pellet stove issues ecoteck

[SmokeyTheBear]

It looks like around 400 altitude. The area behind panels is the exhaust channel after it leaves heat exchanger before it hits exhaust motor. The opening is not very large. I take the panels out because its quicker. There is also a cleanout that I believe gets you to the same area

Open up the clean out and take a good look and use the vacuum in there along with a brush. I'm at a disadvantage here as I don't know what things look like inside that stove. Normal exhaust flow starts just above the burn pot and goes up and then to both sides going through the heat exchanger ( in, over, and around tubes or convoluted plates) and then down behind the side walls (sometimes rear wall as well) and then out to the combustion blower. Ash gets trapped all along the path. if there are ash traps behind the inspection/clean out plates there can be a heavy load of ash in there that requires a good brushing. With the vent set up you have (tee and vertical outside) you can also have ash precipitate out faster in the outside portion of the venting due to the washing effect of condensing volatiles in the exhaust gas stream, the tee will fill up faster in that case.

How do you clean the section of the horizontal venting with the 45 degree elbow?

 

[Lake Girl]

There is also a cleanout that I believe gets you to the same area

If you have burned over 2 ton and not pulled the inspection ports, you have got to be missing a lot of the exhaust path. Peel off the majolica side panels, pull off your 3 inspection ports, not sure what the tolerances are within - but the length of hose/tube on adapter will reach internal areas better - brush first if you can find a brush that fits, vacuum well. Have you had the exhaust blower off? Cleaned your room air blower? Since your there...

Between Smokey and Pelleting in NJ comments, appears your choice is to change to larger pipe or stick with the 3" and clean more often. The usual debate of time vs money Dealer might cut you a break on piping if it is a learning experience for him too

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If you have burned over 2 ton and not pulled the inspection ports, you have got to be missing a lot of the exhaust path. Peel off the majolica side panels, pull off your 3 inspection ports, not sure what the tolerances are within - but the length of hose/tube on adapter will reach internal areas better - brush first if you can find a brush that fits, vacuum well. Have you had the exhaust blower off? Cleaned your room air blower? Since your there...

Between Smokey and Pelleting in NJ comments, appears your choice is to change to larger pipe or stick with the 3" and clean more often. The usual debate of time vs money Dealer might cut you a break on piping if it is a learning experience for him too

Actually if a horizontal vent is acceptable with that stove it would get rid of several issues, the marginal EVL and any need to go to a larger vent, the ash precipitating out. and makes it easier to clean that horizontal portion with the elbow in it.

I run almost at the 3" vent limit and the only thing that saves my bacon is that the vertical portion is inside the room and I can clean all the way to the ash traps with the leaf blower and short brush. I can easily go 2 tons between deep cleaning but prefer 1 ton and one week or more between regular cleanings (ran 26 bags through with the door not being opened once, made me sick looking at mess on the glass), my normal schedule is once a week on Thursdays. Less than an hour from turn off to fire in the stove again. My stove only has a low firing rate feed trim and no damper or combustion air trim (what can I say, it is a bucket of parts stove).

 

[Lake Girl]

I hope you take the time to remove the vacuum hose from the exhaust channel and give your stove a leaf blower treatment after having cleaned it, bet there is a bit more ash that comes out, even on my simple bucket of parts stove there is always some more that exits the vent when I use the leaf blower.

Will likely give it a try with the end of the year cleaning but I'll have to buy a leaf blower (recommendations?) ... No sidewalks or paved driveway here, gravel out back and lake in front, I'm 1/2 hour away from the nearest community of 2,000. Pressure washer for decks and house does the trick.

When I do the internal clean, I also brush and vacuum exhaust (horizontal install).

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Will likely give it a try with the end of the year cleaning but I'll have to buy a leaf blower (recommendations?) ... No sidewalks or paved driveway here, gravel out back and lake in front, I'm 1/2 hour away from the nearest community of 2,000. Pressure washer for decks and house does the trick.

When I do the internal clean, I also brush and vacuum exhaust (horizontal install).

Oh I got a cheap electric one at Lowes for mulching leaves for the compost bins its a Weedeater E-Max EVB200W 200 MPH unit so now it gets used year round spring, summer, fall for mulching and fall, winter, and spring for deep cleaning the pellet stove.

 

[Bioburner]

I have been burning a week now with my used Elena that I stripped down and cleaned very well before install. I run it a couple hours in AM and PM. I cleaned it last night and the exchanger had some ash that needed tending. Repainted the front metal a forest green to better match the room. The AM fire was as strong as it should be IMO. Bouncing pellets and the flame very sharp and bright. I have a corner install with a 45 and out so no vertical. Would appreciate a picture and some demensions of a jet termination so I can tig one together. I would rather make a good one than buy those thin excuses for a cap. Have 14 gauge tubing in 3 an 4 inch

 

[myers7457]

I took monica completely apart tonight. I didnt think it looked too bad. I had ash build up at 45 and at 90 outside. The flame looks good now. I am thinking of running horizontal out wall and terminating getting rid of tee,45 and 90. If I decide to do that can try for rest of season and decide what to do. I have a brick house so dont want to get crazy until I know it will work. What is the issue with running horizontal-if power goes out chance of smoke in house???. I do know whatever I do I am getting vent I can take apart without using ht silicone.

 

[Bioburner]

My Elena seems to like the 45 and out.Will have to make a cleaning brush and rod with a marker so I don't go and hit the probe. I am building a jet termination next week. My cleaning seems to not need the exchange tubes to be gone over with extra effort but are nice and chalky and no caking. The fire is bright and sharp.

 

[Lake Girl]

Funny you should ask - the power went out yesterday. As I was standing by the stove at the time, got a good chance to witness. Small amount of smoke that disipated quickly - similar to the amount of smoke produced by blowing out a candle and gone that quickly. Smoke detector did not alarm and when the kids were younger burnt toast would do that frequently Our exhaust is a horizontal straight run with cone termination cap. Never thought to look outside - would the trapped smoke exhaust out the OAK too? Would imagine the exhaust blower would still turn for a while because of momentum...

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I took monica completely apart tonight. I didnt think it looked too bad. I had ash build up at 45 and at 90 outside. The flame looks good now. I am thinking of running horizontal out wall and terminating getting rid of tee,45 and 90. If I decide to do that can try for rest of season and decide what to do. I have a brick house so dont want to get crazy until I know it will work. What is the issue with running horizontal-if power goes out chance of smoke in house???. I do know whatever I do I am getting vent I can take apart without using ht silicone.

You have an OAK and it is very likely that the smoke is going to exit the stove via the vent, in fact there is a possibility it will exit the stove via both the vent and the OAK, it will depend upon where the OAK end is in relation to the vent and where the stove is in relation to both.

With the stove below both exits (us crazy basement install owners that do some testing discover funny things) is more likely to have smoke exit via both, and having the OAK exit below the vent makes exiting via the vent more likely than via the OAK or both , having the OAK higher than the vent is technically a no-no and will make smoke likely to exit via the OAK and the vent.

Bioburner is going to make use of the venturi effect by using a jet cap on his stove once he gets it made, this would also aid in keeping the air flow going and drawing the smoke out the vent.

Pelleting in NJ has added an UPS and an auger kill system to shut down the pellet feed and keep the exhaust blower running during a power outage.

I have an OAK and a decent separation from the OAK exit and the vent termination so a natural draft exists and the smoke exits the stove via the vent even though my stove is below both exits.

jtakeman can fill you in on how his vent system is as he has had the smoke exit via both.

 

[Bioburner]

Some stoves have a one way flap in the intake to help prevent any major exausting out the OAK. Countryside, Harman to name a couple that I know personally well. Santa Fe Quadrafire is an open ash bin with the OAK coming in over it and won't vent anything. The fire chamber drawing in air from on top of the ash drawer and not having a direct draw on the OAK but the room air, just hope your intake never gets plugged as the stove will then draw air from the house.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Looking bad or not is a very subjective way to look at ash and soot levels. There are several folks on here that can tell you that a small amount of ash in just the right spot can make a night and day difference in how a stove burns.

In an area with a lot of room a fairly large amount of ash may not cause a problem, but in a place like the combustion blower cavity it can totally ruin the burn. The same amount of ash that in a 3" vent system causes problems is frequently not even noticed in a 4" vent as the real issue is the amount of restriction caused to the exhaust air flow, this restriction effect is related to the unblocked area available with the ash in the vent system.

 

[myers7457]

anyone have pics of their horizontal exhaust setup w/oak. thanks

 

[myers7457]

anyone have pics of their horizontal exhaust setup w/oak. thanks

 

[myers7457]

anyone have pics of their horizontal exhaust setup w/oak. thanks

I wanted to give an update. I changed venting for the rest of season. I now have a 45 out wall horizontal. I also changed to new burnpot. I gave stove good cleaning. I cleaned after 3 days much better. I had verylittle ash in burnpot at all

 

[Bioburner]

I wanted to give an update. I changed venting for the rest of season. I now have a 45 out wall horizontal. I also changed to new burnpot. I gave stove good cleaning. I cleaned after 3 days much better. I had verylittle ash in burnpot at all

What about the buildup of ash in the exchanger. Mine is running very clean with only a 45 and 2 foot of pipe. Only real cleaning needed is the floor around pot as it seems everything seems to get sucked through. Good thing as it was 4 below this morning. Saving lots of pellets with the Harman set lower and running the Elena for a couple hours in AM and PM.

 

[myers7457]

What about the buildup of ash in the exchanger. Mine is running very clean with only a 45 and 2 foot of pipe. Only real cleaning needed is the floor around pot as it seems everything seems to get sucked through. Good thing as it was 4 below this morning. Saving lots of pellets with the Harman set lower and running the Elena for a couple hours in AM and PM.

the area at heat exchanger looked normal. The new burnpot looks like holes are a little larger. It sounds like we have a similar vent. If this vent setup works I want to go to something a little better than duravent before fall. Duravent is a pain when you have to take apart.

 

[Bioburner]

Liberal application of neverseize in the joint and a couple of wraps of high temp foil tape has made things pretty easy.

 

[Veee85]

I own an Ecoteck Francesca. It is very finicky with pellets. I clean the burnpot and run through the "Final Cleaning" at one hopper intervals. With better pellet maybe I could clean less but it's the nature of this pellet stove. As long as I go through the "Final Cleaning" each hopper load it works fine. If I try to keep it on it clogs up. I have tried adjusting the air to fuel ratio but that feature seems to be broken on my control board. I can't adjust the air supply. I'm thinking I need to update the firmware for the control board but for now I run it though cleaning each hopper load (approximately one bag). This means I can't use it thermostat/auto mode. But this works for me as I only use it in my office when I am physically in the office. I have an ash vac on the floor and I vacuum out the burn bot before each start up.

My Harman Accentra burns upstairs and it never goes off except for once in mid-season to do a thorough cleaning. I use that stove as my main thermostatic heater. I only use the Ecoteck when I can manually tend to it. I think you just have to resign yourself to regular cleaning with the Ecoteck.

Sean

Hey I have the same stove and my firepot keeps overflowing and I try messing with the air settings but still nothing how do you have your settings the air /draught and also how do you update the firmware and stuff I am starting to wanna give up on this kind of stoves

 

[Lake Girl]

Hey I have the same stove and my firepot keeps overflowing and I try messing with the air settings but still nothing how do you have your settings the air /draught and also how do you update the firmware and stuff I am starting to wanna give up on this kind of stoves

What type of pellet are you using, how is your exhaust vent set up, do you have an OAK? (usually put stove type in signature for easy identification) Self or professional install? What "recipe" is the stove set at (menu 4)? Folks on the forum love pics of the stove around here I'll warn you now, people are also going to advise a "deep" clean...

I have a straight horizontal vent 3', OAK, burn Heartlands which are a softwood, pellet feed -1, draught 0 or 1. My "recipe" is 18'.

Welcome to the forum....

 

[PPLcangotoh...]

Bumping this thread....

I've had a "Veronica" for a few seasons now & just had an Accentra insert installed downstairs THIS season.

Neither have an OAK, but I'm seriously considering it now.

My biggest issue with the Eco Tek unit is the "No Depess" warning. If I don't clean the stove every other day it'll shut down after throwing that code.

I keep trying to get the pellet feed & draft rates dialed in so the flame isn't jumping up into the heat exchanger OR barely lit. lol

I'm at feed -2 & draft +1 at the moment.

After seeing how well the Accentra works I've considered selling the Veronica & replacing it with a free standing Accentra.

Sorry for writing a book... Love heating with pellets... hoping to cut the need for stove maintenance down a bit.

 

[Phil Do's fire.]

Sounds like it's not a cleaning issue. Check with LakeGirl, she has an Ecotek

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

1) Does the combustion motor run? (unplug the stove for a minute, plug back in, and the combustion blower should run for a few minutes.)
2) If so, clean-out the vacuum switch hose : Take off the left side panel, the vacuum switch is located at the bottom, next to the combustion blower. Pull off the hose from the switch and see if you can blow thru it.
3) If that does not fix it, jumper the two terminals of the vacuum switch together (Remove the 110VAC cord before doing this).
4) If that does not help, re-check the door latch switch behind the right-side panel . (The vacuum switch is wired in-series with the door latch switch). Carefull, this switch is 110V hot too.
5) If that does not help, maybe its the wires from the control board to the vacuum and door switches : try jumpering right at the control board (bottom-rear of cabinet : remove a screw (or two?) and the control board pivots out for service). On the control board, find the terminal block with 7 screws. Jumper the terminal labeled "AL1" to the terminal labeled "AL2". (I think there is a blue wire on AL1,and a black wire on AL2). These terminals may also be 110 VAC hot.

Send me your email thru the "conversation" feature of this forum and I can send you the Factory Service Manual.

Ecoteck / Ravelli Parts source : North Forge Heating, Annville PA, (talk to Barry (717) 867 1744). Barry has lots of Ecoteck parts in-stock, and shipped them out within a week.

 

[Lake Girl]

Neither have an OAK, but I'm seriously considering it now.

My biggest issue with the Eco Tek unit is the "No Depess" warning. If I don't clean the stove every other day it'll shut down after throwing that code.

I keep trying to get the pellet feed & draft rates dialed in so the flame isn't jumping up into the heat exchanger OR barely lit.

I would get an OAK for starters...

Manual says to clean burn pot daily and empty ash every second day... they are fussy that way.

Pelleting in NJ has you on the right track for troubleshooting for "No Depression". It's always nice to have an extra heat source and back-up.

 

[Phil Do's fire.]

What exactly is NO DEPRESSION mean??????