Need some feedback on Pellet stove "EasyFire model 3801"

[sonny03106]

Just bought a brand new pellet stove "EasyFire model 3801"with the battery backup for my basement. Before I call an installer I decided to put it ouside throw some pellets in and fire it up. I ran it on HIGH for about 2 hours. I can still put my hand right in front of the fan and keep it there for a minute no problem. In my pellet stove in first floor even on medium I can NOT keep my hand in front of the fan for more than 10 seconds. On High is more like 3 seconds.
Anyone owns OR previously owned a same pellet stove? any suggestion on what am I doing wrong?
thanks

 

[BrotherBart]

The pellet stove already in your house isn't pulling in 50 degree air like you had outside today. Heating your house is different than heating New Hampshire. :coolsmirk:

 

[sonny03106]

hah. I didnt think of that. thanks for pointing that out. Outside temp was about 55 or so when I did my experiment. I didnt think it will make that much of a difference.
I am still interested in some feed back from people who own(ed) this make and model.
thanks

 

[Jakethepup]

I do have a little tip for you for the battery. I would suggest you charge your battery on a car battery charger to make sure it has a full charge. “Please note be sure the battery is disconnected from the stove do not charge the battery hooked to the stove. The only reason for this is because the stove itself only trickle charges the battery and if you got the deep cycle battery this can take days for it to get to a full charge. This is not in my manual but, I thought I would share. When the battery is connected the led will be green on the control panel, when it is charging the led will flash off and on, and when it running off the battery when ac is disconnected the led will flash rapidly.

Enjoy you new stove.

 

[sonny03106]

Thanks for the info Jakethepup. I will dafinatly do that. How do you like your stove?

 

[Nicholas440]

I dont know anything about an Easyfire stove, but Im just wondering how big the fire was in your stove when it was running on high. I know the flame can be adjusted by feed rates on most stoves, and I wonder if your Easyfire may have had a much smaller fire in it than the stove you have inside the house now.

The air temperature outside shouldnt matter if you have a really good fire going in the stove for 2 hours, my guess is that you shouldnt be able to keep your hand in front of the heat tubes for more than about 10 seconds. I had my Quad insert installed on a very hot day and it was about 80 degrees in my living room when the installer ran a test burn on high for only 15 minutes, and I couldnt keep my hand in front of that blower for more than about 4 or 5 seconds without it really getting uncomfortable. Something doesnt sound right with your Easyfire unit but I dont know what it could be other than a very small fire on the high setting maybe.

Hopefully one of the stove guru's here that owns one can help you out.

 

[Jakethepup]

Sonny,

I have had several problems with my stove, however one of the main reasons I have a bad taste in my mouth over the stove stems mainly from the dealer where I purchased it. I have to rate the dealer a flat f in the rating scale. I have only had the stove for a year now, I had it installed in September of 2008, two days after the install the stove would not burn on any setting other than low, after a few minutes on medium or high the stove would shut down with a flue light indicator, and put itself out. The problem was an IC chip on the control board. After several calls to the dealer he finely did bring the chip and install it. With other problems the dealer would not even return my calls, also he put a big ding in the door which is another story. Since I have had the stove installed I had three igniters’ to go out and had to replace the brushes in the fan. All of the above I installed myself. The one good thing about this company, they are great to call and they will help you troubleshoot any problems and sent you parts out very quickly. So if you are a little bit handy, you can install any part the company might send you. However if you have a good dealer you won’t have to even deal with that.

I might have gotten a stove that was built on a Monday or a Friday, and just had problems. But when the stove is working correctly, I do enjoy the heat and the glow of fire. Things I like it will burn any pellet I have put in it, and I have never had it jam. It is easy to clean, easy to operate, and I do like the battery backup, when we had ice last year and the electric went off the stove never missed a beat. I do not have it hooked up to a thermostat I just leave it running or if it gets too warm I just turn it off.

With any pellet stove I would not rely on it for my main source of heat, but that is mainly because of the problems I have had. But when the stove is working it provides great heat.

Also when I get time today, I am going to put a temperature probe in the front of the blower and see what the temperature is coming out on high. I did this once but I forgot how high the temperature got up to.

I don’t want you to think you got a bad stove, I think I just got a stove with problems and I hope I have corrected all the problems.

Enjoy your stove.

 

[Jakethepup]

I used a kitchen meat thermometer which is only registers to 200 degrees in a few seconds it pegs the meter passed 200 degrees, and I had to use a pot holder to hold the thermometer, so I can’t tell you an accurate reading, but within a few seconds on high you can’t hold your hand in front of the blower without causing body harm.

And welcome to the board, these guy's and gals, who post here are the best bunch of people on the internet. I am not a heavy poster, but I read this board most everyday, even in the summer.

 

[sonny03106]

thanks for taking time and give me all the info Jakethepup. I may have a bad stove. First I thought maybe this is a new manufacturer and they dont know what they are doing. But you have proven that wrong. I just may have a bad stove or something. I will do the same method and measure how much my other stove puts out. It must be pretty high because I can only hold my hand infront of the blower for about 3 seconds. With this stove I can keep my hand in there forever. However the exhust is pretty hot. I think they got it backwards :lol: They are putting out 80% of the heat through the exhust and 20% through the blower.

 

[Fishtail Creek]

I have been using an EasyFire model 3801 with the autolight feature since fall 2008. It is my first pellet stove and replaced an old wood burner, so I'm not sure what performance I should expect. That being said, other than auger noise, I am very pleased with the way it performs. It is primarily used to heat a large family room and supplement heat for the rest of the home. The stove is usually set on the low setting with exception of below zero weather. When temperature drops below zero I run it on medium setting. It consumes a little under a 40 lb bag of pellets on low in a 24 hour period. The only maintenance I have done is vacuum the ash from around the fire pot weekly and if I let it go out, do to running out of pellets, I have to remove and clean the fire pot.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[sonny03106]

This is my second stove so my expectation is high. Especially since other stove performs extremely well and puts out unbelievable amount of heat.
I finally found someone (in craigslist) that installed the stove for $250. I had to supply the parts. I bought the stove kit from Lowes. Once installed he quickly tested it and sealed any leakage with silicon. Next day I fired up the stove and smoke FILLED UP THE BASEMENT. Damn pipes were leaking from every joint. I called him, he said just pick up some high heat silicon and seal up all the joints. He thinks the pipes were defective. I picked up some metal tape and sealed up all the leakage. There is still some smoke but it only happens during the startup. I will try to seal the rest tomorrow. I ran the stove for about 2 hours on high. On high it is putting out about what my other stove puts out at setting of 2 (out of 5). So if I had to rate this stove I would rate it "CRAP X 2". I still haven’t tested it using meat thermometer. Maybe tomorrow.

 

[Fishtail Creek]

Did the install myself using 20' of 4" Simpson Dura-Vent Pipe for Pellet Stoves. Went well accept for falling off second story roof. Only time I experienced smoke was when the clean-out T became filled with ash. Smoke was actually coming out of the stove not the pipe. I now open it every couple months and vacuum out pipe. Also make sure the handle that allows ash to fall into the ash pan is in closed position. Stove still works with it open but flame is not as good or hot, allowing pellets to build up. On low fan setting my meat thermometer reads very well done.