Need help with hudson river kinderhook

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Redneck281

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Nov 17, 2014
8
Maine
Hey guys im having trouble with the kinderhook and looking for advise

For starters i bought the stove second hand its a 2011 hudson river kinderhook

The problem i am having is i cant seem to get a good burn in the stove, i have cleaned every square inch of the stove 3 times and also have replaced the combustion blower. One problem is the vacuum switch tips and i have checked the hose, the barb fittings and that the stove is clean and when i bypass the switch the stove will run. I can light the stove and get a fire going but its a very lazy flame and the pellets build up faster than they burn. Feed rate set on 1 and ive tried every setting for the combustion fan and multiple settings with the damper. I dont know where to look now any ideas? Thanks in advance.
 
it sounds like a hidden air passage that is plugged up or a serious gasket leak somewhere. Have you checked all gaskets with the dollar bill test?
 
I am pretty sure all the passages are good i took everything apart and cleaned. What is the dollar bill test?
 
Redneck281 said:
I am pretty sure all the passages are good i took everything apart and cleaned. What is the dollar bill test?
Click to expand...

trap a dollar bill in different spots around the door gasket with the door latched shut. Try to pull the dollar out. It should not move or at least have high resistance to pulling out. Do this to the ash pan gasket too if you have one.
 
So the dollar pulls right out with no effort, i did replace the door gasket and the door i dont see an adjustment. Do i try to bend the latch?
 
is it the correct diameter gasket?
 
Redneck281 said:
So the dollar pulls right out with no effort, i did replace the door gasket and the door i dont see an adjustment. Do i try to bend the latch?
Click to expand...


Did you use the correct size gasket?

Does that stove have a damper on it?
 
Redneck281 said:
Yes proper size per manual, yes stove has a damper not sure where to set it but i have tried many positions
Click to expand...

Does the manual give a Dwyer or magnehelic reading to adjust the damper to? Usually the reading is made after the stove has been burning on high. If you are getting a vacuum trip the damper likely needs to go inward.

You might want to check the manual about adjusting that door, on my stove one has to loosen the screws for the hinge to adjust the door as there is no adjustment mechanism other than that and the latch. I would also take a good look at the door handle and make certain that the latch is actually engaging. This may be true for the Kinderhook but I don't know.

Your unit may need the gasket on the ash pan if any checked as well, also any holes in the pedestal where screws went through to secure the unit to the shipping pallet need to checked for missing plugs on the inside of any gasket systems on the ash pan.
 
Another problem i am having which may or may not be related is theignitor doesn't work very often making testing very difficult
 
Redneck281 said:
Another problem i am having which may or may not be related is theignitor doesn't work very often making testing very difficult
Click to expand...


In order for the igniter to reliably work there has to be decent airflow past it and the area in front of it needs to be clear of ash.

They light the pellets with super heated air not by contact, in fact if the igniter is too far forward in the air intake tube it will block the airflow that it needs.
 
I cut a piece of wire mesh and used adhesive to glue it on. Its for gutters to keep leaves out so its pretty free flowing
 
OK.before we go any further,post pictures,or complete discription of install.Remember you got stove at a good deal.They are not bad stoves.If it is a 2011,it has the old board,and I do not think they make them anymore,their is an upgrade.Before you go further I reccomend you call sherwood industries tomorrow.Just my 2 cents worth.They can be very helpful.
 
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A detailed description of what you did to clean the stove would also be helpful. Pellet stoves have exhaust passageways that get full of ash and in a used stove these are almost always full of ash and likely the real reason that the stove was dumped on the used market. These passageways start just above the burn pot at the heat exchanger and end at the place your stove adapter was connected.
 
+1 on the above advice. Just thoroughly cleaning out the old ash (which may be a solid, caked mass if it got wet or sat a long time ie over the summer) is a good start. I have exact same stove, also bought used. It barely fired at all when I first got it and I bought it reasonably knowing I could be in for some significant repairs. Or just a good cleaning :) . Went through and cleaned from the inside, behind the firebrick etc. I used a brush cleaner into the exchangers and above and around them. Vacuumed out the entire mess and really got it "clean". Then I hooked the leaf blower up to the vent and it still sucked a huge dust cloud out. For a good minute or two it was like a black cloud of soot (and the piping was new)! The blower still pulled dust after five minutes on. As others have said, pellet stoves really do get ash deep inside them that you just can't reach any other easy way.

Runs like a champ now, knock on wood.
 
I had taken apart the interior of the stove where the firebrick and stove lining is and exposed the passeges to the back where i removed the conbistion blower assembly while replacing the fan. I also bought a dryer vent cleaning attachment for my vacuum which is very nice for the tight passages. I did the "dollar bill test" which works well and the door seal was not tight even with the new 1/2" door seal that the owners manual calls for. I re did the door seal with a 3/4" seal because the door is not adjustable and this gave a much better seal. I have a better burn now and the stove is getting more air but does not seem to be perfect. The pellets seem to build up fasted then they are burned and the feed rate is on the lowest setting. A question i also have is the burn pot has holes in it but the tray that sits in is solid how does the ash fall through? Any other sugestions on why the pellets build up would be helpfull to. Thanks for all the great responses so far. P.S. I am burning okanagan platinum pellets so i dont think i have an issue with pellet quality.
 
The burn pot has to be removed and the receptacle cleaned when the ash piles up there.

The normal method of ash extraction is up and out curtsey of the air flow.

Please post a picture of your burn pot sitting on a table upright and upside down.

I want to see the side holes and the area around the outside rim.

Also check the area where the damper resides for ash in the channel it sits in and especially around the inside most portion where it would close against.

Now about those passageways that start just above the burn pot, the heat exchanger is there and ash builds up on it and in it, those areas need a good brushing a stiff bottle brush or a gun bore brush works good, the gun bore brush also works well in the burn pot holes.

Just using the ash rake on the heat exchanger is not enough, do the brush work with the rake fully inserted and then again fully out.

Get back in those other areas with a stiff brush, this includes the combustion blower cowling all the way back to the vent piping and towards the firebox always with a stiff brush.

While the combustion blower is off check between the impeller and the mounting plate that area is prone to having ash build up.

When you get the stove all reassembled, attach a leaf blower or very strong shop vacuum to the vent outside the house and really run a high volume air flow through the stove. Bet you get a pretty good bunch of ash.

Your manual I believe shows a wind guard for the oak, I'd go back and check it but I'm too lazy and since my memory is somewhat reliable (wished at times it wasn't) remove any thing that covers that OAK opening.

Now I think the controller on that stove allows for fine tuning the air flow for each heat setting individually IIRC, it sounds like the air flow might not be quite up to snuff for the lower firing rate and needs some tweaking. But until I'm somewhat convinced the stove is clean I would lay off tweaking.

Now if that stove was not handled with kid gloves at all times I'd also look for ash in the air intake system. From where it enters the burn pot receptacle to the end of the OAK.

This is all part and parcel of installing a used stove (any used stove).

We also want a full description of the venting.

My request for the burn pot pictures is to determine if there are any possible combustion air bypasses. The goal is to get all combustion air going through the pellet pile in the burn pot and not around the burn pot.
 
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Oh the reason the 1/2" gasket wasn't quite snug is I'm seeing a 9/16" gasket being referenced in a number of places for that stove, I haven't found anything on the gasket density yet.

There are differences that have an effect on the seal.
 
I have also been having the same exact issues, happened to notice the other day there's play in the door when closed. I put more pressure on it and could see an improvement in my flame. Replaced gasket with a 5/8, a hair thicker than the 9/16" one suggested by the manual. There's NO hinge or latch adjustments (kinda a engineering issue In my opinion) Going to try a larger and more dense gasket as suggested above.

Also how is the brick liner removed??? My inability to get it out of the door opening has kept me awake many nights. Really hope there's a bit of a trick, and im not just like a dog trying to bring a long stick inside. Glad I found this, many helpful tips already
 
Last edited by a moderator:
SmokeyTheBear said:
Oh the reason the 1/2" gasket wasn't quite snug is I'm seeing a 9/16" gasket being referenced in a number of places for that stove, I haven't found anything on the gasket density yet.

There are differences that have an effect on the seal.
Click to expand...


I had tried replacing my seal with one found at any tractor supply. While removing the original I immediately noticed it was solid like a braided climbing rope, my replacement on the other hand was a much looser braid and halo. Needless to say I actually made it worse
 
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