USSC King Overflows - Solved!

[hmsminnow]

TL;DR
There's a redesigned burn pot for USSC stoves that solves pellet buildup. Search the web for "king burn pot", and get the one with the slot cut in the front.
(Models: 5510, 5500M, 5502M, 5500XL, 5500XLT)

Problem: Pellet Buildup
I've been fighting pellet buildup in my USSC 5510 for a year now. Running on factory settings almost always resulted in pellets overflowing the burn pot in less than 24 hours. Significant fuel/air rate adjustments stopped the overflows, but couldn't completely stop pellet build-up. I still had to clean the stove every 24 hours for a strong flame. (Thanks to everyone here who taught me how to adjust the stove using the secret menu!)

New Burn Pot
I was starting to consider modifying the burn pot myself when I found this redesigned version online. I ordered one for $80 shipped.

• Factory Burn Pot: has a 7x9 grid of holes covering the entire bottom surface, with 4 holes in the front face and 3 holes in the rear face.
• Redesigned Burn Pot: has a 7x7 grid in the bottom surface, with the rear two rows (away from the door) left out. This forces airflow toward the front of the pot. There is also a slot cut along the bottom of the front face to apply more air right where pellets start building up.

Results: No Buildup
Since installing the redesigned burn pot, I have not had any pellet buildup. I have dramatically increased fuel feed rates with no problems. Now I only clean the stove to clear out ash, but it doesn't affect performance.
(My current settings are C-2=1.00, C-3=4.12, C-4=50, C-5=300, but I may end up closer to factory settings.)

Application
Online stores say this burn pot fits models 5510, 5500M, 5502M, 5500XL, 5500XLT for USSC, King, and Ashley. I can only confirm that it fit my 5510.

Old on left. New redesigned version on right.

Old on left. New redesigned version on right.

New redesigned burn pot with slot in front and rear rows of holes deleted.

 

[tlc1976]

That “redesigned” one looks exactly like the burn pot in my VG5770 stove which I bought late 2015. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was the same part.

With junk pellets I got a ton of buildup and the pot would overflow every couple days. With good pellets I can go for 2 weeks with very little buildup.

 

[hmsminnow]

That “redesigned” one looks exactly like the burn pot in my VG5770 stove which I bought late 2015. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was the same part.

With junk pellets I got a ton of buildup and the pot would overflow every couple days. With good pellets I can go for 2 weeks with very little buildup.

That's very likely. Mine was manufactured in 2009.

 

[Jeremy6500]

Glad you got it figured out. Always a good feeling when you get things running right

 

[tractorboy924]

I just ordered that same one to help with pellet overflow. What also do you find mostly results in the over issue......poorly cleaned chimney or air intake.......im hitting the problem now 2 tons in and i just cleaned everything the other day but still burn pot overflowing...plan to clean everything a bit more tonight but its COLD here right now and cant afford to shut stove off for any real length of time as its 2 here outside today......a cold snap in NY (north East) but looking for some solutions. never had this before so Im thinking I didnt clean something good enough but not really sure what I didnt clean well?? Im thinking the chimney.......the OAK is always good so has to be exhaust side.......TIA

 

[Joe.G]

The Klinker king made a huge difference in mine, they can be found on E Bay. I highly recommend it for anyone with this style stove and where the pellets bounce out, I have a 5790 Model.

 

[tractorboy924]

ok my stove came with the modified burn pot but bought another as the current one showings its age but I have a problem. My pot overflows with half burn pellets. I chit it down last night and cleaned it like a spring clean. Very thouroughly.........it start ok and ran good for the evening hours and seem to stay burnt up in burn pot..but this am its overflowing again? I dont get it..everthing squeeky clean and throughly opened up.....flame good and strong........it seems if I could almost turn the auger speed down some....I see auger delay in the manual but is there a way to manually in manual mode to turn the auger speed down at all????
Im thinking this has to be my issue?! what else could be...I even turned the draft fan up on notch to ensure my draft is good..........

I dont get what my problem is?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

 

[Jeremy6500]

ok my stove came with the modified burn pot but bought another as the current one showings its age but I have a problem. My pot overflows with half burn pellets. I chit it down last night and cleaned it like a spring clean. Very thouroughly.........it start ok and ran good for the evening hours and seem to stay burnt up in burn pot..but this am its overflowing again? I dont get it..everthing squeeky clean and throughly opened up.....flame good and strong........it seems if I could almost turn the auger speed down some....I see auger delay in the manual but is there a way to manually in manual mode to turn the auger speed down at all????
Im thinking this has to be my issue?! what else could be...I even turned the draft fan up on notch to ensure my draft is good..........

I dont get what my problem is?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

Look in the USSC Troublshooting sticky at the top of the forum. There are a lot of Technical manuals. If you don't see one specifically for your stove, look at one close to your model. Adjusting the settings/programing steps are the same. You can adjust your feedrate, draft speed etc etc. These setting adjust the way your stove reacts when running on Auto. So leave the draft fan etc on auto and tweak its behavior in the settings menu

First step would be to make sure the stove and exhaust is super clean. Unburnt pellets/overflowing pot is usually a sign of an airflow issue.

It could be a feed rate issue as well. My factory feed rates were WAY out of wack. Default was 5pph on the lowest heat setting and 13pph on the highest. Mine burns great now......low is set on 1.6pph and high set on 5pph

 

[Ryan McGomery]

ok my stove came with the modified burn pot but bought another as the current one showings its age but I have a problem. My pot overflows with half burn pellets. I chit it down last night and cleaned it like a spring clean. Very thouroughly.........it start ok and ran good for the evening hours and seem to stay burnt up in burn pot..but this am its overflowing again? I dont get it..everthing squeeky clean and throughly opened up.....flame good and strong........it seems if I could almost turn the auger speed down some....I see auger delay in the manual but is there a way to manually in manual mode to turn the auger speed down at all????
Im thinking this has to be my issue?! what else could be...I even turned the draft fan up on notch to ensure my draft is good..........

I dont get what my problem is?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

Do you oil your fan motor regularly? Wd40, or actual 3 in 1 oil. Over time, your draft fan motor just loses it effectiveness. My father's king 5502m is 4 years older than mine, and was starting to fill up. I can hear that his draft fan is much noisier than mine, also doesn't spin as long between cycles. He started oiling his, and between that, and doing away with the air wash, pitting gasket back in it his started burning correctly again. I ordered him an upgraded draft fan from pellet pro, taller fan blades and 250 more ram, he received it today, and isn't gonna install it yet, because it's doing fine now

 

[Washed-Up]

DO NOT use WD40 as a lubricant other than breaking a frozen not or bolt….one of its properties is a degreaser, 3 in 1 is a great lubricant however

 

[Mt Bob]

DO NOT use WD40 as a lubricant other than breaking a frozen not or bolt….one of its properties is a degreaser, 3 in 1 is a great lubricant however

Gonna have to disagree,that it is not a lubricant myth has been around for a long time. I displaces water and leaves a protective lubricating layer on metals. It actually is not a very good "penatrant" for broken/rusty bolts and such, PB Blaster is much better,along with LPS. However, it also is not a lubricant for motor bushings and bearings. It's great in lock cylinders and other places. WD-40 is a brand, not a product, and they also make other items, greases and silicone sprays. Just as 3 in 1 is a brand, and their commonly found oil in stores is a bit light for motors, they actually make a electric motor oil. My go to is Anderol 465,but any full synthetic car motor oil is better than standard wd40 or standard 3 in 1.

 

[tlc1976]

I’ve used a shot of WD40 to quiet noisy stove blower bearings in a pinch. To oil them I have to disassemble part of the motor and I don’t always have time for that. Yeah I’m lucky to get a month out of WD40 as opposed to almost a year with oil. But it’s better than just letting it run while dry.

 

[tractorboy924]

welll been a couple of weeks and can say for sure the new burn pot did it..not overflowing anymore and back to normal...Whew...as its cold so been having to turn up higher and not a problem. I also find sometimes/most times I have to delay the auger on first start up and read somewhere that can sorta Start the problem so yeah....I do that now too to make sure im off on a good foot.

Thanks everyone. it was time for a new burnpot anyways.