New member with Enviro Meridian pellet insert questions

[Zappa]

First time posting...I hope I am asking this in the correct section.

I am a first time pellet stove owner. My Enviro Meridian pellet stove insert was installed on Monday. Over the past 5 days, I have been testing out a few different types of pellets to see which I like best. So far I have tried Northern Warmth (douglas fir), New England Wood (hardwood), and am trying Okanagan (douglas fir) today.

The longest burn time for a bag so far has been 15 hours. Is that fairly typical? I've been tinkering with the settings over the past few days to try and maximize burn time.

I need to decide which brand to order in bulk. I like the look of the Okanagan pellets and am excited to try them today. The Northern Warmth's were good, but there was a fair amount dust visible through the bag and I had to sift the pellets before adding to the hopper. The Okanagan pellets appear much cleaner with less dust, but are also the most expensive.

 

[Zappa]

I am having some trouble getting the stove to burn efficiently. The flames are very tall and orange. There is a lot of smoke inside the stove and the glass is dirtying up quick. I tried adjusting the damper but it doesnt even move. I've also adjusted feed rate, as the pellets were piling up too fast....and also tried increasing the combustion blower. Still can't get it right. I am trying to get a hold of the guy that installed the unit to see if he can help us get this stove burning properly.

Would appreciate any advice. The stove is an Enviro Meridian and I am using Okanagan pellets.

 

[JRemington]

That's a bad flame. I've put in many and like the Maridian. What is your chimney length? And what do you mean by the draft won't move?

 

[Zappa]

thanks for the reply. the chimney is 35 foot. the knob on the side of the unit is supposed to move to adjust the damper but it does not move. i have a technician coming to look at it on monday.

it seemed to burn better using the northern warmth pellets. with the okanagans it is smoky and the glass started turning black after an hour. of course i bought a ton of them yesterday. im hoping the technician will be able to open the damper to get more air.


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[JRemington]

What size liner is it hooked up to. 36 foot is really pushing it.

 

[Zappa]

Well, I know the guy that did the inspection and install ordered a 35 foot liner.

 

[JRemington]

If the glass is black you have a combustion air problem. If you can take off the left side you can check and see if the set screw on the damper has been tightened down. The black is doing nothing but gumming the inside of the stove up. How many inches of the draft rod is sticking out the side of the stove?

 

[Zappa]

We emptied out all the Okanagan pellets and I ran out and bought a few bags of the Northern Warmth. Cleaned the stove and started it back up with the other pellets. It looks a lot better right now. Perhaps my stove just doesn't like the Okanagans? The place where I bought them said that I could bring back the pellets and they would exchange them. Still, I want the technician to look at the stove using the Okanagans. I am not sure why the damper won't adjust. The knob for it extends out about an inch and 3/4. Been running the stove for maybe 4 hours now, flame looks much better, pellets are burning well, and not much noticeable buildup on the glass.

 

[JRemington]

That draft is closed almost all the way. You either have to get it open or shut the stove down. Grab ahold of that knob with one hand and hold against the stove with the other and pull hard. You have a 30 plus foot chimney. That draft lever is going to be out over half way if not further. Don't be afraid to pull on it. Your not going to break anything.

 

[JRemington]

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. Does your flame look like this? This is a Maridian freestanding

 

[Zappa]

Yeah, I guess I was afraid to pull hard because it opened right up when I took your advice. Thanks!!

I pulled it out about 3 inches...not sure how far out to bring it, but the flame is much more compact now and stove is throwing off a lot of heat.

How much do you think I should pull out the damper knob? How will I know when I have optimal performance from the stove? And again, thank you! You have been a great help.

 

[JRemington]

Open it and let it rip on high for a half hour and burn the stove off. It will stink. Work the rod in and our every now and again to clear out the creosote from the draft. After that try it a little more than half way. If it still is active like my video then tap it in a little at a time. You want an active flame with some sparks flying around.

 

[Zappa]

My girlfriend wanted to thank you, too. Man, you have been a big help. We appreciate it.

I believe I have the damper opened up all the way now. The knob is out 4 inches and the stove is set to high. Active yellow flame with some sparks flying around. Hoping now that this damper problem is solved, I can burn the Okanagan pellets I bought.

 

[JRemington]

After selling a hundred of these things they kind of become second nature. I'm glad it was a quick fix. Did the installer leave the draft like that?

 

[Zappa]

yes he left it like that. we didn’t have a bag of pellets at the time of the install so he didn’t have a chance to run it for us.


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[Zappa]

so the stove has been running an hour with the damper opened up. i went outside to shovel the driveway and when i came back in the temp in the house was up about 8 degrees up to about 80.

i think it’s about time to drop the level down from 5/5 to about 2/5. gonna try burning those okanagan pellets tomorrow.


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[JRemington]

Set the combustion and feed trims both at level three and see how it goes. The Maridian will throw some heat.

 

[stovelark]

Enjoy your new stove- you have a great heater there. The Meridian is a tried and true heater, most will run best at about 2-2.5 inches of silver rod showing as you have found out. You're doing the important thing too, trying and finding good pellet fuel. I suspect all you have there is outstanding brands, it will make the stove seem like a bigger heater too. Good luck with her.