Lopi 400 PI

[OldGuy12]

Thank you to Ssyko who helped me to figure out how to get the exhaust motor out of my Lopi 400PI so I could clean it. It now burns cleaner than it has since I've owned it. Now I have another issue, though.

It seems that the convection motor isn't always working as it should. It just seems to stop working while the stove is burning along. When that happens, the stove gets extremely hot to the point where you cannot touch the inside of the pellet hopper. Can anyone help me to troubleshoot this problem, or is it a given that I need a new convection motor? Thanks.

.... I had just turned the stove off before I posted this. When I went downstairs (about half an hour had passed) the convection blower was working. That's the second time this has happened. That is, after I turn the stove off because it is so hot and convection blower not working, after it cools down some the blower comes on. Any idea what that might mean?

.... Today I ran the stove for about 5 hours. All was fine until my wife realized it had gone out, although the convection blower was still on when I went to check on it. And, there are some unburnt pellets in the firepot which I found strange since any time I've manually turned the stove off, any pellets in the firepot burn up. Anyone know why the stove would have turned off on its own? Maybe the convection blower shut off again and it overheated?

Obviously I don't know a lot about how these things work, so I'd really appreciate any help you can provide. Thanks.

 

[heat seeker]

The convection motor may be overheating, and its internal thermal switch shut it off. When the motor cools, it starts up again. In the meantime, the stove may overheat.

They generally overheat because of dust collecting in the windings of the motor itself, which blocks cooling airflow. It should be part of your annual maintenance to remove the motor(s) and blow the windings out with compressed air. I. bought my stove used, and the first time I blew the motors out I was astounded at the dust cloud I created. Subsequent cleanings yield much smaller clouds, and the motors run as they should.

"A clean stove is a happy stove."

 

[Ssyko]

Ditto what heat seeker said. Also if the low limit disc was changed it may be open on rise instead of close on rise. But I suspect the motor is hitting thermal shut off.

 

[OldGuy12]

The convection motor may be overheating, and its internal thermal switch shut it off. When the motor cools, it starts up again. In the meantime, the stove may overheat.

They generally overheat because of dust collecting in the windings of the motor itself, which blocks cooling airflow. It should be part of your annual maintenance to remove the motor(s) and blow the windings out with compressed air. I. bought my stove used, and the first time I blew the motors out I was astounded at the dust cloud I created. Subsequent cleanings yield much smaller clouds, and the motors run as they should.

"A clean stove is a happy stove."

That makes sense. I’ll get it cleaned out and see what happens. Thanks.

 

[OldGuy12]

Ditto what heat seeker said. Also if the low limit disc was changed it may be open on rise instead of close on rise. But I suspect the motor is hitting thermal shut off.

Thanks for your response. Although I read about what snap discs are in general, I’ve no idea where to find them in this insert. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one and I’ve had it opened up pretty good like when I pulled the exhaust motor. So I admit I have never pulled and cleaned the convection blower and I’ll get on that. Thanks again.

 

[heat seeker]

Either way, please let us know what the results are?