# Problems with King 5500m



## elyk1 (Mar 10, 2012)

I bought a "new" 2006 King 5500m pellet stove 3 months ago. 

This is the older model stove, that only has the LCD display of "Heat Range", "Blower Speed", and 3 buttons labeled "A, B and C". I have yet to figure out what these a/b/c buttons do, at first sight they seem to just set the heat range and blower speed at other settings.

My problem is that the stove continues to overfeed pellets at low heat range settings. The stove works fine when its in high gear, but I get very incomplete burns on settings 1-7. I have changed all the door gaskets already, the box is as air tight as possible, other than the door vent, but I continue to get these incomplete burns that eventually cause pellets to overflow out of the box. 

Is there a way to adjust auger speed and fan speed on this model?

Could this problem be related to anything else? 

Thanks


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## SmokeyTheBear (Mar 11, 2012)

elyk1 said:
			
		

> I bought a "new" 2006 King 5500m pellet stove 3 months ago.
> 
> This is the older model stove, that only has the LCD display of "Heat Range", "Blower Speed", and 3 buttons labeled "A, B and C". I have yet to figure out what these a/b/c buttons do, at first sight they seem to just set the heat range and blower speed at other settings.
> 
> ...



Your problem is an air flow issue,  increase your combustion air or decrease your fuel feed, talk to USSC.

Ash in the system can also cause this problems as can incorrect venting, and ......


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## imacman (Mar 11, 2012)

elyk1 said:
			
		

> I bought a "new" 2006 King 5500m pellet stove 3 months ago....... I get very incomplete burns on settings 1-7.......eventually cause pellets to overflow out of the box. ......



Does this mean it's a used stove that is "new" to you, or a leftover dealer/display model?   If used, did you take the stove apart and completely clean it it before installation?

Pellets building-up in the burn pot usually mean a dirty stove, or a weak combustion blower, or both.

Also, can you describe your exhaust pipe layout (angles of elebows, lengths of pipe, etc, etc).


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## elyk1 (Mar 11, 2012)

it was a new stove, just had been sitting in the store for awhile


My stove exhausts through an existing 6" clay lined chimney flue, 16', which is completely clean and has very good draft

The pipe going from the stove to the flue consists of a T then 18 inches of vertical pipe then 12 inches of horizontal pipe to reach the flue.


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## elyk1 (Mar 11, 2012)

SmokeyTheBear said:
			
		

> elyk1 said:
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yes, i agree about the air flow issue. It seems the combustion fan crawls nearly to a stop when set on low heat ranges, I am just having a hard time figuring out how to configure these settings. I will call USSC on Monday, however if someone knows how to do this, please let me know.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Mar 11, 2012)

elyk1 said:
			
		

> SmokeyTheBear said:
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Does your manual talk about automatic and manual mode?   ISTR there has been more than one controller for that stove?


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## DexterDay (Mar 11, 2012)

If it has Automatic and Manual. 

Running in Auto, the Combustion (exhaust) blower will step-up with each heat level.

Running in Manual, the Combustion (exhaust) blower will run at Full speed and you adjust the damper manually.

If it has the option...


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## elyk1 (Mar 11, 2012)

The manual is really poor. It says the A B C buttons are disabled from the factory and used for diagnostic purposes. 

I do know this is the previous version of the controller, without the ability to press the ON+AUTO, or some combination, and get to a auger feed setting etc.

Mine has 5 buttons, Heat Range, Blower Speed and A, B, C


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## SmokeyTheBear (Mar 11, 2012)

DexterDay said:
			
		

> If it has Automatic and Manual.
> 
> Running in Auto, the Combustion (exhaust) blower will step-up with each heat level.
> 
> ...



It also allows you to override the draft (exhaust) blower as well but I don't think he has that controller and I can't find anything on the one he has.


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## elyk1 (Mar 11, 2012)

DexterDay said:
			
		

> If it has Automatic and Manual.
> 
> Running in Auto, the Combustion (exhaust) blower will step-up with each heat level.
> 
> ...



The manual does not touch on the subject of Automatic and Manual mode. Their manual leaves much to be desired


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## Brewer (Mar 11, 2012)

Try this link.   http://forum.iburncorn.com/viewtopic.php?t=859
I believe the "a" button is the feed rate.
The " b" button is draft ( combustion) fan and  the " c" button is the auger delay.
My 6039 is  a 2006 model and has the abc board, though there seems to be several versions of it.
There is evidently an upgrade chip or something also. Here is a link to some info on that.
http://forum.iburncorn.com/viewtopic.php?t=12218&highlight=control+panel
Best bet may be to call tech support but if you feel like messin w/it that's a start.


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## DexterDay (Mar 11, 2012)

Smokey has read on US Stoves pretty hard. When many US owners have failed. Smokey has pulled through and helped many owners...... 

I have read a couple of there manuals, but am no expert. If it's an older controller, then I hope.Smokey or someone else can help out. 

Some US Stoves can adjust the overall feedrate. But you may need to call US Stoves.


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## elyk1 (Mar 11, 2012)

yeah, I will call them on Monday, I was just hoping to be able to use my weekend to get me some real intel as to what is going on.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Mar 11, 2012)

Dexter I have nothing on that controller and that is why I suggested calling USSC.

I'm aware of many things that mess up the burns in that stove, including too big an air wash gap, doors warping and not sealing when the stove is running, various holes in the firebox area that should have screws or bolts in them, poor gaskets, etc ...


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## elyk1 (Mar 11, 2012)

Brewer said:
			
		

> Try this link.   http://forum.iburncorn.com/viewtopic.php?t=859
> I believe the "a" button is the feed rate.
> The " b" button is draft ( combustion) fan and  the " c" button is the auger delay.
> My 6039 is  a 2006 model and has the abc board, though there seems to be several versions of it.
> ...



this is what i needed

thank you very much

why couldn't this information be included in my manual...or on their website...


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## Brewer (Mar 11, 2012)

Good question.......
Notorious for the lack of info in manuals.
Once I got my stoves figured out and dialed in.....all trial and error.
And some slight mods, thanks to mr. smokey the bear.....i like them a lot.
Pretty simple and straight forward to work on.
Can't speak to the 5500 though.
Let us know how it goes.
Oh yea....you're welcome


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## Brewer (Mar 11, 2012)

In the spirit of keeping it simple.......what pellets are you using and do you have an OAK installed?


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## elyk1 (Mar 11, 2012)

Brewer said:
			
		

> In the spirit of keeping it simple.......what pellets are you using and do you have an OAK installed?



I am using Hamer pellets, and no OAK 

the room the stove is installed in is 800sq ft and there is an air return 10 ft away


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## Brewer (Mar 11, 2012)

Never burned the hamers, but I believe they are one of the most popular on this forum. So that should be o.k.
Oak shouldn't be a problem either, but having ran both my stoves for a few weeks before adding OAK I recommend using  OAK, big difference.
There are plenty of previous threads on pros and cons...........cons not so much.
Let me know if the info in the links previously provided is any help.......it too can be vague and confusing, at least it was to me. Lol


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## SmokeyTheBear (Mar 11, 2012)

elyk1 said:
			
		

> Brewer said:
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Thank you for that information Brewer.

The most likely reason that information isn't in the manual is because like the lower three settings on anther stove the manufacturer wants you to call them with the issue you are having.

It is also likely to cause problems if they are changed when they don't need to be.   

But in general I agree with you.


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## mikkeeh (Mar 11, 2012)

Try installing the OAK.  I think you'll find it makes a huge difference on this stove.
I may be wrong, but I thought I remember reading somewhere that USSC completely disabled the "manual" feature in the circuit board....so although the controls are all there...they dont really do anything.  Kepp us informed.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Mar 11, 2012)

mikkeeh said:
			
		

> Try installing the OAK.  I think you'll find it makes a huge difference on this stove.
> I may be wrong, but I thought I remember reading somewhere that USSC completely disabled the "manual" feature in the circuit board....so although the controls are all there...they dont really do anything.  Kepp us informed.




The auto/manual feature is on the current controller setup as far as the manual that I have a copy of goes.  I don't know about the 2006 version of the ABC controller.

I'll agree with the OAK statement that in principle it will get better air, but that may not be the problem here.


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## elyk1 (Mar 11, 2012)

The wall the stove is installed on is concrete block with red brick on the outside and red brick on the inside. 15" of masonry to go through. When I exhaust all options on setting the feed/speed/air I may consider installing an OAK, but if the stove is going to be that temperamental I may be better off purchasing a different stove altogether. Hopefully the people at USSC can help me on Monday. I currently am experiencing a different issue now...the "A" light keeps blinking, as if there were no vacuum and thus a leak on the door or on the exhaust motor...


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## Brewer (Mar 12, 2012)

For what its worth.

As per 2006 manual for the 6039 and 6039t w/ abc control board:
Page 13:  Air/ Fuel control adjustment

Your air fuel is adjusted by the digital control board automatically and is preset at the factory for burning corn. As with burning solid fuel material, differences in combustion properties and moisture can and will effect it's burning. While there are nine " heat settings", you may find some settings burn your fuel better than others. This will only be determined by actual use of all settings. NOTE: the air fuel is adjustable by using the A,B,C buttons on the control board. Refer to the  Circuit Board Functions Section under Adjusting Air/Fuel Mixture on page 16 of this manual.

Fast forward to page 16.

Adjusting the Air/Fuel Mixture

The two adjustments necessary for proper air fuel mixture are the combustion air/blower setting and the auger run time setting. These two adjustments are the basis for allowing this model the ability to burn many types of fuel in many different installations.

The auger run time adjustment is made by pressing the "A" button and adjusting the nine variables up or down as necessary. This allows the user ultimate control of fuel delivered. Increasing the number displayed, feeds more fuel and lowering the number decreases the fuel. When adjustments are needed for the Combustion air/ blower, press "B" and adjust up or down as required. The adjustments made here are saved automatically and applied to all nine heat ranges. Even though al nine heat ranges are affected, the lower ranges are adjusted the most. These adjustments allow " tweaking" your unit for maximum efficiency.
NOTE: on some models the "A" and "B" buttons are deactivated from the factory.

iF ACTIVATION OF  " A"  and  "B"  IS NECESSARY
Step 1 turn unit "ON".
Step 2 Press and hold the Blower  "up" and the  Heat Range "down" arrow at the same time for 5 seconds. In most cases, you will see the numbers displayed in the heat range window and blower window blink. Then release the buttons and press "A" or "B" buttons to check activation. When activated, pressing either button will display a light above that letter and display a single digit in the blower speed window. The heat range window will be blank. If not activated, repeat step one.


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## Brewer (Mar 12, 2012)

Owner's manual addendum

Adjusting the Air/Fuel Mixture

Your stove comes from the factory in the Automatic mode. Features have been added to your stove's circuit board for more adjustability due to different types of fuel and fuel quality. You can change your stove's operation from automatic to manual.
When in automatic mode(default), the exhaust blower's speed will automatically adjust according to what " heat range" the circuit board is set to; lower the setting, slower the blower speed. In the automatic mode, pull the damper slide out about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. You may find that this allows too much air for your fuel. The damper can be used when the stove is in the automatic mode to fine tune your air/fuel mixture. In manual mode, the blower runs at full speed on all settings 1 thru 9. You use the manual damper located in the center of the stove under the hearth plate to slow or speed the air/draft flowing thru the firepot for all heat settings. To set your board to manual, simply press the "B" button and move the "blower speed" to 9. Then you can set the "Heat Range" and damper to your desired setting. Follow the guidelines below for proper draft/damper settings for optimum performance.

Hope this info may be of help to someone.... 

Elyk1, please keep us posted on any info from tech support.


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