My pellet furnace is an epic failure

[turbulator]

Thought I would give it a try.....and I am now convinced it did not work.... Here is sequence of events, costs, and "savings"....

1.) Purchased SCF-050 - $1,000 used
2.) Installation - $1,000
3.) Cost per ton - $200
4.) Electric bill on Heat Pump during a cold month $400
5.) Electric bill on Pellet Furnace during a cold month $200
6.) Difference - $200
7.) Consumption of fuel = 1 ton, $200
8.) Savings not factoring purchase or install cost = $0

Aside from that, this is what I deal with on a daily basis with my POS pellet furnace:

1.) Constant burn quality problems - SOOOOT, SOOOT SOOOOT, did I mention SOOT?
2.) SOOT
3.) CLINKERS the size of cinder blocks EVERY DAY
4.) Now my entire HVAC system is dirty. Filters are BLACK in 2 days
5.) System too small (my fault) - doesn't keep good temp when really cold out....and I am talking about when it actually burns for a day w/o major intervention, shut down for clean, etc.
6.) Getting FILTHY trying to clean out burn pot to keep burning
7.) House smells like a bon fire
8.) Fire alarm has gone off many times when I have the door open trying to extract a burn-pot molded clinker, waking family

So, zero cost savings and the complete utter inconvenience of dealing with trying to keep a junk furnace burning.

My install is correct. I have an OAK. I recently changed my rope gaskets. I cannot get this stupid $#*@$# to work proplerly.... I dont have the proper setup to do the leaf blower deal...nor do I have an electric leaf blower.... I don't want to spend any more on this as it will keep putting he project into the red... Factoring in the initial costs, it seems that the savings do not allow the cost to even pay for themselves...piss poor investment IMO

If I even did get the thing working 100% pristine, I will never see a savings....basically $2k in the hole, and need to stop the bleeding now.

So - I am pulling the plug on this one.....it is going to sit and I am going to enjoy the CLEAN heat from my HEAT PUMP. I absolutely hate my SCF-050.


___________

Fast forward to my next project - when we purchase my mothers farm house my brand new Tarm HS 4.0 will be going in.... Now THAT will be a different story

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If you have soot everywhere your install is not correct or you are not using a properly filtered vacuum to clean ash with or ......

Why did you expect a cost savings? Did you actually do a cost comparison using your heat pump's electrical consumption data?

 

[jtakeman]

Hate hearing the horror stories.

Have you checked the EVL of the exhaust.

 

[Pellet-King]

EPIC FAIL!
Sorry huge term on You Tube, just had to use it.

 

[Andy P.]

EPIC FAIL!
Sorry huge term on You Tube, just had to use it.

most of the time its in reference to the usurper who occupies Pennsylvania Ave though. just sayin

 

[smoke show]

What a difference There was soot packed all back in the heat exchangers and in a baffle just above the ash pan in the back.... It burns very clean now.... Right now I am running on heat level 2, on thermostat - house is 77 and holding in pilot mode since the thermo is only set at 72!! Its 40deg outside.... This is great stuff...heat pump hasnt run yet since I have had the furnace in....Eat it Penn Power!

 

[turbulator]

What a difference There was soot packed all back in the heat exchangers and in a baffle just above the ash pan in the back.... It burns very clean now.... Right now I am running on heat level 2, on thermostat - house is 77 and holding in pilot mode since the thermo is only set at 72!! Its 40deg outside.... This is great stuff...heat pump hasnt run yet since I have had the furnace in....Eat it Penn Power!

Yep...that worked once... I was excited about my new install... it spiraled down hill from there...

The furnace is clean....new seals....and it burns about 1000x worse than it ever has.


I knew the risk of buying used....thought I'd give it a try.....and I am paying for it in frustration....

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

What a difference There was soot packed all back in the heat exchangers and in a baffle just above the ash pan in the back.... It burns very clean now.... Right now I am running on heat level 2, on thermostat - house is 77 and holding in pilot mode since the thermo is only set at 72!! Its 40deg outside.... This is great stuff...heat pump hasnt run yet since I have had the furnace in....Eat it Penn Power!

Yep...that worked once... I was excited about my new install... it spiraled down hill from there...

The furnace is clean....new seals....and it burns about 1000x worse than it ever has.


I knew the risk of buying used....thought I'd give it a try.....and I am paying for it in frustration....

Furnace may be clean, but what about the venting? What about the combustion blower? Did something crawl into your air intake and expire?

Where is the soot coming from?

Why does it smell like a bonfire?

Is there a large air handling system close to the furnace?

 

[turbulator]

Im going to look into it today....will clean out my entire exhaust.

Soot - its a dirty burn.....window is black in a few hours....obviously too much fuel and not enough air....

Smells like a bon fire because I have to open the door and try to get the clinker out of the burn pot....smoke billows out and goes right into the hvac....

 

[St_Earl]

EPIC FAIL!
Sorry huge term on You Tube, just had to use it.

most of the time its in reference to the usurper who occupies Pennsylvania Ave though. just sayin

u·surper n. - one who wrongfully or illegally seizes and holds the place of another.


That's right. Now I remember.

McCain won that election fair and square.

 

[DexterDay]

I hate to sound like a broken record. But there is a serious airflow issue here.

Black Soot is a product of poor combustion.

Either you have blockage (You say its clean)

Or

It has an airflow problem. Gaskets (say there new). Is the burn pot sitting in the receptacle correctly? The combustion blower could be failing?

Have you tried to run it on a low setting (1 or 2) for an extended period of time? I dont believe that the unit is working properly. It seems as if there is a "Huge" leak somewhere.

Have you checked your hopper gasket? Does your lid seal? Or lock? I had to replace mine. Its under the outer layer of sheet metal. Have to disassemble the furnace to get to it. (If your furnace has one). I never would have found mine, if I never took it completely apart when I got it.

These things can be a marvel of the world, or they can be a disaster. Doesn't take much to go from one realm to the other. Little leak here, little leak there.

There are a couple things you could do (as a temporary fix) that have been discussed on here before. It will show you if you have an airflow issue. 1st thing some do is partially block there airwash or fully block it. This will stop a known leak, that was designed into the unit. This may help some. On some stoves this has been done and its opened them up considerably.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Im going to look into it today....will clean out my entire exhaust.

Soot - its a dirty burn.....window is black in a few hours....obviously too much fuel and not enough air....

Smells like a bon fire because I have to open the door and try to get the clinker out of the burn pot....smoke billows out and goes right into the hvac....

That sucking HVAC may also be the cause of your bad burn. It will depend upon a lot of things being just right (or perhaps I should say just wrong).

 

[turbulator]

Dexter - what is the air wash?

Smoky - the HVAC doesnt suck the smoke - sorry if I was confusing....but when I open the fire door the smoke billows out and goes right up into the vents, making the whole house smell like smoke.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Dexter - what is the air wash?

Smoky - the HVAC doesnt suck the smoke - sorry if I was confusing....but when I open the fire door the smoke billows out and goes right up into the vents, making the whole house smell like smoke.

You weren't confusing me at all. HVAC = big air handler as in can suck'em air out of the pellet eater's gullet.

 

[DexterDay]

Dexter - what is the air wash?

Smoky - the HVAC doesnt suck the smoke - sorry if I was confusing....but when I open the fire door the smoke billows out and goes right up into the vents, making the whole house smell like smoke.

Most stoves have an airwash system built into the door or the glass.

It can be as simple as a little slit in the top or bottom of the glass. Or as complicated as a labyrinth of air channels.

My furnace has an air channel that has a "flapper" on it. When the furnace is on, the flapper (like a sail switch) will open and send air through the gap with the glass and this channel.

This is mine.. Had to wait for the blower to kick off (pilot/maintenance burn). Its been about 2 weeks since I cleaned the glass. I cleaned it when I replaced the blower, manifold, and sail switch. Right now I have the auger trim on 1, Draft trim on 5, and the T-stat level is set to 3. The pilot burn is a very small fire. At times I think it will go out. But it hasnt yet.

Anyways. If your stive has one. It may take some searching. Or if another member has thesame unit and already knows...

As to what Smokey said. Depending on the static pressure of the HVAC, it can do some weird things to the stove. I dont know of any 1st hand, but a negative pressure system, held with a positive pressure system??? Sounds like it wouldnt take much of the balance was out (Super High Static pressure within the HVAC?)

As for my airwash. It works great. Where the slit is. But only where it is.. Straight line from the bottom to the top of the glass. The sides are always dirty

 

[JustWood]

Dexter - what is the air wash?

Smoky - the HVAC doesnt suck the smoke - sorry if I was confusing....but when I open the fire door the smoke billows out and goes right up into the vents, making the whole house smell like smoke.

You weren't confusing me at all. HVAC = big air handler as in can suck'em air out of the pellet eater's gullet.

I had some similar issues with a wood furnace for 5-6 years. I gave up the last 2 years tring to figure it out (dirty burn/lots of creo). This last summer I used 6-8 cans of great stuff to seal off cracks and other openings. I sealed off some soffit vents in the furnace room and the issue was solved not knowing that's what I accomplished. The furnace burns clean now. I believe it's called negative pressure. Might be worth checking for drafts/leaks in the house construction. Especially near the pellet furnace.

 

[turbulator]

Dexter - It appears I dont have an air wash system on mine....

Smokey - my blower from my pellet furnace grabs the smoke and sends it right up into the duct work

Well - I cleaned out my exhaust Tee. it was relatively full of soot. I also found some spots within the baffles behind the fire box that were plugged....I have a better understanding of how that works now....It seems I have been improperly cleaning them out this whole time.....

I'll find out soon if what I have done is going to work....it will either burn clean, or build another burn pot brick.

 

[DexterDay]

Dexter - It appears I dont have an air wash system on mine....

Smokey - my blower from my pellet furnace grabs the smoke and sends it right up into the duct work

Well - I cleaned out my exhaust Tee. it was relatively full of soot. I also found some spots within the baffles behind the fire box that were plugged....I have a better understanding of how that works now....It seems I have been improperly cleaning them out this whole time.....

I'll find out soon if what I have done is going to work....it will either burn clean, or build another burn pot brick.

Does your entire glass get sooted up? Or does it have any places that stay clean?

It may not have an airwash.... If it did, there are several different types and it prob wont look like mine.

Can you take a pic of the door, up close by the glass?

This one is of my Quadrafire. Its wash sysytem, is just a missing gasket at the top of the glass. The sides and bottom all have a gasket, but the top has a gap that allows air to come in and "wash" down the glass.

If the glass gets completely dirty? Then it probably doesn't have one. But if it stays particularly clean in one area. Then it may take some looking.

 

[turbulator]

Yeah the glass definitely cakes 100% with black soot....nothing like what you have shown.

When it burns good, I get a white waxy buildup on the whole glass - a lot like the color of yours on the sides.

Ill snap a pic if it soots up tonight....

 

[DexterDay]

Yeah the glass definitely cakes 100% with black soot....nothing like what you have shown.

When it burns good, I get a white waxy buildup on the whole glass - a lot like the color of yours on the sides.

Ill snap a pic if it soots up tonight....

Yep.... Probably doesnt have one. Im gonna download your manual to my phone and read it over tonight.

I feel for you man.. My Wife would $hit if I spent that kinda money, only to get sub-par results. Wish you lived closer. I'd be there in a heartbeat.

Hope you got it this time.....

 

[MilkandPie4u]

I have a SCF-50, adjusting the air is hard!

Are you running on manual or with a thermostat? Do you set it to pellet only mode? Do you have a 4 inch exhaust?

On the SCF-50 there is a manual damper on the intake air, I would suggest removing the oak. Open the damper all the way. Check for obstructions both in the stove, going outside.. How long is the oak?

Don't give up yet, hopefully as a SCF-50 owner I can help you!

 

[DexterDay]

I have a SCF-50, adjusting the air is hard!

Are you running on manual or with a thermostat? Do you set it to pellet only mode? Do you have a 4 inch exhaust?

On the SCF-50 there is a manual damper on the intake air, I would suggest removing the oak. Open the damper all the way. Check for obstructions both in the stove, going outside.. How long is the oak?

Don't give up yet, hopefully as a SCF-50 owner I can help you!

Great advice...... And as your 1st post. May I say welcome to the club...

Maybe we will be blessed with some pics of your set-up's (2 stoves ;-P ).

How has your 050 been treating you? Is it ducted into existing HVAC or did you run seperate lines? How big is your home? Ranch, 2 story, how many sq ft, etc??

Again, Welcome to the Forums.

 

[krooser]

here's what the stove looks like....


(broken link removed to http://stcroixstoves.com/images/furnace-scf050.png)

 

[DexterDay]

After reading the install and service manual. The only things I can see being wrong or trying are...

Burn pot is pretty intricate. Looks like there may be a couple different places for burn pot by-pass. Every bit of air that sneaks by the pot, hurts the overall combustion efficiency.

Manual states that that side shields should be removed when burning pellets, but that wont affect the burn, more less for ash build up.

The only thing I could think you haven't tried is to adjust the feed rate. Page 6 of the service manual goes into more detail. But if you remove the jumper and put it on the 2 pins furthest to the right, it will slow your auger "off time" to 11 sec instead of the factory 10 seconds.

These pins are on the inside of the board. Upper right hand side. I suggest downloading the service manual from St. Croixs website and reading fully (if you font already have it). The pins can be moved to decrease off time (more fuel) or increase off time (less fuel). Will be less fuel, but will give it more time to burn????

Just a thought....

 

[Harman Lover 007]

I have a SCF-50, adjusting the air is hard!

Are you running on manual or with a thermostat? Do you set it to pellet only mode? Do you have a 4 inch exhaust?

On the SCF-50 there is a manual damper on the intake air, I would suggest removing the oak. Open the damper all the way. Check for obstructions both in the stove, going outside.. How long is the oak?

Don't give up yet, hopefully as a SCF-50 owner I can help you!

Welcome just bust right in and go at it helping someone in your first post. Thats what this place is about thumbs up!

I completely agree. The free help and knowledge here is unparalleled.