Questions on a Lopi 400 Insert

[xcongrp]

This guy is installed into a traditional wood burning fireplace, it sits outside on top of the brick hearth. You can just access the pellet storage bin on top ( to give you an idea how far it is inside...)

Anyway, I'm new to the whole world of pellet stoves, but since it is cold and the stove is there, I read the directions carefully and ran it over the weekend. It has auto start, so all you do to start it is adjust the feed / auger midrange, turn it ON, and press the start switch. After about 5-7 minutes it ignites.

I played around with it a bit and here is what I noticed:

1. You usually end up with the auger set almost minimum all the time, no matter where you set the air inlet / damper ( Colored Rod on the L side, appears to be a simple slide damper type control ) I really don't see a dramatic increase / decrease in airflow by adjusting this damper. Why is that ? This rod is kinda hard to move also, probably the stove needs a good cleaning.
The directions say you will see a bit of movement of the pellet bits in the firebox when you have the air inflow all the way open ( red ), but I don't really see this...

I did empty the ash bin / tray underneath. And I did clean out all the tiny holes in the bottom of the firebox, to make sure I would get plenty of airflow.

2. I did successfully test the overtemp safety. It shuts off the auger, continues the exhause blower, and the stove dies and you cannot re-start until the temp goes down below some limit.

3. The warm air output fan doesn't come on until the stove reaches some temperature when you are starting it, I figured this was a normal feature. I figure the stove has some teeny amount of brain power built into it....

4. I heated up about 700-900 square feet of the lower portion of the house, which was OK. I'm just wondering about this airflow versus feed adjustment and why it doesn't seem to have that much range. I was never able to adjust the auger feed high enough to over feed the little firepot. I'm guessing you all will say this stove should get a thorough disassembly / cleaning before I really wonder how and why it works the way it does...

5. The stove seems to have a good auto shut off mode. You turn off the switch, it turns off the auger, and the airflow continues until the temp goes down, at which time the lighted start indicator on the side goes off...Almost the same routine as the temp safety shutdown...

Any answers or speculation will help.

 

[imacman]

Everything you said about the operation seems normal, except the part about not being able to adjust the air. You should be able to get the pellets jumping by pulling the air control open. normally, you just want them "dancing" a little in the bottom of the pot....too little, they just sit there, and ash builds up....too much, and it can actually blow burning pellets out of the burnpot.

If opening & closing the air control doesn't seem to make much difference, the stove probably needs a REALLY GOOD cleaning, inside & out, including the exhaust pipe. just cleaning the firepot, ash drawer, & holes probably helped, but the inside of the stove where the ash traps are may be loaded with ash. The combustion blower probably needs to be removed and cleaned of all caked-on soot & ash too.

Check the room air blower for dust/dirt/pet hair, etc clogging the intake.

 

[xcongrp]

MacMan,
Yeah, the directions described it just like that, but the airflow just does NOT get that strong, the pellets / burning embers of pellets do NOT jump around, let alone out of the firebox. I guess we'll limp along like this, and take it apart during the spring. ( Spring cleaning... )

It doesn't hurt to operate it on this low setting, does it ?


Will I be able to get parts from Lopi ? Something being plugged up wouldn't surprise me, the previous owners of this house had the Gas FA furnace replaced in 2007 because " the old one was weak... ". During my initial week at the house, I found 3 count them THREE 6" furnace ducts disconnected and blowing hot air into the crawlspace. The critters and spiders were happy !!

 

[blanc12]

Check the tee in back of the stove. where the pipe goes up the chimney. It is probably full of ash. My Astoria blows allot of ash out the pipe. I have to clean it often. If that tee somewhat full it will give you air flow problems like you describe. Take the bottom off the tee and dump out the ash.

 

[imacman]

Check the tee in back of the stove. where the pipe goes up the chimney. It is probably full of ash. My Astoria blows allot of ash out the pipe. I have to clean it often. If that tee somewhat full it will give you air flow problems like you describe. Take the bottom off the tee and dump out the ash.

I agree with blanc......my Astoria blew a lot of ash out the exhaust pipe too, and had to clean the T-cleanout & pipe every couple of weeks.
As far as does it hurt to run it this way, I guess not, but it's really wasting a lot of pellets for the amount of BTU's you're getting. Sounds like you need to keep that air damper open as far as you can, and when you finally get a chance to tear the stove apart, make sure it's opening all the way.