Oops...posted this on the log jammers board the first time....anyhoot...
Greetings all on my semi-annual trek to this board looking for advice. Last year I explained how to set your home ablaze using only a shop vac and a few tiny embers. This year I have the opposite problem, the pellet stove won’t stay lit.
By way of background my stove is an Englander PV25DC-55 built in 10/07 but used only for the winters of 08-09 and 09-10. When heating season started this year (for those of us of Hibernian heritage as the Emerald Isle is lovingly embraced by the Gulfstream it starts early.) The first ten fires were unenventful and normal. Hoo-zah, sayeth I. A hot stove and a cold beer, I am off to the garage to do what I do best, take apart cars and bikes that are running OK to make them faster. Occasionally the top auger would stop feeding and the fire would darn near go out…nothing much more than embers…but I was told last year this is a normal part of operation. Some things you take on faith and fire always reignited itself. I have no idea why the top auger needs an occasional break while it’s downstream harder working brother soldiers steadfastly on but I don’t understand aerodynamics either and I still get on planes.
Sometime in the overnight hours Saturday the fire went out (despite a full hopper of fuel) and didn’t reignite. And yes, it was a bit chilly. Gadzooth sayeth I, peppering the sentiment with some more colorful language. So I cleaned out the stove, checked the wiring, made sure the chimney was clean and the air intake tube unobstructed. I relit the stove and it fired up normally, even enthusiastically. When I checked on it around noon the fire had gone out again and once again no e-codes were displayed. I like codes. Some of my cars display codes like “P101” which means the most expensive and hard to replace trinket has once again shat the bed with two days left on your emissions sticker.
Yesterday I really got after the stove as really cold weather is moving in this weekend. I even carried a tool box to show the stove I meant business. The stove will light and run for anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes. At that point the top auger stops spinning, the fire eventually goes out and the stove shuts down. Occasionally if I grasp the upper motor and wiggle it up and down and side to side I can restart that auger and again for ten to twelve minutes everything is fine. The motor isn’t hot to the touch and the wiring look good. I hate to just toss a motor at it, so anyone have any ideas on what’s going on and how to right it? I have tons of tools (the difference between men and lower primates is we have rollaround tool boxes) but am not real handy with home repair stuff. Several well intended, intelligent and good hearted women over the years have told me when it comes to home repairs I am like a mallard with a 30-30. I might really want to fire back at that duck blind but it just ain’t going to happen.
Greetings all on my semi-annual trek to this board looking for advice. Last year I explained how to set your home ablaze using only a shop vac and a few tiny embers. This year I have the opposite problem, the pellet stove won’t stay lit.
By way of background my stove is an Englander PV25DC-55 built in 10/07 but used only for the winters of 08-09 and 09-10. When heating season started this year (for those of us of Hibernian heritage as the Emerald Isle is lovingly embraced by the Gulfstream it starts early.) The first ten fires were unenventful and normal. Hoo-zah, sayeth I. A hot stove and a cold beer, I am off to the garage to do what I do best, take apart cars and bikes that are running OK to make them faster. Occasionally the top auger would stop feeding and the fire would darn near go out…nothing much more than embers…but I was told last year this is a normal part of operation. Some things you take on faith and fire always reignited itself. I have no idea why the top auger needs an occasional break while it’s downstream harder working brother soldiers steadfastly on but I don’t understand aerodynamics either and I still get on planes.
Sometime in the overnight hours Saturday the fire went out (despite a full hopper of fuel) and didn’t reignite. And yes, it was a bit chilly. Gadzooth sayeth I, peppering the sentiment with some more colorful language. So I cleaned out the stove, checked the wiring, made sure the chimney was clean and the air intake tube unobstructed. I relit the stove and it fired up normally, even enthusiastically. When I checked on it around noon the fire had gone out again and once again no e-codes were displayed. I like codes. Some of my cars display codes like “P101” which means the most expensive and hard to replace trinket has once again shat the bed with two days left on your emissions sticker.
Yesterday I really got after the stove as really cold weather is moving in this weekend. I even carried a tool box to show the stove I meant business. The stove will light and run for anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes. At that point the top auger stops spinning, the fire eventually goes out and the stove shuts down. Occasionally if I grasp the upper motor and wiggle it up and down and side to side I can restart that auger and again for ten to twelve minutes everything is fine. The motor isn’t hot to the touch and the wiring look good. I hate to just toss a motor at it, so anyone have any ideas on what’s going on and how to right it? I have tons of tools (the difference between men and lower primates is we have rollaround tool boxes) but am not real handy with home repair stuff. Several well intended, intelligent and good hearted women over the years have told me when it comes to home repairs I am like a mallard with a 30-30. I might really want to fire back at that duck blind but it just ain’t going to happen.
