Bosca Soul Won't Ignite

[SmokeyTheBear]

This stove does have clean outs. I cleaned those out too. I'll try the leaf blower trick to see if I can get more ash out.

I had the local "stove experts" here last week to install the igniter and clean the stove. Needless to say he didn't do a great job. And he told my wife "tell your husband he'll never get it to ignite, the Bosca's don't work". Now I'm even more determined to get it working.

Get up and above those clean-outs and around and through the heat exchangers. From those clean-outs towards the center of the stove behind the firebox wall. If that rear firebox wall is steel and not cast iron a few whacks with a hammer on a piece of wood against that wall will loosen up crap stuck behind it.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Sounds like there Is some know defect with that model stove. You should research that stove maybe theres a quick fix

Sounds like the local "expert" wants to sell him a stove.

 

[Screwy]

Have the same stove and will make a recommendation that will sound so stupid......make sure the burn pot is inserted the right way.High side of the pot towards you and pushed all the way towards the igniter.

I was stupid enough to insert it the wrong way which keeps the igniter from doing its job but pellets still drop in fine. Took me a few hours to figure it out.

Oh and I love our 700. Using it with Green Teams has made it even better.

 

[Snowmobileaddict]

The photo of the cartridge heater glowing red hot looks normal. The tip won't run as hot as the rest of it.

I have a Bosca as well. Like the above post indicates, make sure that the burn pot liner is installed correctly into the burn pot.

The photos below depict correct orientation. Also, the tip of the igniter should not be flush with the end of the tube it is installed in. It should be set back inside the tube about 0.125"

 

[Heftiger]

Thanks for the tips! Sorry for the delay, I just got around to working on the stove again.

I did the leaf blower trick, and also hooked it up to the clean out holes behind the brick. I reinserted everything and still didn't get a light.

Those of you with the Bosca's, what does the igniter tube look like in the back? Mine is completely open. Also, the tube has no holes other than the open ends. I'm wondering if I'm missing something.

 

[Heftiger]

 

[Snowmobileaddict]

You do have the igniter centered in the tube and secured with the 2 set screws, right?

Your setup looks fine

It is open in the back just like mine.

Not sure what else it could be.

The board has triacs that apply voltage to the igniter. They can go bad and not apply all 120 volts. Check the leads with a volt meter on startup to see if it's getting 120v

 

[Bioburner]

Smokey is likely the on the right track in that the stove is not getting draft enough to pull air through the igniter tube. Stove is several years old and if the passages are clean the next culprit could be failing gaskets on the doors.

 

[Heftiger]

I finally got it to light! I haven't tried again to check for consistency. My igniter tube has 4 set screws in it. Is that wrong?

 

[Snowmobileaddict]

No
I meant to say 4 setscrews

My mistake

 

[Heftiger]

The celebration was short lived. I haven't been able to get it to light again. I suspect the pot was warm from all of the previous lights and it finally got hot enough. At least I'm making progress... Any other ideas to increase air flow?

 

[Bioburner]

New gaskets?

 

[Heftiger]

Do you know of a good source? Can I buy a kit or do I need to measure each gasket and purchase separately?

 

[Bioburner]

I usually just take a piece of gasket from the project to the store to buy what matches. Have a couple good home and farm stores that stock most gasket sizes around here and more reasonable vs the fireplace stores. Have very good luck with graphite impregnated rope that has made it way to retail market in the last couple years.

 

[Snowmobileaddict]

You have the hopper lid closed during startup right?

Other than that, start checking and replacing gaskets where necessary. Don't forget to make sure the igniter is getting 120v at startup (triac suggestion from earlier post).

 

[Heftiger]

Another question for those of you with Boscas. Does the damper control seal when closed? I peeked at the butterfly valve in the back and it operates, but when closed its not even remotely sealed.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Most dampers do not completely block the air flow.

What the initial setup for that stove is I haven't a clue.

And to go along with Bioburner poor gaskets and seals can absolutely ruin the air flow through the air intake.

I would start with the damper 1 # 2 pencil width open, new gaskets at every spot there are gaskets in the intake air path plus the door and I still would not count out ash in the works from the burn pot out through the vent system. I keep harping on ash in the works simply because I've seen what is inside a pellet stove that is a couple years old and was not properly cleaned.

Back a couple of seasons ago I was contacted via PM by a woman on here that was having absolutely no luck in getting her stove even half way running, she had even had the flue professionally cleaned (whatever that means). The crap in flue was simply pushed into the area where the vent transitioned to vertical just after the combustion blower.

While it is possible that your igniter isn't firing on all sections it looked fine when you posted the picture and as long as you haven't positioned it so it blocks the air flow going into the burn pot the stove should light, while it is possible for a triac to fail the normal presentation would be full on or full off.

 

[Heftiger]

I haven't gotten around to the stove shop yet, but I'm thinking more and more that something isn't sealing. Below is a video of the fire with the damper shut. I think the fire is getting too much air for the damper being closed. You can also see that the glass is getting dirty.

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[Heftiger]

Well, I went ahead and replaced all the rope gaskets. Still haven't been able to get it to light again since the first time. I guess more cleaning will be in order...

 

[Bioburner]

To bad you have no way to check the rpm of the exhaust fan to see if its spooling up to speed.

 

[Heftiger]

The saga continues.

I went to the home improvement store and got an assortment of brushes for cleaning.

I swept the flue, and got about 2 cups worth of soot.

I took the combustion fan off and ran some flexible brushes through the stove.

I took the access plates off from in the firebox and ran some flexible brushes in.

I cleaned the burn tubes, including taking off the plate that was caked with ash.

All of this and during the light cycle I still can't even get the pellets to smoke.

Any other ideas?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I will say this just one more time.

From the pictures you posted above there is still ash in the works.

The air flow enters the burn pot through the hole that the super heated air does that will light the pellets.

In order for there to be an airflow that can light the pellets the internal passages in the stove below, above, and between the heat exchanger tubes all the way on both the left and right sides of the stove, from there down behind the rear wall on both sides of the stove and at the bottom of both sides of the stove and towards the middle of stove then out to the combustion blower cavity must be clean.

Thumping on the rear walls of the firebox after removing any fake bricks, using a hammer striking a block of wood held against the firebox wall until the area behind it is clear of ash. If you have not done this kind of cleaning at a one ton interval on a regular basis you will likely need to repeat the cleaning operation several times as the ash will bond to the metal all along the internal air passages due to moisture condensing during the off season. This ash can become rather hard to remove without elbow grease and a means to poke at it.

 

[Heftiger]

Thanks Smokey

Those photos are before the cleaning. I disassembled as much as I could without having to break any welds. I'm sure the stove was neglected. It's unfortunate that it's so hard to clean in these important air passages.