magnum countryside ?

[krdfarm]

I recently purchased a used magnum countryside pedestal stove....did what I consider a major cleaning on stove and everything seems to be working as it should....one major problem......it does not seem to throw much heat at all.......I have basically dismantled stove and reassembled after cleaning and checking for wear etc.....flame adjust to a nice burn....all fans working........at the present time it doesnt seem to be producing much more heat than a small electric heater.......any ideas on how to proceed would be much appreciated!

 

[Bioburner]

Have you gotten the panel cleaned that is hidden behind the firebrick? Its a real pain to get to as access is from below from ash bin when the cleanout slides are pulled. You have to use a wire-coat hanger to dig out the ash as well hit the back wall to dislodge ash. The manual recommends a high fire everyday with the slide damper pulled out to help keep the stove from plugging. If you had it outside you could get an air nozzle to blast the passage clear while using a leaf blower to suck.

 

[krdfarm]

I have gotten that area cleaned....stove is in a shop so using air as a cleaning method is not a problem.......one thing that I found last night after my original post is that in the owners manual it appears that there should be two steel knockoutplugs that a person would remove to clean that area......those plugs are missing on my stove.......I have been assuming that since these plugs sit behind the brick panel it wasn't of much concern.......is it possible that the heat is being drawn around the brick panel and sucked out through the exhaust before it has a chance to reach the heat exchanger tubes?

 

[Bioburner]

If the brick panel is in place there is no problem. Never have seen a stove with the holes blocked. Installed-inspected over 50. I would still suspect ash very high in that false wall. Application of high explosives if I ever did see. That stove should really put out if clean. They just needed a very deep cleaning weekly to keep at optimum. If not it cakes up and is very hard to remove if burning corn.

 

[krdfarm]

Looking at the stove...on the top ledge of the false panel or back wall there a series of holes that are around half inch in diameter....I am assuming that this is where the smoke is drawn out through the blower.....am I correct in this assumption?.....at the cuurent time it seems as if more heat is exiting via the exhaust flue than is being pushed thru the front of stove....just trying to get better understanding of stove design so I can hopefully get this thing figured out.....like the idea of heating with pellets or corn.....but growing frustrated with this stove.

 

[Bioburner]

The main exchanger tubes get direct flame. The back wall basically preheats the air before exiting the exchangers and protects the stoves workings with the double wall construction. Now there may be something in the double wall of the room air side blocking the air movement through the stove. I've found many mouse nests.

 

[krdfarm]

The room air flow does seem weak to me...even when running at full speed.....any tips for checking out the room air side? I have had the room air blower off but really can't see much from there.....I put my shop vac in blower mode in put in room air inlet and blew thru it.....it moved more air than stover blower does but air flow was not was expecting....thanks again for replies and tips so far!

 

[Lake Girl]

Looking at the stove...on the top ledge of the false panel or back wall there a series of holes that are around half inch in diameter....I am assuming that this is where the smoke is drawn out through the blower.....am I correct in this assumption?.....at the cuurent time it seems as if more heat is exiting via the exhaust flue than is being pushed thru the front of stove....just trying to get better understanding of stove design so I can hopefully get this thing figured out.....like the idea of heating with pellets or corn.....but growing frustrated with this stove.

Pics would help

Knock out plugs should be used on the clean-outs as brick may not be fitting tight enough...

 

[Bioburner]

All I can say from this point is get a coat hanger and start poking around from both the fan side and through the exchanger tubes where things shrink down and seem seem to get stuck. The fan is usually pretty good but needs cleaning of fins and oiling. Larger than a Harman.

 

[Lake Girl]

Stove is installed in shop? Does it have an OAK (outside air kit)? Required...

Manual - trouble shooting guide page 37 (broken link removed to http://www.americanenergysystems.com/downloads/public/MagnumCS%20Owner%20manual%200803%20rev9.pdf)

 

[krdfarm]

Outside air is hooked up.....per advice in earlier post...I am going to pick up a couple knockout plugs and give them a try......at a couple bucks a piece its definitely worth a try!........I feel like its something so simple that is causing my issue....over the weekend I discovered damper was not closing far enough due to buildup in path of travel....I was sure it was going to solve problem......while it definitely helped control of flame.......it did very little to help heat output....thanks again for your input!

 

[Bioburner]

That stove was designed for corn. Feeding it pellets will lessen its ability to heat as pellet volume is higher than corn per lb. I fed one or two for 8 years and pellets were just good for starting the corn

 

[krdfarm]

Just wanted to give an update and thank those who responded.........I found two conduit knockout plugs that were the same size as the clean out holes in the back of stove......started stove.........difference was noticable immediately.........flame improved again to an even healthier looking flame.......once stove warmed up and fan kicked in the heat output is also noticeably increased........the fan now runs higher at a lower stove setting on the controls than it did before......amazing what $1.99 in parts will do........crossing my fingers that this is the final answer....30x30 shop temp increased 3 degrees in an hour.....took 8hrs to do that before the plugs....thanks again!

 

[Bioburner]

The old firebrick was supposed to slow that down. Ancient design. Not near as bad as what they had the Chinese screw together. Glad its working out though.

 

[Lake Girl]

Can the conduit plugs handle the heat? Glad to hear your warmer

 

[Bioburner]

The plugs should not get much heat as the firebrick should shield them.

 

[jdonna]

Wish I would have caught this post sooner to save you some headache. I bought a used magnum and was struggling with the same issues. The knockouts were missing and I had an improved heat output by buying two and installing them.

Check that the air wash channel is clean on the glass, that tends to plug up. I experimented with blocking it shut on mine, had great heat output but could not stand the black glass.

I also installed the higher output draft motor because mine failed, that has helped with heat out put too. Can run a lower draft setting and have less ash buildup.

What burn pot are you running by chance? I am have some early designed Bio-Mass burn pot because the stirrer motor and pot were shot.

A rubber mallet and a a leaf blower hooked to the vent pipe works wonders on cleaning out the stove, I am amazed by the amount of crap that flys out.

Also make sure that your clean out slides are seated all the way down, clean the channels with a knife blade or hacksaw blade. Mine get plugged with ash and when you go to pull the slide up it can sometimes not seat all the way causing a bypass of smoke.

Good luck and keep us posted on what you are finding. There doesn't seem to be a lot of magnum burners on here!

 

[Bioburner]

Wish I would have caught this post sooner to save you some headache. I bought a used magnum and was struggling with the same issues. The knockouts were missing and I had an improved heat output by buying two and installing them.

Check that the air wash channel is clean on the glass, that tends to plug up. I experimented with blocking it shut on mine, had great heat output but could not stand the black glass.

I also installed the higher output draft motor because mine failed, that has helped with heat out put too. Can run a lower draft setting and have less ash buildup.

What burn pot are you running by chance? I am have some early designed Bio-Mass burn pot because the stirrer motor and pot were shot.

A rubber mallet and a a leaf blower hooked to the vent pipe works wonders on cleaning out the stove, I am amazed by the amount of crap that flys out.

Also make sure that your clean out slides are seated all the way down, clean the channels with a knife blade or hacksaw blade. Mine get plugged with ash and when you go to pull the slide up it can sometimes not seat all the way causing a bypass of smoke.

Good luck and keep us posted on what you are finding. There doesn't seem to be a lot of magnum burners on here!

Junking out the ones I had. Where's the upgrading of technology? They need way to much tending and cleaning etc etc.

 

[ScottVT]

Wish I would have caught this post sooner to save you some headache. I bought a used magnum and was struggling with the same issues. The knockouts were missing and I had an improved heat output by buying two and installing them.

Check that the air wash channel is clean on the glass, that tends to plug up. I experimented with blocking it shut on mine, had great heat output but could not stand the black glass.

I also installed the higher output draft motor because mine failed, that has helped with heat out put too. Can run a lower draft setting and have less ash buildup.

What burn pot are you running by chance? I am have some early designed Bio-Mass burn pot because the stirrer motor and pot were shot.

A rubber mallet and a a leaf blower hooked to the vent pipe works wonders on cleaning out the stove, I am amazed by the amount of crap that flys out.

Also make sure that your clean out slides are seated all the way down, clean the channels with a knife blade or hacksaw blade. Mine get plugged with ash and when you go to pull the slide up it can sometimes not seat all the way causing a bypass of smoke.

Good luck and keep us posted on what you are finding. There doesn't seem to be a lot of magnum burners on here!

I need to replace my draft motor... You mentioned getting a higher output draft motor. Where did you get it from? I have a Magnum 3500P.