Every couple seasons seems my ignitor in my Napoleon NPS45 pellet stove breaks. No one carries them locally so I must order on-line. They are typically about $25.00 - not to bad but........
This morning a put a new one in to replace the current broken one and it broke too. During startup it was happy for the first five minutes but then when the flame go high it went short circuit and blew the fuse on the controller board. This shut off the combustion fan of course and the house filled with smoke as it leaked out the air intake which is a loose fitting hose.
Thereafter the starter measured open. Hmmmmm...I'm an electrical engineer and know about these things. Filament heaters have a cold resistance that is roughly half the hot resistance. The spec says it is a 275watt ignitor. Ohms law P = Vsquared/ R. If we solve for resistance, R ~ 50 ohms. Currrent = voltage/Resistance = 120v/50 ~ 2.4amps. Makes sense as the fuse is a 5amp rating. However, I think the 275W is a hot rating and really on startup the ignitor measures 25ohms. This means the ignitor draws a surge of current until it gets hot which doesn't take that long. Perhaps this surge is a stress that eventually breaks the filament.
With this in mind I plan to put a Thermistor in series with the ignitor to quell the surge. I hope I get more life out of a starter. I'll let you know in three years if this is effective.
Speaking of starters, do any of you use an alternate method of starting your pellet stove?
I use a torch until I am able to replace the igniter which is quite inconvenient as you must open the stove and hope you are timed correctly with the combustion air.
Perhaps something like a fireplace wax/sawdust starter would be cheaper/easier/more convenient.
This morning a put a new one in to replace the current broken one and it broke too. During startup it was happy for the first five minutes but then when the flame go high it went short circuit and blew the fuse on the controller board. This shut off the combustion fan of course and the house filled with smoke as it leaked out the air intake which is a loose fitting hose.
Thereafter the starter measured open. Hmmmmm...I'm an electrical engineer and know about these things. Filament heaters have a cold resistance that is roughly half the hot resistance. The spec says it is a 275watt ignitor. Ohms law P = Vsquared/ R. If we solve for resistance, R ~ 50 ohms. Currrent = voltage/Resistance = 120v/50 ~ 2.4amps. Makes sense as the fuse is a 5amp rating. However, I think the 275W is a hot rating and really on startup the ignitor measures 25ohms. This means the ignitor draws a surge of current until it gets hot which doesn't take that long. Perhaps this surge is a stress that eventually breaks the filament.
With this in mind I plan to put a Thermistor in series with the ignitor to quell the surge. I hope I get more life out of a starter. I'll let you know in three years if this is effective.
Speaking of starters, do any of you use an alternate method of starting your pellet stove?
I use a torch until I am able to replace the igniter which is quite inconvenient as you must open the stove and hope you are timed correctly with the combustion air.
Perhaps something like a fireplace wax/sawdust starter would be cheaper/easier/more convenient.
