# Pellet stove not igniting...



## Presa canario (Dec 25, 2010)

Well it was working flawlessly and now the ignighter does not seem to be firing up the pellets....

Any diagnoses besides just replacing the ignighter... this will be the 2nd one in less then 2 seasons....


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## smoke show (Dec 25, 2010)

check for fuses.
maybe see what the manual suggests.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Dec 25, 2010)

Presa canario said:
			
		

> Well it was working flawlessly and now the ignighter does not seem to be firing up the pellets....
> 
> Any diagnoses besides just replacing the ignighter... this will be the 2nd one in less then 2 seasons....



Your stove has an air pump for the igniter, you might want to make certain that it is working before replacing the igniter.    If the pump isn't working it takes longer to start a fire and that will tend to shorten the igniter life.


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## imacman (Dec 25, 2010)

Unplug stove, remove side panel:  

Unplug ignitor leads, hook up a "test lead" (old lamp cord) and plug into 120V ac...ignitor should get hot very quickly.

Or 

you can test with Volt-Ohmeter....set for "ohms", unplug ignitor leads and check across them....should be in the neighborhood of 40-50 ohms.  If you get no reading, ignitor is burned out.

Is it still under warranty?  If not, they can be bought much cheaper ($20-30) at a place like Grainger under "heater cartridge".  Just need to know length, diameter, and watts.

Strange though....I bought mine before you, and am still using original ignitor.  Run it on Hi-Lo most of the winter (much less "wear" on ignitor), except when the temps outside get up into 50's.


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## tmh54 (Dec 25, 2010)

I used to have an Englander stove that worked like yours. At first it worked and then after that you could see it was hot by the glow but it wouldn't ignite the pellets. I contacted Englander and we tried different settings to no avail and then they said maybe the ignitor was too close or too far away. We took the back off and re-adjusted the ignitor forward just a small bit and that solved the problem. Worked every time after that.


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## Presa canario (Dec 25, 2010)

Yes, air pump is functional....  

I have the side off where igniter is located....  Took igniter out and made sure nothing was built up on it or blocking the flow of air...  All is good, so I think its the acutal igniter itself!

Its not hot at all, plugged in properly and the fuses are ok...


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## Presa canario (Dec 25, 2010)

imacman said:
			
		

> Unplug stove, remove side panel:
> 
> Unplug ignitor leads, hook up a "test lead" (old lamp cord) and plug into 120V ac...ignitor should get hot very quickly.
> 
> ...



Thanks Pete...

Yeah think its burnt out....  Thanks for the heads up with the grainer site.  Which one matches up with our stove - do you know????


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## imacman (Dec 25, 2010)

Presa canario said:
			
		

> Thanks Pete...
> 
> Yeah think its burnt out....  Thanks for the heads up with the grainer site.  Which one matches up with our stove - do you know????



No, actually it's one of the things I've been meaning to find out.  The length & diameter are obviously easy to measure, but unless it's marked on the cartridge itself, I have no idea how many watts it is.  

My guess is it will be in the higher than normal range due to it having to be able to ignite corn, which is harder to do than wood pellets.....maybe 400 watts+ ???

Other than that, I guess a call to Englander is the only way to find out.  If you do, please let me know.


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## Presa canario (Dec 25, 2010)

Will do....

I'll give them a call on Monday and figure this out...


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## Presa canario (Jan 4, 2011)

OK, got a new igniter from Englander....  Replaced it today and same probelm.  igniter is not even getting hot....

Tried it once and got the "E2" error code.

Pulled out igniter and not even warm.  The connectors are on and tight!  Any other issues to diagnose this problem.  I'm just starting manually now, but would like to get this feature up and running...


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## SmokeyTheBear (Jan 4, 2011)

Presa canario said:
			
		

> OK, got a new igniter from Englander....  Replaced it today and same probelm.  igniter is not even getting hot....
> 
> Tried it once and got the "E2" error code.
> 
> Pulled out igniter and not even warm.  The connectors are on and tight!  Any other issues to diagnose this problem.  I'm just starting manually now, but would like to get this feature up and running...



You could use a multimeter and see if the controller is sending 120 volts to the igniter.


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## imacman (Jan 4, 2011)

Presa canario said:
			
		

> Will do....
> 
> I'll give them a call on Monday and figure this out...


One more thing to try along with the voltage check.....follow ignitor leads back to control board, and make sure their plugged-in tightly.


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