Pellets drop inconsistently

[SlimTidy]

I was wondering what the behind the scene workings were on pellet distribution. I have been staring at my new but used stove all week trying to figure out a pattern between when I can hear the auger motor engage and when pellets actually fall.
It seems to me that common sense would have you believe that the control board would take your input from the feed setting and engage / disengage the auger motor accordingly. If this is in fact the case than I will have to start another thread about why mine doesn't work that way!
I can't determine any type of pattern or see any regularity from watching the pellet chute. Is the motor just engaging and disengaging at regular intervals but something else at work preventing pellets from falling every time? I can see the connection bushing spin the auger when I hear the motor engage so is there another piece that would be holding the pellets back to further regulate them.
Seems to be running okay but I just have to know!
Thanks

 

[Mt Bob]

Well you are right and wrong,but put your stove/installation in your sig. for future help.Stoves are auger fed.Pellets come in broken up odd lengths,and feed poorly ,partially because to keep the auger tube a respectable size to prevent fires in the hopper,we are not mass feeding an open burner here.Irregular pellet dropping and irregular flame heigth is normal.

 

[SlimTidy]

Okay thanks so much. Makes perfect sense. I will have to add my details I forgot about that. I have another thread going to try to figure out if my existing installation can stay so I'll wait on some input there. Thanks again

 

[Pellet-King]

Want a more higher flame burn, buy short pellet's, they drop more and the flame is more consistant, longer pellets drop less, as you set the temp higher the flame is more robust

 

[SlimTidy]

Oh I had no idea that there different sizes. Would you burn more of them because of this or I guess maybe not since you could leave the stove on a lower setting. I guess it's still going to be the same heat pound for pound long vs short. Just trying to see what advantages there are and how hard it is to source short vs long pellets. Thanks for the help

 

[Ranger72]

I personally like pellets that are consistently small. I find the flame is more consistent and things just seem to burn better. Pellets won't drop every single time the auger turns as said above.

 

[kofkorn]

Also, if you watch any material moving auger, there is a point in the rotation where all of the material has fallen off of the blade and before the next batch of material arrives. So generally, any auger fed material has a pulsing delivery to it. This is really amplified by the very slow rate that our stove augers turn. Most of them turn on for short amounts of time (5-10 seconds) and then wait for another 5-10 seconds. So a full cycle of the auger may be 3-5 minutes or more.

If you are able to see the end of the auger controlling your feed rate, I think you would quickly find that the pattern matches the full cycle time for one revolution.

As stated above, smaller pellets will minimize this, but as you surmised, smaller pellets will tend to feed faster. You may need to lower your heat setting to compensate.

Good luck!

 

[SlimTidy]

I figured I was missing something but wanted to be sure I didn't have a plugged hole!
I will keep my eye on the pellet size and give both a try.
Thanks

 

[dmac80]

I should probably be the last to reply since I am a novice plus I am having feed/auger motor issues of my own but my observation has been that when its working properly the auger will turn at regular intervals (as long as thermostat is calling for heat) and *most* of the time some pellets will drop. Every 4th or 5th auger turn cycle nothing drops. How many drop is also anyone's guess. There is a feed rate bar inside the top of my hopper with a wing nut. What I learned is you slide it left or right and re-tighten the wing nut, it basically closes or opens the funnel area at the bottom of the hopper (rectangular shaped) that auger takes in the pellets to push them up and eventually over the feed shoot down into stove. The more open the funnel area is, the more it can grab which leads to higher feed rate. What I have observed with my stove (Quadra Fire Santa Fe insert) and I'm guessing this could vary on manufacturers and models is that if I put the fan speed setting on low, the auger turns for say 2-3 seconds max. With the fan speed on medium, 3-5 seconds, fan speed on high, 4-6 seconds. The longer the auger turns the more pellets are likely to come down the shoot. Other variables I've learned in troubleshooting, sawdust buildup in hopper/feed/auger area and long or stuck pellets can cause obstructions/poor feeding. The fix there is to completely empty the hopper and auger/feed area and vacuum out all the dust and check for obstructions with a mirror and flashlight or camera phone. You can use a stiff wire like a coat hanger to dislodge anything or feel around in there as well. After refilling you wil need to run the auger a bit to fill up the feed shoot again. Also there is something called "voids" where gaps existing in the feed shoot so the auger turning might not produce pellets in the burn pot due to the voids, the fix there is to run it for a bit and the voids should disappear or be reduced as more and more pellets are pulled in by the auger. Perhaps these voids explains why sometimes no pellets drop.

Hope that helps.

 

[SlimTidy]

Thanks. Yeah I am new too and just trying to figure things out. Plus my downfall is that I MUST know how everything works. Just that it works is never good enough for me. Haha
I have a very old Lopi 400 Foxfire I believe it's called. Would love a detailed parts list or some diagrams or something but all I can find is the user manual. Humm wonder if mine has an adjustment...... Nah I better not. It's literally our only source of heat right now!

 

[Bioburner]

Want to really foul things up? Try a stove without a auger feed system!

 

[SlimTidy]

Don't worry I bet I can foul things up even with my auger fed stove. I am already working on screwing up my gasket on my ash pan!

 

[smwilliamson]

Thanks. Yeah I am new too and just trying to figure things out. Plus my downfall is that I MUST know how everything works. Just that it works is never good enough for me. Haha
I have a very old Lopi 400 Foxfire I believe it's called. Would love a detailed parts list or some diagrams or something but all I can find is the user manual. Humm wonder if mine has an adjustment...... Nah I better not. It's literally our only source of heat right now!

Send me your email in a pm and I'll send you a technical manual for the stove

 

[SlimTidy]

I hope I sent that correctly and thank you!

 

[smwilliamson]

You are going to need a digital multimeter to test the control box components, I'll send you a tech manual tomorrow

 

[SlimTidy]

That's fine I have meter right here. Whenever you get a chance is fine. No rush
Thanks