This morning, the wife got up and I awoke as she was getting her second cup. I heard he in the kitchen, but what awaken me was a "POP" I thought, but she had also shut the MW door after heating her coffee, she said she heard no pops. I noticed the clock was out and that the fan was not running on the pellet stove, our power was out. She called the rural electric co-operative to report it but the automated center said it had been reported, so we figured it was a neighbor hood thing. A while later she noticed a squirrel laying belly up out near our power pole. Our pole serves us and another house. I went out to look at the squirrel, eyes wide open, not a mark on it. I looked up the pole at the transformer, the fuse was blown on it. Squirrel roasted his last walnut I think, it happened so fast he never shut his eyes. I called the Rural Electric Co-Op again and waited for a human, told him I knew why we had no power and then I walked up top the neighbors, they were cold but said they had called as soon as the power failed, they did not hear a pop either. Shortly the truck pulled it, he used his fibreglass pole to replace the fuse, blue arc, then it was done. All of this was maybe 3 hours.
Point is the stove did an abrupt power shut down, and we hardly smelled any smoke. My old flue was like that too, it went 45 degrees to horizontal 3 feet to tee, then 15 feet straight up with a SS weather cap on top. Now the new flue goes 45 degrees to 3 feet horizontal to a tee, and 5 feet up to a90 degree elbow and tapered horizontal "venturi" type exit. Later when the stove was cooled, I opened to do a restart, and I was very pleased that there was no lingering smoke greeted me. This was the first sudden power off shut down since I revised my flue layout, I'm pleased. I also took note as to pellets at auger's end, about half were some charred but some looked untouched by flame. The old girl is doing GREAT!
Point is the stove did an abrupt power shut down, and we hardly smelled any smoke. My old flue was like that too, it went 45 degrees to horizontal 3 feet to tee, then 15 feet straight up with a SS weather cap on top. Now the new flue goes 45 degrees to 3 feet horizontal to a tee, and 5 feet up to a90 degree elbow and tapered horizontal "venturi" type exit. Later when the stove was cooled, I opened to do a restart, and I was very pleased that there was no lingering smoke greeted me. This was the first sudden power off shut down since I revised my flue layout, I'm pleased. I also took note as to pellets at auger's end, about half were some charred but some looked untouched by flame. The old girl is doing GREAT!
