# St Croix Revolution newbe



## gilandjoy (Oct 23, 2008)

I'm new to the pellet burning ,and the forum experience. I just installed a new St Croix Revolution furnace add on to my existing ducts and have been running it for the last two weeks. My problem is I can't find anyone else that is experienced ! I am wondering if I have my settings right or what I'm supposed to expect from my furnace. ie.....is the flame supposed to always scorch the glass ?, What am I looking for with the adjustment of the air damper?...etc. Hate sounding stupid but this seemed like a good way to talk to people with a little knowledge. Any thoughts?


----------



## begreen (Oct 23, 2008)

You might also want to post in the boiler room to see if anyone has one of these.


----------



## hossthehermit (Oct 23, 2008)

Installed a new Rev. this fall, new to pellets myself. Flame on mine doesn't hit the glass, get a little light brown on it, wipes right off w/ a paper towel. Check your manual for intake damper setting, it's different for different fuels. Are you running the sideboards on the burnpot, manual is confusing on this point, I'm trying to find the answer, gonna call a different dealer today to try to get some info, dealer here is clueless. Self install, or did you have it done?


----------



## gilandjoy (Oct 23, 2008)

Thanks Begreen I'll do that.......soon as I figure it out.


----------



## gilandjoy (Oct 23, 2008)

hossthehermit said:
			
		

> Installed a new Rev. this fall, new to pellets myself. Flame on mine doesn't hit the glass, get a little light brown on it, wipes right off w/ a paper towel. Check your manual for intake damper setting, it's different for different fuels. Are you running the sideboards on the burnpot, manual is confusing on this point, I'm trying to find the answer, gonna call a different dealer today to try to get some info, dealer here is clueless. Self install, or did you have it done?



I had it installed but I'm in the same boat as you with some one knowing more than just reading the manual. I'm using the sideboards now that I found out what they were and where to place them.(after install they were slid up towards the glass).I do use a paper towel to clean the glass but it doesn't quite get it all off.Does your blower come on for a couple minutes then go off for a couple minutes consistently? Did you hook up to the cold air return? I'm not. Just trying out different settings the last week with the damper. I'm going to the dealer today myself for pellets and more info if they got it.


----------



## hossthehermit (Oct 23, 2008)

revo said:
			
		

> hossthehermit said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I'm running right now on Smartstat, when it comes on, the first few times the supply fan (blower) comes on, it runs for 4-5 mins. then when it's up to setpoint kicks back to pilot setting, when temp in the furnace plenum hits 110 blower kicks on, then off when it drops below. This goes for an hour or so, if thermostat hasn't called for heat again, furnace goes into shutdown, combustion fan runs for a while after fire goes out, then everything shuts off. If you are running in thermostat mode, the furnace will keep running at pilot level all the time, blower kicks on as above for a minute or two at a time. Didn't hook up to cold air return, looked like too much hassle, manual said it wasn't required. Didn't do OAK, either, may think about it later. Decided to pull the sideboards off tonight when I got home from work, other dealer wasn't available today, figured I try it this way. No guts, no glory, huh? Feel free to PM if ya want, this topic keeps getting pushed down the board and hard to find, looks like Revolution owners are a rare breed, no wonder, they just started making them. We're pioneers


----------



## maacac (Nov 7, 2008)

I am also new with the Revolution.  I have it hooked up to my current duct work for both warm air and cold air return.  I am getting the cumbustion air from the outside.  I originally did not do this and ran into some vacuum issues.  I have it hooked up to a programmable thermostat.

I currently have the setting you must change while the furnace if off at 2 and the setting you can adjust while the furnace is on either at 4 or 5.  I did adjust the blower to turn on at 150 degrees and back off at 110 degrees.  I have not timed the length of time the blower stays on, but I am sure it is staying on for longer than 4-5 minutes.  

The flame still seems to go up and down, but since I now get cumbustion air from the outside, it seems to burn more consistently.  It would appreciate comments on the proper burn as we all want to get the maximum BTU's out as efficiently as possible.

I did end up putting a manual damper in the plenum of my propane furnace to ensure that all heat goes into the duct work and does not cycle back thru the propane furnace.  I am learning on the fly too, so let's keep this post going as we all learn more about the Revolution.

So far, the weather has not been cold enough for the furnace to run for the entire day.  The last few days have been in the 70's, so no pellets are burning.  It is supposed to get cold this weekend.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 7, 2008)

maacac, how do you adjust the blower on/off temp?


----------



## maacac (Nov 7, 2008)

There is a dial underneath the silver cover on the upper left side of the furnace.  The area where the button for manual or automatic operation of the blower.  It will come right off.  Underneath it, there is a dial that if you look close, there is are tabs at the upper and lower limits.  The tabs are factory set, but can be moved just like adjusting a thermostat.  Hold the dial and carefully move the tab up of down to the temperature you want.  This will change the temperature that the blower comes on and off.

Take a look at the manual for this and also take a look at the dial.  It took me a bit to understand what the manual was telling me.  Be careful not to mess with the high limit setting.


----------



## maacac (Nov 7, 2008)

hossthe hermit

If my explanation on adjusting the blower temperature was not clear enough, let me know and I will try to be clearer.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 7, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> hossthe hermit
> 
> If my explanation on adjusting the blower temperature was not clear enough, let me know and I will try to be clearer.



Sounds pretty staightforward, hadn't seen it in the manual. Musta overlooked it on my 27 readthroughs, and hadn't really considered changing it anyway until I read your post. Question, does it change both on/off by the same amount, or are they separate? I'll look at the book again, too. Might try it next time it gets cold enough to run it. Thanks for the tip.


----------



## maacac (Nov 7, 2008)

The high and low blower settings are independent of each other.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 7, 2008)

Thanks, again, maacac


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 8, 2008)

maacac...How do you have your damper set? Mine is almost closed after alot of adjusting and it seems to be doing great.


----------



## maacac (Nov 8, 2008)

I also have it almost closed.  I ended up closing past the screw.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 8, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> I also have it almost closed.  I ended up closing past the screw.



How far past the screw? I'm more than willing to play with it on my own, but trying to keep this thread where I can find it. Are the rest of you guys serial killers, mad rapists, stalkers, or general no-goodniks? Should the few of us find an easier way to get/give feedback? I'm a firm believer in privacy, I'm old, I've heard about all the internet idenity theft, and related issues, just a PITA trying to find the thread on here that deals with my issues. Any ideas?


----------



## maacac (Nov 9, 2008)

Somehow I always get an email when there is a post to this thread.  I just keep the latest email and I takes me right to this thread.

I ended up using PVC to connect to the outside fresh air on the intake, so I can't see how far past, but I would guess about 1/4 inch past.  It is colder today, so I have been "tweeking" it a bit.  Seems to be working OK.  I seem to vary between a very agressive flame and sometimes down to below the burn pot, but it always come back up.  Does your flame behave similar or is it more consistent?


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

hossthehermit said:
			
		

> maacac said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hoss just type in st croix in the search forums and click on this link. I also get an email if some one posts ????
I actually closed my damper all the way then opened it a quarter of an inch.(the heck with the screw)...does that make more sense?...My ash is hardly anything and my flame burns pretty steady half way up the glass. Does that sound logical???


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> Somehow I always get an email when there is a post to this thread.  I just keep the latest email and I takes me right to this thread.
> 
> I ended up using PVC to connect to the outside fresh air on the intake, so I can't see how far past, but I would guess about 1/4 inch past.  It is colder today, so I have been "tweeking" it a bit.  Seems to be working OK.  I seem to vary between a very agressive flame and sometimes down to below the burn pot, but it always come back up.  Does your flame behave similar or is it more consistent?


My flame is very consistent now that the damper is almost closed. When I was at the dealer I talked to some one that owned the 50 . He told me about the flame . He said his burns tall but doesn't smoke and his ash is next to nothing on the # 2 setting. It started to get cold again here so I will see how things go. My flame gets agressive only when the blower is on. 
So far we are the only three with the Revolution on this site I guess. Maybe if we keep it going more people will join? 
Hossthehermit if you feel your privacy is in trouble don't worry there is only a few of us on here!


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

By the way....after cleaning inside by the pot I accidently moved the sideboards forward. The next time I cleaned I had a bunch of unburned pellets down both sides. Point is keep your sideboards pushed back. :cheese:


----------



## juandigital (Nov 9, 2008)

Im also a newbie with the revolution.  I just fired her up about a week ago but due to warm weather I havent been able to really put her through the tests.   So far it seems to run fine on the factory settings.  Im running it off a thermostat. my house is 2500sq ft ranch.  I had to locate the furnace about 15 feet away from my existing furnace due to the venting issues. I havent yet installed a outside air kit, but plan on doing so soon.  My only problem is that I dont get much air out of the registers. ive closed all the unnecessary ductwork.  I may add a booster blower fan to increase air flow if I need.  Overall Im very happy with the unit, the programmable thermostat is cool.  I just recently talked to a local farmer a few miles away that will sell me corn for 190 a ton, which for me is cheaper than pellets.   Pellets seem to be somewhat scarce here around flint michigan.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 9, 2008)

Welcome to the pioneers, juandigital. Thanks for the tips on finding the thread, maacac and revo, I'm not really good at this computer stuff. As soon as it gets cold again, I'm going to try closing the damper some more. Have noticed that the sideboards are easy to move around if you don't watch them.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

Glad to see another pioneer ! I have the same problem with not that much air out of the registars. Let me know about that booster blower. Make sure that the moisture content in that corn is 15% or better. My dealer mentioned mixing corn & pellets. Corn is $5 a bag & pellets are $5.50. Just finding out the best time to buy is early summer. When I started looking for my Revolution in june pellets were $209 a ton.


----------



## maacac (Nov 9, 2008)

I also saved the link to this thread that is in the email notifications in my favorites.  It takes me right to it. 

It is in the 30's here in northern michigan today, so I am going to play with the settings.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

Good idea, I saved it that way also.Where at in northern mich? Alpena? UP Peninsula?


----------



## maacac (Nov 9, 2008)

I also had concerns about the amount of air coming out of the vents.  It think we have all learned that the air will be less than what we had been used to.  But I was still concerned.  One thing I had to correct was the warm air coming from the revolution into the duct work was recirculating back through my propane furnace and not all going into the duct work.  I ended up making a homemade backdraft preventer that I can slide into the plenem on the ductwork so the revolution heat can only go up and not back thru the propane furnace.

If you haven't already, I would make sure that not too much warm air is going back thru your existing furnace.


----------



## maacac (Nov 9, 2008)

Revo,

I am near Traverse Ctiy.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

You get the lake effect also. I have backdraft damper in the duct right above my revolution. Seems to work good. One thing I have noticed is the front panel needs to be put in correctly. At first I noticed a lot of air coming out the bottom seal of the panel then realized it wasn't set quite right. Whooops. live & learn.


----------



## maacac (Nov 9, 2008)

I had thought the the front panel was not designed very well.  I notice air coming out also.  Is there a trick to putting the panel on correctly?

I put some thin stove gasket on the panel to reduce this air, but maybe I was just not getting the panel back in right.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

When you slide the panel up then it sets down pull slightly out when it slides down.( does that make sense?)That did it for me. I caught that when the blower was on, now i just know better.


----------



## maacac (Nov 9, 2008)

That makes sense.


----------



## maacac (Nov 9, 2008)

As far as the damper being almost closed, are you burning pellets or corn?


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

Pellets.....


----------



## maacac (Nov 9, 2008)

Revo,

I took your comment previously regarding the damper and closed it all the way and then opened it about a quarter inch.  This is closed more than I had it previously.  It seems to have made a big difference in the consistency of the flame.  I think I might now know what a balanced burn pot looks like!!


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

Alright !


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

juandigital said:
			
		

> Im also a newbie with the revolution.  I just fired her up about a week ago but due to warm weather I havent been able to really put her through the tests.   So far it seems to run fine on the factory settings.  Im running it off a thermostat. my house is 2500sq ft ranch.  I had to locate the furnace about 15 feet away from my existing furnace due to the venting issues. I havent yet installed a outside air kit, but plan on doing so soon.  My only problem is that I dont get much air out of the registers. ive closed all the unnecessary ductwork.  I may add a booster blower fan to increase air flow if I need.  Overall Im very happy with the unit, the programmable thermostat is cool.  I just recently talked to a local farmer a few miles away that will sell me corn for 190 a ton, which for me is cheaper than pellets.   Pellets seem to be somewhat scarce here around flint michigan.


What is your theory behind installing an outside air kit?


----------



## maacac (Nov 9, 2008)

I installed the outside air based on various comments I read.  It depends on how tight your house is.  My exhaust vent faces the North and I was experiencing some vacuum issues.  Not sure it made any difference thought.  But it can't hurt.

Also,  when the furnace is off, the cold air will blow in the exhaust and out the cold air intake, so it just keeps that bit of cold air from entering the house.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 9, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> I installed the outside air based on various comments I read.  It depends on how tight your house is.  My exhaust vent faces the North and I was experiencing some vacuum issues.  Not sure it made any difference thought.  But it can't hurt.
> 
> Also,  when the furnace is off, the cold air will blow in the exhaust and out the cold air intake, so it just keeps that bit of cold air from entering the house.



Ok, thanks for the info. My situation isn't the same so i guess i'm still safe doing it my way. And you're right, it can't hurt !


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 10, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> I have it hooked up to my current duct work for both warm air and cold air return.  I am getting the cumbustion air from the outside.  I originally did not do this and ran into some vacuum issues.  I have it hooked up to a programmable thermostat.
> 
> .


 maacac, do you have pretty good air coming out the vents? I'm considering hooking up to the cold air return so I can get more power. What does your intake look like in the back? Did you have to prefab the cowling over the filter?
Sorry for all the questions but I might do it myself and want to learn as much as possible.......


----------



## maacac (Nov 10, 2008)

I had a plenum made to go on the back.  It has a hole for a 12 inch return air line.  The line comes up about 4 feet and then goes over and hooks into the cold air return of my propane furnace.  I will see if I can get a picture of it posted on here for you.  I was told that the cold air return should be 10% larger than the warm air.


----------



## maacac (Nov 10, 2008)

Revo,

Have are some pictures of the cold air return.  If you need something clearer, just let me know.

The first pic will show you the plenum on the back of the revolution and the second one shows the cold air connecting into the cold air return on propane furnace.


----------



## maacac (Nov 10, 2008)

I did not respond to the amount of warm air coming out of the vents.  It is a lot less than the propane furnace, but heated the house adequately this weekend.  It was in the 30's with some wind and a bit of snow.


----------



## juandigital (Nov 11, 2008)

I have a similar cold air box as maacac.  Mine had to enter from the side.  You can see from the pic that I have quite a run to get to the existing duct work so I have decided to add a booster fan.    Its similar to the drawing but instead of having a smaller fan just for a single room register, mine will be a 12 inch round fan installed right before the existing warm air plenum.  Im hoping that this will allow more warm air to be distributed throughout the house.  There is enough heat, just not enough push behind it.  Total cost for the booster fan set up is about $100.  I will let you guys know how it works.


----------



## maacac (Nov 11, 2008)

I will be curious of what you think of the booster fan once you have it installed.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 11, 2008)

Man, you guys are good ! Pictures and all this really helped my decision process.maacac, your setup looks like mine and the pics look perfect, thank you. Juandigital,that inline fan might be a solution for my 2nd story rooms. I will also be looking forward to see how well this works for you.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 11, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> I did not respond to the amount of warm air coming out of the vents.  It is a lot less than the propane furnace, but heated the house adequately this weekend.  It was in the 30's with some wind and a bit of snow.



Mine sounds the same,but I have a spoiled wife & kids that were used to 70 first thing in the morning.I'll keep working on it :-/
I think I am trying to push the air upstairs in a very well sealed house with no cold air return and it just can't do it.That's the best solution I can come up with.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 11, 2008)

Juan, looks like a good setup, couple questions. Maybe just the picture angle, but it looks like the supply air duct is running downhill, may be just my eyes, but hot duct does need to run uphill. Also, looks like a long run, I can see where a booster might really help if it is a rising duct. Anybody thought about insulating their duct? I thought about it, but heat loss into my cellar isn't a big concern, be nice to have it a little warmer down there. Still gotta try setting the blower on/off a little higher, probably this weekend.


----------



## maacac (Nov 11, 2008)

So far, I insulated the duct from the furnace to the plenum.  I am not sure how much more I will insulate.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 11, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> So far, I insulated the duct from the furnace to the plenum.  I am not sure how much more I will insulate.



Got pics? Is it funny looking?


----------



## maacac (Nov 11, 2008)

I will post a pic later tonight.  We took our time wrapping it, so I think it looks OK.


----------



## juandigital (Nov 11, 2008)

I will keep you guys posted on how it works.   The fan will take about a week to get here.    ;-)


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 12, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> I will post a pic later tonight.  We took our time wrapping it, so I think it looks OK.



What did you use , fiberglass?, or foam? just wonderin'?


----------



## maacac (Nov 12, 2008)

The attached is fiberglass duct insulation.  I got it at Home Depot.  It has a silver backing as you can see from the attached.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 12, 2008)

Poofy!!


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 12, 2008)

As long as it works! I'm like hossthehermit I don't care about heat loss in my basement.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 12, 2008)

maacac, I did listen to you about checking air circulating back through my furnace and found that the duct to the humidifier was open. I closed the shutoff so it wasn't going backwards into the return air.THANKS........more through the registars now too......


----------



## maacac (Nov 12, 2008)

I'm glad that helped.  

What is everyone doing about a humidifier with the pellet furnace.  I also have a humidifier that is attached to the propane furnace which ran with the furnace ran.

With the pellet furnace, I am wondering about the need to get some moisture in the air this winter.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 12, 2008)

My wife is leaving the door open when she showers......wuh hooo   :bug:


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 13, 2008)

revo said:
			
		

> My wife is leaving the door open when she showers......wuh hooo   :bug:



Protocol requires that pics be posted for helpful hints


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 13, 2008)

I guess I have to follow protocol.....


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 13, 2008)

Tastefully done, I must say


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 13, 2008)

Raw and windy here today, for the first time I got to try my normal after work routine on the Revolution while it was running. Normally it's been cold, only comes on after midnight, and shuts down soon after it gets daylight. Wife kicked the 'stat up a bit today to take the chill off. Learned a couple things.
1. When you clean the heat exchanger tubes, wear gloves, Those little handles get hot. Gonna see if I can rig up some bigger knobs for the scraper, anyway, they're hard to hang on to with my arthritic paws.
2. Glass wipes off easier when it's hot, but the wipings seem a bit greasier and darker, may need to open the draft a bit.
3. Kinda cool to see it running when it first comes on at program 3, every time it starts at midnight I wake up and think I should go down cellar and check it out, but , nahhh.

Just wanted to share a fun afternoon.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 13, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> I'm glad that helped.
> 
> What is everyone doing about a humidifier with the pellet furnace.  I also have a humidifier that is attached to the propane furnace which ran with the furnace ran.
> 
> With the pellet furnace, I am wondering about the need to get some moisture in the air this winter.



Don't know if there's a need in my case, don't see why it should be any drier with pellets than it was with oil. Time will tell, I guess, I may have to drink more, but so be it.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 13, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> I also had concerns about the amount of air coming out of the vents.  It think we have all learned that the air will be less than what we had been used to.  But I was still concerned.  One thing I had to correct was the warm air coming from the revolution into the duct work was recirculating back through my propane furnace and not all going into the duct work.  I ended up making a homemade backdraft preventer that I can slide into the plenem on the ductwork so the revolution heat can only go up and not back thru the propane furnace.
> 
> If you haven't already, I would make sure that not too much warm air is going back thru your existing furnace.



Currently working on a design to put in a damper on mine, want to make it sorta like a regular stove pipe damper, but will have to swivel at the side of the duct so that I can flip it down to block off the oil furnace plenum, or up to block the duct from the Revolution, don't think it will be difficult, just want to do it right when I do it.


----------



## maacac (Nov 14, 2008)

It is like a new toy when it first starts to run more consistently!!

Please let us know how the damper you rig up for the plenum works out when you get it done.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 14, 2008)

Do you guys have a reverse damper in the outgoing pipe above the revolution? I have one to keep the forced air furnace from blowing back into the revolution but,I still am not sure if I can run the gas furnace and the rev at the same time???? Any thoughts?


----------



## juandigital (Nov 15, 2008)

revo, im not sure what you mean by reverse damper, I have a standard style damper on the warm air round duct coming out of the revolution right before it hits the existing plenum. Its the type you see on round duct work, with a lever to open or close. Then to close off the exsisting furnace, I have a home guillotine style damper that is just a piece of sheetmetal cut to size that slides into the airway right about my A/C coil.  I also isolated the cold air returns by sliding in a piece of cardboard into slot where the filter goes.  Its cheap, easy and effective.  As for my booster fan experiment, it seems to work ok, Honestly I was hoping for alot more hot air out of the registers.   Its been quite warm since I installed the booster fan so its hard to compare.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 15, 2008)

My reverse damper is at the beginning of my 12" hot air duct right out of the Revolution. It is hinged in the middle and only folds up so no air can reverse down it from my gas forced air. My original thought was that it takes away from air coming through my vents because it has to push open the damper.? I can reach up inside when cleaning to test it. It works easy enough but any resistance is not a plus for air velocity.


----------



## maacac (Nov 15, 2008)

I too have a similar setup as Juan.  The backdraft preventer I put in just before the revolution warm air duct enters the the plenum will open when the revolution is on and close when the propane furnace is on.  I also have a similar piece of sheet metal I slide in just above the ac coil to ensure that the warm air from the revolution does not recycle back through the propane furnace.  With my set up, I could not run both furnaces at the same time.


----------



## maacac (Nov 15, 2008)

Revo,

The picture you attached looks like the same thing I installed.  I don't think that it will restrict the air flow much if any.


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 15, 2008)

Gave mine a thorough cleaning today in prep for next week's predicted cold wave. Baffle plate is a bit of a pain to get back in, but next time will be easier, got it all done, my son showed up with a friend, wanted to see it, fired it up for them, drove us out of the house with the heat, it's a guy thing. (Son and his friend are in their 30's, just came in from deer huntin' in the rain) . 50's here today, but lows in the 20's predicted next week, hi's in the 30's


----------



## maacac (Nov 15, 2008)

What all are you doing when you do the major cleaning?


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 15, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> What all are you doing when you do the major cleaning?



I just follow the manual.
Remove big front cover.
Give the glass a good cleaning, damp paper towel and a little ash, wipe w/dry papertowel.
Dump the ash pan.
Drag the the Rigid wet/dry w/ hepa filter over
Vac accumulated ash around burnpot, pull the shields and stick vac hose in there. Put shields back on
Remove baffle plate, vac that and inside heat exchanger.
groan to wife that I skun my knuckles getting baffle plate out, make a drink, have a smoke.
Replace baffle plate.
Remove little flapper behind ash pan, stick vac hose in there.
Remove little side cover, flip switch to rotate burnpot, scrape a little, vac. Repeat x 3, get 'em all. Replace little side cover.
Remove caps from cleanout tees, run brush in and out, vac. Replace caps.
groan to wife that I skun knuckles on other hand, make a drink, have a smoke.
Replace ash pan
Replace big front cover.
Puff out chest, beat w' fists, do Tarzan thing.
Remove big front cover.
remove ash pan, replace little flapper, replace ash pan.

Just like it sez in the book


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 15, 2008)

Yeah ,what he said.........I've done it all already a couple times except for rotating the burnpot.....oooopps


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 15, 2008)

revo said:
			
		

> Yeah ,what he said.........I've done it all already a couple times except for rotating the burnpot.....oooopps



First time I've done that, pretty straightforward, first time removing baffle, too, gotta watch it putting baffle back in, make sure it's in the slots. Watch yer knuckles.


----------



## maacac (Nov 16, 2008)

Thanks,

Forgot to rotate the burn pot..  AND THE DRINK!!


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 16, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> Thanks,
> 
> Forgot to rotate the burn pot..  AND THE DRINK!!



The 2 most important parts of the operation. See, told you I'm not just another pretty face. I have a mind.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 16, 2008)

What's everyone doing with their ashes?


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 16, 2008)

revo said:
			
		

> What's everyone doing with their ashes?



Dumping them in the ash bucket.When it gets full I'll either dump it in the garden, or on the driveway if it's slippery.


----------



## maacac (Nov 16, 2008)

We have an trash can just outside the basement door and dump the ashes in there this winter.  In the spring we also plan to put in either the garden or on the numerous flower areas my wife has around the house.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 16, 2008)

Thanks, most of the ideas I've heard was in the garden. On the slippery driveway is a new one. Isn't that a little messy?


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 16, 2008)

Snowing here now so I tested my idea on running both furnaces. Turned on the forced air while the Revolution was running and boy did I get some warm air in a hurry! They both seemed to work great and it took the temp up real fast! Stood there and stared at the flame in the Rev like a little kid wishing for a new toy. Ran the forced air for a few minutes then shut it off. Seems like this will be the trick for those nasty days to come..........


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 16, 2008)

revo said:
			
		

> Thanks, most of the ideas I've heard was in the garden. On the slippery driveway is a new one. Isn't that a little messy?



Not really. It's a gravel drive, and quite steep, ash either washes off or goes down into the gravel.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 16, 2008)

hossthehermit said:
			
		

> revo said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My mind was stuck on a concrete drive.......duh


----------



## juandigital (Nov 16, 2008)

Hey guys.  I loaded the hopper full of corn today to try burning 100% corn.  I can get corn from a local farmer for 190 a ton. I recently just payed 250 a ton for wood pellets.  I switched the furnace back to program #1 for the corn and fired her up.  It seems to be working fine, although its less heat since I switched to program #1, before I was running #4.  Its about 36 degrees outside and 65 inside.   We just had a light snowfall.


----------



## maacac (Nov 16, 2008)

You might try Program #2 and put the heat setting at 4 and see what that does.

Sounds a bit cool in the house.

The above is what I have mine set at for pellets and it is 70 in the house.  I am a bit north and a bit colder out today, but the furnace is keeping up.


----------



## maacac (Nov 16, 2008)

How much of a damper adjustment did you need to make when switching to corn?


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 16, 2008)

My dealer here said he would mix corn and pellets together. I can't get corn that cheap here though.


----------



## juandigital (Nov 16, 2008)

Thats a good idea maacac, im going to switch to program #2 right now.  Its hard for me to get up to 70, it takes forever. My feet are cold and i have socks on!   I moved the damper around and waited and watched the fire, ended up putting it back to its normal spot.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 16, 2008)

Can you change the program without it being shutdown and cooled off? Thought I read that in the manual....


----------



## maacac (Nov 16, 2008)

Juan,

This morning with temperatures similar to yours, the house started out at 66 and 7 a.m.  By noon, it was 69 and has stayed between 69 and 70 the rest of the day.

I have it on a programable thermostat for cooler at night, but it does take a while to warm back up.


----------



## maacac (Nov 16, 2008)

Revo is right.  To change the program to a different setting, you need to wait until the combustion fan goes off which means the furnace is cooled down.  The heat settings can be changed while the furnace is on.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 17, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> Juan,
> 
> This morning with temperatures similar to yours, the house started out at 66 and 7 a.m.  By noon, it was 69 and has stayed between 69 and 70 the rest of the day.
> 
> I have it on a programable thermostat for cooler at night, but it does take a while to warm back up.



My situation is identical to yours maacac only, I am on program #3 with heat at #3 also. I seem to use a bag of pellets a day.


----------



## maacac (Nov 17, 2008)

Revo,

On program 2, I am using 1 1/2 to 2 bags a day.  How long does yours run during the day right now?


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 17, 2008)

Today it was on most the day. When my wife started cooking dinner the oven puts off enough heat to shut down the furnace for awhile. With the snow flying now I'm sure the pellets will go to a couple bags a day.


----------



## maacac (Nov 18, 2008)

Juan,

Did the change to program 2 make a difference is your house temperature?


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 18, 2008)

_The Fan voltages can be fine-tuned while the furnace is in
operation by pressing and holding the “Auger Feed” button down
and then either pressing the “Trim High” button to advance the
voltages higher, or pressing the “Trim Low” button to decrease the
fan voltages.
There are 5 levels on the control board and they are indicated by single
flash of the LED’s. The default setting is the center LED. This gives 2
adjustments increasing the voltage (LED’s 4 & 5) and 2 adjustments
decreasing the voltage. (LED’s 1 & 2) The voltage is increased or
decreased 2.5 volts with each adjustment.
_

Does this mean that the blower will put out more ????


----------



## juandigital (Nov 18, 2008)

Maacac,    yes program 2 did help, thanks.  but I can definitely tell the difference between #2 and #4 with pellets.   I think im going to have to keep it at a more constant temp with less temperature swings.  I have it programmed to cool down during the day and night.   I think it can do better just maintaining on pilot instead of varying highs and lows in order to save a few pellets/kernels.  Im burning at least 2 bags of pellets a day, maybe 2.5.

Revo,    I believe the "fan" they are talking about is the combustion fan, not the supply blower.  The combustion fan can be varied due to different vent set ups, longer runs probably will require more draft.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 18, 2008)

That makes sense....Thanks
We now have snow and ice all day and 30 temp. will probably go to almost 2 bags for the day.......ouch


----------



## maacac (Nov 18, 2008)

As my dealer said, everytime you dump a bag of pellets in, you are savings money!!   Versus the cost of propane.


----------



## maacac (Nov 18, 2008)

We are getting into the time when the true tests start.  Tonight, low of 25 and tomorrow a high of 32.  I will see how long I can stay on program 2.  I am also going to narrow the high and low temperature settings so the furnace is maintaining versus trying to raise the temperature.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 18, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> We are getting into the time when the true tests start.  Tonight, low of 25 and tomorrow a high of 32.  I will see how long I can stay on program 2.  I am also going to narrow the high and low temperature settings so the furnace is maintaining versus trying to raise the temperature.


We got 6" overnight.I had to snowblow already to get the kids on the bus! 
I set my temps at 70 high and 68 low and it seems to be doing great. I prefer it cooler at night but  the wife has a lot of pull in that argument.If you know what I mean.
maacac, let me know how that works out with your temps.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 18, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> As my dealer said, everytime you dump a bag of pellets in, you are savings money!!   Versus the cost of propane.


Has anyone done the fuel calculator on St Croix's website?......http://www.stcroixheat.com/fuel.php .....


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 20, 2008)

Well, been doing some real testing finally, temps low 20's at night, highs low 30's in day.  Was running smartstat, program 3, heat 3. Tue. night , rev shut down around 11 p.m., started around 1 a.m., shut down around 3 a.m., chilly when I got up at 4, stat set at 62, temp 63, inside, outside 24. Was just starting back up at 5 when I left for work. Last night (Wed), switched to t'stat, set at 64, prog. 3, heat 2. Got up this morning, inside 65, outside 20. Got home this afternoon, outside 33, inside 72 (too damn hot for me but wife was lovin' it ). Gonna leave it there tonight, switch back to smartstat when I go to work, in the morning, will probably shut down, clean it when I get home, go back to t'stat during overnight hours , smartstat days (until it gets REAL cold out). Get a fair amount of passive solar here when sun shines, so would be good to have it down on sunny days. Wife is ecstatic. Oh, yeah, about 1 1/2 bags Pennington in 24 hours.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 20, 2008)

hossthehermit said:
			
		

> Well, been doing some real testing finally, temps low 20's at night, highs low 30's in day.  Was running smartstat, program 3, heat 3. Tue. night , rev shut down around 11 p.m., started around 1 a.m., shut down around 3 a.m., chilly when I got up at 4, stat set at 62, temp 63, inside, outside 24. Was just starting back up at 5 when I left for work. Last night (Wed), switched to t'stat, set at 64, prog. 3, heat 2. Got up this morning, inside 65, outside 20. Got home this afternoon, outside 33, inside 72 (too damn hot for me but wife was lovin' it ). Gonna leave it there tonight, switch back to smartstat when I go to work, in the morning, will probably shut down, clean it when I get home, go back to t'stat during overnight hours , smartstat days (until it gets REAL cold out). Get a fair amount of passive solar here when sun shines, so would be good to have it down on sunny days. Wife is ecstatic. Oh, yeah, about 1 1/2 bags Pennington in 24 hours.



 This is very interesting to me hossthehermit, I'm amazed at the temp difference between smartstat and when you switched to t 'stat. How in the world did you get inside up to 72 when it was set on 64? I've stayed on smartstat program 3 heat 3 and it's been comfortable 69-70 inside.I was thinking of changing to t'stat now this gives me every reason to. Only 1 1/2 bags??? I'm using 2 right now but I did try to trim down my fan.I realized that it was on 5 and I put it back to 3. If I notice a difference I'll set it to 2. I don't have that far to exaust. Keep us updated!


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 20, 2008)

Revo, the thing to remember, is, that on t'stat, it's gonna run all the time (on pilot if it's not calling for heat), on smart it shuts down after an hour if it doesn't call for heat. That constant low fire is still throwing a lot of heat, maybe I'll get a stopwatch and post some on/off cycle times for the circ fan. How's yours running?


----------



## maacac (Nov 21, 2008)

Hoss,

Great info.  I have had some vacuum issues, but just jumped the switch wires for now.  We have a few inches of snow on the ground right now and are calling for 6-12 more with winds out of the north.  I think it is time to switch to t-stat mode also.

Even with the wind, we are a comfortable 69 degrees!!


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 21, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> Hoss,
> 
> Great info.  I have had some vacuum issues, but just jumped the switch wires for now.  We have a few inches of snow on the ground right now and are calling for 6-12 more with winds out of the north.  I think it is time to switch to t-stat mode also.
> 
> Even with the wind, we are a comfortable 69 degrees!!



What sort of vacuum issues? Burn up your shop-vac? No snow here yet, had a 30 second flurry the other morning, but nothing on the ground. Great thing here is, north wind doesn't bother me, house is under a hill. What kills me is SE wind right off the ocean, may be 35 degrees out, but the wind cuts right through the house, and any exposed skin. Makes it hard to go out and take a leak in the back yard.


----------



## maacac (Nov 21, 2008)

I have been getting the "error 2" code from time to time.  When I jump the 2 wires that are connected to the vacuum switch, I have no issues.  I am wondering if my north winds impact it..


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 21, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> I have been getting the "error 2" code from time to time.  When I jump the 2 wires that are connected to the vacuum switch, I have no issues.  I am wondering if my north winds impact it..



Saw somewhere, different stove, vacuum issues if the pellets get too low in the hopper, just a thought. 21 degrees this morning, 68 in here. Prog. 3, heat 2


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 21, 2008)

Hossthehermit, mine has been working great, I was surprized that you got 72 with only a bag & a half of pellets. I figured that smartstat would use less than t-stat. I've been considering using my gas furnace just because if I use two bags of pellets a day at $5.00 a bag that is the same if not more than the gas I would use. Maybe I'll figure a way to use both at different times or something like that? We have 6-8" on the ground with 22-25 temps outside.......67-69 inside through out the day.


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 21, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> I have been getting the "error 2" code from time to time.  When I jump the 2 wires that are connected to the vacuum switch, I have no issues.  I am wondering if my north winds impact it..


Have you tried a deflector?


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 21, 2008)

Tonight's experiment - Switched to smartstat this morning,( wife did it after the sun got up), shut down as expected,( 'stat @65, temp inside @ 74.) . Got home this afternoon, gave it a quick clean, dumped ash pan. Switched to program 2, heat 3, back on t'stat. Trying to find that "sweet spot", where it will run on pilot to keep from shutting down, but not get so far above setpoint, don't want it running on pilot all the time, hate having it shut down, then start back up in an hour, heat curve ain't cuttin' it. Supposed to be lo 20's hi teens tonite, heading for the woods before daybreak, gonna get dat thirty pointer


----------



## juandigital (Nov 22, 2008)

revo, are you burning propane or natural gas?


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 22, 2008)

juandigital said:
			
		

> revo, are you burning propane or natural gas?


Natural Gas..


----------



## maacac (Nov 22, 2008)

Hoss,

How many square feet are you heating.  Those are incredible tempertures..


----------



## gilandjoy (Nov 22, 2008)

15 outside temp this morning at 6:00 inside 67. I'm thinking of running the gas furnace in the day and the pellets at night.Any thoughts???


----------



## hossthehermit (Nov 24, 2008)

maacac said:
			
		

> Hoss,
> 
> How many square feet are you heating.  Those are incredible tempertures..



House is 32 x 24, main floor pretty open, 1 BR, 1 BA, rest is kitchen/LR. 2/3 of it is cathedral ceiling, though, so screws up sq. ft. calcs. one BR upstairs, but door is usually closed, just used for storage now. Also somewhat heating the cellar now, of course, nice to have that above 45 this year. Still running prog 2, heat 3. OUTSIDE TEMP 12 this a.m. @ 4:00, inside 65, right where t'stat was set. 1 1/2 bag pellets 2 p.m. SUN - 2 P.M. MON. Rough weekend at deer camp, son got a nice one, think I tore rt. bicep helping him drag it out. MRI Wed. a.m., know more then. Real groan typing w/ 1 finger on left hand. Wife said while I was gone Fri. night - Sun. night temps stayed wherever she had it set, still pellets in hopper when I got home, she put in 1 bag while I was gone just to be safe. I put 2 in when I got home, filled it to the top.


----------



## maacac (Nov 25, 2008)

Hope the deer was a good one


----------



## maacac (Nov 25, 2008)

Hoss,

I noticed on another post you would like to try burning cherry pits.  My father has been burning cherry pits for 3 years now.  I plan on trying some of his later this winter.  He actually gets them from a local processing plant during cherry season and spends the rest of the summer drying them.  

If it works, I will probably dry some next summer.


----------



## juandigital (Dec 2, 2008)

hey guys, I want to ask all you revolution burners a question about ash.  Here is a picture of my ash pan.  The red circled area showes a white powdery ash that was produced during the shut down phase (cleaning schedule).  The rest of the ash appears darker and still has more mass to it, and that is was the furnace produces during normal operation.  The white ash is more comparable to my inlaws st croix free standing unit.  What does your ash look like? I wonder if Im not burning completely, maybe not hot enough...and if so, how would I correct this? Thanks guys!


----------



## maacac (Dec 2, 2008)

Juan,

I think that is just the pellets that were only partially burned at the time you shut down for cleaning.  Don't know for sure, but I don't think it is an issue.


----------



## juandigital (Dec 2, 2008)

alright, thanks for the fast response, ill keep my eyes on it!


----------



## hossthehermit (Dec 2, 2008)

Looks about the same as mine always does


----------



## hossthehermit (Dec 6, 2008)

I'm getting the feeling that we are all getting settled in with our new heating systems, very few posts lately. I know that I, personally, could not be any more satisfied with mine, so far at least. Settled right into a routine, get home from work, go down, quick glass wipe, scrape heat exchanger, put in a bag or two of pellets, stand there and look at it for a few minutes, shrug shoulders, go back up, have a cocktail. Shut down either Sat. or Sun. morning after sunup, let it cool 3 hours, 30 minute cleaning, turn it back on, watch it start up, look at it for a few minutes, shrug shoulders, go back up and have a cocktail. 32 bags of pellets used so far. Hope all of you are doing as well.


----------



## maacac (Dec 7, 2008)

I have been tinkering with mine..  Not sure I am getting all the heat yet.  It has been in the high teens to low 20's lately and haven't been able to keep the house up to temp without some help from the gas fireplace.  I am trying a mixture of cherry pits and pellets this weekend.  We will see what that does.

We have gotten 12-18 inches of snow over the last 24 hours......  I guess winter is here in Northern Michgan....


----------



## juandigital (Dec 7, 2008)

Im in the same boat as maacac,  It has a hard time keeping warm and takes forever to get up to temps. Air out of the registers are minimal, even after I installed the booster fan. I clean the stove religiously on saturdays, sometimes even during the week. Some of you here know that I recently made the switch to corn since I can get it a few miles down the road.  The corn is pretty clean and around 12% moisture.  First few days were ok, few adjustments made to damper and feedrates.  A few times ive noticed the corn clumping together in the burn pot, I figured it was out of balance and reduced the feedrates by switching to program #2.  Yesterday I loaded the stove up with corn and headed to Detroit to visit my Dad for the day.  I come home around 9pm to a cold and smelly house.  I go downstairs and see the corn clumping again.. You can see from the first picture, the burn pot is empty yet semi burn corn is clumped up on both sides of the pot as well as being trapped in the pellet/corn shoot.  Part of the clump was still on fire, just barely.  The furnce didnt trip any safeties so was still feeding corn.  I pressed the on/off button and chiseled out the corn clumps in the shoot.  I then opened the hopper to investigate and a ton of smoke came out, I look into the small hopper (filled with wood pellets) and see hot coals in the hopper!   I tried to scoop out the  coals and a fire starts in the hopper.  I finally put of the fire, remove all pellets and cycle the furnace on and off so the small auger would turn and dump all the hot burning pellets stuck in the auger tube. Fire was actually coming out of the shoot, the fire was somewhere inside.  It took about 1.5 hours to clear the stove.  The basement was filled with smoke, the house was 48 degrees.  I had to cancel my plans to go to the inlaws house to watch the De La Hoya fight.  Im lucky we came home when we did.  After everything was put out, I switched over my dampers and fired up the propane furnace, I walked upstairs to my livingroom a beaten man.  I researched the hell out of this purchase, tried to do everything right, spent countless hours on install and operations and my house is cold and smokey.   My wife wants me to take it back and get a freestanding stove.  Im going to call the dealer and see what can be done.  I dont trust the stove anymore.  I could go back to burning pellets, but it bothers me that the stove is rated for corn yet will not burn it.  









thats fire coming out of the shoot! the burn pot is completely empty.


----------



## hossthehermit (Dec 7, 2008)

Sorry to hear about the problems, Juan. Hopefully your dealer can help figure it out, or work something else out for you. Good luck, keep us posted.


----------



## juandigital (Dec 7, 2008)

thanks guys, you all have been a great help.  My latest theory is that without the outside air kit installed, the negative pressure built up over the course of the day and eventually starved the burn pot of air, thus over filling the pot.  The clumping and over filling only happens after its running for most of the day.  I also noticed the fire would be smaller at times, even though the heat setting was set on 5.   I would then suspect that there wasnt enough air and open the damper some or adjust the fan trim, but that would only make it worse in the long run since the negative pressure would built faster over time with the increased intake amount.  I hooked up the outside air kit today and will see what happens.  I originally didnt think I needed it since the basement is a large open space, but in reality, its not so much the size as much as how well its sealed.   Or I could be totally full of chit and the guessing game continues!


----------



## maacac (Dec 7, 2008)

Juan,

Sorry to hear about your issues.  I have also been messing with the damper and trim.  I am going to try adjusting again based on the book and then not touch for a while.

Please keep up informed what your dealer says about the internal fire..


Best of luck..


----------

