US Stove 6039 -manual draft and oak

[smoke270]

Been lurking for a while seeking some information on how to get my 6039 with the four button controls and manual draft door to burn well.
I recently purchased a home with it already I stalled . It has an oak and draft door I was running it with the draft open about 1.5". If I closed the draft door the flame would get dark orange and get high. I opened up the case for a good cleaning and discovered the oak wasn't connected from the back of the pot to the back case. I installed a section of pipe assuming that was the reason I needed to have the draft door open. Unfortunately it didn't make much difference. My glass still get very black on hr4.
I've been runnning on ranges 3&4 with the room fan 9 , draft on auto, and agitator auto. Burning pellets and the pph is stock at 2.0&6.0. I've cleaned and oiled room and draft fans. Cleaned the stove and pipes properly. Added knock out plugs. Oak is clean and all cleanout and dump plates installer correctly. Installed new door glass. Vacuum is good and no errors.

I've tried messing with he numbers and I turned the pph to 1.75 and closed the draft door. Still getting a high darker orange flame and black glass.

That are some of the numbers you guys are running and should I have that draft door open while running the oak?

 

[ARC]

Is the cap off of the fresh air pipe under the burn pot. E in picture. I reinstalled mine with 3 3/8 holes drilled in it. Others install a ball valve in the pipe going from rear of stove to outside. The cap is a Steel Shallow Cup Freeze Plug 2 7/64 inch. If your Fresh air kit or Outside air Kit is installed correctly you do not have to use the manual damper except maybe on start up.

 

[smoke270]

Is the cap off of the fresh air pipe under the burn pot. E in picture. I reinstalled mine with 3 3/8 holes drilled in it. Others install a ball valve in the pipe going from rear of stove to outside. The cap is a Steel Shallow Cup Freeze Plug 2 7/64 inch. If your Fresh air kit or Outside air Kit is installed correctly you do not have to use the manual damper except maybe on start up.

The cap is off. Flame gets real high (above the the auger) and seems lazier and orange when I close the damper.

 

[ARC]

Sounds like your fresh air kit is plugged somewhere. Maybe wasp nest mouse nest in pipe. Usually with kit installed you have to turn down the Draft fan settings or add a ball valve or some how partially restrict the air flow as it is to much and your fire burns quickly. The way you discribe your fire it sounds like you are still controlling air flow with the manual damper.

 

[smoke270]

Sounds like your fresh air kit is plugged somewhere. Maybe wasp nest mouse nest in pipe. Usually with kit installed you have to turn down the Draft fan settings or add a ball valve or some how partially restrict the air flow as it is to much and your fire burns quickly. The way you discribe your fire it sounds like you are still controlling air flow with the manual damper.

I know it sounds that way, but there is new pipe. There is no obstruction. When I'm cleaning it I can easily feel the cold air coming out into the pot.

 

[SidecarFlip]

You want an orange flame not a blue one and so long as the flame is active, it's all good. A blue flame (other than just above the fuel bed) will eat your stirrer up real quick, Fad as the view glass getting black they all do, some quicker, some slower. Just open the door and clean the glass with a natural bristle paint brush.

 

[smoke270]

You want an orange flame not a blue one and so long as the flame is active, it's all good. A blue flame (other than just above the fuel bed) will eat your stirrer up real quick, Fad as the view glass getting black they all do, some quicker, some slower. Just open the door and clean the glass with a natural bristle paint brush.

It's never sticky, it's actually powdery. I open the door twice a day and wipe with a paper towel, it usually just falls to the floor and the glass is clean. The inside is never sticky.
Right now running Pellheat pellets and my settings are 1.90 hr3 rf9 dfA auxA. I tried turning up the draft fan and seemed to get the flames a bit lower. So I set the df to 6 and see what it does.

 

[SidecarFlip]

It's never sticky, it's actually powdery. I open the door twice a day and wipe with a paper towel, it usually just falls to the floor and the glass is clean. The inside is never sticky.
Right now running Pellheat pellets and my settings are 1.90 hr3 rf9 dfA auxA. I tried turning up the draft fan and seemed to get the flames a bit lower. So I set the df to 6 and see what it does.

I never said it was did I???

Unplug the stove and plug it back in and let the board reset itself (or depress the top left and right buttons together and reset the board to factory parameters then set the HR setting at 3, draft fan on 'auto room air fan wherever you want it, (I run mine on the appropriate heat setting so if I'm on 3 (where is where I'm usually at), the room fan is on 3 as well, and the Aux (which is the stirrer) on 1. Finally, keep the slide shutter below the firepot closed all the way. The OAK as you call the fresh air kit will provide all the combustion air you need (so long as the exhaust path is clean and free from fly ash, the combustion fan works properly and the plenum it's housed in is also clean. There stoves demand frequent cleaning of the combustion exhaust path as well as the side heat exchangers and behind the wall that the 'faux' firebrick attaches to. Mine gets cleaned every 7 days and I brush off the view glass about once per 24 hour burn time.

By fiddling with the settings, you have screwed with the algorithms that control the burn rate and draft. reset it.

I know nothing about Pellheat pellets at all. I use a mix of Michigan Hardwood pellets and low moisture (10%RM) field corn in a 2-1 ratio, 2 parts corn to one part pellets, pre mixed in 4 30 gallon plastic trash cans with lids. With corn, pellet brand is inconsequential. All the pellets do is keep my corn clinkers under control.

I also modified my burn pot years ago. I enlarged all the holes to 1/8" in the backside to the center bottom of the pot. That allows more fresh combustion air to enter the pot and fuel bed for a better burn on pellets or corn or a combination of both.

I've been running a 6039 HF for about 16 years now. I know what they require to run right.

Use a natural bristle paint brush to clean the glass, lots easier, quicker and no burnt fingers

 

[SidecarFlip]

Between Firepot Pete and myself, we have somewhere around 30 consecutive years running 6039's and 41's so I believe we have done about all there is to do with them. Now Pete runs straight corn, not pellets and Pete uses a clinker pot, not the stock USSC pot but that is for another time and not germane for this thread.

I will say, with regular maintenance, they are stone reliable (and stone ugly too)....

 

[smoke270]

Between Firepot Pete and myself, we have somewhere around 30 consecutive years running 6039's and 41's so I believe we have done about all there is to do with them. Now Pete runs straight corn, not pellets and Pete uses a clinker pot, not the stock USSC pot but that is for another time and not germane for this thread.

I will say, with regular maintenance, they are stone reliable (and stone ugly too)....

I'm not sure why it's doing what it is. It was too lazy with the damper shut. It's open about 1/2" right now and seems to be burning better. It's down in the 20's here tonight and the oak pipe is sweating and cold. There's definitely air moving in there.

What are the two holes beside the ash dumps on the face of the stove? On each side of them there are two holes (roughly 1/4") with air blowing out them. The air was pretty hot on the left side. Not so much on the other.

 

[ARC]

Either your draft settings have gotten changed or you have a blockage in the exhaust path somewhere . (When I first got my 6039 in 2007 I installed the Fresh air kit, the draft was to strong it would blow half burnt corn out of the burn pot. I tried the ball valve in the fresh air line but my stove is at a 45 degree angle and it was hard to reach the valve to adjust and I think I had a defective valve. I would turn it and it would go from open to 3/4 shut, I would try to open it a little and it would go fully open, got frustrating. ) I finally left it fully open and went out side and put duck tape a little over half the pipe opening not pretty but it worked until I got around to installing the cap with holes drilled in it. I only tell you this to explain that you should not have to use the manual damper except for start up. Yes you are getting it to burn correct but only by adding more air with the manual damper which you should not have to do.

Describe your exhaust path , mine is pipe adapter to 45 degree angle 2 straight pieces out thru wall, clean out t, 3 straight pieces up, 90 degree elbow, 1 straight piece and then cap.

Have you ever had the Exhaust motor off? If previous owner burnt corn it is really hard on the fan fins if not cleaned at least yearly.

Have you ever used a leaf blower to suck all the ash out of the exhaust pathway, google it. It does work get all those hard to reach places nice and clean.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I'm not sure why it's doing what it is. It was too lazy with the damper shut. It's open about 1/2" right now and seems to be burning better. It's down in the 20's here tonight and the oak pipe is sweating and cold. There's definitely air moving in there.
Means you have good RH in the house, sweating is condensation from the cold outside air moving through the pipe.....

What are the two holes beside the ash dumps on the face of the stove? On each side of them there are two holes (roughly 1/4") with air blowing out them. The air was pretty hot on the left side. Not so much on the other.

They mean nothing. Where USSC fixtured the front sheet in a jig when the welded it together. They are alignment holes, nothing more. Forget about them.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I'm not sure why it's doing what it is. It was too lazy with the damper shut. It's open about 1/2" right now and seems to be burning better. It's down in the 20's here tonight and the oak pipe is sweating and cold. There's definitely air moving in there.

What are the two holes beside the ash dumps on the face of the stove? On each side of them there are two holes (roughly 1/4") with air blowing out them. The air was pretty hot on the left side. Not so much on the other.

Jig alignment holes for when the stove was assembled. They mean nothing...


One more time and the last time. You don't want a 'blow torch' flame. One, the heat of combustion is going right out the venting and not transferring to the heat exchanger plates inside the firebox and it will eat up the stirrer rod quickly and destroy the firepot eventually. I new firepot costs around 300 bucks btw.

You need to reset the control board to the factory parameters (algorithms ), you have them wacked up. If your 'oak' as you call it is correct, you don't need the shutter open at all. Should be closed. I suspect either you have no holes drilled in the blanking plug in the base of the firepot stand or the exhaust path is clogged with fly ash in the combustion blower plenum (that the combustion blower fits into) or both. The exhaust path for the 6039 is very simple but it needs to be kept clean and I suspect yours is either filthy or the blanking plug in the firepot stand is solid with no holes in it, or both. It's a very simple, not complex stove.

Like the old saying goes, 'you can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink'. I provided the 'water'. You need to drink it....

Rather than posting question constantly pertaining to your 'issues', I suggest you go read the wiki threads at the top of the forum page concerning 'troubleshooting the 6039-41 HF stoves. It answers 99% of your issues and how to deal with them.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Either your draft settings have gotten changed or you have a blockage in the exhaust path somewhere . (When I first got my 6039 in 2007 I installed the Fresh air kit, the draft was to strong it would blow half burnt corn out of the burn pot. I tried the ball valve in the fresh air line but my stove is at a 45 degree angle and it was hard to reach the valve to adjust and I think I had a defective valve. I would turn it and it would go from open to 3/4 shut, I would try to open it a little and it would go fully open, got frustrating. ) I finally left it fully open and went out side and put duck tape a little over half the pipe opening not pretty but it worked until I got around to installing the cap with holes drilled in it. I only tell you this to explain that you should not have to use the manual damper except for start up. Yes you are getting it to burn correct but only by adding more air with the manual damper which you should not have to do.

I never installed a ball valve or any restrictor in my outside combustion line, ever. It's straight from the outside (under the decorative screened cover) into the firepot rear wall. I had that issue (corn jumping out of the pot) so I adjusted the combustion air algorithm to compensate for that. You can do that easy, if you know how... The manual damper slide should always stay closed except when lighting or when dumping accumulated ash from the burn pot, into the ash pan, I do that twice a day, every day.

Describe your exhaust path , mine is pipe adapter to 45 degree angle 2 straight pieces out thru wall, clean out t, 3 straight pieces up, 90 degree elbow, 1 straight piece and then cap.

My venting is 18 feet from the outside clean out tee to the top cap btw. Mine is 4" from the Tee (3-4 increaser Tee with cleanout). Mine is in a corner so 1 elbow inside to a straight 3", 4 feet long to the outside Tee. Exhaust path is basically inconsequential unless there are multiple twists and turns. The more twists and turns the less able the exhaust becomes to efficiently exhaust.

Have you ever had the Exhaust motor off? If previous owner burnt corn it is really hard on the fan fins if not cleaned at least yearly.

Have you ever used a leaf blower to suck all the ash out of the exhaust pathway, google it. It does work get all those hard to reach places nice and clean.

Don't need to Goggle anything. All spelled out at the top of the forum page in the sticky links. All one has to do is LOOK.

I have a feeling that one, he has the board parameters screwed up and needs to reset it to factory parameters and two, his combustion air plenum and exhaust fan is filthy and loaded with fly ash and most likely the horizontal run from the back of the stove to the outside cleanout Tee (if he even has an an outside cleanout Tee). The slide plate should NEVER have to be open when burning, only during initial lighting and then CLOSED once the fuel bed is established. Something is screwey downstream. Filthy exhaust path and screwed up board parameters is the most likely cause.

Needs to go read the tips at the top of the forum page and follow that instead of asking already addressed questions.

 

[smoke270]

Don't need to Goggle anything. All spelled out at the top of the forum page in the sticky links. All one has to do is LOOK.

I have a feeling that one, he has the board parameters screwed up and needs to reset it to factory parameters and two, his combustion air plenum and exhaust fan is filthy and loaded with fly ash and most likely the horizontal run from the back of the stove to the outside cleanout Tee (if he even has an an outside cleanout Tee). The slide plate should NEVER have to be open when burning, only during initial lighting and then CLOSED once the fuel bed is established. Something is screwey downstream. Filthy exhaust path and screwed up board parameters is the most likely cause.

Needs to go read the tips at the top of the forum page and follow that instead of asking already addressed questions.

I've cleaned both the exhaust and room fans about two weeks ago. Cleaned the find, housings, and oiled the shafts and replaced the fiber glass gaskets and new red rtv on the exhaust.
The furnace has been reset today and cleaned. I can't do the leaf blower due to my set up. I did run my brush though the exhaust and plugged the outside pipe and put my shop 6.5hp shop vac on the t-pipe (sealed to make vacuum) and left it go for a bit. Wouldn't be able to tell if something came out cause it sucks it into the bag. The oak is definitely clear as well as the exhaust. Those four holes on beside the ash dumps push alot of air out them, should they?

 

[SidecarFlip]

I've cleaned both the exhaust and room fans about two weeks ago. Cleaned the find, housings, and oiled the shafts and replaced the fiber glass gaskets and new red rtv on the exhaust.
The furnace has been reset today and cleaned. I can't do the leaf blower due to my set up. I did run my brush though the exhaust and plugged the outside pipe and put my shop 6.5hp shop vac on the t-pipe (sealed to make vacuum) and left it go for a bit. Wouldn't be able to tell if something came out cause it sucks it into the bag. The oak is definitely clear as well as the exhaust. Those four holes on beside the ash dumps push alot of air out them, should they?

The cleanout Tee should really be on the outside of the house, not on the inside because of the mess involved.... and your cleanout plate on the left side of the firebox in your picture isn't seated down all the way, needs to be touching the bottom of the firebox floor securely. it's cocked a bit.... Not sure what you are referring to far as the 'holes' are. I presume you are referring to the holes below the outside shelf on the front of the unit. Those are jig alignment holes and mean nothing. A picture of the 'holes' would be helpful.

If the board is reset to factory parameters it should be fine but the unit will need cleaned at least weekly, maybe more, depending on the ash content of the pellets you are burning. keep the slide plate closed, it don't need to be open at all. All that does is blow hot combustion gasses out the venting and heat the outside air.

 

[smoke270]

I clean the into every 3-4 days. I get alot of ash build up on the door ledge that needs sweeped daily, when I open the door to clean the glass itll fall on the floor. These are the holes. They are are on both sides and both sides blow alot of air out them.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Those are alignment holes that were punched when the sheet was flat to align it when it was jig welded. They mean nothing and are only accessing the room air plenum around the firebox. You can plug them if you want to I guess. Has no impact whatsoever on performance of the unit. Getting time for a paint job I'd say.....

 

[ARC]

I can't do the leaf blower due to my set up

I take it you mean your neighbors wouldn't like it. If you take the square end cap off your exhaust the vacuum/intake part of the leaf blower goes over the round pipe, it sucks the fly out.

With your stove running on heat range 3 or 4 can you put the draft fan on 9. Listen to hear if the draft fan hums louder and see if the flame starts dancing to strong.

When doing a deep Yearly or Semi Yearly cleaning do you take the bottom off of your clean out t?

Can we get a picture of your burn pot? Maybe previous owner replaced with wrong pot. I am baffled and taking wild guesses now.

 

[smoke270]

I clean my t once a week. When I turned up the draft fan, the flames did move around a bit more but I couldn't hear a difference in the noise of the motor from 1 to 9. It sounded the same but there was a little difference in the flame.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Might be a brain box issue but I don't believe so, the 6039 4 button boards are pretty bullet proof. I would hope there is a surge suppressor between the wall outlet and the power cord plug I don't see one in the pictures and it's really mandatory for any appliance that uses electronic controls.. If not put one in, Get yourself a Tripp-Lite Isobar. 31 bucks on Amazon (much as I dislike Amazon it's the best price). Never been fond of the short sections of vent pipe either. If you go to (broken link removed) they have longer lengths up to 6 foot long. The fewer joints the better.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I clean my t once a week. When I turned up the draft fan, the flames did move around a bit more but I couldn't hear a difference in the noise of the motor from 1 to 9. It sounded the same but there was a little difference in the flame.

Easiest way to tell if the draft fan ramps up correctly is when you clean and relight it, before the room air fan comes on (and you cannot hear anything), open the door after it's lit but before the room air fan comes on and listen. When you open the door, the vacuum switch will sense no vacuum and increase the draft fan speed to maximum and you can hear it increase.

Little note about sucking out the venting. ALWAYS pull the leads on the vacuum switch (under the left side panel) before sucking on the vent with a leaf blower. The diaphragm in the switch is thin and sucking on the vent pipe can rupture it.

When cleaning the inside of fly ash, ALWAYS take your crevice tool and vacuum the fitting next to the stirrer rod where it enters the firebox to keep fly ash from blocking the opening.

Finally, I always put a couple drops of light machine oil (3 in 1 works well) on the shaft of the stirrer where it enters the bushing on the stove wall. That keeps the bushing lubricated but they will eventually wear out and need replacement. I machined replacement bushings that are 2 times as long as the OEM ones so mine last a long time. Once the bushings get ovaled out, the stir rod motor will bind up.... and, the stir rod motor also needs it's bearings oiled. It operates in a hostile and hot environment so the bearings dry out pretty fast and so does the gearbox grease so it would behoove you to drill a small hole in the top of the gearbox and add grease, I do that yearly in the spring when mine comes apart for spring cleaning. I use a grease gun made for greasing roller nose chainsaw bars.

 

[ARC]

I clean the into every 3-4 days

When you do this cleaning do you remove the knockout plugs and run a brush between the two walls? Pictures show a very clean stove but can't help think there is a spot being missed somewhere in the exhaust path.

 

[smoke270]

Oh yes. I tap all sides with a rubber mallet. I then use a large dryer trap lint brush to scrub the inside. I then use my powersmith ash vacuum and nylon hose attachment and suck all around in there. I also use a cloths hanger wire to get in the small space at the top of the side heat exchangers and so double check the top of the auger and cold air tubes. I then put the lower plate on and put only one knockout in and use my big shop vac to create suction on one side of the knock out. Then switch sides and repeat.

 

[ARC]

Are the fins on your exhaust blower tall like in the picture? Can you see any numbers or tags on the exhaust blower should be 80473, but I believe it was on a paper tag that might be gone by now. Wondering if first owner replaced exhaust blower with wrong one.