Earth Stove MP35/50 Burning issue.
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Dave (or anyone else),
After running on High this year I had to clean the ash pot after 1 bag only. The thing was about 75% unburned and smoldering pellets and 25% ash. If I keep the stove on medium or low I don't have the same problem. Could this be not enough air, pellets feeding too fast or both? I am thinking of reducing the cup size like yous aid but I hate to lose the heat output of the medium and low settings if I do that. I was thinking of REMOVING the sliding metal thing in front of the draft fan to allow it full air input into the system.
What do you think?
BTW, we have been running Lignetics again this season and have already burned through over a ton since Sept. Been real cold here.
After running on High this year I had to clean the ash pot after 1 bag only. The thing was about 75% unburned and smoldering pellets and 25% ash. If I keep the stove on medium or low I don't have the same problem. Could this be not enough air, pellets feeding too fast or both? I am thinking of reducing the cup size like yous aid but I hate to lose the heat output of the medium and low settings if I do that. I was thinking of REMOVING the sliding metal thing in front of the draft fan to allow it full air input into the system.
What do you think?
BTW, we have been running Lignetics again this season and have already burned through over a ton since Sept. Been real cold here.
Gave the stove another real good cleaning inside and out today. the auger has two cups in it. I reduced one by adding silicon to the bottom of it about 1/8 to 1/4" in thickness. I will fire it back up tomorrow afternoon and report back.
Hey where in Maryland are you at? Im in the north east. Have the same stove as you. EarthStove 35/50. We can get Hammers around here, just dont know how far ya are away. I am burning Ligs this year to. Not impressed at all with them. Have heard alot of people around here complaining about them this year. I notice alot of fly ash and build up on my glass.
I have tried the Hammers and I RECOMMEND them highly for this stove. I have burned alot of different pellets (they all seem to burn about the same in this stove), but Hammers are by far the best. HIGH heat output with very little ash and a very clean window. After burning them, i realized what all the "talk" about which pellets are best, was all about. I blew my mind what a differenc a pellet can make! I think the only difference in our set up is my stove is vented out the top.
There is also a hearth shop around here that deals in Earth Stove parts and even works on them i think.
I have tried the Hammers and I RECOMMEND them highly for this stove. I have burned alot of different pellets (they all seem to burn about the same in this stove), but Hammers are by far the best. HIGH heat output with very little ash and a very clean window. After burning them, i realized what all the "talk" about which pellets are best, was all about. I blew my mind what a differenc a pellet can make! I think the only difference in our set up is my stove is vented out the top.
There is also a hearth shop around here that deals in Earth Stove parts and even works on them i think.
Thank you for the reply. I am located in Manchester, MD (Carroll County near the PA line). Our glass get's pretty dirty after about 2 or 3 days of running and I figured that this was normal. 
I guess I am going to have to try to find those hammers and give them a try. Can you burn on high (with no cup filler) for days on end without emptying your ash pot? Like I said above I have lots of charred pellets on high now so I filled one of the feeder cups partially with silicon to see if it makes a difference.
I guess I am going to have to try to find those hammers and give them a try. Can you burn on high (with no cup filler) for days on end without emptying your ash pot? Like I said above I have lots of charred pellets on high now so I filled one of the feeder cups partially with silicon to see if it makes a difference.
Your about and Hour and half away form me. Im right over the Susquehanna River. I dont run my stove on High constantly. Goes through to many pellets, I have been running it on Medium Feed with the Draft Fan on High. This goes though about 2 bags a day. I work nights so I fill it up when i get home at 8am, and then anouther bag around 8 or 9pm before i leave. Right now Im having to clean out the stove around 3-4days.
I have the stove running 24/7, so i dont think this is that bad. The pellets have alot to do with it. I had Hammers burning about a week straight without shutting the stove down to clean. I finally had to, just to dump the ash pan and check to see how dirty the inside of the stove was. I was very pleased, but was already locked into my 2 tons of Lignetics(. Next year though Ill know better!! Play around with alot of different pellets and see which ones that you can get that you like the best. I saw on a thread here that Home Depot has their own pellets now and they are made by Hammers, maybe that might be and option for ya.......
I have the stove running 24/7, so i dont think this is that bad. The pellets have alot to do with it. I had Hammers burning about a week straight without shutting the stove down to clean. I finally had to, just to dump the ash pan and check to see how dirty the inside of the stove was. I was very pleased, but was already locked into my 2 tons of Lignetics
(. Next year though Ill know better!! Play around with alot of different pellets and see which ones that you can get that you like the best. I saw on a thread here that Home Depot has their own pellets now and they are made by Hammers, maybe that might be and option for ya.......
Thanks for the info. My silicon didn't dry so I scraped it all out and ran to tractor supply and grabbed a piece of aluminum plate and cut it to size, filed it down and drilled a hole in it. It's 1/8" thick. I just made one for one side of the pellet feeder auger. I just installed it with some locktite and a split washer. My biggest fear is to have the whole plate fall down during operation. That would be a mess. Your right about high using too much pellets but it really heats our house nicely. We live in a two story colonial and our master bedroom (which has a cathedral ceiling) and when it's in the low teens or single digits we really need the high to work during the night or we freeze by morning.
I will let you know if this plate I made makes any difference.
Tomorrow I plan to go to the store and purchase some sections of 4" pipe so that I can get some height in my setup. Right now I have 24" of pipe going out the back with a cover on the end (all horizontal). I want to take it out far enough to put a tee on it and then go up 5 ft or soand than another 90 and than a cap. This at least until summer when I can get the nerve to go all the way up past the roof line.
I have had to shut the stove down a couple of times so far because we get serious wind on that side of the house and the blow back has been terrible.
I will let you know if this plate I made makes any difference.
Tomorrow I plan to go to the store and purchase some sections of 4" pipe so that I can get some height in my setup. Right now I have 24" of pipe going out the back with a cover on the end (all horizontal). I want to take it out far enough to put a tee on it and then go up 5 ft or soand than another 90 and than a cap. This at least until summer when I can get the nerve to go all the way up past the roof line.
I have had to shut the stove down a couple of times so far because we get serious wind on that side of the house and the blow back has been terrible.
Man,
Running with the 1/8" aluminum plate in the stove. Who would have thought it would make that much of a difference? The flame on high is now slightly a bit more than medium setting was. Medium is a tad above what low used to be and I am not even sure I should try the low setting. Might have to pull this thing out of the stove tonight. brrr.. I plan to pull the ash drawer later today to see if it's burning any better.
Running with the 1/8" aluminum plate in the stove. Who would have thought it would make that much of a difference? The flame on high is now slightly a bit more than medium setting was. Medium is a tad above what low used to be and I am not even sure I should try the low setting. Might have to pull this thing out of the stove tonight. brrr.. I plan to pull the ash drawer later today to see if it's burning any better.
I have an Earth Stove HP40 insert that I have been running in our basement for a while not many people on here that have these stoves. I have the same problem as you are with the troth filling up after a day of high burn. I have the draft fan on high and the damper open as far as it will go. The stove heats well but no matter what i try with the draft or even different pellet types it still will start to fill up the troth with the spongy ash stuff. I think the main problem for me is i have 25' of pipe from the stove to the top of the chimney and i think it is just too much of a run for the draft fan. Otherwise love the stove it is an old tank that just keeps running if ya keep feeding it.
Just wanted to give a quick update for anyone who may have same issues in the future.
I have been running for three days mostly on high and a little of medium, I pulled the ash pot out and it was not even half full! Very few partially burned pellets... About 98% of the waste was the typical fly ash. The stove flame has been perfect for days now leaping and dancing as it should.
I think this is a two part solution to the problem we had.
#1 - Added that 1/8" piece of aluminum in the feeder cup to reduce the amount of pellets being fed into the burn pot.
#2 - When I cleaned it on Tuesday, I REALLY cleaned it, like never before. Details: I always used a waste broom (small hand held one) and forced it up into the manifold tubes. I thought that was good enough for that area. Apparently not. what I decided to do this time was use my air compressor and just hit all the tubes including the SMALL area that leads from the burn chamber into the flu system. I spent a good 15 to 20 minutes getting tons of fly ash and black creosote out of these areas. This was even AFTER I had used the brush. so if you are using a brush only to clean those tubes and that metal thing that you move back and forth, give this a try, you would not believe the crap in the stove still
Another thing we have noticed. Our glass was turning black (almost the entire area of it) within 2 to 3 days. The glass is still almost perfect except for a tiny small area near the lower left hand side but this might be because of the broken log on that side and the flame is shooting a little odd towards the glass.
I am VERY happy once again, now if I can just get the smoke blow back dealt with when it's very windy I would be a very happy camper indeed 
One more thing: I may even try to pull that cup block back out and run for a few days to see if I still get good results like I am now.
I have been running for three days mostly on high and a little of medium, I pulled the ash pot out and it was not even half full! Very few partially burned pellets... About 98% of the waste was the typical fly ash. The stove flame has been perfect for days now leaping and dancing as it should.
I think this is a two part solution to the problem we had.
#1 - Added that 1/8" piece of aluminum in the feeder cup to reduce the amount of pellets being fed into the burn pot.
#2 - When I cleaned it on Tuesday, I REALLY cleaned it, like never before. Details: I always used a waste broom (small hand held one) and forced it up into the manifold tubes. I thought that was good enough for that area. Apparently not. what I decided to do this time was use my air compressor and just hit all the tubes including the SMALL area that leads from the burn chamber into the flu system. I spent a good 15 to 20 minutes getting tons of fly ash and black creosote out of these areas. This was even AFTER I had used the brush. so if you are using a brush only to clean those tubes and that metal thing that you move back and forth, give this a try, you would not believe the crap in the stove still
Another thing we have noticed. Our glass was turning black (almost the entire area of it) within 2 to 3 days. The glass is still almost perfect except for a tiny small area near the lower left hand side but this might be because of the broken log on that side and the flame is shooting a little odd towards the glass.
I am VERY happy once again, now if I can just get the smoke blow back dealt with when it's very windy I would be a very happy camper indeed
One more thing: I may even try to pull that cup block back out and run for a few days to see if I still get good results like I am now.
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