# Problems with my St. Croix Hastings Pellet Stove



## cbodkin (Nov 7, 2009)

I have a St. Croix Hastings Pellet Stove.  Last year I used some pellets that had too high of an ash count, and the stove got all clogged up.  The glass would get dark black after 1 day of use.  At the end of the season, I had the stove cleaned.  It was vacuumed inside.  I also snaked out the exhaust pipe, which is a tall vertical run that goes about 2 stories.  I also made sure that I got better pellets for this year.

Unfortunately, I'm having the same problem this year.  The glass goes black after one day.  When I try to burn the stove at the higher settings, the burning pellets overflow.  

I've read the posts on this site where people use a leaf blower to clean out the stove.  Not sure that will work for me, as my stove is up against a wall with a long vertical pipe for an exhaust.  

Any suggestions?


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## jxnsdad (Nov 7, 2009)

You need to clean out the ash traps, they are two trap doors, one on each side of the burn put that have metal covers over them.  Take the covers off and push a coat hanger or pipe snake up there and you will get a bunch of ash to fall out.  Another option to the pipe snake is to remove the fake bricks and tap the back of the stove with a hammer lightly and you will see tons of ash fall into those traps.  A friend has a hastings and had the same issue, I have a prescott and do this routine every few weeks.


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## cbodkin (Nov 7, 2009)

thanks.  I'll give that a try.


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## krooser (Nov 7, 2009)

You should use the leaf blower after every ton to keep it clean. 

The hammer/coat hangar/bottle brush will certainly help... I use those, too. But nothing does it better than the leaf blower. It would pay you to disconnect the stove, wheel it outside and suck out all that ash and soot.

I have a St, Croix, too.


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## imacman (Nov 7, 2009)

I agree with the posters above that the stove sounds like it needs to be cleaned completely.  When you said "I had the stove cleaned.  It was vacuumed inside.  I also snaked out the exhaust pipe", were the ash traps opened & cleaned as mentioned above? 

Overflowing pellets in the burn pot again leads me to believe that not enough air is going through the burn pot (dirty stove).

Who did the stove cleaning?


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## colbyc (Nov 7, 2009)

I have taken a dryer lint brush and forced it up the two trap doors.  Its about 2 feet long and flexible.  The bristles seem to do a really good job of getting all the ash down.  I also use it on the door behind that ash pan that is bolted in.  Make sure you remove that to clean in there with that brush as well.


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## Xena (Nov 7, 2009)

In addition to some of the suggestions, you may or may not know
that these stoves will crap up the glass quickly when run on a low
setting for a lengthy period of time.  I also noticed that my glass
would get dirty faster prior to installing an OAK - so if you don't
have one you may want to consider it.  Shlepping my 375 lb stove
outside and/or climbing up onto the roof a few times a year has never been a option
for me and in the five years/12 tons run through this stove I've not
needed to do anything other than the maintenance I do and my st croix
has never skipped a beat.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			






Another fantastic cleaning tip I got from Mike at ESW.    Duct tape a long/narrow
length of garden hose onto the end of your vac hose and stick
that up into the ash traps after tapping the wall behind the burnpot.
The longer/narrower piece of hose will get in there and
suck up stuff that may otherwise be left behind by a bottle brush.

edit:  Oh and I forgot, removing the exhaust blower and cleaning the
fan itself and the channel it sits in will also remove a bunch of crud and
increase the performance of your stove.   Next time I'm due
I will try to remember to take pictures.

Good luck!


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## cbodkin (Nov 7, 2009)

thanks for all of the advice.  I'm going to focus on the ash traps, and see if I can get some friends to help me get the stove outside and try the leaf blower trick.  

If anyone give offer more detailed instructions on cleaning out the exhaust fan, that would be great.


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## Xena (Nov 7, 2009)

The best way to thoroughly clean the exhaust fan (and the room air blower),
is to remove the fan and brush down the blades.  I brush the blades
and blow the fans out with compressed air.   As I said, in the case
of the exhaust fan it's not only the fan you need to concentrate on,
but also the cutout in the bottom of the stove that this fan sits in.
The cutout gets a lot of buildup.  I use a small putty knife to dislodge
the crud then vac it up with my shop vac.   If you are unsure about
the location of the exhaust fan, just follow the exhaust flange from
the back of the stove and open the side door and you will see where
it connects to the exhaust blower.   If you need a manual you can
download that in pdf format from the st croix web site here:
http://www.stcroixheat.com/support_manuals.htm


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## krooser (Nov 7, 2009)

The blower fits here on my Pepin stove...


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## kicm9988 (Nov 8, 2009)

I think it might be short of air intake, have your stove buttfly valve which adjusts the amounts of air, making more air intake from outside.


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## cbodkin (Nov 16, 2009)

so sticking a clothes hanger up the ash traps definitely helped.  I need to by a smaller garden hose so I can clean up there some more.  I'm still getting a dirtly glass, but not as quickly as before.  It's mostly a problem when I burn at a higher setting.  I still want to try the leaf blower trick, but will need to get a few guys to help me get the stove outside.


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## krooser (Nov 16, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> so sticking a clothes hanger up the ash traps definitely helped.  I need to by a smaller garden hose so I can clean up there some more.  I'm still getting a dirtly glass, but not as quickly as before.  It's mostly a problem when I burn at a higher setting.  I still want to try the leaf blower trick, but will need to get a few guys to help me get the stove outside.



Borrow a two wheel hand truck...

The stove is plugged with ash.. you're on your way with cleaning the ash traps. The burn pot overflows because the stove can't get enough air (in or out) to burn a higher volume of pellets.

Good luck... keep us posted.


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## cbodkin (Nov 22, 2009)

working on cleaning my stove again today.  FINALLY got the baffle off.  I'm cleaning out the ash, but this is also black, almost sap like residue up there.  Any suggestions to clean that stuff off?


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## krooser (Nov 22, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> working on cleaning my stove again today.  FINALLY got the baffle off.  I'm cleaning out the ash, but this is also black, almost sap like residue up there.  Any suggestions to clean that stuff off?


Clean off what you can on the heat exchanger tubes above the baffle. If you run your stove on 4 or 5 one hour per week it will minimize those deposits above the baffle.


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## mnkywrnch (Nov 23, 2009)

krooser said:
			
		

> cbodkin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Agreed if your running your stove on low for long periods of time,those deposits (creosote)will accumulate rapidly from the lack of a hot fire,run your stove daily on the higher settings to help control the buildup.Now the residue on there now with the stove cold I would use some oven cleaner on a rag a scrub off as much as you can,once dry run the stove on level 5 for a few hours that should burn off the rest.


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## cbodkin (Nov 23, 2009)

Will do.  Has anyone tried burning little pieces of those creosote removing logs?  Also, getting my baffle on and off is really difficult. Rust seems to be an issue.  Can I use oil or a little WD 40 to lube that up?


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## mnkywrnch (Nov 23, 2009)

Haven't tried the logs,but would be worth a shot.I don't think you would want to use oil or wd 40 I would just take it out and sand the rust off it.Make sure at the end of the season you block off the exhaust and fresh air intake to reduce the rust buildup.You should also be able to use the leafblower without moving your stove outside.


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## cbodkin (Dec 1, 2009)

Quick update.  The stove is running much better, in that the burn pot no longer over-flows with pellets on the higher settings.  The flame also looks good.  However the glass is still getting black on a daily basis.  I still need to remove the base fan and vacuum out any crud in there.  I'm thinking it must be something to do with the exhaust.


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## krooser (Dec 1, 2009)

Your glass will get dirty if you run on the lwo settings... it's much cleaner #2 and above...

Keep working on getting that stove unplugged... there must be a little more ash stuck behind the firebox.


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## woodsman23 (Dec 1, 2009)

Go buy a leaf blower and hook to exhaust and pull all the crap right out of the stove, have someone inside to open and close the door as the leaf blower is pulling and also have them tap on the metal behind the fake brick to loosen all hidden ash. Your glass should neve be black at any speed maybe a darker brown but not black. make sure you have good air flow as per your instruction manual says. The st croix is a great stove and needs only occasional main to keep it running smooth.


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## cbodkin (Dec 1, 2009)

Going to be too hard to get the stove outside.  The exhaust is hooked up to an internal wall that runs up through the ceiling.


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## cbodkin (Dec 10, 2009)

BIG PROBLEMS.  My stove started emitting a high whistle, much louder than usual.  Smoke that smelled like burning plastic was coming out of the pellet hopper.  My wife unplugged the stove, which released more smoke in the house.

This all happened when I was at work.  Coming home tonight, I can's start the stove.  After a few seconds into the startup process, it stops and the #2 LED light is blinking.

I emptied all of the pellets in the hopper to see if something got stuck in the auger feed, but I do not see anything.  

This has been a tough couple of weeks with my beloved pellet stove.


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## Xena (Dec 10, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> BIG PROBLEMS.   *My wife unplugged the stove, which released more smoke in the house.
> *



Did you ever pull the exhaust fan and clean it and the cavity it sits in?
I would do that next and go through all rest of the cleaning info in
this thread again.   

I am surprised that smoke came back into the house since you said you
have a long vertical run of pipe.   Are you sure the vent is not plugged up?  
Sure sounds like something/somewhere along the way is blocked.


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## mnkywrnch (Dec 10, 2009)

I think there is probably a problem with the combustion blower,the #2 light blinking is the stove not sensing vaccum pull blower and see if it needs a cleaning,you should also pull the vaccum hose maybe its plugged,maybe a bad vaccum switch, but you said it was whistling louder which leads me to believe theres a problem with the combustion motor.Whilr the motor is removed this would be a good time to clean the exhaust chamber.When you start the stove now can you hear the combustion motor come on?


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## cbodkin (Dec 10, 2009)

Thanks for the advice.  I vacuumed the external part of the exhaust fan, but I did not remove it from it's cavity yet.  Will definitely do that this weekend. Something must be clogged up with the exhaust.  I'm going to contact the dealership and have them service the stove professionally.  I will definitely have them check the combustion motor also.


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## krooser (Dec 10, 2009)

You MAY be able to drop a little light oil on the motor shaft while it's still in place... wouldn't hurt I guess.


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## Xena (Dec 10, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> I'm going to contact the dealership and have them service the stove professionally.



I'd hold off on paying and first pull BOTH blowers and clean them thoroughly.
Nothing to lose and everything to gain if your problem lies there.  

If you do that and then she still doesn't run, then I'd call
in a tech.


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## cbodkin (Dec 11, 2009)

Going to try clearning the blowers this weekend and see if that works.  If anyone has more specific instructions and/or pictures of how to do this, that would be great.


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## krooser (Dec 11, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> Going to try cleaning the blowers this weekend and see if that works.  If anyone has more specific instructions and/or pictures of how to do this, that would be great.



On my Pepin stove....

The combustion blower is on the left side of the stove (as you are looking at it from the room)... has 6 nuts, two wires and it's out. The room blowers are at the back... my stove has two access panels that are removed from the back of the stove... there are four small sheet metal screws (two on each side) that must be removed to take out the fan/motor assembly.

Blow out BOTH fans (and motors) with compressed air... if you don't have a compressor, you can find one at any auto shop, small engine shop, body shop, etc. Most guys will do it for you or let you use the air.... takes maybe 15 seconds per unit.

When you get the combustion blower out, run a brush in and out of air passages... you'll see what to do... scrape out any carbon/soot build-up, too.

Combustion blower mounting... be careful NOT to damage the gasket...






Here's what the room fan looks like... the holes for the mounting screw are on each end. I think you'll need a 1/4" socket... the little buggers are a little tuff to get to... at least on my stove when it's close to the wall.


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## johnny1720 (Dec 12, 2009)

Just curious if you can adjust the speed feed rate of the stove?

Johnny


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## cbodkin (Dec 13, 2009)

"you should also pull the vaccum hose maybe its plugged."

I cleaned out both motors, which were completely clogged up.  Any idea how to clean the vacuum hose mentioned previously?


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## mnkywrnch (Dec 13, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> "you should also pull the vaccum hose maybe its plugged."
> 
> I cleaned out both motors, which were completely clogged up.  Any idea how to clean the vacuum hose mentioned previously?


On my prescott it's simple on the left side looking at the stove,open the side panel and you will see a clear hose that goes from the fire box to the vaccum switch, just twist the hose left and right to break the seal then pull right off, just blow through it to clean.There was nothing holding it on  my stove so I used a couple wire ties to hold the hose better,glad your making progress.
mnkywrnch


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## cbodkin (Dec 14, 2009)

The good news is that after I cleaned out the two motors, the stove is working again.  Question on the combustion motor.  There is only one air passage, which goes from the motor to the exhaust pipe, right?  

The stove seems to be burning much better now.  Still, the glass is getting residue too quickly.  Not as bad as before, but it still worries me.  I'm also not entirely sure what caused the stove to smoke up last week.  My best guess is that the combustion motor was clogged up, combined with the ash deposited in the elbow of my exhaust pipe, kept the stove from getting air. 

So the remaining places for me to check are the vacuum hose and the exhaust pipe going through the rough.  I have a feeling that there is still a lot of creosote buildup in the pipes.  There certainly is still alot of creosote build up on the heat exchange tubes above the baffle.

Thanks to everyone for your help.  I certainly know a ton more about my pellet stove.


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## Xena (Dec 14, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> .... There certainly is still alot of creosote
> build up on the heat exchange tubes above the baffle.



If this is the case then you must be running the stove on lower settings
most of the time.   Run it on the highest setting once every day for a half hour.
I use a wide painters brush to clean those tubes since the ash on mine
is not heavy and removes easily.   Also, if you have a long vertical run I'd recommend getting
a brush that will span the length since you probably do have a lot of buildup
in the vent.    I found the best price at northline express.


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## mnkywrnch (Dec 14, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> The good news is that after I cleaned out the two motors, the stove is working again.  Question on the combustion motor.  There is only one air passage, which goes from the motor to the exhaust pipe, right?
> 
> The stove seems to be burning much better now.  Still, the glass is getting residue too quickly.  Not as bad as before, but it still worries me.  I'm also not entirely sure what caused the stove to smoke up last week.  My best guess is that the combustion motor was clogged up, combined with the ash deposited in the elbow of my exhaust pipe, kept the stove from getting air.
> 
> ...


If the stove is running now then I would imagine the vaccum hose is fine, you next step is to get that vent cleaned real good.What setting do you normaly run the stove and where is your damper set?I found that if the damper is open to much the glass will darken quicker,also it will darken quicker if you burn on low for extended periods of time,like xena said run that puppy on high for a half hour per day.
mnkywrnch


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## krooser (Dec 14, 2009)

Xena said:
			
		

> cbodkin said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



What Xena said... get it hot on 4 or 5 everyday... burns off the nasty stuff and your stove will be happier. Also make sure the damper isn't open more than 1/4 to maybe 1/2".. if it needs more air your stove is dirty. If you have brown sticky deposits you have the damper open too wide.


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## cbodkin (Dec 17, 2009)

I do run the stove at the 1 setting for extended stretches of time.  To be completely truthful, I only ran the stove at the 1 setting for 3 years. For the 1st 2 years, my glass would not get black quickly.  Last year is when it started getting back quickly.  NOW I use the higher settings, trying to burn it at #5 for 30 mins a day.  

When I burn the stove at #5, it actually makes the glass cleaner.  As soon as I go down to a lower setting, the glass gets dirty.  I have been adjusting the exhaust valve.  When I make it more closed, the glass gets black soot.  When I open it more, the glass gets a brown glaze. 

Now that I have cleaned the combustion and exhaust motors, as well as the ash traps, I'm going to focus on the exhaust pipe and the exhaust tubes above the baffle.  

Comcerning the combustion motor cavity, I have a question.  There is only 1 opening that goes to the the exhaust pipe, right?  There is not an opening that goes into the stove.


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## mnkywrnch (Dec 17, 2009)

http://www.eventempinc.com/stcroix/downloads/dig2/Digital_Control_Board_Service_Manual.pdf
cbodkin take a look at this trouble shooting manual page 50 gives a break down of the exhaust path,plus tons of other great info.


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## krooser (Dec 17, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> I do run the stove at the 1 setting for extended stretches of time.  To be completely truthful, I only ran the stove at the 1 setting for 3 years. For the 1st 2 years, my glass would not get black quickly.  Last year is when it started getting back quickly.  NOW I use the higher settings, trying to burn it at #5 for 30 mins a day.
> 
> When I burn the stove at #5, it actually makes the glass cleaner.  As soon as I go down to a lower setting, the glass gets dirty.  I have been adjusting the exhaust valve.  When I make it more closed, the glass gets black soot.  When I open it more, the glass gets a brown glaze.
> 
> ...



By exhaust valve are you saying your vent has a damper on it? Pellet stove should not have an exhaust damper... adjust the air damper so it's open about the width of a pencil... if you need to open it more than that the stove is dirty. Open it too much and you get that sticky brown residue on the glass.


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## cbodkin (Dec 18, 2009)

Thanks for the advice on the air inlet damper.  Perhaps I have it open too much.  I'll use the pencil width as a guide.  Considering I have a very tall vertical exhaust, does that factor into where I should set the air inlet damper?  Tall vertical run = more open or more closed?


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## maglite67 (Dec 18, 2009)

on a st croix if when installed it ran ok and now you have creosote (damper was set and never moved) you have a gasket leak above the burn pot.  you are getting to much seconday combustion and cooling the gases and forming creosote.  take a look at the window gasket and door gasket.  see if the window is loose.  to check door gasket take a dollar bill close it in the door if there is no resistants it needs replacement.


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## krooser (Dec 18, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> Thanks for the advice on the air inlet damper.  Perhaps I have it open too much.  I'll use the pencil width as a guide.  Considering I have a very tall vertical exhaust, does that factor into where I should set the air inlet damper?  Tall vertical run = more open or more closed?



I think as long as your vent is installed without too many 90's, etc. it shouldn't make much difference. I talked to my service tech and he sez if the vent is right that's all the air the stove should need.

Keep us posted on how it's doing.


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## cbodkin (Dec 18, 2009)

Read the trouble shooting doc last night.  Very useful.  In particular, this quote stood out about the combustion fan.  

"Air is drawn into the stove in 2 locations. The first is Combustion air, which travels through the Air Inlet tube into the Burn Pot area; this is where oxygen and wood pellets get mixed with heat to produce the combusted by-product, which gets sent out the exhaust port. The second location is the Air Wash System; this is where air gets forced down the inner surface of the ceramic glass to provide a clean glass surface for viewing the flame."

When my glass gets black, the ash forms an oval on the window, almost as if the ash is getting blown onto the glass.  I wonder if the problem is with the air wash system, and how I would go about fixing it.


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## mnkywrnch (Dec 18, 2009)

cbodkin said:
			
		

> Read the trouble shooting doc last night.  Very useful.  In particular, this quote stood out about the combustion fan.
> 
> "Air is drawn into the stove in 2 locations. The first is Combustion air, which travels through the Air Inlet tube into the Burn Pot area; this is where oxygen and wood pellets get mixed with heat to produce the combusted by-product, which gets sent out the exhaust port. The second location is the Air Wash System; this is where air gets forced down the inner surface of the ceramic glass to provide a clean glass surface for viewing the flame."
> 
> When my glass gets black, the ash forms an oval on the window, almost as if the ash is getting blown onto the glass.  I wonder if the problem is with the air wash system, and how I would go about fixing it.


Find the part of your glass that doesn't have a gasket installed that will be your air wash,just unfold a paper clip and run it through the opening it's probably caked with ash.
mnkywrnch


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## cbodkin (Dec 21, 2009)

Good news.  The stove is doing much better.  While the glass is still getting dirty, at least it takes 2 days instead of one.

"Find the part of your glass that doesn't have a gasket installed that will be your air wash"

Having problems figuring out where the air wash is.  My glass has a rope gasket arond the entire interior.


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## mnkywrnch (Dec 21, 2009)

Yeah I went home and looked at mine and the gasket goes all the way around as well,maybe our make doesn't have the airwash.Glad everything is starting to work out for you.


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## FireBurn (Dec 30, 2009)

I had a problem with my Hastings about a week ago & thankfully I found this site & this thread!
I did the thorough clean (the pictures helped ALOT) & now it works perfectly!

I am however completely annoyed at my local pellet stove retailer who "cleaned" the stove for $250, they NEVER: removed the shipping screws or grates, cleaned the little ash traps, combustion fan, room fan, heating pipes.....I know because I watched them, they did what I had already been doing (because I didn't know any better)--they vaccuumed the hopper area, brushed out the outside piping, released some of the ash from the exterior pipe, and cleaned the ash tray/box....that's it for $250 
I can't wait for them to call again about it's yearly cleaning again...I'm going to give them a piece of my mind!!


One more thing, the gasket around the combustion fan was mostly melted...what to do about that? The stove was really really plugged up with ash in that area, I doubt if the fan was able to move at all in the end when we had probs...


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## nchurch (Feb 1, 2010)

I've been having similar problems with my St. Croix Prescott. I've scrubbed and vac'd out the combustion fan blades, scrubbed and vac'd out the chamber below it....used a dryer vent brush to get up inside the two ash baffles. However I am still getting a triangle of brownish ash on the the left and right side of the glass in just a matter of hours after starting the stove up. The vent pipe is brand new as of 2 weeks ago, so I don't think that is the problem. Plus the ash has been building up on the glass all year.

What spaces am I missing during my cleanout? Is it any air intake issue? Any input or advice is much appreciated.


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