I have a friend with this stove and unfortunately, he's short on cash so i'm trying to help him solve the problem on his stove. The blower motor on the bottom of the stove will not shut off. I'm pretty sure this is the air feed to the burn pot but not sure. I'm a woodstove guy myslelf. Anyway... He can't afford the $90/hr charge the dealer wants to troubleshoot and I told him I would ask on here. Could someone lead me in some direction on this to look into? He tried lighting the stove the other day with no avail. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!
P61A stove problem
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Bigjim13
Minister of Fire
Very Clean. It has been cleaned prior to the first burn. And has always been kept up since new. It seems the blower motor won't shut off and the burnpot isn't getting hot either. The tech said it is either a motherboard or a relay over the phone. I'm trying to figure this out myself to save my buddy some cash.
mepellet
Minister of Fire
Neither of the fans feed air to the burnpot. But believe you are talking about the combustion/exhaust fan. You say the burnpot doesn't get hot. Do you mean that the stove isnt lighting up?
Bioburner
Moderator
Correct, the stove will not light. Sorry about the confusion with the way I am describing the fan but yes, I believe it is the exhaust fan.
Bioburner
Moderator
Have you tried a manual start using gel starter etc.? Maybe a bad electric ignitor. First did it feed fuel to pot?
Harman Lover 007
Minister of Fire
Can you be a bit more specific on which fan you are describing? When you say "the fan on the bottom" do you mean the one you can see in the extreme rear of the stove? That is the distribution blower. If you mean the fan that you can see with the ash door open and the ash pan removed, that is the combustion blower.
Harman Lover 007
Minister of Fire
The Ds
Feeling the Heat
does the stove FEED pellets? If the combustion fan is out, the stove wont feed pellets, nor will air be pulled up through the burnpot.....put the stove in TEST mode, and check the back of the combution blower- it should be turning.....make sure all the doors of the stove are closed- hopper, front, and ash door. Also check the combustion fan impeller in the stove- is it all there, or are there vanes missing.......check back and report. oh, and FYI, there are no "relays" in the stove other that what may exist on the circuitboard.
mepellet
Minister of Fire
Harman Lover 007
Minister of Fire
OK then...thats incorrect. The combustion fan most definitely feeds air to the burnpot in a P61A.
technically, mepellet is correct.....the combustion fan PULLS air thru the burnpot....it doesnt FEED air to the burnpot.
mepellet
Minister of Fire
The combustion/exhaust fan in the P61A (not all stoves) does not supply air to the burnpot. It draws air through it and the airwash. I know... minor technicality but in the HVAC world this is important in the way you talk about fans and coils in equipment (in this case the coil is the burnpot). It is also important in realizing that the firebox is under negative pressure.
Harman Lover 007
Minister of Fire
mepellet
Minister of Fire
Semantics.....
True. The OP seemed new to pellet stoves so maybe it helped them. Maybe not....
well, not really......if the air were fed to the burnpot, the firebox would be under positive pressure....drawing air causes the firebox to be under negative pressure, which allows the vac switch to detect negative pressure, which powers the feed motor. If under positive pressure, the stove wont feed.Semantics.....
Harman Lover 007
Minister of Fire
We are saying the same thing but my words don't sound as good or get as technical as yours. My point was that, to me, your statement that neither blower feeds air to the burnpot "could" be misleading to those we are trying to help. Feeding, sucking, drawing, supplying...whatever. If its not running, no air is being "drawn" through the burnpot via the negative pressure in the firebox.
Harman Lover 007
Minister of Fire
mepellet
Minister of Fire
lol- stove not feeding (in test mode) check the combustion fan first......if that thing isnt turning, youre not gonna get any feed....after than, check cleaning, safety switches (hopper), door integrity, vac switch, THEN feed motor even before you go yankin parts off the unit......
Semantics.....
It`s important to know and understand the difference between drawing or pushing air (negative /positive ) from the beginning as it is crucial to most troubleshooting techniques.
Harman Lover 007
Minister of Fire
I never said pushing and I do understand the difference. My choice of the word "feeds" in my post was only to make the point that the combustion fan has to operate in order for there to be fire in the burnpot. Air from that fan operating (under negative pressure) passes through the burnpot. I just thought that mepellet's statement that "neither of the fans feed air to the burnpot" was misleading to the OP looking for help. Obviously you guys don't agree....thats cool......
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