Once again Ravelli flow meter, arrrrgh#*&

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Manly

Minister of Fire
Aug 8, 2017
558
CT
Just last week I said to my wife we finally made it through a full season without a breakdown of our Ravelli Francesca. Spoke too soon. The heating season is still going and the Ravelli isn’t. After a thorough cleaning of stove and pipe I am getting the dreaded alarm 13 insufficient drought. I cleaned the flow sensor and the entire stove, ports, tubes, blowers, etc., cleaned. Last time I ran into this I ended up replacing the flow meter and ir ran for, well, almost a full season. This is two debimeter failures after burning about 5 tons of pellets. Someone previously posted a way to disable the alarm but I don’t have the access code to my stove. Does anyone know another work around this alarm problem? Spending 60+$ every couple of tons for a new resistor board isn’t working for me. Thanks for any and all help or suggestions.
 
Received my replacement flow meter from Woodsman yesterday. Installed and the Francesca is up and running. Am I the only one who is having this problem. Three years and on my third flow meter board. I need to find an alternative or workaround for this shortcoming. The component is easy enough to replace but the cost is not justifiable if this is going to continue on a regular basis. I have not had luck trying to find someone who can repair these small boards.
 
Received my replacement flow meter from Woodsman yesterday. Installed and the Francesca is up and running. Am I the only one who is having this problem. Three years and on my third flow meter board. I need to find an alternative or workaround for this shortcoming. The component is easy enough to replace but the cost is not justifiable if this is going to continue on a regular basis. I have not had luck trying to find someone who can repair these small boards.
Just ask your repairman to turn the meter off what you can do through the control panel if you have the service code. I posted this process for my RV 100c but since you can't do yours I assume that your service code is different from mine
 
Amazing.Austroflamm(Rika) has used a air flow meter on their stoves since early 1990's, was a modified BMW air flow meter, and have had a very low failure percentage.
 
Had my Francesca 3 yrs and not a single problem, Have you tried code 11 to disable the meter that's what my manual has for the code
 
Had my Francesca 3 yrs and not a single problem, Have you tried code 11 to disable the meter that's what my manual has for the code

I did try a suggested code but not sure if I entered it properly. The stove is running at the moment, a bit chilly this morning. When I shut it down I will try again. When you say code 11, I am guessing that’s when you enter the settings menu and it ask for a code to proceed further. Also, what year (model) is your Francesca? Mine has just one button to change power settings. It is both #1 and #2 numerically, but is just a single button. Not sure how it distinguishes between 1 and 2 when in the change or program mode. I will give it another try. The stove is running fine with the new flow meter, but recent history tells me it will fail next winter. Don’t know if I am getting bad boards, bad batch or whatever. I clean the stove once a day and deep clean periodically. Thanks for the input. Jim
 
Had my Francesca 3 yrs and not a single problem, Have you tried code 11 to disable the meter that's what my manual has for the code

When I purchased this stove new, the manual it came with wasn’t very informative and the pictures of the control panel aren’t exactly what my layout is. I have since found more informative manuals on line, but never did find one that seems to be for my exact stove. Nothing I’ve found in print says anything about access codes beyond them being restricted to authorized service techs. The stove seems to be put together well enough mechanically, but the firmware and programming thereof reminds me of old controls circa 1988. I think a lot is lost in translation as far as documentation.
 
I stopped investing in flow meters Get your service guy to turn the flow meter sensor off via the service panel. I shut my alarm off last October and everything is running perfectly since. Dealer says it's not needed. It's only comes in handy on initial setup. I bought a new one and it lasted 3 days so I was damned if I was going to spend any more money on that thing
 
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