Thelin Providence HiTemp Light comes on almost immediately when set to Medium or High

[Skurnz]

Hello,

New here, and new to pellet stoves, but I was hoping someone experienced would be able to point me the right direction. We recently had a Thelin Providence insert installed by a local company. The insert is tucked away in an alcove off of the main rooms on the 1st floor.

The issue we’re having is anytime we run it on medium or high settings the HiTemp light activates and the unit exterior gets very hot to the touch. The manual reads like the unit is supposed to shut off when this happens but it just keeps running; and the only way to keep the light off is to run on low, which I’ve read is really fuel inefficient for warming the house. I don’t feel comfortable running the unit with the light on since I’m worried about it harming the electronics, right?

Would the overheating be because it’s tucked away in that area isn’t direct heating the larger rooms? The unit does not have an exterior air feed kit. We do have a decent fan that we’re using to push air around but it doesn’t seem to help if this is the case. I’ve also thoroughly cleaned it multiple times this past week; and I’m going to check to make sure there are no visible gaps in the door gasket. I’m not sure what else to try.

Also, pellets I’m using are an 8500 BTU, 0.6% ash softwood (60%)/hardwood(40%) blend.

Any thoughts on why we keep getting the over temp?

 

[Skurnz]

Probably common sense to experienced people on here, but there was a door gap. The installers did not check the door gap after they installed; in fact they never ran both time they were here…. There was a large gap 2-3mm around the top and side of the door. I’ve corrected this and it no longer turns the glass black, once the unit was steadily running I changed to medium setting and it seems to be running normal. Figured I’d keep this thread in case someone else with a similar issue is looking for a solution.

The issue I still noticed is that when it goes through the startup process the flames are enormous still and triggers an overheat. After the startup is completed and the feed slows down the flames drop and the overheat light goes off. The start up phase nearly fills the burn pot with pellets so I’m not sure if that’s normal, but it causes huge flames for about 10-20 mins until the feed slows down (with trim settings at the lowest too). Is that normal for pellet stoves to have huge flames at the start?

 

[Mt Bob]

Your room is small, but I would not expect the unit to go into overheat protection until the room was probably in the 90's or higher. The red overheat has 2 modes blinking or on steady. Take some room temps and stove temps when this is occurring, and if you feel you have a problem,call the dealer. You can get a cheap non contact thermometer from harbor freight. But it almost sounds like the room air is restricted, either incoming or outgoing. Possibly has wrong fan or blade installed.
and yes, it should shut itself down in eithr red light condition, the fact it does not is a major safety hazard.

 

[Skurnz]

Thanks for the quick reply. Rookie mistake on my end as I think I solved the issue; there was a pretty large gap in the door. It’s been running all morning on medium and the exterior of the unit is warm but not hot to the touch (minus the glass and door frame of course). The flames are normal height, active, and bright yellow. I only have an IR gun at the moment, but the temp in that area directly adjacent to the unit is about 85F after running for ~2 hours, while the top of the unit itself is about 100-105F. The light is still off as of this post.

The dealer/installer has provided nothing but a miserable experience; I feel like they should have detected this during the install if they had just ran the unit one time.

Would an exterior air feed kit be something that would benefit this location then or would that not be helpful or even possible?

 

[Mt Bob]

Well, outside air keeps the house less drafty. But in your situation, the unique design of the one motor system,the stove drawing air for burning may be "fighting" the room air, being an insert. I would call or shoot off a email to Thelin and get their opinions.