To verify, shut down stove and let it cool take back plate off stove , put stove in test mode. Dont remember how to do that search here should find it tho. Once top motor is turning continuously time it with a stopwatch or old school second hand. Make sure it is turning 1rpm. Not 2! Dont use the stove until motor is replaced if weong one. It will get HOT! And eat pellets. Call ESW and give them your findings.
Pdv eating pellets!
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I was just about to post almost the very same question. This year I’ve been buying pellets at Tractor Supply, one of the cheapest around here, and last couple dozen bags were Power Pellets, produced by O’Malley Lumber, in Tappahannock, VA. Pellets are about 1-1/2 to 2” long. Stove Chow, Lignetics, Hamer and other brands I had been burning were half that, sometimes smaller, and burning hotter at slower auger setting. I have to use the #4 (out of 5) setting on my Whitfield Advantage II stove to get the same heat I got with Hamer, Stove Chow, and former Agway brands.
I recently did the annual comprehensive cleanout and had a chimney sweep clear the stack, so there’s no issue with exhaust. Damper is not showing me significant changes, outside air intake is clear. But I just filled the ash vacuum in less than a month, which is a first here. Chimney cleanout at the base of the stack also had a significant amount of fly ash (usually don’t need to open it in the winter). For last routine cleanout two days ago the burn chamber was filled with clinkers and was starting to burn pellets outside the burn chamber (to the side). But that was after burning them mostly at the #3 setting.
I’m not getting anything like a fluidized bed action in the burn chamber (like when I first bought it), the Power Pellets are just not burning as hot as usual (for this stove). But at the higher auger speed it does NOT appear to be burning dirtier than before.
There’s a chance that the higher auger speed combined with the longer pellets might be approximately the same, since I’m still burning about 1 bag/day. I’ll try some Stove Chow pellets next to check the difference.
Bub, if you mean diagnostic mode, when you said test mode, I can not enter it. I got the directions from ESW website. But right from the start, it will not go into "D " mode.
Yep, diagnostic mode is what u want. This is different than checking what mode you are in. Diag mode turns on the auger motors continiously. It will prolly be easier to swap the motor leads since the lower motor turns continuously anyway. Id do this.
1. Empty hopper completely
2. Make a sharpie mark on the top auger.
3. Swap top and bottom motor leads
4. Start stove
Time rpm of top auger running continuously.
Are you running in "c" mode? "D" mode drops less pellets across the board. Im guessing you have the wrong top auger motor tho.
I had no issues with power pellets in my englander. That is what my local Lowes just got in.They r long! Twice as long as green golds. They burn super clean for me. YMMV. set on 141 on heat 1 i had no clinkers. The green gols being short, i changed to 151 to give more air and get rid of the lava pile. My stove is on a stat and runs at idle most of the time.
Update: dads stove. Finally got in the new auger motor that was ordered last monday, no thanks to fedex. Whole nuther story. Fired up the stove on 151 and would not stay running, went out. Started back up and changed to 251 then 351 to keep her burning. Set the stove on 7/7 and made the stat call for heat. 4" flame and very little heat coming out! Left it at that and went home. Checked my stove to verify what mode and it is at "d" same as dads. If i put my stove on 7/7 the flame is super high and the stove will run you out!! I dont get it. Incorrect 2rpm motor burns WAY too hot and rhe 1rpm luke warm. About ready to raise the white flag. Should i change his to mode "c"??? Only difference in my stove is mfg date. Mine 2016. His 2019
Open to ideas. Thx Bubba
Open to ideas. Thx Bubba
Ssyko
Minister of Fire
You probably won’t get both stoves to run exactly the same but should be closer than that. Try a master reset on dads stove, reset mode to “D”. 2 times to make sure it stays. 5-5 heat/fan. Bottom 3 set to 5 4 1.
Pellet rick
Minister of Fire
Ssyko unless I miss read his original post he has a pdv so the mode would be C not D. My bottom three are 461. Anything less it will go out.
Pellet rick
Minister of Fire
Smoke since you now have the right rpm now did you open the hopper gate back up? For heat you need to feed pellets.
Ssyko
Minister of Fire
I did not open the hopper plate back up. Been searching how to do a board reset for an hour with no positive results. Going to dads now to work on it. FYI my 2016 pdv runs perfectly on mode "d" 151 on a stat. His is an 18 i think. Maybe 19. Will verify.
Ssyko
Minister of Fire
Unplug stove. Plug back in and within 5 sec press the bottom 3 buttons and hold for 5sec, release and you should see F5 in the windows. Stove has been reset. Unplug and plug in Then do your mode settings
Timed the lower auger and it runs at 2rpm as well. ESW will get another call and have to send me another motor.
Ssyko
Minister of Fire
they didn't send 2? now that's f****d up on their part. they know if it's 2rpm in the upper it probably is in the lower also. sheeesh. How were these stoves refurbished and tested and then resold. I've seen 3 this season on here so far
Right! I plan on having a discussion with ESW and amfm about this. May insist amfm send me another stove and let them re-referb it. I shouldnt have to.
Opened the hopper plate wide open and it helped. Was able to idle it down to very small flame. When the stat calls for heat the flame does not climb to nearly where it should be. Set on 7/7 it should b pumping out the heat and its not. Going to do a complete reset tomorrow. If it continues, will set on "c" and see if it cranks up. Spent prolly 10+ hours working on this thing. Shouldnt have to. Gonna call ESW tomorrow and get the correct lower auger motor sent. At this point it looks like Dad didnt buy a reman unit but instead someone elses problem. I really feel bad for him since mine has been perfect from day one.
Let us know how you make out with ESW. YOU ARE RIGHT, WE SHOULD NOT HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS BS! Perhaps a class action lawsuit, or complaints to Virginia Attorney General, and also to same in state where you live.
You ready for this? Just timed my lower auger.... 2 rpm! And my stove runs PERFECT. Ponder that for a moment.
Update: went to dads to do a factory reset. It was burning when i got there. Nice 2-4" flame. Went over to stat and turned it up so it would call for heat. Gave it some time to settle in and it had a beautiful flame. I asked dad what he did and he told me he had to up the lff from 2 to 4 and the stove started acting normal. I set the stove on 5-5 and used my thermometer to take a heat reading at the left convection air hole. 185degf. Same as my stove. Bumped it to heat range 7 and it measured 192degf.
Seems raising the lff to 4 adjusts across the board. Not just on heat range 1-2 as i have read here. Going to keep an eye on it for now but i think its burning and producing heat at acceptable levels. What do u guys think??
Seems raising the lff to 4 adjusts across the board. Not just on heat range 1-2 as i have read here. Going to keep an eye on it for now but i think its burning and producing heat at acceptable levels. What do u guys think??
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