moisture in burn pot, rust/corrosion

[Cheeks]

This is my first burn season and i'm noticing when I clean the stove that some areas look "wet". Especially in the burn pot below some of the ash that remains. The aggitator is usually dark brown and seems moist too. And the sides of my burn pot tend to aggregate ash in clumps. Not hard clumps though -with the slightest tough or vibration they collapse.

Additionally, my burn pot seems to be corroding or rusting. I always have to spend at least 10 mins scrapping off clinkers with each cleaning too.

I recently adjusted my air inflow so that the flame is bright yellow, almost white and brisk. I feel it's at a good place, but what could be causing this? Should i be concerned?

Using Green Supreme again (I used 10 bags of Hearthside recently too) and have a GCI60 insert. Our pellets are stored in the garage and have not seen rain or snow since we received them.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Threerun]

Just curious- do you have an outside air intake for your insert? Is it damp or moist near where your combustion air is?

Have you tried some different pellets? I noticed that one brand of pellets I was burning (Presto-Logs) left a mighty big layer of carbon. My North Idaho premiums burn a lot cleaner with only mild build up- no real clinkers.

 

[Cheeks]

No, I do not have outside air, and in a previous post about the efficiency of my stove people recommended one. But the air near the stove is not moist. It's been about 27% relative humidity in the house most of the winter.
Could be the pellets. Aside from the 10 bags of hearthside we havent tried anything else. I hope to get two different kinds next year so i can do a long-term comparison.

 

[SwineFlue]

I recently adjusted my air inflow so that the flame is bright yellow, almost white and brisk

Try one run with a little more air, and another run with a little less. See what effect it has.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Just because it has a wet look doesn't mean it is water.
Liquid water cannot exist at the temperatures in the firepot while a fire is burning.
After the fire goes out, the metal walls of the firepot are hotter than the air in the firebox. It is not possible, therefore, for there to be condensation of water vapor on the metal. As the stove cools down, the air is always cooler than the firepot. Condensation can only happen if the surface is cooler than the air.
If your stove has been burning at a low setting, it is possible that what you are seeing is distillates (possibly including creosote) from the wood. The brown on the auger is probably from the same cause.
The crust you are seeing is caused when the firing temperature gets high enough to fuse the minerals in the pellets. It is somewhat like what happens when pottery is fired in a kiln and the minerals of the clay fuse together. If it isn't causing a problem, don't worry about it. If it gets to be a problem by sticking to the firepot, you may need to detune the stove so it doesn't burn quite so hot. Life is full of compromises.