New Pellet stove owner with questions
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Bioburner
Moderator
I would take a look at the photo eye of the torpedo heater first. They go weak and get dirty and shut the heater down and I would pull the filter either on the end or inline just as a matter of maintenance.
yeah did that last night before I left. All was nice and clean. sounds like the heater is "half-lighting" when you first turn it on. Got a shop not too far away from us that has treated us good repairing this before. We've had it for like 10 years so we could have just worn it out (it has run A LOT when we've needed it)
Bioburner
Moderator
That sounds like filter or nozzle issue and a fresh plug won't hurt. Those heaters don't really have a fuel pump but a venturi effect using a vane air pump most of the time. Having diesels and living in MN, having a torpedo or two is a must.
no plugs anymore. uses an igniter setup. why its headed to the shop for repair today. they are the only place close to get an igniter if that was the problem, so might as well have them check it if we have to stop there anyway
torpedo heater repaired. said it was dirty and one fuel hose was loose and needed a clamp(they don't come with clamps on them)
also talked to dad about the stove. he left it burning on 3 all night, it got down to -13 at his house last night. the stove said 32 on the temp display on the side, and the thermometer across the garage said 16. So I guess the stove is doing all it can.
We will see tomorrow how everything works with a properly functioning heater
also talked to dad about the stove. he left it burning on 3 all night, it got down to -13 at his house last night. the stove said 32 on the temp display on the side, and the thermometer across the garage said 16. So I guess the stove is doing all it can.
We will see tomorrow how everything works with a properly functioning heater
Bioburner
Moderator
I was partly right about something being dirty. Used to have 3 of them. Down to one. Going to have a one day weather window, was up to almost normal here today with it being 29. Spent most of the day chasing around getting supplies for the next stretch of cold. Supposed to be only 8 for tomorrows high and -8 Sunday.
ok bringing this thread back from the dead.
Two major positives for us:
1- the garage is fully insulated
2- Our low temps now are only down to the upper 20s at night. highs around 50 during the day.
This past weekend we took off the vertical stack, which lowers our EVL score from 12.5 to 5.
We still cannot turn the stove down to low though.
here is the scenario from last night- stove was completely off for cleaning yesterday. dad lit the stove around 4pm, let it burn on setting 3 for roughly an hour or so, he lowered the stove to 1, the lowest setting, and set the draft halfway open. flame appears strong so he left it for the night. at 9 am this morning he notices brown/black soot on the side of his garage from the exhaust (this could be because the pipe is only roughly 10" away from the building.) When he looked at the stove, the temp on the display was 53, the glass is nowhere near clear, it is all hazy. Also dad didn't measure the exact amount of pellets it used, but he said it would easily take 1 bag. To use 40 lbs in 17 hours would put our consumption rate at roughly 2.4 lbs/hr. the stove is supposed to be rated at 1.5 lbs/hr on low. Dads exact words today were "it doesn't seem to make a difference if I put it on 1 or 3 it still uses the same amount of pellets"
Any ideas what else we could try?
Two major positives for us:
1- the garage is fully insulated
2- Our low temps now are only down to the upper 20s at night. highs around 50 during the day.
This past weekend we took off the vertical stack, which lowers our EVL score from 12.5 to 5.
We still cannot turn the stove down to low though.
here is the scenario from last night- stove was completely off for cleaning yesterday. dad lit the stove around 4pm, let it burn on setting 3 for roughly an hour or so, he lowered the stove to 1, the lowest setting, and set the draft halfway open. flame appears strong so he left it for the night. at 9 am this morning he notices brown/black soot on the side of his garage from the exhaust (this could be because the pipe is only roughly 10" away from the building.) When he looked at the stove, the temp on the display was 53, the glass is nowhere near clear, it is all hazy. Also dad didn't measure the exact amount of pellets it used, but he said it would easily take 1 bag. To use 40 lbs in 17 hours would put our consumption rate at roughly 2.4 lbs/hr. the stove is supposed to be rated at 1.5 lbs/hr on low. Dads exact words today were "it doesn't seem to make a difference if I put it on 1 or 3 it still uses the same amount of pellets"
Any ideas what else we could try?
You did mention at your first post that the garage is air tight. I would recommend and O.A.K on that stove. You should see a big difference on the performance.
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