PB105 got sick--maybe ESP, but...

[katman]

Well, the other night I got home and my old reliable PB105 was pushing partially burned pellets into the ashpan and smoking up a storm. Also was feeding way more pellets than it should have been on 4. Flame looked good, though, so I gave the burnpot a good scraping and figured it was time for a cleaning. I had just loaded my new bulk hopper with a new batch of Hamers, so I didn't rule a bad batch out. Next morning it looked like it burned part of the night correctly and then started pushing partially burned pellets out again. No error codes. Shut it down and last night I did a thorough cleaning. Started it up and:

In auto mode, started right up but fan souned like on low speed for a few minutes. Got a bang. Fan did speed up, clearned the chamber and saw I had a good flame but smoked bad. With feed lowered to 3 it still loaded too many pellets (pushing partially burned over the edge, but they were burning vigorously). Ignitor light stayed lit even with a vigorous fire until it timed out and them I got a ignitor failure code and boiler shut down. Reset and it did the same thing--ignitor light stayed on even though the fire never went out.

Tried switching to manual mode but that seemed to lower feed rate down to minimum dribble. Ignitor light stayed on till I shut boiler off and quickly back on. Even though boiler water temp was low, manual mode did not seem to deliver a high enough feed (when set to 4 or 5) to keep the fire going. I didn't see how long it would sustain minimum burn. It was late and the boiler is in my barn so I shut it down and went to sleep.

Been looking through past discussions and I'm thinking it is the ESP but why would the ignitor light stay on for the full 40 minutes or so and then give me a time out/failed to light message?

It was dark so I didn't do a leaf vac on the boiler. Gonna try that tomorrow, maybe check the ESP connection. I checked the local dealer and a few others. They all say they have to order the ESP and it would take about 5 days. Anyone know what would happen if I tried running without the ESP connected?

I also will check all my seals--I'd say the new bulk hopper might be a problem but I've run more than a ton through it since I installed it and haven't had a problem till now.

 

[iceguy4]

In auto mode, started right up but fan souned like on low speed for a few minutes

I have never heard my fan speed change (40 years of construction...maybe Im deaf)... The bulk hopper is more then likely NOT the problem. My guess (since you have cleaned your stove) is ESP. Have you removed it and CAREFULLY cleaned it? If it were me I would replace it and see(not that much$$ and it is one of the things that needs replacing semi often) Will it run without one?? bet not. How old is your stove?

 

[iceguy4]

Not sure if this helps...an observation just yesterday...my stove has been in manual since November...I run it...185° max 175° min with the outside temp hooked up. my feed is always set at 4 ....when the stove is idling it feeds for 3 seconds (measured 1 one thousand 2 one thousand) and rests 14 ...15 seconds. when it ramps up it feeds 14...15 and rests 3 seconds... I like manual operation and use my basement zone as a dump zone. I have a relay fed with the blue wire (overheat wire) This piggybacks on my basement zone thermostat...spring and fall I will need to use "auto"

 

[katman]

This is my third year with the boiler. Bought it from a dealer who had it sitting on his floor for a year or so. It is not the newer pressurized version although the Harman rep did install the newer ignitor. I did clean the ESP but was a bit surprised that it wasn't as dirty as I normally find it when I power down for a cleaning. Could be my imagination on the fan but mine does seem to slow down when I power off the boiler and it seemed to do the reverse when I started it--that could be why I had the backfire--two much smoke/gas not being evacuated fast enough. It was pretty cold when I fired it up. I did order the ESP but won't have it till the end of next week. I've never run manual mode before and haven't used the outdoor sensor. Our normal weather down here is probably more like your late spring and fall so most winters on a sunny day the boiler in auto mode will shut down around noon and I can kick on the heat pumps for several hours. I might put in a dump zone and try manual if we keep having these cold artic blasts. In this weather it's on pretty much all the time anyways. If you have a chance shoot me the particulars on your relay.

 

[iceguy4]

....when the stove is idling it feeds for 3 seconds (measured 1 one thousand 2 one thousand) and rests 14 ...15 seconds. when it ramps up it feeds 14...15 and rests 3 seconds

I was just downstairs with my stove...every thing the same...except warmer outside... when ramping up, only 11 sec feed ...3 second rest.....Could my stove be.....SMART???

 

[katman]

Well, spoke to my dealer. who spoke to Harman tech, and they couldn't suggest anything new but didn't think my problem is due to bad ESP. So, went through my cleaning routine again and fired the stove up. Lots of smoke at start and big KABOOM. ESP was dirty within a couple of hours. So, switched to a different pellet and it started burning clean & hot again. No explosions at startup. This was a real surprise. The "problem" pellets were the last half of a ton of Hamers I bought in October and have been saving for the coldest part of the season. Really liked these last year so I bought a couple of tons in October for the cold months. When I switched out the Hamers I put in Presto. I get these at the local HD or Lowes. The first half ton of Hamers seemed to burn fine so I can't explain the difference. Only other change I made is I went back and added some caulking to the seal where my auger goes into my bulk hopper. I don't think the lack of caulking was an issue cause it worked fine before. If the Prestos continue to burn clean I guess I'll say I got a bad batch of Hamers and start blending.