My heat shield is still straight as in day one, after years of burning. See if you can claim it in the warranty.
New Enviro M55 FS stove owner
- Thread starter Threerun
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Question. Had a brief electrical "blink" this am. M55 fs, level 2, manual mode. The computer shut down; stove fans stopped, then restarted. Stove was now running at level 1. Is this normal; ie stove will restart/run at level one following an electrical blink? Would it do the same if running in high/low?
So yesterday I was reading your post / review wondering which new pellet stove I should purchase, because mine (2008 lennox traditions) has been a PIA for the last 5 years. I actually posted a new post asking for advise...
That's when I came across your description of how you clean your pellet grate, blow torch and cold water. So last night i got to thinking, we constantly clean and blow out and pound on the stove and scrape the grate and it constantly fills with half burnt pellets and burns like crap... but i'd never torched the grate it and dunked it. So I did last night and for the first time since I can remember it ran through the night on medium heat
and the grate was still burning perfect! I'm almost afraid to jinks it by posting this but thought others should know and try it. I've spent thousands and hundreds of hours cleaning and trying different setups, not to mention dozens of different pellets to get it to work.
The heating and cooling sort of micro cleans and dislodges the grit and ash between the small rails. Over time the space had decreased just enough so that the burnt pellets and ash would not fall through fast enough causing the pellets to build up and ultimately snuf out the fire. It wasn't until I got in close with the torch that I could see the years 'resin' build up. Within an hour it was pretty clean (I ran out of propane) so I put it back in the stove and it was like someone had flipped a switch... thank you! This little gem of a cleaning tip should be a must read for all pellet stove owners (or a least those of us who've struggled and limped along for years trying to get our tradition stoves to work).
That's when I came across your description of how you clean your pellet grate, blow torch and cold water. So last night i got to thinking, we constantly clean and blow out and pound on the stove and scrape the grate and it constantly fills with half burnt pellets and burns like crap... but i'd never torched the grate it and dunked it. So I did last night and for the first time since I can remember it ran through the night on medium heat
and the grate was still burning perfect! I'm almost afraid to jinks it by posting this but thought others should know and try it. I've spent thousands and hundreds of hours cleaning and trying different setups, not to mention dozens of different pellets to get it to work.The heating and cooling sort of micro cleans and dislodges the grit and ash between the small rails. Over time the space had decreased just enough so that the burnt pellets and ash would not fall through fast enough causing the pellets to build up and ultimately snuf out the fire. It wasn't until I got in close with the torch that I could see the years 'resin' build up. Within an hour it was pretty clean (I ran out of propane) so I put it back in the stove and it was like someone had flipped a switch... thank you! This little gem of a cleaning tip should be a must read for all pellet stove owners (or a least those of us who've struggled and limped along for years trying to get our tradition stoves to work).
It's amazing when you get that torch under some of that carbon- it starts to glow and then emit little red 'flame throws' where O2 is caught in the carbon. You know it's hot when that happens. A dunk in cold water and it literally falls off.
It's a great way to get that pot completely carbon free.
It's a great way to get that pot completely carbon free.
We're having weird weather lately. Last week was below zero, no snow, this week above 32 lots of snow, later this week close to 40 then back in the freezer. Hard to adjust the stove to stuff like this (on manual). Other than that- stove is running great. Keeping it very LOW because we all pile into the family room downstairs for the holiday. Anything above heat setting 3 gets unbearable unless it is −20 outside...
Weird weather continues in the Helena Valley. Right now it is 6 degrees and we are blanketed with ice fog. It's very pretty out, the hoar frost clinging to the pine needles is something to see, however it makes it very damp and very, very cold out. Been like this for 2 days. I had to turn the stove to heat setting '3' the past couple days to overcome the damp cold. Stove is functioning well and it really likes the Idaho fir pellets I've been feeding it. Very low ash, complete burn and very hot. Much hotter than the Prestologs and other brands I've tried. They are not cheap- $135 a ton, but the Ag Feed place I get them from keeps their stock indoors all the time- so the quality is simply excellent. Going to buy 1 more ton for the season.
Well I never bought that additional ton. It has been unbelievably warm for the past 2-3 weeks! Day time highs in the 50's and 60's, nights above freezing.. It is really spring like in Montana.. All the lake ice around me is gone- this has been the shortest ice fishing season for sure! I have not run the stove for at least two weeks.
Man- New Hampshire and Mass. is getting all the fun! We want snow and cold here!
Man- New Hampshire and Mass. is getting all the fun! We want snow and cold here!
Interesting, but I wonder what that quenching cycle is doing to the steel? Might make I brittle and shorten the life of the pot. Is it stainless?
It's not stainless. I don't think it will shorten the life- it's a really stout pot. I've had it 4 years now..
You can have the cold, Threerun. Though 20 degrees here in NY is not that cold over by you, I imagine.
You know −20 here is easier than 25deg in WV, especially central WV where the air was damp and cold. If the sun is out and there is no wind, cold is not bad out here.
WOW! Finally got a little winter back! It was 0deg last night and snow yesterday.. Never made it out of the 20's today.. Fired the stove back up and hoping my 8 bags of pellets last me the rest of the winter! (I know it won't). Looks like a 1/2 ton is on order...
Question re: agitator life span. I got a new agitator this season, and have been burning a corn/pellet mix the past month. When cleaning yesterday, I noted that the three middle fingers on the agitator have eroded quite a bit. How long, on average, do the agitators last? I wonder whether the corn is the issue.
@ohbix that looks like a great question for @Dana-r check out this post #7 at https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/m55-cast-replacement-parts.133971/
Devin, thanks for the link. Mine is degraded on the central fingers, but not disintegrating along the main shaft. Today post clean I changed the mode to regular pellets. Maybe keeping the fuel more spread out will help. The other change, along w/ the new agitator last Nov, is the "turbo" convection fan. Had the old, low output, fan. Do you like the extended hopper? That's on the wish list.
Sorry- I don't check in here too often. I've not noticed any significant erosion in the agitator. 4 years running, about 3-4 tons per year. I do some wear occurring where the shaft enters the stove body, on both sides..
Fired the unit several weeks ago. Just a minor cleaning, check over on the exhaust pipe, cleared the outside vent and loaded it up and pressed 'On'. Working fine no issues. Just bought a ton of Idaho Supreme in time for a cold snap. We just got 6" fresh snow, currently 11deg and forecast to be below zero for the next couple of days.
NYBurner
Burning Hunk
Sure thing! Thought I'd keep this log going for a while..
I've been out hunting birds all throughout Central and Eastern Montana. Went 22 out of the past 30 nights in my truck camper. Going out again next week and WISH I had a pellet stove in my camper, lol.
Hi, Threerun. Glad to see you are still around.
How's the stirrer looking? Mine is looking very thin now; I think next year I will have to replace it.
It looks okay for now. How many tons do you run through a year? BTW It's ZERO degrees right now.. Had it running at '3' all night.. Brr..
Wow 0 degrees and you only used setting 3... that's pretty good. Your home must be well insulated.
We go through about 3.5 tons are year. We are close to the ocean and I am thinking the ocean air is maybe taking its toll.
Mine is wearing, but not to the point its thin. Hey I see you're installing a Dutchwest. Great choice. Back in WV we had an older Dutchwest X-Large (CAT equipped) and we burned 4-5 cords of hardwood a year. That was a great, great stove.
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