MY XXV will shut down randomly

[tundraSQ]

I am sure struggling this year...most reason trouble is that some mornings i wake up and the stove is just shut down. As if pellets stopped feeding or something....I run it on room mode with a feed rate of around 3 and the stove set to max temp herein the cold of vermont...and the blower on maybe 85%.

I open the door and there is some ash in the burn pot but no unburned pellets. Generally i just restart the stove and all is well for another 4-5 days..

This can happen in the middle of the day as well...and always with the hopper nearly full...in fact it sometimes feels as if it shuts down within the hour after i fill it...

what should i lok for before calling for service?

I do think i have a "slightly" damage auger, as the far end blade seems a little bent...but this does not seem to be affecting anything when the stove runs properly..but i will change the auger if that is the problem....I will take pictures during the next cleanout.

 

[crausch]

I would at least try bumping up the feed adjuster a little higher. Setting 3 seems a little low for the maximum feed as cold as it has been.

 

[swalz]

Had the same problem last year using Greenway pellets they would bridge in the hopper and the stove would go out. They also had a lot of fins causing problem with it feeding.

Are you getting a 5 blink error code also?

 

[tundraSQ]

Had the same problem last year using Greenway pellets they would bridge in the hopper and the stove would go out. They also had a lot of fins causing problem with it feeding.

Are you getting a 5 blink error code also?

no error blinking that i noticed, but i will pay more attention...i cleaned out all the fines and also switched pellets.

Plus per the previous post i bumped the feed up to max for a few days...

 

[crausch]

tundraSQ:

Let us know how you make out? Be careful about tutrning your feed adjustment up to its max setting. I say this because the possiblity exists that you could push unburnt pellets out of the burn pot if its feeding to many. Watch it for 30 minutes and turn lower if needed. You want to see about 1" or a little more of ash at the lip of your burn pot.

I know it sounds like you will be burning more pellets, but the stove will not feed at that rate all the time. It only sets the maximum feed rate. But your flame and heat output should increase which should get you to temp much quicker. With the feed adjuster too low, your stove will take longer to reach the set temperature.

 

[GVA]

tundra make sure when you fill the hopper with pellets you don't compress the pellets into the hopper (to fit the rest of the bag), this promotes bridging..

 

[exoilburner]

Had the same problem after filling the hopper and turning thermostat down to 60 for overnight.

To check for pellet bridging I put my FEED ADJUSTER in TEST and listened to see if I could hear pellets dropping when I heard the auger turn. Could not hear pellets drop. I sunk my hand down thru the pellets and moved them around down by the slide door. Put the FEED ADJUSTER in TEST again and heard the pellets drop. Everything back to normal.

Tried smoothing the inside of the hopper and waxing it which made it a lot slicker but still had some bridging afterwards.

 

[dmancine]

What brand of pellets are you burining. I have a Harmon XXV and I've recently had the same problem and it appears to be due to the fact that the PA pellets I've been burning are longer than the last batch of PA pellets that I bought. When I switch back to one of the older bags which I have and is another brand (New England, Keystone) the problem seems to go away. The Harmon XXV seems to be sensitive to pellet length and seems to like shorter pellets.

 

[tundraSQ]

What brand of pellets are you burining. I have a Harmon XXV and I've recently had the same problem and it appears to be due to the fact that the PA pellets I've been burning are longer than the last batch of PA pellets that I bought. When I switch back to one of the older bags which I have and is another brand (New England, Keystone) the problem seems to go away. The Harmon XXV seems to be sensitive to pellet length and seems to like shorter pellets.

I do have PA pellets and they are longer, but i also have some other pellets that are much shorter...but have issues of there own. So maybe this is a pellet issue. I was thinking about applying some butchers wax to the sides of the bin like i would for my table saw to allow the pellets to slip down easier....and i am careful now not to pack them in...so far i have not had the fire go out since posting this...

 

[mark d fellows]

Had the same problem last year using Greenway pellets they would bridge in the hopper and the stove would go out. They also had a lot of fins causing problem with it feeding.

Are you getting a 5 blink error code also?

I had that same problem and watch it one time while I was reading a book on the couch. I could hear the auger running but the flame wasn't building and finally went out. It turned out to be the Lignetics I was using were long enough to cause a sort of log jam in the Hopper at the opening to the auger housing. I started giving them a stir a few times a day and the problem disappeared. IN my case, I would wake up in the middle of the night and the stove would be out and the status light would be blinking. It happed that one time while I was on the couch reading so I was lucky to observe what was happening.

 

[GVA]

[quote author="Mark Fellows" date="1232512376
Lignetics I was using were long enough to cause a sort of log jam in the Hopper at the opening to the auger housing. .[/quote]
That is what is known as a bridge....

 

[mark d fellows]

[quote author="Mark Fellows" date="1232512376
Lignetics I was using were long enough to cause a sort of log jam in the Hopper at the opening to the auger housing. .

"That is what is known as a bridge...."[/quote]"

Thanks, I will remember that. I wonder do you think that the newbies like me but who don't read the posts most of the time would more quickly understand "log jam" or bridge?

Say the people just doing a search on Google for others that have similar problems with pellet stoves as them.


Mark

 

[GVA]

[quote author="Mark Fellows" date="1232512376
Lignetics I was using were long enough to cause a sort of log jam in the Hopper at the opening to the auger housing. .

"That is what is known as a bridge...."

"

Thanks, I will remember that. I wonder do you think that the newbies like me but who don't read the posts most of the time would more quickly understand "log jam" or bridge?

Say the people just doing a search on Google for others that have similar problems with pellet stoves as them.


Mark [/quote]
I'm just saying what it is known as ;-) and was stated already, and most manuals mention it as bridging.........
Nothing meant by it.....

 

[mark d fellows]

I'm sorry GVA.

I post on a few forums. One of those being on a fashion photography web site and I found time and time again, that there are always people who seem to take some sort of joy out of being a long member of a forum site and start to actually get an ego trip and talk down to newbs. I have found this on multiple sites I have belonged to from Satellite radio sites to photography and have no tolerance for it.

On some sites, I am not exactly a newb. I mistook you, and I shouldn't have. Thanks for the info though!

Still trying to get one more green square.

Mark

 

[tundraSQ]

update....i was doing ok for awhile then i had this happen a few nights ago...and so yesterday i cleaned the entire stove and loaded it up and it was buring great...i woke up this mornign at 4 to let the dogs out and topped off the stove with pellets...not REAL full and not packed down full...but i woke up a few hours later and it was out and the light was blinking 5 times.

i just stirred the pellets with my hand and am trying to relight it...what do the 5 blinking lights mean? i mean i know that the manual says it means the ignitor failed to ignite after 40 minutes...but does it mean somethign other than a bridge or logjam occured?

 

[crausch]

A few things come to mind that I would check:

1. Make sure that the ash is all cleaned out from around the igniter.
2. Possible too much air during a startup.
3. Either its your igniter failing or your hole problem might be crappy batch of pellets.

 

[GVA]

6 blink would indicate bridge or incomplete combustion...
5 is it failed to light..

Tundra was your burnpot full of pellets?

If not your feed isn't feeding, either draft is restricted, comb blower weak, or bad vacuum switch..

 

[tundraSQ]

6 blink would indicate bridge or incomplete combustion...
5 is it failed to light..

Tundra was your burnpot full of pellets?

If not your feed isn't feeding, either draft is restricted, comb blower weak, or bad vacuum switch..

no it was empty....i assumed it was a bridge...but now you are looking at other possibilities.

how can i check these thigns?

 

[GVA]

a magnahelic is the easiest way, and will take the blower and flue out of the equation.....
Have you cleaned the flue and comb blower?

 

[tundraSQ]

a magnahelic is the easiest way, and will take the blower and flue out of the equation.....
Have you cleaned the flue and comb blower?

yes on both of those cleaning question, but obviously i don;t have a magnhelic....maybe i can borrow one from my dealer? I keep reading in the manual things that point to low draft and the door gasket...should i replace the gasket? this is the 3rd year i hav used this stove.

 

[mark d fellows]

6 blink would indicate bridge or incomplete combustion...
5 is it failed to light..

Tundra was your burnpot full of pellets?

If not your feed isn't feeding, either draft is restricted, comb blower weak, or bad vacuum switch..

That is certainly what the manual says but I can tell you that when my lignetics were bridging the opening to the auger and would shut down that I would sometimes get a six blink and sometimes a five blink.

The stove really doesn't have a way of knowing if the pellets are actually being fed in as it is trying to light. It just knows that is has been trying for x amount of time with no light. If the pellets aren't being fed in it is going to shut down after a while.

I believe this feature is to prevent the chamber from filling up with pellets and then somehow lighting with a load of pellets in the door area and a big fire.

Seriously, I really doubt the auger with the slightly bent blade at the end is the problem. Try getting into the habit of giving the hopper a good stir 2 to 3 times a day. The installer recommended this but I neglected it until I started running Lignetics and the stove would shut down over night.

When you wake up after it shuts down, open the hopper and ram your arm into the center of the hopper all the way to the opening(be careful not to enter the opening where the slide is) If you hear that familiar clink, clink you know that it was a bridging problem.

Also, why does everyone turn the feed rate down so low? It says in the manual between 4 and 5. I have mine up there and on the really cold nights(5 degrees) I burned 1.5 bags a day and average 1 per day when it is moderately cold.

 

[tundraSQ]

6 blink would indicate bridge or incomplete combustion...
5 is it failed to light..

Tundra was your burnpot full of pellets?

If not your feed isn't feeding, either draft is restricted, comb blower weak, or bad vacuum switch..

That is certainly what the manual says but I can tell you that when my lignetics were bridging the opening to the auger and would shut down that I would sometimes get a six blink and sometimes a five blink.

The stove really doesn't have a way of knowing if the pellets are actually being fed in as it is trying to light. It just knows that is has been trying for x amount of time with no light. If the pellets aren't being fed in it is going to shut down after a while.

I believe this feature is to prevent the chamber from filling up with pellets and then somehow lighting with a load of pellets in the door area and a big fire.

Seriously, I really doubt the auger with the slightly bent blade at the end is the problem. Try getting into the habit of giving the hopper a good stir 2 to 3 times a day. The installer recommended this but I neglected it until I started running Lignetics and the stove would shut down over night.

When you wake up after it shuts down, open the hopper and ram your arm into the center of the hopper all the way to the opening(be careful not to enter the opening where the slide is) If you hear that familiar clink, clink you know that it was a bridging problem.

Also, why does everyone turn the feed rate down so low? It says in the manual between 4 and 5. I have mine up there and on the really cold nights(5 degrees) I burned 1.5 bags a day and average 1 per day when it is moderately cold.

It seems to me that the stove seems to shut down soon after filling in the evening...so yes i am going to give it a stir both before i fill it up and after....and no i don't think the auger is the problem either. And i also agree that a 5 and a 6 blink could be the result of no pellets in the burnpot.

thanks!!

 

[mark d fellows]

Similar symptom as mine. It did get to the point that it would shut off about an hour after I filled it up. that is how I found the problem. One night instead of filling it up right before bed, I filled it up earlier in the evening and read on the couch so I could watch it.

Mark

 

[GVA]

The stove knows the difference between 5 and 6 blink in coordination with the ESP...
ESP will give proof of fire and then if you run out of pellets you will get 6 blink...
5 blink is only possible during startup.
it is possible that the hopper has bridged right at shutdown, and gave the 5 blink when it tried to restart....
the auger is still charged with pellets after shutting down, and should be enough to fire the stove up again.
Tundra do you have a setback hooked up to your stove or anything?
The temps you should be having up there right now that stove should be running all night and kicking down to maintenance burn not shutting down and trying to restart..

 

[tundraSQ]

The stove knows the difference between 5 and 6 blink in coordination with the ESP...
ESP will give proof of fire and then if you run out of pellets you will get 6 blink...
5 blink is only possible during startup.
it is possible that the hopper has bridged right at shutdown, and gave the 5 blink when it tried to restart....
the auger is still charged with pellets after shutting down, and should be enough to fire the stove up again.
Tundra do you have a setback hooked up to your stove or anything?
The temps you should be having up there right now that stove should be running all night and kicking down to maintenance burn not shutting down and trying to restart..

1. I don't know what a setback is....are you saying this might be an issue with power going to the stove? I did notice today that the outlet it is plugged into was a little loose and in fact bumping the plug the stove shut off completly like it had a power outage. it took me a minute to realize what had happened.

2. So if i am getting a 5 blink then you are saying i am getting that during the night when the stove shuts off for whatever reason (not pellets in the burnpot to stay lit maybe)
and since it is set to auto and room temp it is tryingto resart itself...but because there are not pellets to light it then stops trying to light after some time and throws a 5 blink code.

But what would cause the stove to stop sending pellets into the burnpot and throw a 5 blink instead of a 6 blink? The loose plug maybe?...i doubt it because i always have power to the unit when the stove has been off in the past..