new stove acting up help!

[Robert_Nestle@hotmail]

Thanks CladMaster what stove do you have?

 

[Doug Doty]

yep sounds more like you got a bad batch of pellets than a size issue. And yes i never liked when i would see pellets stored outside covered in snow or rain poring down on them. Always thought how could those not be getting wet?! Thats one good thing i like about the pellets i get fresh made from the factory good 100% burn and only $200 a ton. Just to bad size was not a little more consistent.

How is yours running now ??

 

[CladMaster]

Thanks CladMaster what stove do you have?

This ...

 

[Robert_Nestle@hotmail]

Good so far. I have been running it on #1 and #2 all last night and all day today. The only time it went out was when flame was way low on #1 and i opened hopper to add pellets.

 

[Robert_Nestle@hotmail]

same stove i have CladMaster. No feed issues at all? Whats your cleaning schedule look like? How long have you been running it? How does it run on the lower settings?

 

[CladMaster]

same stove i have CladMaster. No feed issues at all? Whats your cleaning schedule look like? How long have you been running it? How does it run on the lower settings?

No feed issues on any setting. Gets cleaned out every 3 days. Got it last Wednesday, installed it myself, it replaced my 25-PDVC. It runs great on the lower settings, you got to adjust the air via the damper that's built into the stove for it to burn correctly. When you get white ash on the back wall and all over the heat tubes, you have it set right with the air to fuel ratio.

The manual tells you how to operate the stove (PDF below).

 

[Robert_Nestle@hotmail]

Thanks! I have been looking for that manual! Mine came with the last years manual for some reason.

 

[LordmetalZ28]

Does anybody have any thoughts on the hopper that dosent hold 55lbs but claims to?

 

[Doug Doty]

Measured capacity was with lead shot !! 39 lbs. here !!

 

[CladMaster]

I have one theory, they used a bag of smaller pellets. I have noticed that the Nature's Own pellets are smaller in size, thinner too.

 

[Doug Doty]

Ya, i would say they used dense and small.

 

[LordmetalZ28]

If it helps doug. Just to let you know my stove. My friends from work both flames vary in hieght at all times. From burning high and licking the heat exchangers to burning low and just glowing in the burn pot. 2 diffrent stoves. I thinkthis is normal and varys cause of pellet length and so on. I think you just got a bad batch of easy heats. Maybe you should pick up a ton of tsc pellets and start cutting them with the easy heats this way youll have a nicer flame and wont waste all the money you spent on those easy trash pellets

 

[Doug Doty]

Ya, I thought about it. I bought another couple of bags last evening just to study and when my stove goes empty today I will dump 1 in to experiment again but last night the Easys kept the house warm set on Medium and did not or has never for that matter quit so I will just burn through them and take my new found pellet wisdom forward. When I change lots in 14 more bags it may be totally different, the next three can from a different source and still have their water tight outer sleeve on them and were a recent delivery from the maker.

I might ought to go buy 10 bags of the TSC's to have and keep back for real cold. It is not like I don't have a furnace, I guess but i do not want to turn it on !!

 

[Doug Doty]

I am thinking now that I may have had some pellets on the top 1/3 to 1/2 of my 1'st pallet from the stove dealer that were year old and had gotten wet as I am running great now with anything I throw at it. He's is turning out to be a bit unscrupulous and i think he set me up for failure with that pallet of pellets. The coverall was removed and gone, the pellets burned like crap till I got to the middle of the stack and his same stove is running like mine does now but he was running off a different Pallet. I am kind of wondering if the top was removed to put a layer of dry pellets on top to get a buyer going and that give me my great first day or day and a half out of those first 4 bags off the top.

I admit this theory is a stretch but my 1st pallet was uncovered. My stove would not hardly burn at all the 3rd and 4th day after the first 4 bags were gone. This continued until I dry filmed soaked the auger and that got me through the suspect damp pellets (20 bags) or so, and now it is running pretty darn good since I am burning from the middle of the pallet. It always would burn the TSC pellets when I threw them in throughout this ordeal. Stoning away all the burs on the auger is the only thing I really done that would remain long term since the dry film lube would wear away and did seem to after 3-4 days, then It struggled a bit for a couple more bags but not as bad as it once did, so I just let it go and now it has came out of it on these same pellets from the bottom 1/2 and is doing well. There has to be an explanation for this series of events and looking back it sure seems like pellet problems. I don't know...

 

[CladMaster]

Yes, bad / wet / damp pellets will make all the difference.

When I get a bag that's got wet and then dried out with some of the pellets turning to dust I mix them little by little with a good bag of pellets so that the stove can burn the fines up.

I've not had any feed issues by doing this, the fines from the pellets fall just fine down the chute, and it makes for a good display in the fire box at times.