Pellets sticking to Englander hopper solved!

[BrotherBart]

It gives me great pleasure to see a more jacked up hill billy when I go to other places than I've seen here in KY. Never ceases to amaze me. They are abundant everywhere.

Dan Jenkins agrees. And wrote a hilarious book about them. Bubba Talks.

"The conventional notion of Bubba is a Southern redneck who thinks a rented movie and a six-pack are quality entertainment. According to Dan Jenkins, this historical view has been advanced largely by "effete Easterners and West Coast ponytails who claim to like trout pizza and fat novels written by some kind of Ecuadorian". Granted, says Jenkins, there is more than one Bubba from Georgia who has spray-painted his girl's name on an overpass. But there is also more than one Bubba from Chicago who will do his Christmas shopping at Graceland. Bubba, Jenkins concludes, is a state of mind, and he proceeds to let Bubba define himself by speaking on topics ranging from beer to ballet, from haircuts to the homeless."

http://www.amazon.com/Bubba-Talks-Politics-Foreigners-Teenagers-ebook/dp/B0042JSO9O

 

[mchasal]

I wonder how this PTFE tape would do? (broken link removed to http://amzn.com/B000REJNB6)
$40 a roll isn't exactly cheap though.

 

[Pete Zahria]

I have to admit... I made sure there was no slag, or gobs of sealant in the hopper,
and massaged the very bottom so there was no lip.. Sanded the factory paint off,
finished it off with 320 paper all going downhill, not side to side, hit it once in a great
while with some silicone spray..
and my hopper empties.. no problem...
investment... 20 minutes of time.. zero $...

Dan

 

[chken]

I wonder how this PTFE tape would do? (broken link removed to http://amzn.com/B000REJNB6)
$40 a roll isn't exactly cheap though.

Well, teflon coated tape should work well.

 

[Countryboymo]

My wife has a device that I thought about taping to my hopper to shake them down the hopper on a trial and if that worked out take it apart and wire in a timed switch so it would come on every few hours for a minute or so and work them down. I think I might just try the tape first and see how that goes.

 

[bbfarm]

Great idea. Im going to try it

 

[Chrisnow86]

I know what I doing on my shutdown cleaning tomorow

 

[Drew65]

My wife has a device that I thought about taping to my hopper to shake them down the hopper on a trial and if that worked out take it apart and wire in a timed switch so it would come on every few hours for a minute or so and work them down. I think I might just try the tape first and see how that goes.

You better move the stove to the garage first. Because if you touch that device that's where your going to be living

 

[OhioBurner©]

Might just have to try this! [The tape... not the female device! ]

Mine might not be as bad as the op but I probably get almost half a bag stuck on the walls. But I try to load it up with three bags so it'll still last a couple days even if I don't reload it.

 

[SKOAL MAN]

My wife has a device that I thought about taping to my hopper to shake them down the hopper on a trial and if that worked out take it apart and wire in a timed switch so it would come on every few hours for a minute or so and work them down. I think I might just try the tape first and see how that goes.

Best post ever! Imagine how tired you'd be if that thing usually turned on every couple hours!!

 

[bags]

That and Countryboymo might be walking around looking like a popsicle or lollypop when his wife takes the non-vibrating part left over and rams it up his butt in a fit of anger.
<<<< little slide show for you mo......... Not worth the risk!!

 

[lagger]

The aluminum tape on my stove has been there for 6 years. The writing has all worn off, but there isn't a single area where the adhesive has lifted. Each time my stove empties out, I may have one or two pellet hung in the corners, other than the small pile over the adjusting flap.

The nice thing about that little pile; when I realize that the stove is out of pellets, there are just enough in that pile to grab a handful and toss them on top of the remaining coals. Then I brush the rest of the pile into the auger. It usually relights the fire and gives me about 5 minutes to run downstairs and grab a new bag.

Kind of like the reserve switch on my motorcycle tank!

how old is your bike?? I haven't seen a reserve sitch on a bike in along time ('course I've been riding a BMW r1200C for many years now and there is no fuel petcock of any kind).. I recall this feature on most of my bikes pre-1979 (been riding sonce '67)

 

[acammer]

how old is your bike?? I haven't seen a reserve sitch on a bike in along time ('course I've been riding a BMW r1200C for many years now and there is no fuel petcock of any kind).. I recall this feature on most of my bikes pre-1979 (been riding sonce '67)

It's not uncommon at all, my vmax had a reserve, as did my sportster and intruder.

 

[lagger]

It's not uncommon at all, my vmax had a reserve, as did my sportster and intruder.

ok I guess it's just a German thing then. Been considering an Indian Scout or a HD Vrod as my next ride .. (if I can get it past my wife, many years of GAS (gear acqusition syndrome) regarding guitars and amps etc has made her wise and wary of my "stories" as to where the new stuff came from)

 

[acammer]

ok I guess it's just a German thing then. Been considering an Indian Scout or a HD Vrod as my next ride .. (if I can get it past my wife, many years of GAS (gear acqusition syndrome) regarding guitars and amps etc has made her wise and wary of my "stories" as to where the new stuff came from)

Yea, once my kid is a little older I might look for another cruise missile (ie cruiser-eque bike with big power). Either a vrod, a m109r, or another vmax. I too suffer from g.a.s - I'm a sucker for small class a combo amps!

 

[lagger]

I have a THD univalve and a Cornford Carrera in the class A single ended category.. the Cornford runs, like the THD with any octal and 12XX7 pre, and has the added feature of a 9 pin el84 side that is switchable.. my wife has no idea why I keep getting NOS tubes in the mail etc all of the time lol... I have a friend that has been building fender harvards and champs to tweed or brownface specs for the cost of parts and shipping. He put together a supro rig recently also

 

[SKOAL MAN]

I have a THD univalve and a Cornford Carrera in the class A single ended category.. the Cornford runs, like the THD with any octal and 12XX7 pre, and has the added feature of a 9 pin el84 side that is switchable.. my wife has no idea why I keep getting NOS tubes in the mail etc all of the time lol... I have a friend that has been building fender harvards and champs to tweed or brownface specs for the cost of parts and shipping. He put together a supro rig recently also

Does this help the pellets from sticking?

 

[lagger]

Does this help the pellets from sticking?

why yes, yes it does ... one just needs to hook up one of the amps to a full 8x12 stack in front of the stove, plug in a strat, turn the amp to 11 and the vibration from an Am chord sends them right down the hopper

 

[Birdman86]

I wonder how this PTFE tape would do? (broken link removed to http://amzn.com/B000REJNB6)
$40 a roll isn't exactly cheap though.

I used a similar but narrower one and it didn't work that well. The tape is so narrow you have too many seams, plus, it is very expensive

 

[Birdman86]

I was getting tired of putting 60 lbs of pellets in my stove and coming home from work late only to find the stove out! I would lift the lid only to find 30 lbs stuck to the sides. I tried every thing I could think of, sanding smooth, cooking spray, Teflon, car wax, and finally found the answer, and here is the proof! One side is sanded down to bare metal and the other is lined with foil tape, the good stuff not the cheap crap. View attachment 146626

I can confirm that this worked wonders on my 25epi. I got a roll of the 3M high temp flue tape stuff off Amazon and lined what I could. Came down this morning and the flame was still going (which had never happened) and there was no more pellet donut in the hopper!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004Z4DS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[tiger]

Last night I decided to let my stove run until it shut down for lack of pellets. I looked in the hopper, just a small handful of pellets -- perhaps a couple of tablespoons' worth -- remained clinging to the hopper right down near the "throat". Pretty good I guess, but the stove is rather new... Does this phenomenon stay constant or does it get worse as a stove ages?

 

[kofkorn]

In my experience, it seems to happen right away or not at all. Although pellet brand can make a pretty big difference.

 

[acammer]

I swapped a few bags of my Heatr's for a buddies Timber Heat pellets. After about 10hrs running the Timber Heat pellets don't stick to the hopper nearly as bad as the Heatr's. While not perfect, its been keeping the auger fed pretty well. Just carrying the bags of Timber Heat pellets I can tell they arn't as sticky - the bag just conforms and reshapes easily, whereas the Heatr's are very, very stiff, and hold their shape, seeming to defy gravity.

 

[Polar Bear]

I need to do this... I've tried everything else to no avail. I lined my welded seams with foil tape... time to do the rest and bling it out.

 

[bags]

I need to do this... I've tried everything else to no avail. I lined my welded seams with foil tape... time to do the rest and bling it out.

Play some ZZ Top and go get yourself some cheap sunglasses!