Mike is probably closest to being right. The stove is a manual control for air and feed. The minimum feed rate results in a combination problem common to many stoves, too little fuel for too much air. When the Jamestown is set to minimum the feed rate is about 4 seconds feed, eight seconds off. This can often depending on the size of the pellet result in dry cycles, or no feed from the auger. By having the air set to maximum the burn spends most of it's time in the Pop-Corn stage. The air is so high the non-burned pellets are expelled from the burn pot and die as embers in the surround. If you blow the fire to the area outside the burn pot, you have the heat, continue the feed, but have no flame to burn pellets in the burn pot. The auger continues to feed, the pot fills, the stove cools and shuts off with a bucket full of unburned pellets.
Well, you say cut back the air. Not so simple. The Jamestown has a constant exhaust blower speed. The burn air is controlled by a damper. The intake air has a "flapper" valve to regulate the amount of air passed beneath the burn pot. In the non-technical description: If you want a slower, more gentle burn, turn down the amount of air introduced to the burn pot. A blast furnace rate burns lots of pellets, but will send cascades of embers out. Simple, cut back the air and no cascade. True, but you can not cast the cinder like ash that some stoves produce out of the pot, because they are too heavy. As a result they lay in the bottom of the burn pot and build up. Dense and hot the form a clinker, porous, but continually reducing the air flow. After several hours, say overnight you wake to a burn pot full of clinker and an inadequate air supply to the pellets being delivered and an overflow.
Solution to both. Don't use feed rate One (1) ONE, Minimum....... If some of you remember my post the Sweet Spot, use the Human Computer. Tweak, Tweak, Tweak. There is a point to maximize the air fuel mix at minimum setting that isn't on the numbers of the adjustments. My dials would be at a feed rate of three and air at 40% and I can burn for 24-30 hours per bag (40lbs.) and keep a clean burn pot and good Btu output. I can get more by increasing the feed rate, understanding that in 6-8 hours I'll need to clean burn pot of clinker.
The Jamestown is a manual controlled stove. Much the same as many of the WB's. If you control the feed and the air you control the fire. This is not a crude stove, but it is not computer controlled. The snap switches and motor speeds govern the operation, but the TWEAKER controls the operation. Tonight , for example, I got home to a cold house and stove. Turned off this morning on purpose. It was 43* outside and about 55 inside. Fired stove, set to high, ran for 40 minutes, adjusted feed to 3, turned air back and am enjoying a comfortable 70-73*. Tweak, start, run, tweak, run. Not automatic, but very comfortable.
Makes me better understand the wood burners frequent adjusting and monitoring,and the thrill of maxing a simple and effective stove.
Pardon this analogy, if you are like some easily offended, but the stove is like a blacksmith's forge. Coal is coal, air is air, but the talent is the guy turning the crank and stoking, and adjusting the fire that gets the perfect burn. The blower, coal and air don't do anything without the operator. I burn a clean smokeless fire without the interference of the microcircuit generation.
Just call me an old fashion pellet burner. I like them, I can carry them, I can't store, cut or split wood, but I hate the Natural Gas Company more.
HOO HAAA. Broke the bank on this post. Going to give the ticklers a rest. Come on WB's and PB's let me have it.....Broad shoulders. Some of you this is a challenge, bring it on....Marty.... Defend your self, if appropriate. Pellet (note with two "e's") heads can control their fire. Best of all, we're burning something that is waste. It is not better to see the piles and the scrap buried to hide our waste. If we harvested all the wood in the forest, where would we grow Chantrells. You Easties wonder, you Westies, salivate. More dumb thoughts from a P-head on a roll.
Power to the THREE Jamestown Owners, outed on the Forum. Warm Rules.