Pellet jam

[joescho]

Had a pellet jam last night. Woke up about 1 AM to a "min firepot temp" message on my thermostat. That usually means pellets. Well, with a hopperfull of pellets, got the coat hanger out. Like I won the jackpot at the casino when the jam released.

Problem was that at 1AM I'm not thinking clearly and restarted the stove before I unjammed it, and the stove started but there was some fines in the pellet chute, so I let it burn down at shut it doen until this morning when I could vaccum the fines out of the chute.

Better safe than sorry - no hopper filres please.........

JS

 

[tjnamtiw]

Don't you just LOVE those looooong pellets? Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

 

[CenterTree]

Don't you just LOVE those looooong pellets? Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I get annoyed if I have to switch between brands of pellets and the new bag has longer pieces then the former.
Adjusting the feed rate (opening) is not my favorite thing to do.

 

[joescho]

I get annoyed if I have to switch between brands of pellets and the new bag has longer pieces then the former.
Adjusting the feed rate (opening) is not my favorite thing to do.

Thankfully the folks here have identified which brands are generally good and which ones to shy away from.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Thankfully the folks here have identified which brands are generally good and which ones to shy away from.

You can get different pellet lengths with ANY brand IMHO.

 

[DirtyDave]

pellet jams from fines and too long of pellets tell me this.
A. poor design of auger and opening to auger
B. weak auger motor.

my geabox was old and dry on my whitfield, some cleaning and new grease and auger bushing
and problem solved. it chews thru fines and long pellets get adjusted at top of shaft before it drops them in.

 

[joescho]

pellet jams from fines and too long of pellets tell me this.
A. poor design of auger and opening to auger
B. weak auger motor.

my geabox was old and dry on my whitfield, some cleaning and new grease and auger bushing
and problem solved. it chews thru fines and long pellets get adjusted at top of shaft before it drops them in.

I would agree. The augers should be powerful enough through a stuck pellet.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I would agree. The augers should be powerful enough through a stuck pellet.

If 3" long pellets, lodge crosswise in the drop chute, nothing's coming down! Talking about powerful augers isn't the answer when people have stoves already installed and want answers to alleviate their problem. It might help the next guy, if you give examples of such stoves but it won't help those WITH stoves.

 

[rona]

Quality control bt the pellet company would eliminate this problem. It has happened in the past that some companies are known for pellets that are to long. Usually they clean up their act if they want to stay in business.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Quality control bt the pellet company would eliminate this problem. It has happened in the past that some companies are known for pellets that are to long. Usually they clean up their act if they want to stay in business.

That's what irritated me so much about Carolina Wood Products. I emailed them a couple of times plus sent them pictures of their 3" long pellets plus lot numbers. They received the emails but never even bothered to call or answer my letters. They just didn't care, I guess.

 

[rona]

That's what irritated me so much about Carolina Wood Products. I emailed them a couple of times plus sent them pictures of their 3" long pellets plus lot numbers. They received the emails but never even bothered to call or answer my letters. They just didn't care, I guess.

A while ago I was told that a lot of pellets were exported to other countrys. Is this true and if so maybe the furnaces or stoves are made to eat the long ones. I have had 3 different brands of stoves and 3 inch pellets would bridge in all of the hoppers causing no end of problems.

 

[Bioburner]

Ron, how much snow? Pellets going to large heating systems. Was a thread on CO in large holding bin. Large boilers can eat big pellets. Used to sell 3/8 inch pellets for them.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Most of the pellet manufacturers down here in Georgia export ALL their pellets in bulk ships. I even talked to one of them to ask where I could buy their pellets. That's what they told me. The local news made a big thing out of a new plant being built in Southern Georgia and I got all excited until they told me too that everything was for Europe. Thanks to our wonderful Federal Government for printing more and more money so our dollars aren't worth crap and Europe can buy pellets cheaper than we can!

 

[rona]

Ron, how much snow? Pellets going to large heating systems. Was a thread on CO in large holding bin. Large boilers can eat big pellets. Used to sell 3/8 inch pellets for them.

We had a honest 8 inches of the heavy wet crap. I didn't think we were going to get that much so continued on my shopping trip to Marshall, Minn. Yeah didn't take long to figure that was a mistake. 20mph with 4X4 and just happy to get off the main highway. Funny how many people think they can drive in the slop and find out after passing me it would have been smarter to stay behind and follow my tracks. Roads melted off the next day or so but wasn't much fun. It came down fast and steady from 2;00pm until about 7;30 pm.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Wow, that is NO fun! I remember a run we made between Pa and Chicago one winter. Started out with cold rain, then sleet, then an ice storm, and finally a blizzard. That was a LONG drive! AND I was doing it in a Vette! Not the best 'snow mobile'......

 

[rona]

Wow, that is NO fun! I remember a run we made between Pa and Chicago one winter. Started out with cold rain, then sleet, then an ice storm, and finally a blizzard. That was a LONG drive! AND I was doing it in a Vette! Not the best 'snow mobile'......

Yeah I try to put the "play" vehicles away for the winter but sometimes get caught. I was good on this trip but truthfully it could have waited for better weather. Got all the pellets I need so can relax on that thought.
Keeping this stove related the only pellet available around here is Indeck which is 1/4 inch diameter by 3/4 or less in length. They burn good but seem to have a lot of ash. Maybe I got my exh fan speed to low but am trying to capture as much heat as possible before pushing the exh out the pipe. As it gets colder and we burn more pellets I turn it higher but hate to melt the snow outside.

 

[john193]

Had the same situation on mine yesterday evening. A long pellet had blocked off the chute, about 2 inches in. Took my scraper tool and just agitated the chute and out came 2 handfuls if pellets. It's always fun igniting that many pellets at once. The fire looked like the advertised pictures!

 

[Bioburner]

I was hoping that HD would bring in some more Wood Fiber pellets. Still have a ton of Indeck from last season that I could not get to late in the season because of snow. Will probably use in the garage. Indeck have a lot of ash but not really a problem with the Harmans, just need to empty ash bin more, and brush the crosslink more.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I have to get off my butt and get a few bags of coal for my cook stove too, which I have in my basement cave. When it's really cold and the pellet stoves are running, no heat gets down there and pipes could freeze. Coal is very difficult to find down here in Georgia. The stove's fun to play with and cook some old timey meals with.

 

[joescho]

I have to get off my butt and get a few bags of coal for my cook stove too, which I have in my basement cave. When it's really cold and the pellet stoves are running, no heat gets down there and pipes could freeze. Coal is very difficult to find down here in Georgia. The stove's fun to play with and cook some old timey meals with.

I wish I could ship you some. Here in NE PA, I can't dig down 5 feet without some type of coal.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I wish I could ship you some. Here in NE PA, I can't dig down 5 feet without some type of coal.

My hometown is Reading, Pa. so it really hurts to pay $10 for a 40 lb bag of coal down here. It's the same brand as I get when I'm home for a visit.

 

[DirtyDave]

here is a ok link to pic of augershaft.
(broken link removed to http://www.stove-parts-unlimited.com/Whitfield-Advantage-WP2-Auger-Shaft-Kit-p/12152202.htm)
notice the rollpin up on shaft. chews up feedtube jams. Whifields have a large opening of exsposed augershaft for feed.