Hello. I have a St Croix SCF-Revolution which I purchased new in 2008 I believe. Been working good until this year. Always did need cleaned a lot which I did at least once a week during heating season. This year when I start it, it fires up fine but does not satisfy & close the proof of fire switch. The #4 light blinks. I then immediately restart it & on the second start the proof of fire switch does close. The pressure switch closes also. It will run fine anywhere from about a half hour to sometimes 2 hours then shuts down & #3 light blinks. Goes into safety shut down. I check the proof of fire & pressure switch & they are still both closed. I restart it, will light but very soon afterwards it shuts down again & #3 light blinks. I have replaced both door gaskets & installed a new combustion fan motor & gasket. Still performs the same. I had a service person out but he really didn't know much about it & provided little assistance. Not sure where to go from here, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Dah44632.
St. Croix Revolution problems
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Lake Girl
Moderator
Have you actually replaced the proof of fire switch? They do fail as the metal that "snaps" does fatigue over time with heat... same with the high limit switches. Both are inexpensive and would be my first place to start...
Edit: Do you have the stove on surge protection?
Edit: Do you have the stove on surge protection?
jzm2cc
Minister of Fire
Sounds like the typical St Croix plugged exhaust issues (behind firepot, back wall, under exhaust blower etc). Granted I've never worked on a Revolution so I'll assume its somewhat similar to the SCF-50, Auburn, Prescott, Lamcaster with regards to exhaust chamber.
Maybe try the leaf blower trick on the exhaust first and see if that cures it.
Maybe try the leaf blower trick on the exhaust first and see if that cures it.
Thanks for reply. Really does sound like it's plugged but don't believe it is. Went down last night & ran a 1/4" cable in all 3 clean out ports again just to be sure. Went in two directions in each clean out port. Maybe a little more fly ash but not much. Started it up after that. Burned for about an hour then shut down & #2 light was blinking again. Done the leaf vac trick 3 times. 1st time got a huge ton of ash. The next two basically nothing but stove really hadn't been running much. From what I've seen on line the Revolution & SCF-50 very similar.
I do have it on a surge protector
Yes I do have surge protection. Didn't years ago & blew out the control board so learned quick. I think I will replace proof of fire switch. It's not a big issue. Just have to start it twice to get it hot enough to close that switch. Seems odd that that started same time other issues started.
heat seeker
Minister of Fire
You keep mentioning different lights blinking; I'm confused.
On my Afton Bay, the #2 light means loss of vacuum. Seems like an airflow problem. Is the exhaust blower running at proper speed? You might want to remove the fan and check the blades and the fan cavity.
If the exhaust motor is plugged with dust, it will overheat and stop running. When it cools off, it will run again. That is a very likely spot to check. The motor may need its windings blown out with some serious air pressure. When I first cleaned my used stove, the amount of dust that came out of that motor was phenomenal! Good thing I did it outdoors. Canned air or a vacuum cleaner doesn't get the job done well.
The #3 lamp indicates no Proof of Fire on my stove.
We are assuming that you have unplugged the stove for a few minutes to reset the control.
ETA - if there is low air flow, the POF switch will not get heated as rapidly as it should, thus the #3 light.
On my Afton Bay, the #2 light means loss of vacuum. Seems like an airflow problem. Is the exhaust blower running at proper speed? You might want to remove the fan and check the blades and the fan cavity.
If the exhaust motor is plugged with dust, it will overheat and stop running. When it cools off, it will run again. That is a very likely spot to check. The motor may need its windings blown out with some serious air pressure. When I first cleaned my used stove, the amount of dust that came out of that motor was phenomenal! Good thing I did it outdoors. Canned air or a vacuum cleaner doesn't get the job done well.
The #3 lamp indicates no Proof of Fire on my stove.
We are assuming that you have unplugged the stove for a few minutes to reset the control.
ETA - if there is low air flow, the POF switch will not get heated as rapidly as it should, thus the #3 light.
When I first start it up the #3 blinks, proof of fire switch not closing. I restart it for the second time it gets hot enough to close the proof of fire switch. It will then run for a while, usually an hour or so then shuts down & #2 light blinks, vacuum problem. Exhaust blower is brand new & cavity was cleaned. I also have unplugged the unit to reset control board. It is confusing. It sure does sound like air flow problem but I've cleaned & cleaned some more.
heat seeker
Minister of Fire
Just some WAG's here - can you put the old exhaust blower back in to try it? Also, some motors come with three leads, and they have to be connected properly. I'm wondering if your motor isn't running up to speed. Can you check the voltage going to the motor?
I occasionally take a small mirror and flashlight and look up behind the back wall through the two cleanouts either side of the burn pot. That cavity should be clear, of course. I also have removed the deflector at the top, pulled the rake forward, and looked down into the same cavity with the mirror and flashlight. I know you said you've cleaned back there, but perhaps an eyeball inspection would show something. This is indeed puzzling, because there just isn't that much to go wrong here.
I occasionally take a small mirror and flashlight and look up behind the back wall through the two cleanouts either side of the burn pot. That cavity should be clear, of course. I also have removed the deflector at the top, pulled the rake forward, and looked down into the same cavity with the mirror and flashlight. I know you said you've cleaned back there, but perhaps an eyeball inspection would show something. This is indeed puzzling, because there just isn't that much to go wrong here.
I could put the old motor back on but it was doing the exact same thing with both motors & I don't have a spare gasket so am hesitant to do that. Next order I place I plan on getting extra gaskets. New motor did have 3 leads instead of two. White to terminal block, black to blue wire, brown left disconnected. I disconnected motor wires. Voltage with stove just plugged in around 118V, when started around 115V. Meter across the two terminals I connect the motor wires to. My flashlight a little big but was able to see up there a bit with mirror. Light did shine thru from one clean out to the other. I have actually stuck my head in there & looked around. Kind of tight. Puzzling.
heat seeker
Minister of Fire
More meaningful would be the motor voltage check with the motor connected. Without a load, the voltage readings don't mean much. Please try with the motor connected.
heat seeker
Minister of Fire
Thank you. At the point were I'm thinking of replacing control board, pressure switch & proof of fire switch. Probably a waste of money because it sure does sound like an air flow issue.
jzm2cc
Minister of Fire
Lots a good suggestions from Heat Seeker. Personally i don't like throwing multiple parts at repairs when its usually one item that is the root cause.
Couple of other free ideas:
* What position is inlet damper at? Was it closed more than ysual? On our St Croix machines I use the ole #2 wood pencil as a spacer.
*See if you can observe the #2 event occuring, does exh motor sound like its slowed down (bad bearings or low voltage)?
*I've heard of using leaf blower running on exh pipe while blasting compressed air into ports on each side of burnpot. Maybe nore effective than just poking wires into ports.
*could be object in your OAK blocking air flow also. Try disconnecting it temporarily if used.
I've used piece of wood to tap back wall along with bottle brush up ash traps as a way to drop ash from back exh wall.
Good luck
Couple of other free ideas:
* What position is inlet damper at? Was it closed more than ysual? On our St Croix machines I use the ole #2 wood pencil as a spacer.
*See if you can observe the #2 event occuring, does exh motor sound like its slowed down (bad bearings or low voltage)?
*I've heard of using leaf blower running on exh pipe while blasting compressed air into ports on each side of burnpot. Maybe nore effective than just poking wires into ports.
*could be object in your OAK blocking air flow also. Try disconnecting it temporarily if used.
I've used piece of wood to tap back wall along with bottle brush up ash traps as a way to drop ash from back exh wall.
Good luck
heat seeker
Minister of Fire
I would think that a blockage anywhere on the inlet would increase vacuum, so wouldn't drop out the vac switch, but might have that wrong. If the inlet damper were too wide open, that might drop the vacuum too low. If I understand the stove correctly, blockage that would drop vacuum would have to be after the burn area of the stove. On my Afton Bay, the vac hose connects to that area. Yours may be different. You might check the condition of the vac hose - look for loose ends, splits, blow from the switch end to ensure it's not blocked.
Still, the symptoms indicate low airflow, especially since they showed up at the same time.
Jumping out the switches, while not recommended, would eliminate the control board as a suspect.
I'd check the connector on the board, make sure it's on tight and fully seated. My instruction manual mentions checking the actual pins and contacts themselves, so that must have been an issue, at least at that time. Good lighting and good eyes would help!
Still, the symptoms indicate low airflow, especially since they showed up at the same time.
Jumping out the switches, while not recommended, would eliminate the control board as a suspect.
I'd check the connector on the board, make sure it's on tight and fully seated. My instruction manual mentions checking the actual pins and contacts themselves, so that must have been an issue, at least at that time. Good lighting and good eyes would help!
I will have to try adjusting the damper like you said. Exhaust motor sounds good & is the second one I've tried with the same results. Was told that voltage reading was good. I have done the leaf blower while using compressed air but will try again tomorrow just because maybe loosened up some debris with cable. Can't hurt to try. I do not have outside air hooked up, just using room air. I used a rubber mallet & lightly tapped on back wall above clean outs. Got a little dust to fall but not much. I agree I hate throwing multiple parts at a repair.
Lake Girl
Moderator
Since he seems to have used the leaf blower 3X in fairly quick succession, not real likely it is clogged with fly ash. Hoping the vacuum switch was disconnected when using the leaf blower... Exhaust fan is new?? Certain it is the appropriate one?
Jumper can be used to take snap discs out of the start up sequence but only for troubleshooting ... not safe to run that way. Always unplug when working in the interior...
Keep us posted!
Jumper can be used to take snap discs out of the start up sequence but only for troubleshooting ... not safe to run that way. Always unplug when working in the interior...
Keep us posted!
Lake Girl
Moderator
Since he seems to have used the leaf blower 3X in fairly quick succession, not real likely it is clogged with fly ash. Hoping the vacuum switch was disconnected when using the leaf blower... Exhaust fan is new?? Certain it is the appropriate one?
Jumper can be used to take snap discs out of the start up sequence but only for troubleshooting ... not safe to run that way. Always unplug when working in the interior...
Keep us posted!
Jumper can be used to take snap discs out of the start up sequence but only for troubleshooting ... not safe to run that way. Always unplug when working in the interior...
Keep us posted!
Never thought about vac hose maybe dry rotted or cracked, will check. I know hose is clear but will re-check & that vac switch is closing. Did remove pin connector from board, looked ok to me, seated well. Checked wires from pin connector to vac switch & they were good, not open. I ran unit with proof of fire switch by-passed, same results except never a #3 light blinking. I believe but will have to re-check tomorrow that I tried starting unit with vac switch by-passed & it wouldn't start at all. When I'd start it with vac switch by-passed it immediately went to #2 light blinking & did not light? I will have try it again tomorrow to be sure. Will also clean, blow out again & play around with damper.
Lake Girl
Moderator
Since he seems to have used the leaf blower 3X in fairly quick succession, not real likely it is clogged with fly ash. Hoping the vacuum switch was disconnected when using the leaf blower... Exhaust fan is new?? Certain it is the appropriate one?
Jumper can be used to take snap discs out of the start up sequence but only for troubleshooting ... not safe to run that way. Always unplug when working in the interior...
Keep us posted!
Hope this helps ... flow chart on page 127 (broken link removed to http://www.ncsg.org/wcmedia/documents/InstallationManuals/Digital_Control_Board_Service_Manual-2009.pdf)
Edit: POF page 103...
Jumper can be used to take snap discs out of the start up sequence but only for troubleshooting ... not safe to run that way. Always unplug when working in the interior...
Keep us posted!
Hope this helps ... flow chart on page 127 (broken link removed to http://www.ncsg.org/wcmedia/documents/InstallationManuals/Digital_Control_Board_Service_Manual-2009.pdf)
Edit: POF page 103...
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Vac switch was not disconnected when using leaf blower but will be from now on. Exhaust fan is new & stove had the same issues with both, old one & new one. It is a three wire motor were original was a two wire, brown wire left disconnected. Was purchased from a reputable St. Croix dealer so assuming correct........never assume I know.
Lake Girl
Moderator
Lake Girl
Moderator
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