Avalon Astoria Owners

[slickplant35]

So you emptied your auger and turned the stove on???? What mode was your stove in. I am definately not a fan of a pellet stove after this I have to tell you that.

 

[imacman]

So you emptied your auger and turned the stove on???? What mode was your stove in. I am definately not a fan of a pellet stove after this I have to tell you that.

No, I used a jumper wire to make just the auger motor run....I did not turn the stove on.

My Astoria is a 2005 model, and I don't have the manual auger button like on the new ones. I didn't want to actually start the stove, as my vent pipe isn't finished yet. I was just trying to see how long YOU would have had to hold the manual auger button in to fill it w/ pellets....I did the same thing, only kinda w/ a shortcut.

BTW, where do you live? What dealer installed your stove?

And once you get the auger and venting fixed, I think you'll like it. it's like anything else, it takes some time to figure things out....remember the first time you used a VCR, or a Microwave, etc. They all have their quirks.

 

[slickplant35]

I hope I like it, at this moment I am sorry I spent the money.

 

[DiggerJim]

I hope I like it, at this moment I am sorry I spent the money.

Since it was working and now it's not and the last thing you (or your husband anyway) touched was the outside air kit - maybe there's an issue there. If you used the Travis OAK then there should be a damper in the OAK piping into the thimble. This has to be open for the stove to work. Check to see if there's a rod on top of the pipe going into the outside air intake - the little piping with the clamps on the bottom of the stove. (See page 11 of your manual for a picture.) The rod has to be in line with the pipe to open the damper.

You may also have a plugged auger feed tube. Push the Auto/Off/Manual slide switch down to Manual (on the control box). Push the Manual Start button. It should start within 10 minutes - it may take 5 minutes for pellets to start dropping and 10 minutes for the fire to start. If it doesn't start within 1/2 an hour it shuts itself down. You should see the Auger light turn on if the auger is working.

If the auger has been turning (the auger light is on) and 10 minutes goes by without pellets dropping, you may have a clogged auger drop tube. (See page 29 of your manual for details.) The drop tube is where the pellets come out. There's a flapper door inside there (prevents burnback into the hopper). There should be a screw on top of the auger drop tube. Unscrew this and reach in to pull out the flapper door. Then reach in with your screw driver and poke around in there - make sure you get the top and both sides. Pellets should come out - if they do, you're clearing the clog. Once you've gotten the pellets out, put the flapper door back in the drop tube. Make sure it can swing freely and screw it back into place in the auger drop tube.

Close the door. Hit the manual start again and cross your fingers.

 

[slickplant35]

I will let the guy I purchased it from come and look, I am not taking anything apart then he will say I broke it.

 

[imacman]

If the auger has been turning (the auger light is on) and 10 minutes goes by without pellets dropping, you may have a clogged auger drop tube. (See page 29 of your manual for details.) The drop tube is where the pellets come out. There's a flapper door inside there (prevents burnback into the hopper). There should be a screw on top of the auger drop tube. Unscrew this and reach in to pull out the flapper door. Then reach in with your screw driver and poke around in there - make sure you get the top and both sides. Pellets should come out - if they do, you're clearing the clog. Once you've gotten the pellets out, put the flapper door back in the drop tube. Make sure it can swing freely and screw it back into place in the auger drop tube.

Digger,

Unless they added a flapper like you mentioned on the new models, there isn't any flapper on my 2005 model Astoria, and the only thing on P. 29 of the 2007 manual is how to remove the top baffles. It is possible they may have a clogged drop tube, but i doubt it....that tube is pretty big inside (2" x 2" approx.).

I'm betting that either the motor is burned out (probably not), something (a loose screw) fell into the hopper and jammed the auger, or the collar that attaches the auger to the motor is loose, allowing the motor to turn, but not the auger.

 

[DiggerJim]

Unless they added a flapper like you mentioned on the new models, there isn't any flapper on my 2005 model Astoria, and the only thing on P. 29 of the 2007 manual is how to remove the top baffles. It is possible they may have a clogged drop tube, but i doubt it....that tube is pretty big inside (2" x 2" approx.).

Here's the new manual ((broken link removed)). I expect the clogging is a byproduct of the new flapper door -- prevents burnback but causes its own problems in return. In engineering everything is a trade-off. I'm betting it's the OAK damper door (since that's the last thing they touched) but the plugged flapper is the next best bet...and then the auger issues you raised. But, I was always taught that when a working system stops, it's time to see where the humans last touched it. They're notorious for disrupting perfectly good working systems

 

[imacman]

Digger, based on that change to the drop tube, you may be right.....that flapper may be jammed w/ pellets. My '05 doesn't have it, and the '07 manual doesn't show it either, so it must be a change for '08.

I wonder if they had a lot of problems w/ fires going back up into the drop tube? I may inquire abut getting one of those flapper doors and retrofit it to my stove....doesn't look very difficult. Guess I have to make another call to the Tech Help 800 number tomorrow.

Thanks Digger.