Lopi Pioneer feeding issue

[Sheepdog-1]

Hello,
I recently purchased an older (97-98) Lopi Pioneer. After an extensive clean up and maintenance, it is running fine. Starts up, ignites, runs, ans shuts down like it should. The problem I have is that you have to turn the temperature knob all the way up to get the stove to make any heat. I think I the stove is rated at 800-1700 square feet. My house is only 1400 square feet and it's only 45-50 degrees outside. It has trouble heating just my living room which I'd 12x20. If you do leave it on for 3-4 hours, it will eventually heat up the kitchen area too. I have cleaned the auger bushings, the motor is turning at its 1 rpm, but the pellet feed is inconsistent. I have read where this is a common occurrence but even on high the flame "yo-yo's" up and down with the pellet flow. When the burn pot has a lot of pellets, the flame is high and there is enough heat so I know the stove is capable of higher heating. I have replaced the door seal and the burn pot always burns clean and the flame is active. I have tried four different brands of pellets with the same results. The exhaust is straight out of the wall (22-23") with a chimney cap.
This is my first pellet stove and could use some advice.

 

[Lake Girl]

Welcome to the forum! No code lights showing up? What mode are you running it in? Do you have a thermostat connected? Did the previous owner have a thermostat? How about damper (restrictor) adjustment ... have you changed that around to see what effect it would have?

 

[Lake Girl]

Really good troubleshooting guide by Travis ... (broken link removed to http://travisindustries.com/download/lucy/training/pellet_tsuide.pdf)

In case you don't have a manual ... (broken link removed to http://www.lopistoves.com/TravisDocs/93508050.pdf)

 

[Sheepdog-1]

Good morning,
This model only has a fault light and it isn't illuminated. I've tried running it about half way on the heat range to wide open. Anything lower than half way, not enough pellets are fed and the stove goes out. A thermostat has not been used by the previous owner or myself. I haven't adjusted the damper because the burn pot is burning real clean, and the glowing embers in the pot dance nicely with but just a few being blown out. I have down loaded and read both the owners manual and Travis Industries trouble shooting manual, but my issue doesn't seem to be addressed.
My thoughts are that maybe the voltage to the heat knob is out of adjustment. When the control knob is turned to wide open, the auger light comes on for approximately 3-3 1/2 seconds and then stops for 3-3 1/2 seconds. This is in line with what the manual says it's supposed to be, but again, there are times that the auger/light comes on, but no pellets are being fed. I'm usually pretty good at figuring things out, but maybe the stove is working properly and I'm the issue??!! It just seems that if it were fed more pellets it would work fine, but it doesn't.

 

[MButkus]

Is your feeder motor working right ? ? My pellet stove had the fiber gear strip, so it could only feed so much once it was in the "stripped" area causing the fire to almost go out. Just watch the pellets drop... You should be able to determine how many pellets are dropping. Is there something IN the pellet feed tube stopping the pellets from dropping or grabbing them ? I've heard of that problem too. You can remove all the pellets and watch the auger turn.

 

[Sheepdog-1]

I believe so. During my initial maintenance I disassembled the auger motor to inspect it. All the gears were good so I spread out the grease that was inside and put it back together. I cleaned out the auger tube when I cleaned the top and bottom bushings.
While I had the auger cover off, I turned the stove on and watched the auger flights when the red "auger light" illuminated. When the light came on, the auger moved. I let in run for a couple of rotations of the auger and figured it was working correctly.
After I reassembled it, and the stove was burning pellets, the light will come on and a few pellets will drop. Then the light will come on and a lot of pellets will fall. Then no pellets will fall for two or three "light on" cycles. (the auger is still turning) Then it will start over with a few dropping, then a little more, then a lot, then none. This happens the same if the heat dial is in the medium mode or wide open and with four different types of pellets. It has me stumped.

 

[Sheepdog-1]

I was reading on another thread where someone replaced an original 1 rpm auger motor with a 2-3 rpm auger motor. Would this be possible with this stove? I was thinking that if you can't turn up the feed on a 1 rpm motor, maybe you could turn down a 2-3 rpm motor? If so, would anyone have a suggestion on motor type or part number. Also, is there a test you can perform on the feed (heat) dial to see if it's within specifications?
Thanks for your help. Lyle

 

[Don2222]

Hi
Is your stove like this one that I have?
The YoYo fire seems to be normal for this type of stove.
Do you have a pic?
Does it have knob controls or touch buttons?

 

[Sheepdog-1]

Good morning, yes it appears to be the same stove. It has the knob type controls. I have read about the "yo-yo" effect being a common occurrence. My problem is that even on the maximum heat setting, there are not enough pellets being fed to keep a strong flame going to produce more heat. I was thinking another auger motor with a 2-3 rpm speed that I could turn down for more pellet feeding. Opinions?

 

[Don2222]

It is designed with a 1 RPM auger and a 1 RPM auger motor so before doing that, I would pull the auger, buff it out with a wire wheel and change the auger bushing.

 

[Sheepdog-1]

Thank you for your in put, but I have previously removed and cleaned the auger. The bushings had no play whatsoever, so I used 000 steel wool to clean them an reinstalled everything. Prior to installing the motor I checked for rotating resistance, it turned freely. I have literally taken this stove apart and cleaned everything. The only thing I haven't tested was the voltage going in/out of the feed control knob.
Is there a difference in the auger flight pitch from1 rpm motor to a to 2-3 rpm motor? At such a low speed I can't see that it would make much of a difference.
Thank you again for your help.

 

[Don2222]

You could update to the new digital control panel, the auger timing was improved for it,

 

[smwilliamson]

Bad auger bushing