Having issues with Englander Hopper in regards to pellets sticking

[imacman]

New August 2008. It is on its second burn pot, second combustion blower, and shortly its third convection blower.

First combustion blower had a blown bearing seal, the convection blower should have sealed self lubricated bearings but don't and is so close to the firebox that it is just about impossible to keep oil in them, they then slowly fail causing eventual thermaling off leading to over temperature shutdown.

The first round of burn pots had too many holes in them and not enough welds. They warped especially if you incorporated the fix for the too many hole problem.

I no make mods while warranty still in force. Would rather see maker fix the causes of problems.

Good thing you have a warranty.....looks like you need it with that stove....meanwhile, the '05 Astoria is purring away in a nearby town w/ new owner who reports NO problems at all.

I had even bought a replacement auger & ignitor for the stove, but never needed either one.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I always follow the bear rules.

Rule number 1 always have a warranty.
Rule number 2 always have multiple sources for parts.
Rule number 3 be capable of rolling your own modifications.
Rule number 4 wear hunter orange during hunting season. It fools the hunters from away and allows us to sneak up on them and steal their lunches.

I support my right to arm bears http://www.greatlostbear.com/sticker.html

 

[SNAPMAN61]

Clean out the Hopper, and scrub with a 3m scuff pad. Then, cover any riveted seams with aluminum tape. Then take a can of spray silicone, spray it on a cloth, and wipe down the hopper walls with it. Let it dry and apply another coat. Worked great for me.

 

[teetah222]

Wow Ms Fix It....you dug that thread out from the dungeon.....2007...LOL.

But it all still applies. The graphite should work well, but see how the wax paper does. Personally, I think Englander should either leave the hopper surface bare metal, or at least use regular gloss paint in there.

The Astoria I had previous to the Englander had bare metal and the pellets almost all slid into the auger by themselves.....maybe a handful didn't.

Try getting the Scotchpad and smooth the paint out. Even a 100 grit sandpaper pad would work......just make sure to vacuum out the dust before refilling.

Yep, pulled out the "archives" so to speak... Figured rather than start a new thread someone else must have dealt with this before.

The wax paper bit isn't really helping much. I think next it will be a good scrub or possibly even a light sanding with some medium grit sandpaper. Maybe top that off with some silicone spray, but that may have to wait until it's a little warmer out. Don't want to shut the stove down real long right now.

I don't normally have an issue with needing to do the "push", but as I already said, if I'm forgetful then it gets a bit chilly around here. And today the wind outside is screaming, so the chill factor is pretty significant. 2 weeks ago I thought it was going to be too much stove for the house... today I'm thinking "crank it up!". LOL

 

[neksteve]

Is there any tips on how I can keep the pellets in the hopper flowing easy and freely in to the auger. I have notice that my fire will die out because the pellets in the hopper do not make it to the auger. I find myself having to push the pellet in positioin or sometimes the pellet gets suck and I have to stick my hands through the pellets to reach the bottom of the hopper to free up the pellets. Any good tips on how to resolve this or must I babysit my stove?

i have the englander(summers heat 55-shp10l. i am having same problem and mine is brand new. I did see an extention to the hopper for those asking, here is a link, Not sure but sounds like a good fix, http://www.amazon.com/1500-Pellet-Stove-Hopper-Extension/dp/B005O8F5MQ

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Only issue with those hopper extensions is if the stove's safety certifications include them. If not they re are a listing voider and your insurance company has a very large hole to escape through if something goes wrong as you likely have represented your stove as being safety listed and it no longer would be.

 

[bill3rail]

SmokeyTheBear said:
Gee if you take the time to make the side walls steeper you could also make the hopper larger.......

Smokey, I'd like to see that. Given the same space to work in, raising the sides more toward the center to increase the angle reduces the volume, unfortunately.

If you have some magical way to achieve the opposite, I'd love to see a diagram.

I could draw something out for you, do you fully understand the time space continum thing?

Bill

 

[CTguy9230]

i actually look forward to the pellets sticking in my Englander


it gives me a chance to fondle my pellets without getting strange looks from my g/f....."but honey, they were sticking again "

 

[neksteve]

Only issue with those hopper extensions is if the stove's safety certifications include them. If not they re are a listing voider and your insurance company has a very large hole to escape through if something goes wrong as you likely have represented your stove as being safety listed and it no longer would be.

Thats what I was afraid of. I almost went with a stove with a big hopper, but they werent built as rugged. You would think, if others can build these extensions, then the manufacturer would, as I am sure there are many people who work all day and cant get home to fill the lil piggy. I will use suggestions on keeping the pellets from sticking. thanks,

 

[MSmith66]

Is there any tips on how I can keep the pellets in the hopper flowing easy and freely in to the auger. I have notice that my fire will die out because the pellets in the hopper do not make it to the auger. I find myself having to push the pellet in positioin or sometimes the pellet gets suck and I have to stick my hands through the pellets to reach the bottom of the hopper to free up the pellets. Any good tips on how to resolve this or must I babysit my stove?

after cleaning the hopper out, take wax paper and rub down the hopper walls. No more problems ~

 

[neksteve]

I have a summers heat englander 25-pdvc/55shp10. I woke up to it not running. the ashes were white and black. the hopper had plenty of pellets, I restarted and the top auger was not running, i went to local hardware store and got a new auger motor, that did not solve the issue. the top auger still didnt turn. The fire was burning black like no air, I went outside and the exhaust was smoking white. there is power to the upper auger motor. I cleaned the pot behind the plate, the vacuum hole was clear. I am stumped, Can any one help with what i should do, of course its a weekend with nothing open
Thanks for any advise

 

[ByCo]

Is the combustion blower running, and the venting clean. Is the door gasket making a good seal?

 

[neksteve]

Is the combustion blower running, and the venting clean. Is the door gasket making a good seal?

I swapped auger motors and it worked fine on the other auger. so I blew out the vacuum tube. that was clean. went to the chimney pulled that apart and it was partially plugged. I was very surprised to see that in 1 months time. I did have a screen on the end of the vent down spout. I took that off assuming that was a issue. It ran good for short time then shut down again. found the vacuum on the exhaust side was disconnected. I think I have it all fixed, I hope. Thanks for the help.

 

[TLHinCanada]

I believe I saw a thread a while ago about a kit to enlarge the hopper not sure if it was for an englander. More mass would cause those pellets to slide until it reached the point where it needs more pellet mass to slide (oh ya thats where we are now). Seriously, I think it increased the hopper to 65 lb. I tried alot of methods but found after putting 3 tons through the hopper the pellets abraded the steel enough that they slide by themselves. The last 5 lbs. or so never seem to move.

 

[djs_net]

Lots of good ideas here. I've used wax paper and furniture spray in the hopper to make the pellets not stick to the side (with so-so results). The thing that worked best for me was to train my wife and kids to check the hopper regularly and "stir" the pellets toward the center or to top it off by adding pellets. There are occasions when everyone goes to bed early or we're out of the house for an extended period of time that the stove goes out because the pellets don't make it to the auger. I liked the idea that someone mentioned (in another thread?) about a vibrating device attached to the inside of the hopper that would activate on a timer and move the pellets. I'm surprised that one of the inventing types hasn't marketed this, especially after seeing pics of the contraptions invented to vaccuum fines and store bulk pellets.

 

[kofkorn]

I lined mine with high temp aluminum tape. It's been four years and I've never had the pellets hang up since. Took about twenty minutes, and I've never had to do another thing.

I highly recommend it.

--Kofkorn

 

[wentreefgirl]

I lined my hopper with the silver foil high heat tape. Very slippery. Worked great.

 

[Bioburner]

Resurrected a old post. I used graphite paint on hoppers and augers. Graphite is near impossible to burn and is used as rocket nozzles. Just help paint a gravity box yesterday to get some corn. Seems there is a pellet shortage

 

[lagger]

Now it may be true that you can not get it burning in a typical wood stove, but it can burn.

(broken link removed to http://www.npp.hu/tortenelem/balesetek3-e.htm)


Actually it does not take a reactor accident to do it but it is a good attention getting example.

every thing can burn .... eventually muhahaha

 

[Bioburner]

Oh great, a link to a nuclear power plant. The goverment is paranoid enough about me as it is.