# Castle Serenity auger problems



## Moparman48662 (Nov 26, 2017)

Have a Castle Serenity that will not feed enough pellets. When I am trying to light it, it doesn't drop enough pellets to light, so it faults out. I dropped pellets into burn pot, and it lit, and as long as i dropped pellets in fire pot, it would stay burning. but not on its own. I tried manual and temp modes, and it didn't seem to matter. The pellet stove is a friend of mine and they bought it new and can't get it to burn. They were sent a new interface module and that didn't help. They also sent them a new combustion blower, but the one that is in it works fine, so I have not changed that. I watched the auger and it seems to turn. It is on for about 2.5 seconds and off for 3.5 seconds. I have seen threads where people have trouble with them feeding too much, but I haven't seen any where it wasn't feeding enough. I adjusted the air flow gate all over the place. Even all the way shut. Adjusted combustion blower voltage too. Didn't help. Not sure what to do now. Any help appreciated.


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## mikkeeh (Nov 26, 2017)

Take the rear left pane off.  You will see two switches.  On connected...on not.  Change the wires to the one that is not connected.  Fire up the stove again.   Maybe the stove isn’t sensing the fire.


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## Mt Bob (Nov 26, 2017)

New stove?If used,did it perform ok before?


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## Moparman48662 (Nov 26, 2017)

mikkeeh said:


> Take the rear left pane off.  You will see two switches.  On connected...on not.  Change the wires to the one that is not connected.  Fire up the stove again.   Maybe the stove isn’t sensing the fire.[/QUOTE
> 
> 
> That was tried already. That is why they sent the extra parts. thank you


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## Moparman48662 (Nov 26, 2017)

bob bare said:


> New stove?If used,did it perform ok before?




It is new. Never has worked right.


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## Mt Bob (Nov 26, 2017)

Make sure nothing in auger tube,or drop tube,blocking/restricting(doubtful),make sure auger turns whenever motor is turning,as bolt may be loose,slips then grabs(may not be noticeable with almost empty hopper,as less pressure on it),make sure auger is turning in proper direction,and,see if auger is sometimes reversing direction.Good luck.


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## Deezl Smoke (Nov 26, 2017)

bob bare said:


> Make sure nothing in auger tube,or drop tube,blocking/restricting(doubtful),make sure auger turns whenever motor is turning,as bolt may be loose,slips then grabs(may not be noticeable with almost empty hopper,as less pressure on it),make sure auger is turning in proper direction,and,see if auger is sometimes reversing direction.Good luck.



 I agree with Bob. 
 I'll ad, that the pellet manufacturers can sometimes end up putting the floor sweepings into the bagging hopper rather than the press feed hopper like they should. My pellet bbq had a wood chip larger than a pellet block up the auger and cause the auger clutch to slip. If the stove runs by putting pellets in the burn pot, then all other sensors seem to function fine. 
 Empty the hopper if you have not already, and make sure there is nothing stopping the pellets from entering into the auger. Then make sure the auger is rotating the proper direction. If you have a small mirror handy, when the stove is off, look up into the pellet drop chute and make sure something is not blocking the pellets there. Like a piece of shipping tape or styrofoam etc.


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## Moparman48662 (Nov 26, 2017)

bob bare said:


> Make sure nothing in auger tube,or drop tube,blocking/restricting(doubtful),make sure auger turns whenever motor is turning,as bolt may be loose,slips then grabs(may not be noticeable with almost empty hopper,as less pressure on it),make sure auger is turning in proper direction,and,see if auger is sometimes reversing direction.Good luck.



The auger motor itself does not run when starting up. I have the back tore off and can see the motor and the jam bolt that attaches motor to auger. When it does run it does not run hardly at all. I have it on temp and it went to 5 and it took almost 6 minutes for auger motor to make one full revolution. I am not sure on direction of rotation. Which way is correct. It looked right, as I emptied hopper almost com,pletely to make sure auger was turning and nothing was plugging hole.


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## Mt Bob (Nov 26, 2017)

OK the interface module is the control board,I'm pretty sure,therefore it would have to be the motor itself,or the capacitor,that is bad.


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## Natu (Nov 26, 2017)

Moparman48662 said:


> The auger motor itself does not run when starting up. I have the back tore off and can see the motor and the jam bolt that attaches motor to auger. When it does run it does not run hardly at all. I have it on temp and it went to 5 and it took almost 6 minutes for auger motor to make one full revolution. I am not sure on direction of rotation. Which way is correct. It looked right, as I emptied hopper almost com,pletely to make sure auger was turning and nothing was plugging hole.



I would check the feed indicator on the display panel.  The feed motor should run whenever the feed indicator is on.  I have a slightly different stove but it is supposed to have the same controller as the castle serenity.  On mine it feeds pellets during phase1 of the ignite cycle, then stops feeding until it detects that the pellets have ignited.  If feed motor is not turning at all and indicator shows that it is feeding, then either feed motor is bad or control board or wiring.  I believe there is some type of isolator that is driven by the control board and operates the feed motor.  If it feeds pellets initially and fire lights, but no pellets are fed after that, then there may be a problem with your fire sensor as mikkeeh suggested.

you can also run the auger diagnostic from diagnostic mode on the control panel.  I believe it will operate the feed motor.  I think it is documented in the manual.

castle customer support seems pretty good.  I would work with them and they will help you to isolate the problem.  It may take a little patience to solve the problem.  If you bought the stove at someplace like homedepot or ace,  you might be able to just exchange it for another one if that is easier.


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## Mt Bob (Nov 26, 2017)

Natu said:


> I would check the feed indicator on the display panel.  The feed motor should run whenever the feed indicator is on.  I have a slightly different stove but it is supposed to have the same controller as the castle serenity.  On mine it feeds pellets during phase1 of the ignite cycle, then stops feeding until it detects that the pellets have ignited.  If feed motor is not turning at all and indicator shows that it is feeding, then either feed motor is bad or control board or wiring.  I believe there is some type of isolator that is driven by the control board and operates the feed motor.  If it feeds pellets initially and fire lights, but no pellets are fed after that, then there may be a problem with your fire sensor as mikkeeh suggested.
> 
> you can also run the auger diagnostic from diagnostic mode on the control panel.  I believe it will operate the feed motor.  I think it is documented in the manual.
> 
> castle customer support seems pretty good.  I would work with them and they will help you to isolate the problem.  It may take a little patience to solve the problem.  If you bought the stove at someplace like homedepot or ace,  you might be able to just exchange it for another one if that is easier.


Yes,I forgot about that feature,go in to diagnostics,push button to fill in the circle by "feeding" auger should run continuously.


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## Natu (Nov 26, 2017)

Natu said:


> I believe there is some type of isolator that is driven by the control board and operates the feed motor.  If it feeds pellets initially and fire lights, but no pellets are fed after that, then there may be a problem with your fire sensor as mikkeeh suggested.



Looks like that stove doesn't have an isolator.  If you have a voltmeter and you are comfortable, safely testing the voltage at auger motor, you can do that while running the auger diagnostic and see if the auger motor is getting power.  If you can't do that safely or are unsure, then best not to do that.


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## Moparman48662 (Nov 26, 2017)

Natu said:


> I would check the feed indicator on the display panel.  The feed motor should run whenever the feed indicator is on.  I have a slightly different stove but it is supposed to have the same controller as the castle serenity.  On mine it feeds pellets during phase1 of the ignite cycle, then stops feeding until it detects that the pellets have ignited.  If feed motor is not turning at all and indicator shows that it is feeding, then either feed motor is bad or control board or wiring.  I believe there is some type of isolator that is driven by the control board and operates the feed motor.  If it feeds pellets initially and fire lights, but no pellets are fed after that, then there may be a problem with your fire sensor as mikkeeh suggested.
> 
> you can also run the auger diagnostic from diagnostic mode on the control panel.  I believe it will operate the feed motor.  I think it is documented in the manual.
> 
> castle customer support seems pretty good.  I would work with them and they will help you to isolate the problem.  It may take a little patience to solve the problem.  If you bought the stove at someplace like homedepot or ace,  you might be able to just exchange it for another one if that is easier.




The indicator works, but the auger does not always move.  The auger never drops enough pellets to light. I had to throw the pellets in firepot . I did that to verify pellet stove will run when fed pellets. In diagnostic mode, when I do the two blowers they work, but the auger motor does not. Already has a new interface module, might need to pull interface module so I can get to wiring and check for voltage.  Not sure what vltage should be, but am gonna try an find out. The auger does eventually turn, but it took six minutes for one revolution on 5. Obviously no where near enough pellets. Called the 800 number Wednesday and left message. Gonna try again tomorrow.


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## Mt Bob (Nov 26, 2017)

Moparman48662 said:


> The indicator works, but the auger does not always move.  The auger never drops enough pellets to light. I had to throw the pellets in firepot . I did that to verify pellet stove will run when fed pellets. In diagnostic mode, when I do the two blowers they work, but the auger motor does not. Already has a new interface module, might need to pull interface module so I can get to wiring and check for voltage.  Not sure what vltage should be, but am gonna try an find out. The auger does eventually turn, but it took six minutes for one revolution on 5. Obviously no where near enough pellets. Called the 800 number Wednesday and left message. Gonna try again tomorrow.


Good move you did all the proper tests.They have an excellent reputation,you will get it fixed for your bud.


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## Moparman48662 (Nov 26, 2017)

Natu said:


> Looks like that stove doesn't have an isolator.  If you have a voltmeter and you are comfortable, safely testing the voltage at auger motor, you can do that while running the auger diagnostic and see if the auger motor is getting power.  If you can't do that safely or are unsure, then best not to do that.



I am comfortable with checking. I will attempt that tomorrow. Just have to figure what wires to check across.


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## Moparman48662 (Nov 26, 2017)

bob bare said:


> Good move you did all the proper tests.They have an excellent reputation,you will get it fixed for your bud.



Thank you. Trying to help a friend out. I own 5 pellet/corn stoves. But they are all a little different. Thank you for all your help


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## Mt Bob (Nov 26, 2017)

Moparman48662 said:


> Thank you. Trying to help a friend out. I own 5 pellet/corn stoves. But they are all a little different. Thank you for all your help


Just repay with your knowledge here,is much appreciated.


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## Moparman48662 (Nov 27, 2017)

bob bare said:


> Yes,I forgot about that feature,go in to diagnostics,push button to fill in the circle by "feeding" auger should run continuously.



On these stoves the auger will only run by whatever stall it is on. You can change the stall, but it will not run continuous. On 5 it is about 2.5 seconds on and 2.5 seconds off. That is using multi meter so there may be some lag, but  it is consistent. They are gonna send me an auger motor, capacitor, and a controller to try. They say they never have seen one not feed enough pellets. It is usually to many which is usually air adjustments or exhaust blower voltage. Just keeping everyone up to speed with it.


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## Mt Bob (Nov 27, 2017)

Moparman48662 said:


> On these stoves the auger will only run by whatever stall it is on. You can change the stall, but it will not run continuous. On 5 it is about 2.5 seconds on and 2.5 seconds off. That is using multi meter so there may be some lag, but  it is consistent. They are gonna send me an auger motor, capacitor, and a controller to try. They say they never have seen one not feed enough pellets. It is usually to many which is usually air adjustments or exhaust blower voltage. Just keeping everyone up to speed with it.


Cool,thanks for the info.


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