Hello all. Browsing these forums really put me in a good position I think when I went and bought a used pellet stove. As a result of all of the great posts here, I have been able to take the entire thing apart, clean it thoroughlly, and put it back together with it actually working again. That tip about using the hammer to knock out the ash behind the front plate was invaluable. Now I have the stove working pretty well I think, it is a St. Croix Afton Bay, but I do have a couple of questions/issues I have not been able to find much if anything on.
I hooked up a thermostat to it, moved the jumper over as the instructions state, but when I do, when the thermostat calls for heat, the stove does not feed at the same rate as it should or actually as it does without the thermostat. So for example, if I have it set on 6, the highest it can go and do not use the thermostat, the pellets feed at the proper rate. The service manual I ahve states, the feed light should be on for almost 6 seconds on that setting. When I enable the thermostat, on the same setting, the feed light only stays on for about 3 seconds and the fire is obviously no where near as hot as it should be. Has anyone heard of anything along these lines? When I bought it, the guy pointed out the potentiometers on the control board and stated you can adjust them to where you like. I have a feeling he has made some adjustments but I don't see anything that relates to what I am seeing.
The other pressing question I have would be ash or soot buildup on the glass. On any setting but 5 or 6, there is a very noticable amount of dark soot that forms on the glass. If I run it any lower, wow, talk about a pain, not only does it not really seem to heat very well but the glass gets really sooty. If I run it on high, it burns off and I can clean it but I really thought I should be able to provide heat at a lower setting for say over night.
The area I am trying to heat is a detached garage, 38' x 40' with 16' vaulted ceilings in the front half and 10' ceilings in the back half. The back half also has an 18' x 16' that is 8' high upstairs and is completely open to the lower level where it meets the vaulted ceiling. I have just finished insulating and putting up all of the sheetrock and on 5 or 6 setting, the stove seems to maintain a nice 70 degrees but I would really like to take advantage of the thermostat and be able to keep it at around 60.
In any case, thanks in advance for any advice.
I hooked up a thermostat to it, moved the jumper over as the instructions state, but when I do, when the thermostat calls for heat, the stove does not feed at the same rate as it should or actually as it does without the thermostat. So for example, if I have it set on 6, the highest it can go and do not use the thermostat, the pellets feed at the proper rate. The service manual I ahve states, the feed light should be on for almost 6 seconds on that setting. When I enable the thermostat, on the same setting, the feed light only stays on for about 3 seconds and the fire is obviously no where near as hot as it should be. Has anyone heard of anything along these lines? When I bought it, the guy pointed out the potentiometers on the control board and stated you can adjust them to where you like. I have a feeling he has made some adjustments but I don't see anything that relates to what I am seeing.
The other pressing question I have would be ash or soot buildup on the glass. On any setting but 5 or 6, there is a very noticable amount of dark soot that forms on the glass. If I run it any lower, wow, talk about a pain, not only does it not really seem to heat very well but the glass gets really sooty. If I run it on high, it burns off and I can clean it but I really thought I should be able to provide heat at a lower setting for say over night.
The area I am trying to heat is a detached garage, 38' x 40' with 16' vaulted ceilings in the front half and 10' ceilings in the back half. The back half also has an 18' x 16' that is 8' high upstairs and is completely open to the lower level where it meets the vaulted ceiling. I have just finished insulating and putting up all of the sheetrock and on 5 or 6 setting, the stove seems to maintain a nice 70 degrees but I would really like to take advantage of the thermostat and be able to keep it at around 60.
In any case, thanks in advance for any advice.