More than once I've bragged about my Castile and how it has worked so flawlessly since day one (October) but today I woke up to a non-working pellet stove. The red call light was on, but nothing happening and the room was down a few degrees. I looked inside the burn pot and there were only a few pellets in there, so I hit the reset button to begin the startup sequence and the igniter lit, the combustion blower started, but the auger motor was making a light 'grinding' noise and no pellets were dropping into the burn pot. Oh oh...
So while the auger was trying to feed pellets, I reached into the hopper and put my fingers on the auger itself and it wasn't turning. I tried to rotate it lightly and it would not budge and my first thought was that the auger motor was bad, maybe the gears were worn or broken. Ready to tear the stove apart to find the problem, I unplugged the stove and decided to call the place where I bought it (last June) explaining what had happened and if it would void my warranty if I took the stove apart. He said no problem and said that it may be that the auger fed pellets beyond the drop shoot and I got a bunch packed up inside and causing a jamb. He said if I brought the auger motor over he could test it. So I removed the two screws and as soon as began to pull the auger out (see below), so did a bunch of pellets and some fines up well beyond where they should be. I then took it to the dealer. He plugged it into another Castile and sure enough, it worked perfectly. While I was there I picked up an accessory kit for my ash vac (small hose adapter, wedge tool, brush tool) so I could give my stove a good thorough cleaning.
I got home and gave the stove a good vacuum to include inside the auger chute while I still had the auger out. Getting ready to put the auger back in and I took a quick look to make sure I got the chute good and clean and there it was... one single pellet (see below) about 1-1/2" long and jambed tight right at the top of the rectangle drop chute. That was the problem to begin with, a single pellet formed a pellet bridge and blocked pellets from dropping into the chute and go beyond and pack the auger chute full.
Needless to say, it now works just fine. So, for those who have a similar incident it could be that one booger of a pellet causing a jamb. I know that if it happens again, I'll first take a look up the drop chute with a light and mirror and use a wire or something to make sure it is clear.
Happy Heating!
Steve
So while the auger was trying to feed pellets, I reached into the hopper and put my fingers on the auger itself and it wasn't turning. I tried to rotate it lightly and it would not budge and my first thought was that the auger motor was bad, maybe the gears were worn or broken. Ready to tear the stove apart to find the problem, I unplugged the stove and decided to call the place where I bought it (last June) explaining what had happened and if it would void my warranty if I took the stove apart. He said no problem and said that it may be that the auger fed pellets beyond the drop shoot and I got a bunch packed up inside and causing a jamb. He said if I brought the auger motor over he could test it. So I removed the two screws and as soon as began to pull the auger out (see below), so did a bunch of pellets and some fines up well beyond where they should be. I then took it to the dealer. He plugged it into another Castile and sure enough, it worked perfectly. While I was there I picked up an accessory kit for my ash vac (small hose adapter, wedge tool, brush tool) so I could give my stove a good thorough cleaning.
I got home and gave the stove a good vacuum to include inside the auger chute while I still had the auger out. Getting ready to put the auger back in and I took a quick look to make sure I got the chute good and clean and there it was... one single pellet (see below) about 1-1/2" long and jambed tight right at the top of the rectangle drop chute. That was the problem to begin with, a single pellet formed a pellet bridge and blocked pellets from dropping into the chute and go beyond and pack the auger chute full.
Needless to say, it now works just fine. So, for those who have a similar incident it could be that one booger of a pellet causing a jamb. I know that if it happens again, I'll first take a look up the drop chute with a light and mirror and use a wire or something to make sure it is clear.
Happy Heating!
Steve
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![[Hearth.com] Interesting day...](/talk/data/attachments/16/16203-3d4ab45603ac648f081b4803b7b90335.jpg?hash=f-gNfKQSDx)
