PI29 seems to not be shutting air down

[Garrin]

Howdy All,

2nd burn season here. Stove has been running fine, but just recently started not 'shutting down" and going into total black box mode. There is more glowing than I'm used to, even with the thermostat turned all the way down, which seems like a new behavior.

Thoughts?

Thanks All.

 

[spudman99]

Hard to help based on your information. Obvious answer is increased air flow into the unit. With the insert cold, turn the thermostat up all the way. Then when you close it in one turn, can you hear the flap drop? Alternatively, use a square head screwdriver to take off the right hand cover shroud. First pull off the thermostat knob. With this off you can clearly see the flapper on the inlet side. Then you can see if it closes properly.

Try this and get back.

 

[Garrin]

Middle of the bottom side of the loading door seemed to be a little weak on the dollar bill test, so I tightened the latch a bit. A little worried it's too tight but it seems to be shutting down better. Flap drop sounds good. I also worry that there seems to be a small gap in the bypass gasket, potentially normal or potentially something I dickered up when cleaning the flue.

 

[Highbeam]

Middle of the bottom side of the loading door seemed to be a little weak on the dollar bill test, so I tightened the latch a bit. A little worried it's too tight but it seems to be shutting down better. Flap drop sounds good. I also worry that there seems to be a small gap in the bypass gasket, potentially normal or potentially something I dickered up when cleaning the flue.

Gap in bypass gasket won’t cause overfire, just leak a small bit of untreated smoke up the flue.

The insert thermostat is much different than the freestanding version but I confirm that it helps to hear the click of the throttle slamming shut regularly to verify range of motion.

 

[spudman99]

Also could be your wood supply or a number of small factors. Low density wood like poplar will ignite at lower temperatures as there is more air or space in the wood structure compared to a dense oak. Given the air wash inside the box, this could happen.
''
Best thing to do is focus on the overall burn rate. Given the same wood as last year, your burn times will decrease slowly over time as the cat naturally decreases in performance. Should not be noticeable between fires but maybe year over year. Don't fret over the small stuff. Your doing it right, checking the gasket. A tight door latch will loosen over time, no biggie. My PI29 experiences wide draft issues. (I have a 30' exterior chimney). With my manometer, the draft can run up to 20wc during high burns and cold temps. Today with the exterior in the high 40's, I had a black box and steady burn with the manometer at around 14wc.

 

[Garrin]

Thanks for the responses.

It seems to be better now, and I'm getting solid 12 hour burns with ash. I could push it if I turned it down even more. I'll double check MC too. It's been in the 30s and 40s here, so I think the stove is probably just working to stay hot.

I'll keep an eye on things, generally. I am noticing that the flapper seems a bit reluctant and that I have to turn the thermostat up and down to make sure I'm hearing it drop. I've read a few threads on here talking about troubleshooting that component.

Being in my second burn season, this is more like owning a car than I'd anticipated- but I'm still enjoying it. Thanks again.