes or the alcohol soaked starter pellets. I have to say truthfully, that the gel is my least favorite way to light a pellet fire.

Poor gnomes, getting bad name. [grin] More of a troll, really.

accident waiting to happen is more fitting. but then after he sets himself on fire with the kerosine, he can always cradle a bread bag fuul of wet newspapers to put himself out

 

[wilbilt]

I have been looking for gel to start my ancient Trail Blazer, but have been unsuccessful so far. The best I have come up with are gel-filled "packets" about 2" square.

I put about 1/4 handful of pellets in the bottom of the pot, then fold a packet into a "V" shape and place on top of the pellets. Another 1/2 handful or so are placed on top of the packet.

I light the corners of the packet with a long-handled lighter and let them burn for about a minute and then close the door. After another minute I turn on the blower and wait until all of the pellets are burning well before starting the auger feed.

Total time from lighting the packet to starting the feed is usually about 8-10 minutes. Keep in mind this is an old stove without many of the more modern features.

 

[MrWinkey]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylated_spirit

My bottle says denatured alcohol is what it contains and that link says it is not explosive but I would agree it's not a good idea to close the door.

Putting the pellets in a small dish to mix sounds like a better idea and I will do that in the future.

Sorry if I gave out bad advice it's what the bottle says....

 

[GVA]

My 2 cents
Propane or MAPP works well but your in the same boat as the gel..
The pellets need to be well established with flames before you can close door..
What I do .....
Turn feed on to fill burnpot about halfway.
open door add a teaspoon of gel
light gel and close door but don't latch door
once the flame changes from a bluish to yellow flame latch the door.
Within a couple of minutes the stove will have proof of fire and now it's set to run...

I've heard that using vegetable oil works though never tried it.
But could be pretty cheap if you were to take a gladware container add some pellets and some oil and let them saturate then throw some in the burnpot and light.........
Who want's to experiment????

EDIT*********
Oh yeah I had that flashback thing happen from letting the gel sit too long before lighting..........It's a scary thing..

 

[robscot]

Well, last night we tried...again.... to light our Harman P38. We squirted on some of the
lighter gel, then lit the pellets. We left the door open for a few minutes, noticed that some
of the pellets had started to get a coal look to them, so we closed the door... and within a
couple of minutes the fire was pretty close to going out. At that point, hubby went and got a
propane torch; squirted a bunch more gel on them and torched those suckers. It took a
couple "torchings" but we finally got it going. Boy, I can't believe how much of that gel stuff
wepre going through. I'm going to have to try and find it in a gallon jug at the rate we're
using it I'm going to try and find some of the wax flakes this weekend.
We have also been using the firestarter brick things as well, but we just haven't found the
"magic" formula yet. Hopefully we'll catch on soon. We're used to starting fires
in a conventional wood stove with dry kindling...we didn't realize what a challenge pellet
fire starting would be. Thanks for all the ideas, we'll be trying out some of your suggestions.

 

[thephotohound]

Robscot -

Once you actually have a fire going, do you have:

1. Slow, yellow-orange flames
2. Fast, bright yellow or white flames (like a blow torch)
3. Something in the middle

If you have #1, I think your damper may be too closed. If you have #2, I believe your damper may be too open. Either one will give you a really hard time lighting pellets. Just a thought...

 

[FireJumper]

Robscot -

Once you actually have a fire going, do you have:

1. Slow, yellow-orange flames
2. Fast, bright yellow or white flames (like a blow torch)
3. Something in the middle

If you have #1, I think your damper may be too closed. If you have #2, I believe your damper may be too open. Either one will give you a really hard time lighting pellets. Just a thought...

The P38 doesn't have any type of "damper" on it. It has an air intake flapper but the minute you turn the unit on the air intake opens. Now if this is stuck closed you will end up having some problems with the unit lighting.