# Having problems with the Breckwell P22 pellet stove



## firefighter17 (Jan 25, 2009)

I have a Breckwell P22 Stove and I am having problems with it. First time was about a month ago when the convection blower froze up. We called the store where it was purchased and was told a number of things on how to tear down and clean. We did that and freed up the blower motor. Well for the past couple of weeks we are having to tear it down and clean the convection blower about every other day. Now for the past week we have been experiencing that the pellet stove will just shut off while running on the number 2 setting. The light will be on the number 2 as well as the on/off button, but when you go and touch any other buttons, nothing happens. We have to turn it back on and once it comes back on it just shuts down again. This has happened 2 times in the last hour or so. Any help would be great  Thank You


----------



## imacman (Jan 25, 2009)

I don't have your stove, so I don't know exactly how it's set-up, but I just took my convection blower out of my Astoria last week to do a 2 ton cleaning, and it was clean as a whistle.....I vacuumed it just because I thought I should, but it looked the same as when I cleaned it in August....a couple of drops of oil down the oiling ports, and back into the stove it went.

I'm really curious why you would have to clean the convection blower every couple of days?  How can it be getting that dirty that fast?  Are you using it in a workshop or someplace that has a LOT of dust?


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Jan 25, 2009)

Have you oiled the blower motor (some need to be oiled on a fairly regular basis).   

Without a bit more to go on it is hard to tell, some convection motors also can thermal off (if this is the case and the blower is clean and properly oiled it is normally blower motor replacement time), then the high temperature circuit in your stove will shut down the stove.

Also it is possible that the convection blower is not the cause of the current shutdowns.


----------



## firefighter17 (Jan 25, 2009)

Thanks for the comments. Every week we need to re-lube the convection blower.  We use this pellet stove in our 1260 sq ft house. When it shuts down by itself, we can't set the pellet feed, can't reset it.  So we have been hitting the on/off button and waiting a little bit and then start it back up again. Then in about a half hour it will shut back off and we go through the whole process all over again. Usually after this it will run for a day before it will go through the whole shut off thing again.


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Jan 25, 2009)

Every week on the re-lube is excessive and will tend to allow otherwise harmless dust etc... to really gum up the works.

Sure sounds like a new motor is needed.

How long have you been burning in that stove and how many bags have you burned since the last total clean out (and I'm not talking burn pot, receiver, and ash pan).


----------



## firefighter17 (Jan 25, 2009)

To answer smokeys question, My father in law had this stove for one winter and then he got a Dell-point (which they are having problems with) so he gave us this Breckwell. We have had it for going on three years, so this will be the fourth winter for this pellet stove. We go through about a bag a day. And as for the last complete over haul was well I don't really know. But it got one today.

Okay I think we have finally figured out some problems. Number one problem is the convection blower. We will need a new one. Thank you to all who have posted and said it is about time for a new convection blower. And the number two problem (we think) was that the exhaust pipe was half full of the fine powdery soot. 

We ended up removing both side panels and the back panel and removed the convection blower and the combustion blower. We blew them out and oiled the barrings. Blew out the auger motor, but did not tear the auger out completely. We did nothing to the high temp switch or the igniter. 

Air switch with hose we blew it out, blew the hose out and blew out the assembly itself. We checked the grounds and every wire lead, all are connected properly. 

The burn pot was removed , but we can't get the inner section of the burn pot to come out (we didn't want to try to forcibly remove it). Ash doors in the fire box removed and cleaned. We put it all back together and everything seems to be working good for the time being. Now we just need to order a new convection blower.


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Jan 25, 2009)

Well I guess you met public enemy #1 and the cause of 80%  of all problems the dirty stove syndrome.

I'd be willing to bet there is still some dirt in there.


----------



## tavern_toes (Dec 24, 2011)

I have a P22 Breckwell I just change the convection blower and it ran fine for about4 to 6 hours now the burn pot fills with pellets but it does not light.


----------



## Roadstar (Dec 24, 2011)

I have a Breckwell P24I and the last three convection blowers I have purchased come with sealed bearings.  You can oil them if you must but you will not get long use out of them until they start to squeak again, at least I havenâ€™t.  You did right by getting a new blower.

At least once a year when you do your top to bottom annual cleaning be sure to clean the motor by blowing compressed air into it, if possible.  Do the same with the combustion motor also.  I think itâ€™s best to have the motors running while applying the compressed air.  I also have a vacuum going to collect whatever comes out of the motors.

I suggest you try and get the inner burn pot out of the outer burn pot.  The guides of the inner burn pot expand sometimes after being heated for a long time and make it difficult to remove.  Every cleaning I remove the inner burn pot and if it comes out with difficulty I take it in the garage and lay it on itâ€™s side and tap both sides inward with a hammer until it will slide easily into the outer pot.  It doesnâ€™t take much so be sure to TAP them.


----------



## steelerdog (Oct 11, 2012)

I have somewhat the same issue as Tavern Toes did when they posted.  I have a P22 that is about 7-8 years old.  The burn pot fills to over flowing but the stove just smokes and does not ignite. The chamber fills with smoke and it starts getting into the house.  I can see the spark telling me it is trying to light but it doesn't.  The convection blower seems to work but not to full capacity as it turns very slowly at times.  I took it out and cleaned it although I didn't blow it out with compressed air.  My gut is telling me I need a new blower but don't want to spend teh money if it is not that.  I have been told that maybe their isnt enough airflow to light the stove.  Is that possible?




tavern_toes said:


> I have a P22 Breckwell I just change the convection blower and it ran fine for about4 to 6 hours now the burn pot fills with pellets but it does not light.


----------



## MSmith66 (Oct 11, 2012)

firefighter17 said:


> I have a Breckwell P22 Stove and I am having problems with it. First time was about a month ago when the convection blower froze up. We called the store where it was purchased and was told a number of things on how to tear down and clean. We did that and freed up the blower motor. Well for the past couple of weeks we are having to tear it down and clean the convection blower about every other day. Now for the past week we have been experiencing that the pellet stove will just shut off while running on the number 2 setting. The light will be on the number 2 as well as the on/off button, but when you go and touch any other buttons, nothing happens. We have to turn it back on and once it comes back on it just shuts down again. This has happened 2 times in the last hour or so. Any help would be great Thank You


Breckwell has had numerous issues with tis blower, I was on my 5th until i got another stove. You may need to order from Breckwell the blower with the "Wheel" on the end. I believe it is the AE-33-A


----------



## MountainSean (Oct 11, 2012)

steelerdog said:


> I have somewhat the same issue as Tavern Toes did when they posted. I have a P22 that is about 7-8 years old. The burn pot fills to over flowing but the stove just smokes and does not ignite. The chamber fills with smoke and it starts getting into the house. I can see the spark telling me it is trying to light but it doesn't. The convection blower seems to work but not to full capacity as it turns very slowly at times. I took it out and cleaned it although I didn't blow it out with compressed air. My gut is telling me I need a new blower but don't want to spend teh money if it is not that. I have been told that maybe their isnt enough airflow to light the stove. Is that possible?


 First thing first. Clean the daylights out of your stove. Take the blowers off clean them, clean the exhaust, take off the cleaning covers in firebox and clean everything in there. Then put it all together again and use the leaf blower trick. Problem will probably be solved. If not check your combustion blower when it is running. Is it going strong, you can feel the air movement coming out of your exhaust pipe on startup before it gets hot. Should be moving about 60ish CFM on start, or you can hook up a volt meter for more accuracy. I don't have my book but off the top of my head it should be getting at least 90 volts on startup for a Breckwell.


----------



## steelerdog (Oct 12, 2012)

MountainSean said:


> First thing first. Clean the daylights out of your stove. Take the blowers off clean them, clean the exhaust, take off the cleaning covers in firebox and clean everything in there. Then put it all together again and use the leaf blower trick. Problem will probably be solved. If not check your combustion blower when it is running. Is it going strong, you can feel the air movement coming out of your exhaust pipe on startup before it gets hot. Should be moving about 60ish CFM on start, or you can hook up a volt meter for more accuracy. I don't have my book but off the top of my head it should be getting at least 90 volts on startup for a Breckwell.


 
Thanks Sean.  I have definitely cleaned the stove very well several times before.  I have been experiencing this issue for a few years now.  When I clean it starts up fine a few times but then goes back to the same old game of not lighting.  If I play with the damper control I can usually get the stove to light but I shouldn't have to watch it and adjust the damper everytime. 

Can the length of the chimmney be contributing to this issue? Mine goes throgh the wall to just outside the house.  I don't have it going up above the roof. Just blowing straight outside the exterior wall.  I have had it like this since new and didnt have a lighting issue back then.


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Oct 12, 2012)

You need to clean the hell out of the stoves exhaust passages and they start above the burn pot.

Have you watched the ignition cycle?  Tell us exactly what takes place and how long it takes. is there a lot of smoke in the firebox, etc ... ?


----------



## steelerdog (Oct 15, 2012)

SmokeyTheBear said:


> You need to clean the hell out of the stoves exhaust passages and they start above the burn pot.
> 
> Have you watched the ignition cycle? Tell us exactly what takes place and how long it takes. is there a lot of smoke in the firebox, etc ... ?


 
I have cleaned the exhaust passages quiet often.  it is hard to get far into the areas behind the 4 little metal doors inside the fire box area. 

Yes I have watched it numerous times.  I have to watch it to make sure it lights. When the pellets fill to about 3/4 to sometimes full, I can see sparks and it starts to smoke. I usually play with the damper control moving it in and out trying to get it to light. The fire box typically fills up with smoke. There are times when I play with damper control I can get it to light without to much smoke.

there are times when it will light without issue and but mostly it does't light.


----------



## allFIREDup (Oct 15, 2012)

steelerdog said:


> I have cleaned the exhaust passages quiet often. it is hard to get far into the areas behind the 4 little metal doors inside the fire box area.
> 
> Yes I have watched it numerous times. I have to watch it to make sure it lights. When the pellets fill to about 3/4 to sometimes full, I can see sparks and it starts to smoke. I usually play with the damper control moving it in and out trying to get it to light. The fire box typically fills up with smoke. There are times when I play with damper control I can get it to light without to much smoke.
> 
> there are times when it will light without issue and but mostly it does't light.


 
your igniter is either dirty or faulty and on its way out.       The igniter is probably not getting hot enough to ignite the pellets and it is causing the pellets to smolder but not fully ignite.


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Oct 15, 2012)

Have you tried the leaf blower trick yet.

Basically if the igniter works ignition is usually fast if there is enough air flow past the igniter and into the burn pot. 

If it is smoldering you don't have enough air usually because something between the air intake and the termination cap has ash in it.  The igniter is to far forward (acts as a air block) or there is ash around the igniter in the sleeve the igniter is inside of. Then there is the ever popular burned out segment that slows down ignition and magnifies ash caused issues.  They frequently develop a burned out segment and then go belly up.


----------



## steelerdog (Oct 16, 2012)

I replaced the ignitor maybe 2-3 years ago and would think it would not be that again. 

Are you saying to actually use aleaf blower on the stove?  I have cleaned it out with a vacuum and broom several times.  it helps for a time but then goes back to doing the same thing. 

So no one thinks it is the blower then?


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Oct 16, 2012)

steelerdog said:


> I replaced the ignitor maybe 2-3 years ago and would think it would not be that again.
> 
> Are you saying to actually use aleaf blower on the stove? I have cleaned it out with a vacuum and broom several times. it helps for a time but then goes back to doing the same thing.
> 
> So no one thinks it is the blower then?


 
It could be but it is more likely to be crud in the works and a good suck job with the leaf blower while applying conventional brush work to various areas such as ash traps and above the burn pot and around any heat exchanger tubing for example frequently results in new stove like performance.


----------



## steelerdog (Oct 27, 2012)

Well I cleaned the hell out of it today with compressed air and an ash vac I plugged it in while it was outside and all the doors etc were off.

I am starting to wonder if it is the control board.  when I turned the power on the exhaust blower motor started to run and I could feel the air coming out.  Instead of the power button blinking like it usually does it stayed on.  the green feed rate light came on when the first pellets dropped AND the convection blower came on as well and ran just about full speed, which does't usually happen until after ingition.  It ignited p ok but when I tried to adjust the feed rate nothing happened,  the lights went through the 1,2,3, and 4 numbers but the fan stayed the same speed the whole time.

I let it burn a few minutes and nothing ever changed.  seems like it was stuck in the igngition cycle as the pellets feed at the same quick rate as when fire up is taking place.

I hit the power button and it shut down and was in what I thought was the cool down cycle but the 2 blowers never shut down.  they ran for an hour or more.  I finally unpliugged it and am going to try it again.

Any thoughts?


----------



## Don2222 (Oct 27, 2012)

Hello

The blowers not shutting down could mean a bad low limit snap disc or the control panel is bad. How old is the stove?


----------



## steelerdog (Oct 27, 2012)

It is about 7 years old.  I have replaced the low limit disc before. 

When I unplugged it and let it sit i fired it back up and all cycles worked properly accept I still have a good amount of smoke in the chamber before it ignites. I still dont nknow what the issue with the litghting is.  The stove is just sitting outside so there should be plenty of draft/air flow.  it puts a good amount of smoke out thr exhaust was well.  the stove didn't have this issue when it was new.  Where should the air flow slide rod be when in ignition cycle?  all the way out, all the way in, or somewhere in between.

Also there is an electrical burning smell that I beleve is coming from teh convection blower.


----------



## Don2222 (Oct 27, 2012)

Hi

The damper slide rod should be in between. Usually a little less than half way out. That electrical smell is a bad sign!

Sounds like the low limit switch went bad again!  That smell means some electrical part is going! Could be the motor windings burning up!


----------



## steelerdog (Oct 27, 2012)

Does the low limit switch cause the ignition issues of smoking before it lights or is that related to the burning smell?  I usually do have the damper rod a little less than half way out.  Stove is working just as it should except for the lighting and smell issues.


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Oct 27, 2012)

steelerdog said:


> Does the low limit switch cause the ignition issues of smoking before it lights or is that related to the burning smell? I usually do have the damper rod a little less than half way out. Stove is working just as it should except for the lighting and smell issues.


 
No.

Look for ash arounfd the igniter or a failing igniter they fail in section and as they fail they are slower roasting the pellets and cause more smoke.  Your combustion fan can also have build up on it (anything in the stove's system from air intake to and including the vent termination can if enough ash is in it slow down the ignition causing plenty of smoke.


----------



## steelerdog (Oct 27, 2012)

As mentioned above I cleaned the hell out of the stove today with compressed air and an ash vac.  I replaced the ignitor about 3 years ago.  How long should they last?  I would think laonger than that.  How do you clean inside the combustion fan?


----------



## SmokeyTheBear (Oct 27, 2012)

steelerdog said:


> As mentioned above I cleaned the hell out of the stove today with compressed air and an ash vac. I replaced the ignitor about 3 years ago. How long should they last? I would think laonger than that. How do you clean inside the combustion fan?


 
I take my combustion fan out every ton or so and you are close to the end of your igniter's life if the stove has been cycled a lot.


----------



## steelerdog (Oct 28, 2012)

Ok thats good to know.  I will check into the ignitor and also the smell from the convection blower.  thanks to everyone for thei help.


----------



## steelerdog (Nov 14, 2012)

Thank so much to all of you who contributed information.  I seem to for now have the ignition issue solved.  I do stil beleive the convection blower needs replacing. it turns extremely slow during the ignition cycle.  Once ignition cycle has ended (red light stops bllinking) I adjust the feed rate and can hear the fam speed some up but it still doesnt sound quite right.  I have also smelled the electrical burning smell.  The stove is going through all of its cycles fine just that the convection fan turns slower. Since the stove is about 7- years old my thought is I need to break down and buy a new one.


----------

