Cab 50 help

So I bought a CAB 50 used for $400. Got it all installed in and went to burn my first bag. Read the instructions in the manual on first fire and got nothing to work. Feed motor won't drop pellets so I tried putting pellets in the burn pot to have the ignitor light. That won't light either. I bought a replacement feed motor, ignitor, thermocouple and snap discs to just have as bonus parts initially. So I changed all of them out, and nothing still works.

So I changed the control board at this point, and it lights! However, it still doesn't feed. I replaced the switch to the hopper, still doesn't feed after the initial 40 seconds with the jumper wire and a reset. Auger motor turns so I figured maybe its the auger shaft so I replaced that. Still nothing.

At this point, I've tried replacing everything but the 2 blowers. All gaskets, all parts, everything is brand new in this stove. It's been thoroughly cleaned, the vacuum line is new, I blew out the little screen in the nipple that the line plugs into to clear that. It has an OAK kit on it. The exhaust on it is a 90 out the back, a 2 foot pipe, a 90 to go out the wall then a foot pipe with a downspout.

I'm pulling my hair out at this point. I've looked through the manual. Please help

 

You NEVER blow out the nipple that connects the vacuum sensor to the firebox (I imagine you did not remove the silicone connector hose first, just applied air pressure to the fitting...right?

What you did was you ruptured the diaphragm in the vacuum sensor and that renders the pellet feed inoperative. Replace the vacuum sensor (and the hose, they usually come with a new hose) and never use a plain rubber hose, it won't last but a couple days, has to be high temp silicone rubber.

ALWAYS suck on the fitting with a crevice tool in your vacuum. Vacuum sensors are cheap, like 20 bucks shipped. Pellethead has them and they are basically generic anyway, so long as they have 2 terminal lugs.

After you do that, check all the wiring over carefully, the insulation gets brittle from the heat in the cabinet and often fails and grounds out which is the primary cause of board failure next to a voltage surge.

I hope you have the unit plugged into a QUALITY surge supressor. I recommend a Tripp-Lite 2 outlet, wall plate mounted unit. Amazon has them for under 30 bucks shipped. All I use on both my stoves as well as my computer.

I'd also like to see a picture of your venting, from the stove nipple on the backside, to the outside vent and a picture of the stove placement as well. I love to critique installations...lol Finally, did you ohm out the ignitor to insure it was viable? they expire on a regular basis and I have to presume you cleaned the unit inside throughly, of all fly ash as well as pulled the draft fan motor and cleaned the exhaust plenum inside of all accumulated ash?

I buy used units and resell them and first thing I do is completely strip a unit of everything, vacuum it out indise and then take it outside and chain it to my front end loader and flip it upside down and shake it to makes sure I got all the ash crud out of it. The I check all the components for correct operation, paint the outside of the cabinet with the correct paint, wire brush the inside of the firebox and paint it too and then put it al, back together, paying close attention to the wiring harness. When I'm done with one, it's basically new and I usually get top buck for them. Have a couple in the shop presently in various stages of restoration.

Sometimes I make out well, other times I don't. Depends on how much I need to replace in faulty components. I rebuild 90% of my own bards. too. Only time I'll buy one is if the new board is more advanced than the original or if the connection lugs are burned off. Other than that they are pretty simple and I'm not electronics inclined at all.

 

I removed the hose first from the vacuum switch, then blew into the feeding tube. I have the stove plugged into a Tripp lite 2. I can take a picture of everything exhaust wise for you tonight.

 

One of the best things you can do to ANY stove is defeat the hopper switch with a jumper. They are worthless and only there to mitigate liability from idiots. The stove is a negative draft unit so the chance of burnback through the feed hopper is about as high as you getting run over in your driveway. Jumper it, remove it and toss it in the trash can and forget about it.

 

Did you blow into the plastic nipple on the vacuum switch? Hope not but then you have no idea what the previous owner did or did not do. If I were you I'd order a replacement switch and hose and install that and check over ALl the wiring too.

With a used unit, it's all a 100% crapshoot and you got it pretty cheap so I strongly suspect the previous owner was in the idiot box.

 

No, I blew towards the metal side. Not into the physical vacuum switch. I replaced the switch already as well and the hose. I fully anticipated the previous owner was an idiot haha.

I plan on rechecking all the wiring tonight.

 

The hopper lid switch was installed on later stoves as a dummy feature, not a safety related feature at all. It was installed to mitigate any liability on the manufacturers part when it came to idiots sticking their fingers in the auger and getting them amputated. Neither of my units ever came with it. pellet stoves as well as coal stoves and chunk wood stoves are all inherently dangerous when used by a dummy.

Kind of like TPMS sensors on new cars because dummy drivers never check their tire pressures. Something else I removed/ disabled from my vehicles. I know enough to check my tire pressure regularly. had to do a bit of finagling with my scan tool to defeat them but it's possible if you have the knowledge.

The problem with all that 'crap' is, you, as the end user gets to pay for it whether you want it or not.

If you have some common sense, you won't put your fingers in the feed auger but then common sense is a rare commodity today.

I'd still jumper it and toss it in the garbage. It's totally useless and can cause running issues down the road. The more complex any system becomes, the more failure prone it becomes. Common sense.

 

Not at all. It's a stupid addition that you get to pay for because again, it mitigates liability from getting sued by a dummy with no common sense.

Maybe I should have opted to not have said anything and just assumed everyone with a biomass stove lacks the intel to realize it's a worthless addition.

 

I'm guilty of just that with my rear tine rototiller. Holding the dummy handle is tiresome so I use a loose zip tie to keep the clutch engaged. Just have to remember it's there when I want to stop....

 

Please understand something. I'm not telling anyone to do something (like defeat or jumper a hopper lid switch), I'm merely suggesting tht it's basically a useless piece equipment added by the manufaturer to mitigate their liability. Nothing more. If you want to leave it operative, so be it. it does however make the system more complex and the more components you add, the more chance of failure.

Why neither of my stoves have auto ignition. Candidly, I don't want it and if I ever bought a new unit (highly unlikely), I'd probably defeat that as well. I can very easily light mine with a shot of hand sanitizer and a match and it's quicker too and the sanatizer and a match uses a lot less energy that a Calrod igniter does. The average biomass stove draws around 150 watts running, but the auto ignitor draws an additional 300 amps when cycling. Your electrical service is metered so you still get to pay for that convenience. Me, I'd rather pay for 150 watts versus 300. Sound cheap but then I 'is'cheap. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be heating with an alternate fuel. I'd be paying the high buck for NG or propane. As it is I ain't.

 

Only if you are a dummy and then you shouldn't be fooling around with an alternate fuel heating appliance in the first place. IOW, I don't think you are... Hows that.

Danger lies in ignorance not in knowledge.

After 25 odd years of fooling around with biomass stoves, I've gotten the knowledge and I'm always willing to impart that to others. If they heed my advice fine. if not, that is fine as well.

Like my wife tells me, she says, you can really make that SOB sing a tune. I just smile.

 

I'm going to be real candid here and tell everyone, I quit the Hearth . Com forum after about 15 years of being a member. Why? Simple. because I answered a dummy post and basically told the poster they were a dummy. I don't suffer fools very well. people with no common sense should not be fooling with a solid fuel appliance in the first place, and I told the poster exactly that and was scolded for it by the forum owner and I subsequently told him where to stick it and I wasn't nice about it either. Not a word mincer....

I'm a very frank person and I have other issues going on around me that tend to make me crabby at times. Don't ever mind helping out someone with an issue if I can help them but dummies, I have no patience with.

With me, you post a legit question and I have the answer, you'll get it. That is how I roll. If I don't know, I don't reply. I read the reply and gain knowledge from it and that applies to every subject discussed on here, some of which I know nothing about but I'm always willing to learn.

I enjoy the diversity of this forum, I lurked for a while before joining. I wanted to 'feel your forum out' first. I'm happy to be here, damm good forum.

 

Not selling anything just relating something I'm experienced with. Nothing more so in reality, no disclaimer is needed as no tangible item is being offered, only personal experience.

Disclaimers are used to mitigate liability and nothing more. Forums like this are here to convey personal experiences, not sell anything. I own a .com website myself and I sell products made in my shop worldwide and believe me, I have a lengthy disclaimer to mitigate responsibility for the misuse of my products. I certainly don't want to be litigated against so I do it for self (company protection). Mot the case here. I'll leave it at that. Besides, I have to go fill the stove hopper so we don't freeze tonight. it's 20 here presently. Good cuddle weather.

 

In closing for tonight, I am www.flipmeisters.com My consuming hobby that I've turned into a profitable business. Nice sideline that has nothing at all to do with the subjects discussed on here, consequently I don't mention it.

 

I hadn't noticed!!

Hang on while I make some toast.