Mt. Vernon AE only smokes but will not light.

[amadiod]

I have a Quadra-Fire Mt. Vernon AE I purchased in 2008.
Everything appears to be working as it should but it will not ignite. The fire chamber will eventually fill with smoke. Eventually it hits its time out and it will dump the pellets in the ash bin, and I have seen it catch on fire in the ash bin. When the fire chamber is filled with smoke I will see smoke getting into the hopper if it is not completely full. I will see smoke coming out of the spindle of the exhaust motor motor. I have cleaned the ash bin, behind the ash bin, the baffle, behind the baffle and the exhaust exits. I have removed the exhaust motor and cleaned out in there. Also when there is a lot of smoke I will see it leek out around the the top left and right corners of the glass door. I have not had the chimney swept.
I am really frustrated with this stove. My house keeps filling up with smoke.

 

[kappel15]

I would say it is time to clean the chimney. You got blockage somewhere with the smoke escaping every where it shouldn't. And I would make sure you got the two openings below the fins clean. It runs all the way across underneath there. I would also take a mirror and flashlight and look in pot at slit for igniter to see if there is any blockage. I would also take the igniter out of its housing and make sure the housing is clean of any ash or blockage. If you have an oak(outside air kit), I would make sure it is not blocked also. And I would also have the vac switch checked out. If there is blockage, it should be shutting auger down,and not letting stove run. And I would figure this out before you have a stove or hopper fire! Maybe time to have a professional come in. kap

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Looks like time for a cleaning

Eric

 

[Bioburner]

X3

 

[amadiod]

Thanks everyone.
The problem was precisely the stove pipe. They pulled out 3 pounds of buildup from a 24ft run.
At a 1/4 ton of wood pellets per year; the chimney needs to be cleaned at least every other year.

 

[john193]

Am I reading correctly that you burn a quarter of a ton per year, 13 bags?

Per the MVAE manual the chimney liner needs to be cleaned yearly (minimum). I typically perform a liner cleaning every 1 to 1.5 tons of fuel burnt.

Are your gaskets sealing properly? Have you performed the 'dollar bill test?'

(broken link removed to http://hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/7034_276.pdf)

 

[Bioburner]

Would love to have seen the LBT on that unit.

 

[kappel15]

Thanks everyone.
The problem was precisely the stove pipe. They pulled out 3 pounds of buildup from a 24ft run.
At a 1/4 ton of wood pellets per year; the chimney needs to be cleaned at least every other year.

I would clean it every year just to be on the safe side. Glad it was an easy fix. kap

 

[Wilbur Feral]

A $4-5K stove for 13 bags per year? Ouch. That's just painful.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

A $4-5K stove for 13 bags per year? Ouch. That's just painful.

Some people think of it as furniture.

 

[kappel15]

A $4-5K stove for 13 bags per year? Ouch. That's just painful.

In 2008, it wasn't that pricey.