Another new pellet stove owner seeking experienced input

[chrome93]

Hi,
I'm relatively new to this forum and this is my first post so here goes.

hh: I have a Lopi Pioneer pellet stove (2001). Has run fantastic up until now, no problems. Two weeks ago fuses started to blow due to grounded/singed wires. Had service come out to fix while my wife was home. ( Now i know it was a relatively minor issue but this being the first problem I wasn't sure how big the problem was, hence, the service call.) During the course of this call my wife was told by the repair tech that the convection fan was going. This I knew anyway because it's been ticking since the winter began, ( a soft ticking) Well, he replaced the wires and fuses and turned it on manual and started it up. Now when I got home the fan was at full blast and the fan speed knob was unresponsive to turn it down.Realizing this was not good. I shut it off, let it cool down, and started it in auto.(which is how it is usually set) After starting it via the thermostat it still stayed on full blast and couldn't be turned down. So I called in another service call.
Now my question is, did these blown fuses push my fan over the edge and that's what I need to replace or does it sound like a control panel problem. All other switches and lights are normal and responsive. The fan will simply not slow down anymore. I apologize if this seems like a simple question but I'm not sure if I can fix it myself and I don't want to pay to have the wrong thing replaced.
Any, and I mean any input would be appreciated.

Thanks for Listening!

 

[hearthtools]

The only thing that control the blower speed is the control board
Unless he connected the wrong wires.

 

[Mr Whitfield]

I know on the Whitfield stove if the thermostat wire are disconnected the fan will run in medium
speed, and the control board speed can not be adjusted. This is on a Whitfield.

 

[chrome93]

Thanks for the quick replies!

I just started it up again and I'm pretty sure it's the fan. It's ticking horribly and sounds like it's about to quit. (much worse than it did a few days ago when it was worked on.) All other things on the control panel seem to be working fine. I guess I wanted to know if the fan speed knob could be affected by the fan itself and not neccesarliy indicate a problem with the control panel.

What do you think... should I try to replace it (the blower) myself with or wait for the service call.

 

[hearthtools]

You have the older control board
the new board is push button
But
If I understand your first post your room air blower is on high all the time no matter what you set the ROOM air fan setting.

The blower has nothing to say how fast it is going to run it only goes by the voltage given to it.
Examples only not exact voltage
if the control board gives it 60volts it is going to run about half speed. If the control board gives the blower 110-120 volts the blower is going to run at full speed.

As far as th noise
It could be a pellet or a wire touching the blade of the fan
best to pull it out and clean it.

 

[hearthtools]

we have a guide on our parts page you can down load
that shows how to pull the blower and trouble shoot.

Listed at the bottom of the parts page. You want the one for 1999 and newer.
http://www.hearthtools.com/parts/900_ps_1990_97.htm

 

[chrome93]

Thanks for the great feedback and the troubleshooting guide. I replaced the convection fan today and started it up. Everything works great except that the fan does not seem to change speeds when I turn the dial. It has a low hum and there is air coming form the exchange tubes but it just doesn't seem to change it's speed up or down. I am a total loss for explanation.
I figuring it must be the control panel but everything else works fine off it. (Auto/off/Man switch heat output dial still indicates change with the green to red LEDs) The fan dial just doesn't do anything. Will I hear a significant change in the fan noise in a brand new fan? Could that one aspect of the control panel be the only thing affected while the rest of it works?

 

[hearthtools]

Thanks for the great feedback and the troubleshooting guide. I replaced the convection fan today and started it up. Everything works great except that the fan does not seem to change speeds when I turn the dial. It has a low hum and there is air coming form the exchange tubes but it just doesn't seem to change it's speed up or down. I am a total loss for explanation.
I figuring it must be the control panel but everything else works fine off it. (Auto/off/Man switch heat output dial still indicates change with the green to red LEDs) The fan dial just doesn't do anything. Will I hear a significant change in the fan noise in a brand new fan? Could that one aspect of the control panel be the only thing affected while the rest of it works?

the only way to tell is to check voltage on low and high
Also is the KNOB set screw tight on the shaft. maybe you are just turning the knob.

 

[chrome93]

Thanks Rod, I'm going to check the voltage tomorrow. If it's not right, I need a whole new control panel I assume.

 

[chrome93]

Just another sidebar folks. I am getting a new board on Wednesday, but I have it running right now. The techs I talked to said it should be O.K. It seems to work well enough even though it appears to be at full blast (or almost). All I hear is a the humming of the fan. But it's burning really hot, the flame is strong but pretty big. It's also creating a decent amount of black soot but I checked all the parts of the stove where it (the troublshooting manual) says to clean and check. Could a stove running so hot produce black soot without an air problem?

 

[hearthtools]

Just another sidebar folks. I am getting a new board on Wednesday, but I have it running right now. The techs I talked to said it should be O.K. It seems to work well enough even though it appears to be at full blast (or almost). All I hear is a the humming of the fan. But it's burning really hot, the flame is strong but pretty big. It's also creating a decent amount of black soot but I checked all the parts of the stove where it (the troublshooting manual) says to clean and check. Could a stove running so hot produce black soot without an air problem?

BLACK soot = not enough air.
If the stove and venting have been cleaned.
could be an air adjustment need more air.
or a door or ash pan leak