Monia Piazzetta help

[retrolassie]

I am new here and have looked through other posts on Piazzetta stoves. I will let the cat out of the bag right up front. I am a women and most of what is spoken about on this forum goes clear over my head, and I'm having a problem with my stove and need help in a down to earth manner. There was no installation from the dealer, so no one set it up 'for my home'. I have been running on hard, hard wood, (extra premium) because that is what the dealer told me to do, and here I read that soft pellets will create less ash. Ugh! I also am understanding that there' s no way around turning it off at least once per day and cleaning it... beauty over function... eh?

Manometer.....shmanometer.....and all of those other complex things you talk about. How did you learn? I am an occupational therapist, not in the business of stoves... but I could learn Just a bit afraid of ruining it! So how can you help this utter and complete novice to help her run her stove more efficiently. Getting lots of unburned pellets if I don't turn it off and clean it every 14 hours or so. I tried running It for two days and it was a disaster. Pellets overflowing.... most just black and unburned.

Thanks in advance,
Lassie

 

[Bioburner]

Welcome. Maybe drop a PM to Lake Girl who like me just became a moderator. She has a couple Ecoteck stoves that can be a bit needy I found that my Ecoteck is actually better with soft wood pellets as they are hotter and have a lighter ash that cleans out of the pot better.

 

[1kzwoman]

Welcome
Not a pellet person but you will find great folks with great advise here.
Post picks of install
Tell others about your home size age and layout, windows, insulation ...
It's all useful to those helping you

 

[retrolassie]

Welcome. Maybe drop a PM to Lake Girl who like me just became a moderator. She has a couple Ecoteck stoves that can be a bit needy I found that my Ecoteck is actually better with soft wood pellets as they are hotter and have a lighter ash that cleans out of the pot better.

Thanks for the fast reply.... now to figure out how to 'pm' someone on this forum.

 

[BrotherBart]

Click on "Inbox" on the upper right by your user name and click "Start A New Conversation".

 

[retrolassie]

Welcome
Not a pellet person but you will find great folks with great advise here.
Post picks of install
Tell others about your home size age and layout, windows, insulation ...
It's all useful to those helping you

Home size 1800 square feet. Stove is in new addition unheated room one story 15 x 20 with argon filled insulated low-e windows. Room facing south-west. Really well insulated.

 

[chken]

I am new here and have looked through other posts on Piazzetta stoves. I will let the cat out of the bag right up front. I am a women and most of what is spoken about on this forum goes clear over my head, and I'm having a problem with my stove and need help in a down to earth manner. There was no installation from the dealer, so no one set it up 'for my home'. I have been running on hard, hard wood, (extra premium) because that is what the dealer told me to do, and here I read that soft pellets will create less ash. Ugh! I also am understanding that there' s no way around turning it off at least once per day and cleaning it... beauty over function... eh?

Manometer.....shmanometer.....and all of those other complex things you talk about. How did you learn? I am an occupational therapist, not in the business of stoves... but I could learn Just a bit afraid of ruining it! So how can you help this utter and complete novice to help her run her stove more efficiently. Getting lots of unburned pellets if I don't turn it off and clean it every 14 hours or so. I tried running It for two days and it was a disaster. Pellets overflowing.... most just black and unburned.

Thanks in advance,
Lassie

Well, I'll try to speak in an earthly manner, but I fear that many of those posts you are referring to were probably mine.

Anyhow, the manual you got states that softwood pellets are preferred. Not required but certainly preferred. Ultra and Super premium have fewer fines/dust and less ash than regular Premium branded pellets.

The install pic looks fine. Can we see a pic of the stove's flame when running? Can we see a pic of these "unburned pellets"?What pellet brand are you burning? When did you have the stove installed, and how many bags have you burned so far?

What is your cleaning routine? How often do you clean behind the backplate? How often do you clean the vent?

Did the stove always have unburned pellets, even from when you first got it?

An overflowing pot, indicates poor combustion, either not enough air, or dirty exhaust or likely both.

Once you've answered the questions, we can talk about shmanometers.

 

[retrolassie]

Well, I'll try to speak in an earthly manner, but I fear that many of those posts you are referring to were probably mine.

Anyhow, the manual you got states that softwood pellets are preferred. Not required but certainly preferred. Ultra and Super premium have fewer fines/dust and less ash than regular Premium branded pellets.

The install pic looks fine. Can we see a pic of the stove's flame when running? Can we see a pic of these "unburned pellets"?What pellet brand are you burning? When did you have the stove installed, and how many bags have you burned so far?

What is your cleaning routine? How often do you clean behind the backplate? How often do you clean the vent?

Did the stove always have unburned pellets, even from when you first got it?

An overflowing pot, indicates poor combustion, either not enough air, or dirty exhaust or likely both.

Once you've answered the questions, we can talk about shmanometers.

Thanks so much for asking all of the questions. I can answer some tonight.
1) This is my second winter with the stove. I burned different pellets last year..many different types because of the shortage. Whatever I could get my hands on. This year I purchased a ton of Geneva 100% hardwood super premium and they just don't seem to work as well.
2) I have probably burned around 4 ton so far.
3) Clean it one per day and have tried on a few occasions to go two days. Backplane every week. Vent? Do you mean taking the whole system apart? Or just the cleanout in the T? (don't forget I am a novice).
4) The stove did not always have unburned pellets. Maybe once last season. I don't have a photo tonight of unburned pellets. Here is a photo of flame at P2.

 

[chken]

4 ton this year, right? According to the manual, you should plan on cleaning the vent every ton, or thereabouts. When you clean the vent, you don't have to take it all apart. When you remove the cleanup in the T, you should run a pellet brush all the way along the length of the pipe. If you don't have one, a linteater can be bought at Lowes or similar store. Given that your stove's problem is increasing typically means something is changing from when it was new, and that of course, is most likely to be the amount of ash in the system.

In addition to the linteater, I would strongly urge you to look up the Leaf Blower Trick, aka LBT, on this site, and watch a few vids. Recent threads have discussed which leaf blower to buy and adapters, etc. That will catch any ash that your linteater can't reach.

Another question is how does the grate look when you clean it, are the holes all plugged? Does the fire box have white ash coating the walls or blackish ash? Is the flame whitish or yellowish to your eye, and is it more yellow this year than last? Any black whisps at the tips of the flame?

And, does the pic accurately reflect what you see? If not, can you try exposing the image on the center of the flame, that will darken the exposure and allow us to see a little more detail.

 

[709GADE]

Do you have much black carbon buildup in the burn pot? Some hardwood pellets cause this I think, more so than softwood pellets.

 

[retrolassie]

4 ton this year, right? According to the manual, you should plan on cleaning the vent every ton, or thereabouts. When you clean the vent, you don't have to take it all apart. When you remove the cleanup in the T, you should run a pellet brush all the way along the length of the pipe. If you don't have one, a linteater can be bought at Lowes or similar store. Given that your stove's problem is increasing typically means something is changing from when it was new, and that of course, is most likely to be the amount of ash in the system.

In addition to the linteater, I would strongly urge you to look up the Leaf Blower Trick, aka LBT, on this site, and watch a few vids. Recent threads have discussed which leaf blower to buy and adapters, etc. That will catch any ash that your linteater can't reach.

Another question is how does the grate look when you clean it, are the holes all plugged? Does the fire box have white ash coating the walls or blackish ash? Is the flame whitish or yellowish to your eye, and is it more yellow this year than last? Any black whisps at the tips of the flame?

And, does the pic accurately reflect what you see? If not, can you try exposing the image on the center of the flame, that will darken the exposure and allow us to see a little more detail.

4 ton since I bought it.1 1/2 so far this year. Yes, the holes are kind of plugged... thick ash like clumps that suck up into the vacuum as a whole. White ash days..but every once in awhile it goes black. Flame is completely yellow. No white at all. Looking at it right now I do not see any black whips at tips. I turned the stove on at 5:00 pm. It is now 8:00 pm. The glass has white ash on it so I would not get a good photo of the flame. Will have to wait.

Will check out leaf blower and linteater etc.

 

[retrolassie]

4 ton since I bought it.1 1/2 so far this year. Yes, the holes are kind of plugged... thick ash like clumps that suck up into the vacuum as a whole. White ash days..but every once in awhile it goes black. Flame is completely yellow. No white at all. Looking at it right now I do not see any black whips at tips. I turned the stove on at 5:00 pm. It is now 8:00 pm. The glass has white ash on it so I would not get a good photo of the flame. Will have to wait.

Will check out leaf blower and linteater etc.

I love spell check!! Whips and White ash days (dust)

 

[709GADE]

I'd recommend cleaning the burn pot holes every couple days, that will prevent the buildup and keep the combustion air flowing good. Every so often I get black soot in the firebox as well.

 

[retrolassie]

Do you have much black carbon buildup in the burn pot? Some hardwood pellets cause this I think, more so than softwood pellets.

If I knew what black carbon buildup looked like, I could tell you. But I don't think so. Tomorrow when I shut her down, I will take photos of the insides.

 

[709GADE]

If I knew what black carbon buildup looked like, I could tell you. But I don't think so. Tomorrow when I shut her down, I will take photos of the insides.

It occurs in the burn pot and can take hammer and chisel to chip it off.

 

[chken]

Carbon is a hard black layer that can coat the inside of your grate. You can use a stiff scraper or other implement to scrape it off.

White ash dusting the walls is good, black is bad, whitish flame good, yellow verging upon orange bad. Black whisps bad.

As 709 notes, keep the holes in the grate open when you clean, that's how the air gets in, and if the air is restricted the combustion will worsen. Clumpy ash, if it's hard like volcanic rock, might be clinkers. That's due to the minerals in the pellets that siliconize or whatever the call it under high heat. Not much you can do about them.

From what we seem to know now, I would first clean thoroughly, using a linteater, and a leaf blower. That should bring your stove's cleanliness back to its original condition. Only when the stove is super clean can you work on fixing the combustion to get a clean burn.

 

[retrolassie]

Carbon is a hard black layer that can coat the inside of your grate. You can use a stiff scraper or other implement to scrape it off.

White ash dusting the walls is good, black is bad, whitish flame good, yellow verging upon orange bad. Black whisps bad.

As 709 notes, keep the holes in the grate open when you clean, that's how the air gets in, and if the air is restricted the combustion will worsen. Clumpy ash, if it's hard like volcanic rock, might be clinkers. That's due to the minerals in the pellets that siliconize or whatever the call it under high heat. Not much you can do about them.

From what we seem to know now, I would first clean thoroughly, using a linteater, and a leaf blower. That should bring your stove's cleanliness back to its original condition. Only when the stove is super clean can you work on fixing the combustion to get a clean burn.

Sounds like a plan. Thanks so much. Will get back here soon. P. S. My daughter lives in Portland. Love Maine

 

[oldwood]

I have a used Sabrina, 1st season of use, in central VT, averaging about 51.5 lbs. per day, set on energy save mode, 65-67 F, power setting 3-4. Older farm style home about 1800 sq. ft. I set temp on stove at 63F at night. I vacuum ash pan and fire pot every 1-2 days, pull back plate 3-4 weeks and vacuum, pull clean out on bottom of tee at stove and vacuum every 2 weeks. I just ran a brush through the pipe after 2 tons of pellets, wasn't bad. I have been burning Energex 100% soft and the hard soft mixed pellets, the soft might be a little hotter but not a lot cleaner. We are warm and the cleaning only takes a few minutes, the glass needs the same attention every day or 2 also. I am hooked into my tile lined chimney and have good natural draft, chimney is 35' from basement to top. Stove is only appliance on chimney and is located on 1st floor.
oldwood