Cleaning a Lopi Yankee

[Rocket]

Now that I am burning my pellett stove on high throughout most of the day, it seems I have to clean it every evening. The ashes bulid up and then the pelletts do not burn fast enough and the burn pot fills too quickly. Is this notmal or is there something I should be doing differently?

 

[Shane]

Is it an insert or FS? How old? What type of pellets are you burning? How many tons/bags have you burned since the stove & chimney was last cleaned (fan pulled etc.)? Check your air control setting & your door gasket. Post your Ser# too and we can check & see if you need an airwash upgrade kit.

 

[Rocket]

It is FS! It was purchased new in September. I have burned 3 tons of Pelletts through it! I am burning Americn Fiber Pelletts. I havent ever cleaned the chimney, it really isnt a chimney, it just sticks through the wall to the outdoors. I havent ever pulled the fan, dont know how if I had to. I am work, I will have to get you the serial number tomorrow. I hope I answered the questions that you are looking for!

 

[Shane]

Purchased new in Sept. it is highly unlikely that you need the airwash kit. Sounds like you need to clean the stove or have it cleaned. The procedure is outlined in the manual. If you don't feel comfortable doing yourself then call your dealer or a reputable chimney sweep to come & do it. They recommend cleaning every 2 tons. The actual frequency for cleaning varies from install to install but your symptoms point to a dirty stove.

 

[Rocket]

Thanks! I will look at the cleaning instructions tonight! I have cleeaned it before, I Open the door and suck all the ash out of the stove. There are to little trap doors on each side of the stove. I remove those doors and vacuum the air ports. I then reomove the brick(Fake) firewall and vacuum behind there. On the top of the stove i reomve the two plates of steel that cover the heating tubes and vacuum around the tubes. After removing the firwall(Brick) there are two holes about half way up the stove on each side, I vacuum in there. Then I wash all the pieces. Is there more that needs to be cleaned?

 

[Shane]

The channel behind the back firewall (the channel that the little doors lead to). Clean the transition duct bewteen that channel and the combustion fan. Pull the combustion fan & clean the fan blades & housing & clean the chimney. You'll need a ratchet w/ a 7/16" socket and an 11/32 socket, pellet brush & some misc. stove cleaning brushes I like my noodle brush, you might also want to get an exhaust blower gasket. They're made of lytherm & tend to tear apart when you separate the blower from the housing. Should be 15-20 at your dealer.

 

[Rocket]

I did the cleaning of my stove! It seems to be working better than it ever has(Knock on wood). When I pulled the blower motor outthe gasket did tear. I put it back the best I could and it seemed to seal. How can I check to see it if it is sealing the way it is supposed to? Thanks for the heads up on the cleaning issue, it has seemed to make a world of a difference

 

[Shane]

Usually if the exhaust blower gasket is leaking you'll smell smoke on startup. Otherwise check in a week or so and see if there is ash building up around the blower housing, if so your gasket is likely leaking. I'm glad to hear your stove is running well again. I'm going to clean mine this weekend.