St Croix Revolution owners..... a question.....?

[skibumm100]

I was playing with the Revolution in the driveway and checking it out after replacing the POF switch and I thought I would check out the operation of the thermostat control.

My understanding, after reading the sections of the manual on thermostats, is that with the contacts of the thermostat closed (and the slide switch in thermostat mode, not SmartStat) the furnace should run at a power level set by the firing rate selector. When the thermostat opens, the furnace should go to a pilot setting, power level 1. When I ran it and simulated a thermostat with a jumper, I saw no change in the firing rate. I was watching the motor cycle on the main auger on the back. I couldn't tell any difference between setting 1 and 5. Am I missing something? I didn't try SmartStat mode. Even changing the power level in manual, I couldn't see any difference between high fire and pilot level fire.

 

[heat seeker]

On my Afton Bay, there is a 2 ¼ minute delay at each level when increasing feed rates. So, from idling to level 5, there would be a pause at each level of 2 ¼ minutes, so it would take around 10 minutes to get to level 5's feed rate. That keeps the burnpot from choking on pellets.

The decrease in feedrate is immediate.

It works the same in SmartStat, the only difference being that the stove will shut off if the 'stat doesn't call for heat for 60 minutes. The 'stat will cause the stove to start when it calls for heat and the stove is off.

 

[hossthehermit]

Revolution delay is about the same, takes a while to get up there ........

 

[TimfromMA]

When the stove is in pilot light mode, the power LED on the control panel will blink.

 

[skibumm100]

Thanks for the information guys. I didn't see anything about a delay in the manual. I might have missed it. I'll try it again next weekend.

 

[skibumm100]

I fired up the Rev in the driveway yesterday and the firing rate does change with the thermostat contact so I think I'm good to go. I timed how long it takes for the auger to make 1 revolution and it took about 1 minute 8 seconds on pilot and about 33 seconds when calling for heat. I checked with my town about an install permit and they gave me the inspector's phone number. I described what it was and how I planned on installing it and he said there is no permit required. When he inspects oil burnier installations he says he primarily looks at the fuel lines to make sure the fusible shut off valves are installed correctly and the burner venting is right. He asked if I was going to pipe it up to the existing oil burner flue and I told him "no" because that wasn't kosher and it would have it's own pellet vent flue separate from the oil burnier. He said he would look over the installation and give me a letter on town letterhead if I needed something for the insurance company, as a courtesy, but that what I did was my own business as it's my house as long as I followed the instructions. I need to contact the insurance company next. I need to come up witha backdraft damper for my rectangular hot air duct. My existing furnace is 8" X 20" so I need to find something. I've found a motorized damper that size and a manual damper panel that size but no backdraft damper that size. I might have to make one.

 

[heat seeker]

My Afton Bay auger runs on an 11.5 second cycle. (I have no clue as to why that number.) Each heating level turns the auger a different amount of time during that cycle. For instance, on the lowest setting, the auger turns (IIRC) about 1.5 seconds, then waits another 10 seconds before it runs again for 1.5 seconds. On the highest setting, it runs 5.5 seconds, then rests for 6 seconds before it runs again. (I'm working from memory, so the times may be off a bit.)

Your auger running at 33 seconds per revolution means close to 2 RPM - which is the speed of my auger motor. So it looks like your auger is running okay, maybe a tad slow. When my auger motor partially seized up, it was running at about 1 ½ RPM max, and that really cut down on the heat output at all levels. Just something to keep in mind.

Good luck with the install, and enjoy!

 

[hossthehermit]

My Afton Bay auger runs on an 11.5 second cycle. (I have no clue as to why that number.)!

Does the Afton Bay have different programs, or is that 11.5 second cycle fixed ? The Revolution has 4 different programs, each one has a different cycle time . Sounds wicked complicated, but once ya get through the 2-3 year learning curve, it's great ........

 

[heat seeker]

I don't know if the programs are the same, which is why I wanted to mention my stove model. Mine has 5 heat levels, so maybe they are different. I would think it likely that they use the same logic, a fixed cycle length with varying on times.

By observation, each cycle on my stove is 11.5 seconds, during normal burn it doesn't change - just the on time for the auger. Startup is its own cycle, running the auger constantly for (I think) two minutes to fill the burn pot. There is a jumper on the control board that I think changes the cycle time, but I haven't played with it. The manual says to consult the manufacturer before changing it. I suspect it changes the cycle time to a shorter period, which would effectively increase the pellet feed amounts - but that's just a guess.

It took me some reading of the manual and observation time to figure out my stove. I think most people wouldn't bother, but I just have to figure these things out...

 

[hossthehermit]

I don't know if the programs are the same, which is why I wanted to mention my stove model. Mine has 5 heat levels, so maybe they are different. I would think it likely that they use the same logic, a fixed cycle length with varying on times.

By observation, each cycle on my stove is 11.5 seconds, during normal burn it doesn't change - just the on time for the auger. Startup is its own cycle, running the auger constantly for (I think) two minutes to fill the burn pot. There is a jumper on the control board that I think changes the cycle time, but I haven't played with it. The manual says to consult the manufacturer before changing it. I suspect it changes the cycle time to a shorter period, which would effectively increase the pellet feed amounts - but that's just a guess.

It took me some reading of the manual and observation time to figure out my stove. I think most people wouldn't bother, but I just have to figure these things out...

Revolution has 5 heat levels as well, on each of the 4 programs, the programs do decrease cycle time, some are for certain fuels only ............. that's what I meant about the learning curve, I keep the manual right there by the unit, been 6 years and I still figure out new stuff every season .......and I'm still burning only pellets ...............................

 

[skibumm100]

I haven't played around with changing the program yet, it's still on the default program. I think that's program #1 and the total cycle time is 8.5 seconds. Program #2 is 7.5 seconds, #3 is 6.5 seconds and #4 is 5.5 seconds. As Hoss says, there's also 5 heat levels for each program. I think the purpose of the programs are mostly for different fuel types and maybe to allow you to adjust for BTU output of the furnace. It does have a 2 RPM motor. I just bought (2) Gleason Avery motors so I can replace the one I stole from my York for the Revolution burn pot motor.