OK,Some background.I bought this unit last summer(if you remember),and it looked so good,I hauled it straight to my sister and BIL. After unloading,we test fired with a short section of flue,ignitor worked poorly.Seemed to me it did not get hot enough.But,I sent him a new Harman ignitor,to install,when he installed the stove(he did). He said it fired right up.That was some months ago,and they have not needed the stove,untill recently.Bad cold came into montana.Stove smoldered and timed out 2 times,he ended up manually starting it,and has not been off since,as this cold snap is even bad,up here at their house.Yes,combustion fan was working properly,he knows a bit,had been using a St Croix for almost 20 years,so he knows some stuff.The install-4" pipe out through wall,into 90 then 3" about 15 ft vertical.All freshly cleaned,when he swapped stoves.Now,stove does not seem to push enough pellets,the ash line was/is too deep,flames a bit lower than what I normally see.Stove mode,and he had feeder set on 5.Control board is original(early 4rpm stove).Was eating pellets,lol,I switched to room mode,manual,stove reacted fine.They left this AM,flew out for family issues,so I am here for a bit.Been checking it with my Harman DDM,on an off,this afternoon,pots/settings are fine(he cleaned the pots earlier),room sensor is fine,exhaust probe is right in the range of temperatures I am used to seeing.Hopper latch was loose,I tightened(but rarely have seen a hopper leak cause a problem on Harman that does not have the in-hopper sensor hose),checked door and ash door gaskets,very good shape,can suck in a live flame a teeney bit,at ah door latch,minor.I cranked the feed to 6,all the way,and when stove ramps up,massive flames,per normal,ramping up and forwards to the door,and the ash shelf much better,but,almost 0 center of the burn pot,and about 1" left and right.I have not shut it of,to test the starting,as is also bitter cold here,and their old cabin has many air leaks,lol,perhaps tomorrow.My thoughts---1 ignitor---possibly just old control board problem,burned contacts in the relay on the board? And 2--(low fed rate) possible feeder plate control arm not moving freely,so not moving full stroke,or has worn groove in it.Very possible,as this stove was in storage.However,As I am here for probably a week,while they take care of family stuff,I would like to get it set up/fixed,and running on a room t/stat. On the plus side,Mountainview Stove Parts is only a few miles north of here.Any input appreciated,as long asit is not from people that do not read the whole post(did you clean the flue?) LOL Thanks guys and gals. Weather looks like tomorrow afternoon I can shut it down,and visually check ignitor,myself,as their other heat is a huge old wood furnace,and I am not even going to try to fire it up,lol.
Should be easy to tear apart quickly and have a look at the auger motor mechanism and slide plate...I would assume the setscrew is tight...would be nice to throw another board in just to try
How old is that stove? Label on the back should have a punch indicator. Empty the hopper completely and observe the slide plate operation, make sure there are no obstructions, etc. Look for abnormal pusher arm movement / wear. Maybe pull the auger for a look see.
hmmm...another thing to check.....does the slide plate had a dam of fines riding on top of it causing diminished pellet flow after startup? The only way to fix that is to pull the slide plate out and reinstall.... another idea, alluded to above.....gummy stove? Is there a bypass tube? The gumminess INSIDE the feeder body will catch pellets and create a matrix which becomes permanent thereby restricting pellet flow.... try swapping out the feed motor....possibly bad spot on a gear such that the feeder runs, but sometimes doesnt actually feed.....
tt,it is an early one,with the 4rpm motor.No gummy stove,I checked that out they day I bought it,and decided to haul it here to sisters instead of taking home and going through unit,and was super clean.Anyway,upper spring box water lines froze,and horeses and mules require lots of water,so spent yesterday disconnecting and thawing piping out.Supposed to be warmer tomorrow,so I went to HF and picked up a cheap multi-meter(had to go to town,anyway,and pick up a cat carrier and groceries,am going to be taking a kitten home when I leave), so I went to Mountianview(stove parts unlimited) and picked up a new control board,as they are not open on weekends.I have a spare at home,lol,but BIL never mentioned stove was not preforming properly,lol.Very nice people,and huge warehouses,for stove parts,lol!So perhaps I can do all the basic checks tomorrow afternoon,as this cabin does not get sun until then.Anyway,even with the long ash ridge, on high(when room sensor calls for heat) the flames are almost full pot,go all the way to the top and roll towards glass, but that is with the feed on 6.Man does this thing throw some heat!!With the intermittent igniter,and "possibly" lower output,having watched readings on DDM last 3 days,i really suspect flaky board,but I want to do all the checks and tests,I am not a believer of "throwing parts at it".
OK warmed up, 25,so took stove apart.Hopper sealing seems fine.Slide plate seems fine,from up top.Fines box,and motors and backside of stove very clean.Found several things,I barely touched the wingnut on the fines cover(it is an early style,like my Accentra,wingnut and stud in center of the cover.It "possibly" had a small leak.Oh stove is 12/04,as iIhad all the metal off,and a chance to look.Pulled igniter and bench tested,worked fine,but did seem to take longer to get red.Had carbon buildup in pot,i areas,and all holes were undersized,and about 1/5 were plugged.This is where my BIL failed,lol.But,as he and I never saw igniter get red,while installed,I replaced the control board.Oh,also checked the flue,and the intake air flap,and system,all ok.Well only ran test till auger timed out(I forgot the newer boards do not fill the auger,they time out,not like the older boards),turned to auto,feed on 4.Took 15 minutes to start.Kept seeing sparks,for quite a bit,then ripped.Pot was full of pellets by the time it started,but flamed up and almost instantly the front row of pellets was gone. Flames are about normal,fluctuate from a bit over 1/2 to the top,to all the way up.But,the flames are crisp and sharp,heat output is fine.Has been running for 1 hr,(cooled down in this drafty place,have to get some heat in here,as sun is going down),embers line is 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch back from front of pot,but no ash line at all.I seem to remember something about a burn pot "upgrade"?Also,I seem to remember something about replacing the 4rpm motor with the 6 rpm,that fits the newer stoves?But,for now,gonna let it warm up this house,let it shut down and watch the restarts,as it is burning cleanly,and putting out great heat.What a heat monster!.I would like to be able to install and put it on a room stat,before they come back.I need to go to town,BIL lied,said he had it on a surge protector,does not,will get one tomorrow.OK,beer time,and house is already warming up.
I believe the board caused the non ignition.I cannot say the "not enough ash line" is/was really a problem,although,since cleaning the holes,replacing the board,the flames are the same height,except the setting I am running right now is at 4,has been all afternoon,but before that the setting was at the max,6.I switched to stove mode,then went outside to water and feed horses and mule,when I came back in,flames were still a bit low? perhaps,but house is now nice and warm,I have now switched back to room mode,and turned room temp down,because I want to see a restart,before I go to bed.I suspect several things,1 poor flame was because BIL did not properly clean the burn pot holes.2 possibility the control board did not provide enough current to the igniter. 3 as I still seem to have a way far back burn,into the pot,yet the heat output has only got better since servicing the unit,probably just a factor of the design of the burn pot.Will be testing it the next several days. But,from what i have seen here,the newer board pushes less pellets,and keeps the combustion fan higher,which is logical,a cleaner burn.
OK,round 3? Stove would start itself when hopper was full,but not when it was down to 1/3.Flame still erratic,intermittent.So removed igniter again,(you can kick me later),it has the original cradle,without the wire support,and the offset plate was on backwards,keeping the cradle housing away from the bottom of the pot.I cannot blame BIL,as I had shipped him a new igniter,and he is very good about putting stuff back together the way he took it apart.And found igniter he took out,it looks almost brand new,lol.So it was probably installed wrong by the owner,or local stove shop,back in Butte where I bought stove.So while doing this,noticed hopper lid,I can push down on both front corners.Enough for a leak?Yep. And gasket is flat,and hard,seems original.Seems to me he used the lid to swing/move stove into position,because it was not that way when I delivered it.Ran it last nite,with a big chunk of wood on one side,and a cast smaller bird bath on the other.Ran fine,as far as I can tell,and possibly self started 3 times.So,after experimenting,The room the stove is in is about 10'x20',and this stove gets so hot,so quick,no mater where I put room sensor,the flame starts to drop back very quickly,they have not put any kind of a fan up yet.And,this place leaks so much air,buy the time the stove is cooling down,so much cold air falls into that room,stove never gets a chance to actually shut down!I am such a energy miser,blows my mind they have not upgraded this place.So,I had to go to town,and visit friends I have not seen an a while,and came home with a mallet,and a new hopper gasket.Waiting for stove to cool down.Also picked up a T/stat and wire,to run out into the next room over.However,I am thinking nothing was wrong with control board,so looking like a good possibility it will go home with me.OK should be cooled down,gonna start,as I will need heat later tonight.
Nothing to add sounds like you are narrowing it down you have tried everything I could think of but if you used paragraphs it would be a lot easier to read and help.
Thanks.Yes i have been told that before,and sometimes I remember it.But,being an old mechanic,and not the most intellectual person around,maybe give me a break?
Ah,hopper lid was not bent as bad as i thought.After removing the flip over latch,lid laid down,much flatter.Seems rear hinge for lid was bent. Well,being an old mechanic,using a wood shim,screwdriver,and mallet,fixed it,so it lad flad,with the old gasket.(break,new paragraph for Iron Horse). The new gasket was expensive,until I realized it can seal the door 2 times.It seals so much better,but you have to push down on the lid,before flipping the latch,you stove owners probably already know this.(Paragraph break). OK fired it up,as it was getting cold in this cabin/house,fired it up in stove mode,igniter and lighting worked well.So,shall run T/Stat and wire tomorrow,and can test more.
Stove ran fine all that nite,and all the next day.Was warmer,so could shut it down,did some board swapping,I think old board is fine,but the newest generation seems to burn cleaner,same as in my Accentra,and Don has noticed this also.So,as it is family,I put new board back in.My gift to them is this animal/house sitting and fixing stove.I better get a nice Xmas present.So I gathered up the kitten,drove 7 hours home,and am watching the cats set the pecking order,lol.
Oh,watching flame,I really this stove might benefit from the newer burn pot,but gonna call Don,as he has swapped out a few.
badbob When you say cleaner, what exactly do you think it is? Different auger timing.....different combustion blower speeds? Both maybe?
I would say the stove reacts differently to what the exhaust probe sees,changing feed and combustion speed.But,without a mapping/recording program,I really do not know.Also,seems like room blower comes on sooner,with newer board.
