# Breckwell Big E pellet stove problem



## saf41679 (Mar 10, 2012)

I have a Breckwell BIG E and approximately 2 months ago I had to replace the combustion blower.  The stove worked fine after that for about a month and then the convection blower went bad.  I replaced that too and ever since that the stove does not always work properly.  After about ten minutes of running I hear a click and then the auger stops feeding pellets and the stove shuts down.  This does not happen every single time and if I press and hold the power button it turns the stove back on and then works fine.  When the stove shuts down the number 3 light flashes on the stove.  I'm thinking this is the high temp switch tripping but Im not sure if it has something to do with the convection fan or if the switch is bad.  It does not happen every time and if i turn stove back on it usually then works with no problems. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## Tony K (Mar 10, 2012)

The manual gives possibilites for your problem. I had the same problem a few years back and it was the pof switch located on the combustion motor housing. Next time is shuts down try wiggling this switch and see if your motors start up, it did for me. Also the users manual tells you how to temporarily bypass the pof switch. Jay I'm sure will pipe in as if anyone knows he will. It could be a number of things you just have to start process of elimination.


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## kinsmanstoves (Mar 10, 2012)

Is the circulation blower coming on?  If not it could be overheating and shutting down.  Check the wiring.

Eric


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## saf41679 (Mar 10, 2012)

I believe it is shutting down before the convection fan comes on but I will have to check on that the next time it fires up. The convection fan does work though because once I restart the stove it works normally.


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## saf41679 (Mar 11, 2012)

The stove is on a thermostat and just fired up a little while ago. It took approx ten mins for the fire to start. The whole time the combustion blower was on and the auger was feeding pellets. After the fire started approx two minutes later the convection fan came on and at the same time the auger stopped feeding and the stove began to shutdown. Both fans continued to run and I then turned the stove back on. It is now working fine with pellets feeding regularly. I feel this problem has something to do with the high temperature thermodisc. Should I disconnect and see if stove works fine with it disconnected. If so I can replace it, I just don't want to replace it if it's something to do with the control board or convection fan. This only started after I replaced the convection fan. Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.


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## jtakeman (Mar 11, 2012)

The 3rd light flashing can be as simple as the damper being open to far. But the most likely is usually the POF switch! After a certain period(10 minutes) the controller needs to see the POF switch close. If it isn't seen the stove will go into shutdown. It will then flash the #3 LED as a warning. 

I would start with closing the damper a wee bit. Because you say it fires of the second time without a hitch leads to the stove not getting hot enough first time around. Specially if you just change to a new pellet. 

Another is a bit of ash build up in the exhaust housing where the POF is located. You could try cleaning this area of ash as it will insulate the POF switch from the heat. 

If it still does it? You can temporarily bypass the POF to see if it stays running. Make a small jumper wire with the proper quick terminals to connect the 2 wires from the POF together. I wouldn't run the stove more than to just diagnose the switch. If the fire went out it would just keep putting pellets into the burnpot. Best to change the switch to fix it right.


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