New to Pellet Stoves, Lopi AGP

[Jason4384]

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased and had my first pellet stove installed, a freestanding Lopi AGP. I am new to pellet stoves and was hoping that some of the knowledgeable people on these forums could help.

There are a couple of issues that I am having ( or at least they are issues in my inexperienced mind) with the stove. The first is it seems like there is a lot of ash building up on my burn platform. It's pretty thick, especially along the sides of the platform. Every few hours I clear it off because it seems like it's impeding the flames. When I let the stove run over night and I wake up in the morning there ash builds up and seems to restrict the flames. I have the air restrictor almost compeltely open(that is not restricting the air much at all). Does this seem correct, should I have to do this? I thought that the ash should be blown off of the platform.

The other issue I am having is the flame seems to alternate from high to low. The flame will be high, touching the top of the sheet metal plate below the heat exchange tubes, then it seems like when new pellets are pushed in by the auger, the flame dies down, not completely, but below the burn shield. Is this normal or should the flames be consistently the same height throughout?

I have ensured the door and ash pan doors are properly sealed tight. I usually keep the heat temp on medium-low to low and the fan on medium and have gone through 4 bags in the last 4 days.

Some info about the stove:

Lopi AGP
Curran Premium blended pellets (These were given to us by the people who installed the stove, we bought Energex pellets that we will use when they run out)
Venting extends above the roof line(maybe 8 - 10 ft tall)
No OAK


Thanks for the help educating me. I have read so many posts on this forum since I got the stove and know that you guys will be able to point me in the right direction.

 

[Lake Girl]

Welcome to the forum ... sorry no one got back to you sooner.

The high/low on the flame is linked to your auger cycle ... they try to meter out pellets in equal amounts but doesn't always work. You may get a slightly larger batch of pellets then a couple of smaller ones ... the result is high flame once that bigger batch catches, dies down a bit with the smaller batches and then here comes a larger batch and higher again. The smaller, more uniform the pellets are, the less cycling on flame size there will be... Some manufacturers have videos to help new owners understand flame characteristics so check their website - you're looking for a lively flame about 4 to 5 " above the burn pot on average.

As to the ash, ash builds up between my burnpot and the back wall of the firebox and in the back corners. Most stoves are designed to deal with a bit of it but ... it doesn't always end up in the ash pan.

What size is the venting? Straight out and up? Why no OAK?

Will catch you tomorrow - too weary now to make much sense The forum will help you through the newbie jitters!

 

[bags]

When I run on lower settings ash likes to build up a bit more since a very active fire isn't present and the whole process slows down not moving ash as quickly. Welcome as I see you are new. There is a learning curve and it will take you time to familiarize yourself with your stove and it's mannerisms. What it's doing sounds "normal" so no worries.

You will learn how to optimize the burn and what to expect and when. Give it some time and experiment a little. There are others here with your make and model so see what they recommend and such. Good Luck!

 

[LuvMyPellets]

The AGP is a bottom feeder just like the Harman. It pushes most of the ash off and like the Harman some of it tunnels left and right which can cause the flame to look smaller at different times. Travis has a couple nice videos on that stove and how it works. They are a really decent stove.