Hello The first time we cleaned our pellet stove when it got dirty my wife used a warm wet sponge on the iron fire and put it back in damp! When my friend first cleaned his pellet stove, he used a warm damp cloth to clean the fire box! My other friend put in a bag of pellets that she stored in a very damp basement! Bingo Three ways to cause a pellet stove auger "Moisture Jam" They were all top feeding pellet stoves and the jam happened at the top of the auger chute just before sliding down. Are there other ways?
Oh yes Any screw, nail or metal object too! My favorite is when grandpa could not find his glasses because little grandson put them under the hopper lid in his serenity pellet stove!
ok....matchbox cars, screws, shock absorber bolts, shopping lists written in Italian (guess the nationality of the owner, who swears it wasn't his!), eyeglasses, pens and pencils, box cutters, knives, erroneous plastic and metal items.....
My favorite on a Harman P68 was 2 colorful fall leaves at the bottom of the hopper that let just a minimal amount of pellets thru to fake us out!!! LOL
I had a new occurance of a moisture jam today and I was reluctant to call it that until I was 100% sure. In this case it was the top auger in a 25-pdvc that was stuck solid. The first time I went there I pulled the augers and cleaned them thoroughly. The stove was clean and then it happened a couple of days later. The same top auger jammed. This time all the pellets were scooped out of the hopper and by slowly turning the top auger by hand I freed it up so it would wiggle up and down again. The bag of pellets were stored in the garage for about a year and may have picked up some moisture in the hot humid summer. The previous owner brought up bags and stored them in a dry warm closet so there were no jams. I am beginning to believe that any stove can choke on damp pellets and some stoves have a higher tolerance. However if the pellets are damp enough even a Harman P61 may choke and I have seen them not light in a Harman even if they do feed ok. The augers were clean, the motors almost new and the bearings greased and moving easily. This is New England near the coast and we do get alot of Damp and Humid air compared to other regions! Has anyone else seen this?
Never (yet)...I have 4-5 year old pellets that still burn great that are stored in my garage and shed. We have hot and humid summers here every year.
Well,the more I think about it,not really sure the crumbly pellets were from moisture,could just as well been not enough pressure or/and heat in making them.The pellets/crumbs would,over time coagulate and build pellet/crumb jams in the auger,untill enough resistance the auger motor would not turn.Makes sense as the heat would thin up the lignets,so it is as glue,again.I think Don is right could also happen in a harman.Have never used that pellet brand again,and that was many years ago.
