Napoleon Pellet Stove popping circuit breaker

[mascoloj]

I have a free standing Napoleon pellet stove which is about 4 years old. I came home the other night to fin that it had popped a circuit breaker. I unplugged it and reset the breaker but now as soon as I plug it in the breaker pops again. I have tried another outlet on a different breaker and the same occurs.

To try and troubleshoot it I would like to start by disconnecting components within the stove - blower, ignitor, etc... , one by one to see if the breaker still pops but would like to know first if this is wise. I don't want to ruin the stove either but feel pretty confident in my ability to narrow down the issue. I figure once I figure out what component is bad I can order a new one an install it.

Anyone have any suggestions or advise on this?

 

[DAKSY]

I'd start with the main power cord. It's more exposed to damage than the internal stuff. Disconnect it & check it for continuity...

 

[LI-Mini-Owner]

Hello - I'm not familiar with the Napoleon, but lots of stoves have fuses on the control board for auger, comb, and convection blower. If one of these motors were shorted, those fuses would blow long before the panel breaker. I would start by inspecting the wiring harness to look for a pinched wire or chaffed insulation on a conductor coming in contact with the chassis. Another easy test would be with an Ohm meter on the lowest scale. With the plug removed from the receptacle, measure the resistance between the round ground pin and the "hot" spade lug (one at time). (If you look at an outlet, the "Hot" should be the shorter height opening). This reading should be an "open circuit". If it reads a low resistance (< 10 ohms) that will confirm the short circuit. You can then begin unplugging things one at at time while checking the meter.

 

[mascoloj]

OK. I have an ohm meter so I can test it out tonight. If by chance I find that it is the ignitor which is the issue (seen several posts on websites where this was the component that went bad on the napoleon stoves causing popped breakers), can I run the stove with the ignitor disconnected? I know I would need to ignite the pellets manually. I ask this because the stove is my only source of heat and I am looking for a workaround until I can buy the parts.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

OK. I have an ohm meter so I can test it out tonight. If by chance I find that it is the ignitor which is the issue (seen several posts on websites where this was the component that went bad on the napoleon stoves causing popped breakers), can I run the stove with the ignitor disconnected? I know I would need to ignite the pellets manually. I ask this because the stove is my only source of heat and I am looking for a workaround until I can buy the parts.

Disconnect the igniter.

Generic manual light procedure

Put a handful of pellets in the burn pot that you have mixed with fire starting gel, light with a match, close the door part way, hit start on the stove, when the pellets are going close and latch the door.

Your manual should have specific instructions for manual lighting your particular stove. Pay attention to any t-stats as you aren't likely to want one of them to shut down the stove.

 

[mascoloj]

Thanks everyone for your advise and assistance. It's what I needed.

 

[mascoloj]

Latest update..... So I am waiting for my buddy to come over with his ohm meter and decided to disconnect the ignitor and see what happened. The stove started up as soon as I plugged in the power cord. Yeah for me.... but now the stove doesn't shut off. Any ideas?