New Enviro M55 FS stove owner

[ohbix]

Let us know the blower outcome. I have a "new" ie demo, 2009 build, M55 w/ the old blower. I asked the dealer about the fan. Enviro told him no new fan unless my stove has multiple overheat shutdowns. I've only run at levels 1-2 for a week, so no shutdowns to date.

And thanks for the regular updates; very helpful.

 

[bostonfan49]

Hi Threerun. I think you need to call Enviro/ Sherwood Ind. about your faulty blower. My blower also became detached from its housing and was replaced not by the dealer...(bad experience with) but buy another distributer of Enviro. In any event, this was a known problem with the stove and from my experience and other owners on this board were able to get the new blower under warranty. Hopefully another member will also help you here! Bill

 

[Threerun]

Very much appreciate your long term review. It was a big help in determining our stove choice 2 years ago.
Our M55 experience has been very close to yours. We run ours on Hi/Low #2/#1 except for temperatures around zero when we switch to #3/#1.
Thanks for the tip of the angle grinder and wire brush for cleaning. That does work well.

Hey no problem- I've enjoyed this very much. By the way I came up with a new method of cleaning the burn pot that works great. So the new pellets that I get (presto-logs) seem to lay down a pretty thick glaze of carbon residue in the burnpot. This carbon builds up even if you do periodic scraping with the hand-scraper. I'm sure there are some of you that know exactly what I'm talking about...
So what I tried is setting the burnpot up on cinder blocks or something non burnable on the garage floor. I set two Benzo propane torches up and start heating the carbon- just let the Benzo's sit on it for a good minute or two. Then I grab the burn pot with a pair of channel locks and dunk it in a bucket of cold water. The carbon and burn pot steel expand and contract at different rates which causes the carbon to just 'pop-off'! No manual scraping, grinding or using a wire wheel brush on a drill. Repeat a few times moving the torches until the burn-pot is baby-bottom clean. I've done this 4-5 times now and there is absolutely no harm to the burn pot. It's so stout that a Benzo will not cause any warpage. Very slick trick and saves a lot of elbow grease.

I am going to call the dealer this morning and talk to the owner about that blower motor- I think it should be replaced free even though I am technically out of warranty.

 

[Redbarn]

So what I tried is setting the burnpot up on cinder blocks or something non burnable on the garage floor. I set two Benzo propane torches up and start heating the carbon- just let the Benzo's sit on it for a good minute or two. Then I grab the burn pot with a pair of channel locks and dunk it in a bucket of cold water. The carbon and burn pot steel expand and contract at different rates which causes the carbon to just 'pop-off'! No manual scraping, grinding or using a wire wheel brush on a drill. Repeat a few times moving the torches until the burn-pot is baby-bottom clean. I've done this 4-5 times now and there is absolutely no harm to the burn pot. It's so stout that a Benzo will not cause any warpage. Very slick trick and saves a lot of elbow grease.

My wife often does the stove cleaning and I don't think I'll let her do that !
Sounds like an annual or biannual cleaning technique. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Threerun]

I picked up the new blower yesterday. The tech was gone so I had to pay the bill. The dealer has been great- they understand the original blower was crap so they charged me their cost for the part. No mark-up. I'll try to call Enviro directly.

The install was straightforward- disconnect power from unit, remove both side panels, disconnect the wires to the old blower, remove one bolt, loosen the other bolt and slide the old blower out. Slide the new blower in, re-install bolts, follow instructions to re-wire the blower, re-route the new capacitor and reinstall side panels. 15 minutes and I was done.

The new blower seems stronger than the old one, however with mine being faulty for so long it's hard to recall, lol. Proof will be in the temp-sensor I guess. We'll see!

 

[Threerun]

Thusfar no temp sensor trips on the unit. The new blower pushes some good heat around, and farther than the old one. Not too cold here, only in the teens at night. Had a really weird warm spell while the rest of country freezes. Weird, but that's Montana for you.

 

[Threerun]

-20 right now. Stove is chugging on Hi-Lo setting with high at 3. The new fan has really made a difference. A noticeable difference in heat coming out of the unit and pushing it farther. I like it.

 

[Bill L]

Just making sure I understand your post. I have the Hampton GC60 which is the same as your M55 with different badges. You said, "highest setting on stove 3?" Does your stove not have 5 settings? I'm asking about this because I've had several issues with mine not heating very well and if you are heating your home at -12F on heat setting 3 it only confirms that I got a dud.

Thanks

I am also amazed that many people run their M55's at a Hi of 3 during the coldest periods. I am just coming up to a year of operation with mine, and find that a setting of 3 on Hi/Lo is not enough to heat the adjacent rooms. When it is in the 20's outside I run it in 4, and below 20 I will kick it up to 5 with a small fan blowing into the stove room to improve convection. My house is a newer 2,300 sf two story

 

[Threerun]

I've never tried the highest setting. I don't need to. My house is about 2,800 sq. ft evenly divided all finished basement and upstairs. The main living areas are wide open- kitchen to dining room and living room upstairs, huge rec room downstairs. The entire house, even the basement concrete is finished as thus:

1. 2x6 walls insulated
2. 1" insulating board on top of the studs (inside the home)
3. vapor barrier
4. drywall

I'm not saying the home is super tight (it is 20+ years old) but it is pretty darned good. If I keep the basement (where the pellet stove is) at 78-79deg, the upstairs is generally 68deg. There is a propane fireplace upstairs that will kick on in this cold weather but it doesn't constantly run.

The M55 is a workhorse. I'm really happy with it (although it can get too warm downstairs when we watch tv- have to crack a window even on setting 1).

Oh and −27 right now not including wind chill.

 

[Threerun]

Winter is still here in all its fury. We've been in a blizzard for 2 days now, it's -7 not including windchill. Forecast is -20 tonight.

House is 71 deg upstairs and the basement is 80 degrees, lol! Man I love this pellet stove. That new fan certainly did the trick.

 

[Threerun]

Still in winter as of today. 1-2' of snow in the high country, 30 degrees in the valley. Down to 6 bags of pellets, may need to buy another 20 Idaho Supremes here shortly. No problems with the stove. Will not clean it until the season is over.

Tom

 

[vinny11950]

Still in winter as of today. 1-2' of snow in the high country, 30 degrees in the valley. Down to 6 bags of pellets, may need to buy another 20 Idaho Supremes here shortly. No problems with the stove. Will not clean it until the season is over.

Tom

6 bags! wow.

I also haven't given the stove a good cleaning (taking off the baffle and vacuuming the ash port holes) for about 7 weeks now. No issues - though i have been burning Somersets and PTLs.

Good luck finding pellets, Threerun.

 

[Threerun]

6 bags! wow.

I also haven't given the stove a good cleaning (taking off the baffle and vacuuming the ash port holes) for about 7 weeks now. No issues - though i have been burning Somersets and PTLs.

Good luck finding pellets, Threerun.

We have no shortage of pellets here. I can go to Home Depot, Lowes or the Dealer and get a pallet tomorrow.

 

[stovelark]

Hi threerun- Have monitored and enjoyed your many entries with the M55. I've sold, installed and serviced many of these stoves over the past several seasons. While no pellet stove is perfect (another mechanical appliance) yours has seemingly performed well for you. All too many times all I hear about is the "problem" stoves, its always the same, something's wrong with the stove. There have been many problems with stoves, a lot are caused by improper installations, improper running by the operator and sometimes the stoves themselves. My 2 Enviros have been a pleasant experience to have, but I am blessed by knowing how to use and fix them. In 6 seasons all I have done is clean and burn them. My Empress convection blower is whining a bit though, so I'll limp through this season with her and replace before next fall.
Keep your entries going, its good reading and I have to say, that is quite the cold weather to have your stove perform so well for you. Here in New England, we have had a hard long winter, just looking for a little sunshine, Good luck.

 

[Threerun]

Thanks stovelark. I will admit that I am no professional, however I am mechanically inclined and have burned wood/pellets for over 20 years, so I like to think I know what I'm doing. I was initially concerned that a pellet stove would be problematic, with the electronics and moving parts, however I've come to realize that with proper maintenance most issues can be resolved.

With that being said- I will need to clean my stove, lol. I've run about a ton through it with NO CLEANING and it finally told me 'enough already'. I'll more than likely burn another 20 bags this season too. Drats.

This is a good stove. I don't think I would want a pellet insert, but the Enviro freestanding units seem to perform and perform well. I know mine throws off a lot of heat. It far exceeded my expectations, especially going from a Dutchwest XL stove burning hardwoods in WV to pellets in Montana.

 

[Threerun]

Stove is cleaned and fired up again. Had a slight issue with pellets building up on the feed chute and burning up the chute. I didn't quite reinstall the burn pot assembly after cleaning. Whoops. Seems to be doing fine now. down to 5 degrees right now. Welcome back winter..

 

[vinny11950]

wow! 5 degrees. stay warm and safe, Threerun.

 

[Threerun]

Forecast is −10 tonight. Good hunting weather. Hopefully connect with a whitey tomorrow. I just bought a ton of Idaho Supremes red fir pellets, and about 20 bags of some other brand of red fir pellets. Going to give them a shot and see how they do.

My stove is running at heat setting 2, air combustion 2, and feed trim 2. Looks like all ash burn in the pot- no leftovers spilling into the pan. I have no OAK, and the pressure damper is set to factory. Not really had any issues with it this way, so why fuss?

79 deg in the downstairs (where the stove is), 68 degrees upstairs. Pretty dang perfect.

 

[Threerun]

About a week into it and it's been running non-stop. We just climbed into the upper 20's today. Been around zero or single digits every night, usually 10-15 deg during the day. Nice little cold snap. Stove has not had a problem. Need to really clean the burn pot this week. Hearing a little screeching down there. I've been removing stubborn carbon by setting the burn pot across two landscape blocks (upside down), then I take my Benzo torch and set it under the pot where heavy carbon has built up. Let it sit for a good 3-5 minutes until that carbon gets red hot underneath. Grab the burn pot with a set of dykes, dunk in a bucket of cold water. Carbon flakes off in chunks- no scraping. Been doing that for 2 years now, no problems. Works like a champ.

 

[vinny11950]

About a week into it and it's been running non-stop. We just climbed into the upper 20's today. Been around zero or single digits every night, usually 10-15 deg during the day. Nice little cold snap. Stove has not had a problem. Need to really clean the burn pot this week. Hearing a little screeching down there. I've been removing stubborn carbon by setting the burn pot across two landscape blocks (upside down), then I take my Benzo torch and set it under the pot where heavy carbon has built up. Let it sit for a good 3-5 minutes until that carbon gets red hot underneath. Grab the burn pot with a set of dykes, dunk in a bucket of cold water. Carbon flakes off in chunks- no scraping. Been doing that for 2 years now, no problems. Works like a champ.

would never have thought of that. thanks for sharing.

 

[Threerun]

would never have thought of that. thanks for sharing.

Expansion and contraction are the key. The two do so at different rates, so carbon literally sloughs off. It's amazing (and makes you go a little farther between scrapings )

 

[Threerun]

Soooo... Been in the ice box for a few days. It's −8 right now, about 6" new snow in the valley. 1/2 mile up the hill behind me they have 12-18" powder.

The M55 is chugging along eating Idaho Fir pellets right now. Set on temp 3. Downstairs is 77deg, upstairs is 68deg, but we have the propane fireplace going as well. I'm gonna clean the stove tomorrow and get it ready for a −10 night. Seems like the air output on the fan is a little light. Might need a good overall cleaning...

Just think- only Thanksgiving and the cold stuff ain't started yet!

 

[vinny11950]

Wow. Hopefully the cold will take break. It seemed to do that last year, started strong, let up a little, then returned. Enjoy the cleaning of the stove.... Cleaned out my squirrel cage last week and decided it was time to upgrade to the new convection fan. The old is already getting out of sorts.

 

[Threerun]

-15 this morning. I went downstairs and turned the M55 to heat setting 3. At level 2 the downstairs living areas are 75deg, upstairs 67deg.

Brrrr!!

 

[Threerun]

Been warm as of late. It's only 19deg now. Stove got a good cleaning today. The heat shield is again warped, but it went back on after disassembly- I'm gonna call the dealer on this one- seems to thin for this kind of duty. Not much in the way of ash build up- burned a ton and the pan was a little full. The chimney was pretty clean so I must be getting a good burn.

Good stove.