Troubleshooting Help - PelPro PP130 Missed Ignition Alarm

[vtbran]

Wondering if anyone can offer advice. I'm getting four red blinks - missed ignition alarm - and not sure why.

When I start up the stove everything seems to work fine; fan turns on, a little while later pellets fall in and then they ignite. Then after the first load burns through no more pellets come through. This implies that the auger isn't working properly but I've restarted the stove numerous times now by unplugging it and the same start up sequence happens where the pellets drop, they ignite but then no more fuel is fed unless I restart. So since the auger works after reboot it seems like it is actually working fine. Also since the fire starts up like it should, the firepot is clean enough and the igniter is working fine. Also, the stove will re-attempt a second time and everything starts okay on its own without me turning off/on.

The troubleshooting steps in the manual are not adding up...maybe a temperature probe is acting faulty and the stove isn't seeing that it's actually working properly?

Any tips? Thanks!

 

[johneh]

Whatever is your proof of fire switch is is not working
not getting hot enough may be covered in ash (ash is a good insulator)
or just dirty
from the manual
Fire starts but goes out Firepot is dirty Exhaust path and/or venting is plugged Exhaust sensor cannot read correct temperature Exhaust path is dirty Exhaust probe is not attached to outlet Exhaust probe is not plugged in to the board Exhaust probe is defective (error code may result) Clean fi repot. Check fl ue vent for obstruction Inspect and clean exhaust path and venting clean fi rebox including behind the baffl es Inspect and clean the exhaust outlet especially the right side wall. Remove the right side panel and inspect to see if the exhaust probe is attached and tight against the exhaust outlet Plug the probe into the board Replace the exhaust probe

 

[Jeremy6500]

I had the exact same issue and detailed the fix in this thread:

PP130 lighting but Ignition Failure code

Figure I would type this up incase anyone else has this issue. About a week ago after cleaning my PP130 I noticed it would light, go out and throw an ignition failure code. If I cycled it a few time I could usually get it to register and start feeding pellets. I had shop vacced out the firebox...

www.hearth.com

The unit senses the fire by a probe that is secured to the exterior of the exhaust fan housing. I had some bad pellets and ended up with enough ash built up on the inside of the housing that it insulated the sensor from the heat. I removed the exhaust fan and scrapped/cleaned the inside of the housing. No issues since.

 

[FixedGearFlyer]

We've also had a missed ignition alert on one of our two PP130s.

We traced the cause to the vacuum switch that is part of the safety chain which allows the auger to feed pellets - the three pieces in the chain are the lid switch (to verify that the lid is closed), the vacuum switch (to verify that there is negative pressure in the burn chamber), and the proof-of-fire sensor (to verify that the fire is active).

In our case, we jumped each of the items individually (only during testing and when we were physically present to observe and monitor the start up cycle) and determined that the vac switch was stopping the feed cycle after the initial ignition. After further testing with a magnehelic and swapping the vac switch with the one that worked perfectly in the other PP130, we determined that it actually wasn't a faulty switch. Instead, it was the combustion blower speed.

The blower turns on high during the initial ignition, then backs off to a lower setting once the proof-of-fire sensor detects heat. That lower setting was right on the edge of the vac switch low limit and about 50% of the time it would open the safety circuit and prevent the stove from feeding pellets. Sometimes, it would do the same thing on the "low" heat setting after a successful ignition, too.

I adjusted the trim (the small blue dial just below the control dial) from 0 to +2 and the combustion blower now runs fast enough to maintain the minimum vacuum through both start up and operation on low. It also has a good burn at that setting.

We probably could have gotten a new combustion blower from PelPro under warranty, but it's works just fine at that setting, so we'll continue to use the original blower.

 

[vtbran]

There was a significant amount of build up inside the blower enclosure which was preventing the exhaust temp sensor from seeing the heat. After cleaning, it has worked well! I've learned a good amount in the past few weeks to get the stove running properly. More than anything, cleaning the entire intake/exhaust path has made a world of a difference. A lot less soot and better burning after digging deeper and cleaning the buildup...also no more false starts unless the firepot is overdue. I appreciate everyone's input and thank you all!! Stay warm

 

[Jeremy6500]

Glad it was something simple for you.