Pellet stove pipe gets hot

[Dlynn60]

Hello all. Having an issue with my enviro max pellet stove. It will be working fine and then all of a sudden I smell smoke in the house. The stove pipe is hot to touch and the front of the stove is unusually hot. Also there were embers coming out of the pipe outside. I’ve cleaned out the pipe several times and found nothing unusual. I’ve cleaned out the whole back of the stove and found nothing. Using the same pellets I always use. Adjusted setting and seem to have it where I need it. Looked for air leaks along the pipe and found nothing. Everything is sealed up well. No clinkers, no oily buildup inside or excessive ash build up. All components have been cleaned up and in good working order. I’m very frustrated as to what could be wrong and would appreciate any advise anyone might have. Thanks in advance.

 

[Washed-Up]

Is the distribution fan coming on?

 

[Dlynn60]

You mean the combustion fan? It sounds like it’s running fine

 

[Washed-Up]

There should also be a distribution/convection fan that blows air through the heat exchangers, if it’s not running you’ll get an overheat condition

 

[Dlynn60]

It’s running fine right now. It’s intermittent. Is that possible?

 

[Washed-Up]

The fan will come on intermittently which may give you the symptoms, which could be completely normal, it should be thermostatically controlled by your stove.

 

[Dlynn60]

Right! We have a thermostat hooked to the stove. The sensors have been replaced recently as we have been trying everything. It happened last night before I stated this thread and we turned the stove off, assesses it inside to look for issues. There were none we saw. Restarted it and it’s working great this AM.

 

[Washed-Up]

Ok, so is it operating the way it always has, fans come on normally with hit air blowing out the heat exchangers etc….but the exhaust piping is abnormally hot? Can you post a video of the issue as it’s happening?

 

[Dlynn60]

I will try. Thanks for your help

 

[mtnbiker727]

What Washed-Up is saying is the distribution fan is the fan that blows the hot air out into the room. The thermostat inside the stove should control the distribution fan, and it probably has a fail-safe to blow hot air out of the stove rather than letting the stove burn your house down. BUT if the fan isn't working properly, it could/would lead to an overheated stove.

 

[Dlynn60]

So why would it all of a sudden stop working out of the blue. It works great all the time except every so often the house gets a wood smell to alert us that the stove is over heating and we shut it off and it , sort of, retimes itself. Is there a sensor that might cause this?

 

[johneh]

What I want to know is if your stove is overheating
why this does not happen
B. HIGH LIMIT SAFETY SWITCH: If the temperature on the hopper reaches 93°C (200°F), the auger will automatically stop, the stove will shut down, and it will display a #4 flash code. If this happens, call your local dealer to reset the 93°C (200°F) high limit switch. ALSO FIND THE REASONS WHY THE UNIT OVERHEATED.

 

[farmboy60]

my self i have never used a thermostat and my enviro max just keeps running crossed fingers

 

[mtnbiker727]

I don't know enviro max stoves, but a Harman has a temperature probe inside the exhaust in the back of the stove that basically controls the whole stove. If that sensor is damaged, or too dirty, it would really mess up the functioning of the stove. If Enviro Max has something like that, I would try to find it and clean it or replace it.

 

[johneh]

I don't know enviro max stoves, but a Harman has a temperature probe inside the exhaust in the back of the stove that basically controls the whole stove. If that sensor is damaged, or too dirty, it would really mess up the functioning of the stove. If Enviro Max has something like that, I would try to find it and clean it or replace it.

Hi temperature sensor 2 orange wires to it, red button in the center
mounted on the hopper wall right side at the top behind right outside panel
IT IS NOT INSIDE THE HOPPER

You may have heat settings set incorrect or your board has a problem

 

[Dlynn60]

We took the sensor out and it was nasty. Full of crud! Look at pictures. We had a spare one and replaced it. Working well so far. Thanks for all your help. I hope this works

 

[Oregun]

Wherever that sensor is located it must not get cleaned.

 

[Dlynn60]

We cleaned it just about a year ago. Used some poor pellets last year so they “gum” must have built up from that I guess.