PelPro PP130 Questions and Observation

[Shoe1757]

Hello all, I have recently purchased a PelPro PP130 to replace my Quadrafire Contour (Needs a lot of parts). So far I'm very impressed!

Below I'll provide some insight to our house, and set up to help with others interested in the stove, or those attempting to answer some of my questions

Our house is a 20's balloon frame house (single studs from foundation to roof) that is roughly 3200 sq ft heated, plus an unheated attached 3 car garage below the master bedroom. Our bedroom is tricky to heat due to size and unheated garage below.

The pp130 is installed in the garage, vented 4' rise, 2' through wall and terminated, currently no OAK. It has managed to keep our 1st floor above 68, 2nd above 69, and garage around 69-72 since Nov. 25th burning between 1.5 - 3 bags every 24 hours.

Some things I have observed and questions I have.
The stove ran better than I'd ever imagine for the first 3 days, little ash in the pot. Recently I feel as if it needs more air. I am getting ash buildup in the burn pot after 5-6 bags that is not super hard, but requires a screwdriver to knock around and break up. Less dense than a graham cracker.

I ensured everything was working properly, adjusted trim settings both way, still using pellets from the same pallet of Cheat River, and verified no leaks in the door seal.

I have also modified the burn pot by adding some holes on the bottom, hoping to help lift some spent ash. Improvement was not obvious so I welded them back up.

I used the supplied Outside air hose and ran it to a low cfm box fan I have behind the stove. This has made a large difference! Much cleaner burning and less ash buildup in the pot.

I feel like this is potentially unsafe for a few reasons and have came up with a few ideas. IF anyone thinks this could be a safe permanent fix I would like to build a sheet metal shroud incasing a low rpm computer fan to make it a more proper set up.

Would an OAK provide additional airflow to where I don't need a slight breeze into the combustion intake?

Is there any out of the ordinary adjustments to increase airflow on the PelPro? Ex; adjusting exhaust blower speed, software update/adjustment, better sealing somehow.

Thanks everyone!

 

[begreen]

moved to pellet forum

 

[Shoe1757]

moved to pellet forum

What a newbie, I didn't realize I had posted in the wrong one! Thank you!

 

[Mt Bob]

7083-171H • February 23, 2015 (broken link removed)
1. Types of Fuel
The type of fuel you are burning will dictate how often you
have to clean your firepot.
If the fuel you are burning has a high dirt or ash content, it
may be necessary to clean the firepot more than once a day.
Poor quality fuel will cause clinkers to form in the firepot. A
clinker is formed when dirt, ash or a non-burnable substance
is heated to 2000°F (1093°C) and becomes glass-like. See
section D following for more details on fuels with high ash
content.

Cleaning or Inspection Frequency Daily Weekly Monthly Yearly
Firepot Every 3 bags of fuel
Ash Removal from Firebox Every 5 bags of fuel or more
frequently depending on ash
build-up
So,looks pretty normal to me. But you can contact them-

PelPro Stoves | Request a software update for PP130-B

A complimentary software update is available to improve performance for the PP130-B. Please complete the form below to determine if your stove qualifies. This update only applies to the PP130-B with serial numbers beginning with HC082 and US082. If your stove qualifies, an update kit will be...

www.pelprostoves.com

 

[Shoe1757]

So,looks pretty normal to me. But you can contact them-

I agree, it does seem on par with their recommendations! I guess I was asking more if anyone has had success improving upon the efficiency of the stove.

 

[pelletstoveuser]

The only issue with adding positive air flow to the OAK would be pushing embers up the pellet tube and starting the pellet bin on fire. (I actually witnessed that on a Pelpro.) However, I thing as long as you could keep the combustion fan running a slightly higher negative pressure in the chamber than the fan pushing air in it would benefit it, especially in cases where you may have wind drafting back through the chimney which decreases combustion air flow and PelPro's combustion fan isn't much to work with to begin with in regards to how much air it moves. So as long as the embers don't get blown around and pushed up the pellet tube it probably would work well.
I also experimented by adding a few holes to the bottom of the burn pot and noticed no real difference in keeping the ash cleaned out. Then I bought a stainless steel one and took the original one I had and welded all the side holes shut and drilled a bunch only on the bottom, I have pics of that in another post. That made the difference and keeps it cleaned out. I have probably only used the new SS one I bought maybe twice since last winter when I originally bought it. I had to empty mine daily regardless of the pellet brand and I noticed most other MFG burn pots all have the venting from the bottom, unlike the Pelpro style.
Overall the PP130 I have is a temperamental SOB and will run really well for a while and then start overflowing the pot with pellets when set any higher than on low and won't burn them as fast as it will feed them, no matter what you do. I can clean throughout the entire stove, adjust the trim and everything and anything else anyone suggests and it will still overfeed if set any higher than on low. Then a day later I can give it another quick clean and it will burn with the t-stat turned up and never overfill the pot and heat up really well. It is very frustrating and in my next life I will probably just go with propane....