Manual control pellet stove questions

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.

Hunterbroe

New Member
Apr 13, 2021
2
Utah
Just wondering if anyone had any insight or advice.

just moved into a new place with a pellet stove. I’m at 8000 ft elevation and it’s my only source of heat. It has no automatic controls, for some reason the previous owner wired it into wall switches. There are 3 variable dials: one to control the auger, one to control the airflow within the stove, and one to blow the hot air into the home. I believe a have a good understanding of how it all works, but I’m unable to keep it lit on it’s own for very long. I understand it will take some time of trial and error/tweaking the settings to get it right, but it either kicks too many pellets into the pot and burns very hot/dirty, or doesn’t kick enough in and goes out.
The auger is very touch-and-go, it will stop itself if it’s going too slow, but if I speed it up a MINUTE amount to get it turning again, it pushes too many in. I gave it a thorough clean to see if there were small chunks jamming the auger, but I’d imagine that wouldn’t have to be done daily.
I also wonder if I’m turning the airflow up too high, or how slow I’m supposed to burn the pellets. They’re all pretty red-hot and there’s only about 3 inches of flame, but is it supposed to be more flame rather than coals?
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
 
What model of stove? Photos and or videos always help
 
Are you not able to contact the seller and get them to give you a run down on getting the basic settings?
 
Are you not able to contact the seller and get them to give you a run down on getting the basic settings?
 
3 light dimmer switches? Thats a formula for disaster. The auger will not run for long on low voltage (light dimmer) it will burn up. The other 2 may as well be plugged into the wall to run and find a timer to run the auger. Better yet get a good control board for the stove
 
3 light dimmer switches? Thats a formula for disaster. The auger will not run for long on low voltage (light dimmer) it will burn up. The other 2 may as well be plugged into the wall to run and find a timer to run the auger. Better yet get a good control board for the stove
So I should be able to just look up the model of stove and buy a control board and hook it in? I was thinking that would be way nicer
 
All you need is a make model and year
should be all on the decal on the inside of the hopper lid
or rear panel
 
Guy on you tube did a video on that setup and called it a temp fix. You can use speed controls on most motors but the auger needs full voltage for a timed period, thats how they work and run for so long
 
Last edited:
Sounds Rube Goldberg to the max to me.... me too, I want to see some pictures.