Could this St Croix Self Locking Twist Pin cause this problem?

Hello
Good info, thanks JZM
I just measured the holes on the Enviro High Ash Wood Pellet burn pot as 1/4" in diameter.
Do you think every hole or every other hole in the shaker grate could be drilled out to this size?
See pic

 

Well, still getting a lot of caked ash building up in the burn pot so no other choice.
I did upgrade the old self locking twist pin to the new upgraded cotter pin. So if it was catching on the plate it cannot now.
Also and the big mod I did because the old shaker grate was cracked and damaged at the bottom I purchased a new one and drilled out 30 holes from 3/16" to 4/16" or 1/4" inch to give 30/16" or almost 2" square more hole area for dumping ash!
By enlarging every other hole, the strength of the new shaker grate is not compromised.
Will have the run results in soon.
How does it look?
Also the old shaker grate holes looked constricted.
See pics
Pic 1 - old shaker plate right vs new modified shaker grate left
Pic 2 - New cotter pin
Pic 3 - New shaker grate in stove

 

Whenever I've had the caking problem, it's been due to the pellets. A change of pellet brand, and the problem went away. I have to wonder if enlarging the holes will cause too much airflow. It seems to me that the holes in the burnpot had more to do with controlling the airflow then the damper did. I'll be watching to see what your results are, for sure! Enlarging the holes does seem like a good way to get the ash to drop.

 

Hi Don. It sounds to me like the air flow is plugged. Does this stove have the two holes behind the fake brick as you mentioned? If so they are difficult to get clean. I use a leaf blower and blow I in from the air intake located on the back of the stove. I highly recommend having the door closed when you do it or mama ain't gonna be happy with ya. Lol Another thing to look for is behind the ash pan the could be another trap door that would be held on with two self tapping screws. If that trap door is there, remove it and clean it thouroughly as that is obstructing the air flow to the burn pot. I'm sure it's a air flow issue as I've repaired a lot of St Croix.

 

Thanks for the info. I will check that when I have a chance.

 

Those ash traps were mentioned way back in March - hopefully you have checked them out by now.

 

I checked again today and there were very small holes on each side of the pellet drop chute behind the metal fire brick. Those holes only went in about a half inch and stopped? So this time I pulled out the big guns and my helper use a 90 PSI compressor in the front of the stove while I did the leaf blower trick outside on the 3" venting! We blasted the stove with compressor and sucked the crap out of it with the leaf blower and finally cleared a blockage deep inside the stove! The Manometer Reading went from -0.006 before blasting to a whooping -0.47 after blasting !!!! The flame now never looked this good in a very long time!

Thanks everyone for your help, I think we nailed it this time!!

See pics below and new flame!

 

explain the meter to me?

 

Hello
A Manometer is a digital MagnaHelic gauge that measures differential air pressure. In this case, the difference between the air pressure outside the pellet stove and the pressure inside the pellet stove with the exhaust blower running on high. Since most pellet stoves like this one uses a negative draft Blower(pulls air out of the stove being on the output connected to the flue vent) the differential pressure is always a negative number.
See magnahelic guage from grainger below
DWYER INSTRUMENTS 1/8" FNPT Differential Pressure Gauge with 4" Dial, 0 to 20 In. H2O, Die Cast Aluminum - 1W479|2020 - Grainger

Most stoves when working properly should read approximately -0.30 but varies because the vacuum hole is in different places in different brand stoves, such as the Hopper in the newer Harmans, the air inlet tube in older Harmans, the auger chute in Quadrafires, the upper back of the fire box in Breckwells and Magnums, the exhaust blower housing in Englanders, Whitfields, and Enviros.
In this St Croix Prescott EXL the vacuum hose goes into the lower back of the fire box.
If the stove is very dirty or almost plugged with ash or even a foreign object anywhere in the air path that feeds the fire from the air inlet to the exhaust vent termination, the manometer reading will be lower than it should be. If it is plugged up or almost plugged up, the vacuum switch will open and stop the pellets from feeding to prevent smoke and fire in the house for safety,
The digital guage has a few different scales but the most common one we use is "Inches of Water Lift" which is also used to test home in wall vacuum systems.
So my reading was way below normal even a few days after a good cleaning. Since nothing was discovered in the normal cleaning there was a clogg deep inside the stove causing the low reading!!! Hope this helps

There was also a lot of black soot in the firebox of hitch means not enough oxygen in the combustion process that was very noticeable and another sign the stove was not burning correctly.

 

Those holes make a "T" and actually join - which is where it needed to be cleaned. $$'s to donuts that is what got sucked clean by the leaf blower. Yes, it is stupid and idiotic design made to be very hard to clean using bottle washers, coat wires and pipe cleaners, but that is how it is.

 

Thank you! I might just buy one out of curiosity.

 

Finally in writing from a St Croix Technical Bulliten dated 2005
See attached 2 Page PDF With Pictures and Detail Diagram!!!

Use a throttle cable or a Leaf Blower to clear the special hidden path!!!!

 

Yeah, not as convenient as one could wish to get a nice cleaning hu?

 

You are so right Bogie Babe! Atleast the problem is solved and everyone is happy!
My helper used the compressor on the inside while I gunned the leaf blower on the blower on the outside and cleared the blockage!
Thanks again for all your help!!!
Come on over to my new shop if you are ever down this way???

 

I don't usually get out that way - it's been years (I obviously don't get out much ). But if I do, I'll make a visit.

 

Hello
The St Croix "Periodic Maintenance" video for St Croix Prescott EXL has a cut away stove and shows a very brief cleaning the holes behind the fire brick with an auto or lawn mower choke cable!! I still like the leaf blower trick better!

See pic of freeze frame below!
Video goes too fast over this point! Also says to use a cordless drill and consult your dealer before doing this!