Inefficient Enviro EF-5

[Jamesieboy]

For the last 5 years, my EF-5 has run great. Now it's struggling to put much heat out it seems.

Does anyone have any experience with these stoves, or know any tricks?

Thanks

 

[johneh]

We will need a lot more info to help you
First, has the stove been taken apart and cleaned
all hidden passages? What pellets are you using
do you use an OAK is it clean?
Is the chimney clean
Just a few questions to start

 

[Jamesieboy]

We will need a lot more info to help you
First, has the stove been taken apart and cleaned
all hidden passages? What pellets are you using
do you use an OAK is it clean?
Is the chimney clean
Just a few questions to start

100% cleaned and disassembled - the fibreglass gaskets disintegrated in the exhaust blower housing upon disassembly, so those 2 gaskets are new.
Using La Crete premium hardwood pellets from home depot. After a lot of trial and error with pellets, these are the best ones I've been able to get my hands on (and even still, the stove really sucked on 1 and 2).
I'm not sure what an OAK is...
Chimney is clean.

Also, no matter what I do, I cannot get a lazy flame.

I'm making up some jumper wires tonight to check voltages to the combustion blower, exhaust fan and vacuum switch, and will be buying a magnehelic gauge hopefully on Friday.

It seems as though I'm getting too much air (no fresh air intake), and when I break the vacuum of the stove (crack the door or ash pan), the flame seems to go to the ideal efficient and heat producing example.

Heat setting on 3, Combustion blower on 1 (factory is 2), feed rate trim on 4 (factory is 4).

I'd like to play around with the BTU settings and the fuel type programs, but I need to read up more on those first.

Thanks for the reply

 

[johneh]

Here is an Enviro flame guide
heat setting on Number 1 is just a maintenance burn
heat setting number 2 is just a little more heat
number 3 is sort of a normal heat
4 and 5 lots of heat

This manual may give you the info you want It is a tecks. service manual

https://enviro.com/custom_content/docs/manuals/C-12145%20Instruction%20PELLET%20Service%20Manual.pdf

 

[Jamesieboy]

Here is an Enviro flame guide
heat setting on Number 1 is just a maintenance burn
heat setting number 2 is just a little more heat
number 3 is sort of a normal heat
4 and 5 lots of heat

This manual may give you the info you want It is a tecks. service manual

https://enviro.com/custom_content/docs/manuals/C-12145%20Instruction%20PELLET%20Service%20Manual.pdf

That's good information, thanks!

I've had this stove since I bought the house in 2016. I've always run number 3 setting, regardless of time of year, as it never worked well at all on 1 and 2, and fuel consumption on 4 and 5 never seemed to justify the need to use it.

Right now, it's only getting down to (at the lowest) around -3°C overnight, which is very mild. In the previous years I've used the stove, on 3, it would cook us out of the house and now - not so much.

I can never ever replicate a lazy flame. It's always a lot shorter than the oxygen rich flame shown, and a lot more torch-like. Regardless of whether I close the damper right off in conjunction with turning the combustion blower down to the lowest setting.

This was the first year I tore down the whole stove and thoroughly cleaned it. Before, I would only pull the inserts, and vacuum out what I could see after pulling the back. This year, I pretty much tore down everything and cleaned it, but it hasn't really been the same since.

Maybe I got a bad batch of pellets? I'm more or less trying to get to the bottom of it all.

I appreciate your answers so far, thanks!

 

[SidecarFlip]

Little hint for you next time you pull the combustion blower out of the housing.. Forget the fuzzy gaskets. Clean the flange and the combustion blower housing real good and apply a bead of red RTV silicone to the flange (not the housing, the flange under the blower wheel at the edge and let it sit and vulcanize for a day and reinstall. I have not used a gasket in years since doing that.