Ravelli RV 80 air flow/clinker issue

[MetsFan]

Hello! First time poster, long time follower.

I've had my Ravelli RV 80 since 2015 and have been very happy with it. I've read that some have removed the Firex to clean behind it, and removed the blower to clean/check it. I've never done either. Just want to confirm, does the Firex actually end up with buildup behind it and would that cause air flow issues? And, is blower removal just a matter of disconnecting it (and removing main power, of course) and removing screws on each side?

I ask because this year, I had three bags of Barefoot Super Premium pellets left over from last year (yes, they are hardwood and softwood is recommended for the RV 80), but I've been using these pellets for 4 years now with no issues, and this year I'm getting big time clinker build up in the burn pot after burning for about 5 hours. Last year, no problems like this. On the recommendation of my local dealer, I tried a bag of Wood and Sons. No clinkers, but soot buildup on the glass.

Before I knew I had the issue, I had a ton of Barefoot delivered for this season and having the same problem with the first bag (49 bags left). I'm not ruling out the pellets, but trying everything I can to get the stove to burn properly with Barefoot. Flame is not lazy and is white/yellow until the clinker build-up. I've been playing with the air flow and pellet feed settings (on power 5) with some change but not enough. I'm also noticing the top of the stove is hot to the touch and I don't recall that being an issue before. I should add that the burn pot was replaced last year and has no cracks.

I recently did a cleaning of the ports on each side, the exhaust piping and chimney liner, the air input, the smoke detector and Debimeter. So with all that done, next is my question regarding behind the Firex and blower clogs or any other place that might be impeding airflow.

Thank you!

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

The firex panels just butt-up against the steel walls of the firebox, nothing really collects there, no need to remove and clean. But, the exhaust channel behind the back steel wall of the firebox does need to be cleaned, but that is what the rectangular hatch / clean-out ports are for.

From what I know, clinker build-up is strictly a function of the contents of the wood pellets, what and how much minerals and/or salts are in the wood. Nothing you can do other than change pellets.

 

[MetsFan]

The firex panels just butt-up against the steel walls of the firebox, nothing really collects there, no need to remove and clean. But, the exhaust channel behind the back steel wall of the firebox does need to be cleaned, but that is what the rectangular hatch / clean-out ports are for.

From what I know, clinker build-up is strictly a function of the contents of the wood pellets, what and how much minerals and/or salts are in the wood. Nothing you can do other than change pellets.

Thanks PelletingInNJ. That's what I was afraid of. Sounds like frequent burnpot cleanings this year.

 

[MetsFan]

Just a follow-up on this as it might help others.

First, via a call with my stove dealer, I found that the RPM level for each power setting were too low. Brought them all up to the proper defaults (possibly based on the pellets I'm now using). This burning season (2024-2025) I switched pellets to my dealer's recommendation: Wood and Sons - Waste to Warmth, a softwood pellet.

I also found that behind the right and left Firex panels, a channel that runs vertical from top to bottom of the firebox and those were totally clogged with ash. First time cleaning those in the 8 years I've owned the stove because I didn't know they existed! Also don't know the impact on combustion with those being clean. I'd imagine it will help and is now part of my deep cleaning process.

The result: absolutely no clinkers and always a very clean burn pot, very little ash, and a healthier looking flame. The soot build up on the glass that I mentioned with the Waste to Warmth pellets, which is really just a dark dust (?) coating in the two upper corners of the glass and easily brushed off, is normal with these pellets according to the dealer. I start the stove at power level 5 and run that for about an hour with no glass build-up, then switch to power level 3 which is when I start to see a small amount of build-up. Absolutely no big deal.

So looking at a much happier burning season this year. The Barefoot pellets I had last year were just crap. I was scraping the burn pot with a long screw driver during burning. No longer!