Pellets bouncing off of burn pot

[PelletPirate]

Hi Guys,
I was wondering if I could get some thoughts or feedback to a problem I have. I have been burning a Regency GFI55 for 5 years. It has been working like a champ. Late last season and now this season, I have been noticing that pellets are falling out of the burn pot as soon as they come out of the auger. This is then causing build up in front of the burn pot and then a lazy flame which is creating soot on the glass. I have the draft open all the way, a completely cleaned stove with maintained motors and swept chimney. I am burning shoulder pellets (Green Supreme) but I have Turmans and Oakies on order later this month. I am concerned about this black soot and lazy flame created by the pellets burning outside of the burn pot. Any advice/help to address this would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lake Girl]

Sorry to hear about your issues but welcome to the forum Is this the first time using Green Supreme? Are the holes in the burn pot liner clogging faster than with other fuels used?

Or is the feed continuing until overflowing burnpot? Have you checked your 120 degree thermodisc? This can be temporarily jumped to rule it out. Remember to unplug the stove before working inside the cabinet!

Keep us posted...

 

[PelletPirate]

Thanks for the welcome! I have been a long time lurker and found this site to always be helpful. It is not the first time using Green Supreme. When I do use it, I notice they do produce more ash which I am dealing with because its a shoulder pellet in my eyes. The holes do fill up a bit more, but I may be having bad luck from last year. I used Cleanfire Pacific pellets and I was not too big a fan of them. The issue is that the pellets just bounce off a clean burn pot when starting up and still continue to bounce once there is some buildup in the pot. Its maybe 1 or 2 per auger cycle but as you can imagine, it adds up and then I get a lazy flame in front of the burn pot which creates black soot on the glass. I tried closing the damper and it did not seem to help much as well as lowering the trim. What I read that would not matter because after you set it above 1, the factory defaults kick in.

 

[sportbikerider78]

Are you sure your door has a good seal?

 

[Bioburner]

Someone else had issue with pellets escaping and added a additional lip to the pot

 

[PelletPirate]

Pretty sure, I will do a dollar bill test when I get home. That would not explain the issue of the pellets bouncing out of the burn pot when they come out of the auger. Would it? Thanks!

 

[PelletPirate]

Someone else had issue with pellets escaping and added a additional lip to the pot

I am thinking the next step would be to buy a "high ash" burn pot. I would hope that extra lip would keep things in place. The thing that is odd is that it was fine for a few years. Its not a big investment and if it helps with my issue, it would be well worth it.

 

[PelletPirate]

Are you sure your door has a good seal?

I checked the seals on all sides of the door and they were all good. It seems the problem is that when the auger cycles, pellets bounce out of the burn pot. I am thinking the only thing that will help me is a "high ash" burn pot.

 

[Lake Girl]

Someone else had issue with pellets escaping and added a additional lip to the pot

It's a good thing one of us has a good memory The other burn pot sounds like a good solution...

 

[PelletPirate]

It's a good thing one of us has a good memory The other burn pot sounds like a good solution...

Yea, I agree. I will try that out and let everyone know how it goes if I can help someone else out in the future...

 

[sportbikerider78]

I am thinking the next step would be to buy a "high ash" burn pot. I would hope that extra lip would keep things in place. The thing that is odd is that it was fine for a few years. Its not a big investment and if it helps with my issue, it would be well worth it.

Do you have a buddy that welds? Adding a small section of 1/8" steel to a burn pot would take any welder seconds.

I had to have a motorcycle frame welded. Very small job as it was just an aluminum tab. Cost me $20. I just looked for the dirtiest shop with the oldest guys.

 

[PelletPirate]

Do you have a buddy that welds? Adding a small section of 1/8" steel to a burn pot would take any welder seconds.

I had to have a motorcycle frame welded. Very small job as it was just an aluminum tab. Cost me $20. I just looked for the dirtiest shop with the oldest guys.

I agree, that that is what you want to look for in a shop. They are generally the most reasonable and know the best. Unfortunately, I don't know anyone like that. I am going to bite the bullet and buy the "high ash" burn pot. I will keep you posted.

 

[PelletPirate]

So I ordered the "high ash" burn pot and a few other goodies. I took my stove apart to do some other work and clean it again. I fired it up and still have the issue of the pellets bouncing out of the pot and in the front of the burn pot. A lot is now collecting in the front and its making a lazy flame and getting soot on my glass again. I called my dealer and they said to change pellets. I did that anyway to Green Teams because Green Supreme were driving me nuts. I also emailed the manufacturer and they said to make sure the burn pot is not in backwards. Duh! I am back to square one. If anyone can provide me with any advice or point me to someone who could help me, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[bogieb]

After going thru your manual, the only theing I could come up with is do you have an OAK set up? If so, try disconnecting it. If your flame becomes better (and you may have to play with the damper some), you probably have some sort of obstruction.

Good luck!

 

[PelletPirate]

After going thru your manual, the only theing I could come up with is do you have an OAK set up? If so, try disconnecting it. If your flame becomes better (and you may have to play with the damper some), you probably have some sort of obstruction.

Good luck!

Thanks for looking. I do not have an OAK. I did look at the air input today and it was clear of anything. The flame in the burn pot is a healthy one, the only thing is that pellets bounce out when they are release from the auger. It even does this before the flame starts.

 

[Funnydirt14]

I would try another brand of pellets or even go to your local TSC and get some of the equine pine pellets just to try. If the pellets are the only thing that has changed I would start there.

 

[PelletPirate]

So here is the irony and solution so far until I can figure things out more. I put my faux logs back in the stove. I took it out because I thought it was a waste and got ashy, so it was a bit more to clean. When I put them in, not one pellet went past the burn pot. This basically did the same as welding an extra lip on the burn pot. So for now, problem solved. No soot like I was getting and things are burning great. I still need to figure out why it was doing this because it started last year, but for now, I can run the stove clean again. Thanks for all your comments!

 

[bogieb]

Hey, glad you got something figured out - no matter how unorthodox.

 

[PelletPirate]

So I found the real source of my problem and I wanted to share it in case someone has a similar problem. The issue that was causing my pellets to bounce was the fact that my brick panel was warped from the heat and created a little lip. When the pellets were coming out of the chute, some were hitting the lip and going all over the place. I had to replace the brick panel because I noticed the lip was getting bigger and the pellets were not falling out and backing up the chute. Once I replaced it, everything was back to normal.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

So I found the real source of my problem and I wanted to share it in case someone has a similar problem. The issue that was causing my pellets to bounce was the fact that my brick panel was warped from the heat and created a little lip. When the pellets were coming out of the chute, some were hitting the lip and going all over the place. I had to replace the brick panel because I noticed the lip was getting bigger and the pellets were not falling out and backing up the chute. Once I replaced it, everything was back to normal.

Awesome. This is exactly the sort of contribution that makes a forum work. When someone takes the time to come back and relay the solve for the issue. Thanks you.

 

[bogieb]

Thanks for coming back and sharing your solution - help the next person