st. croix york poor performance

[heat seeker]

Do you get a blinking light on the control panel? Either #2 or #3 blinking indicates a particular problem.

 

[ryan319]

No blinking lights at this time. #2 was blinking last week but stopped after I cleaned the motor.

 

[heat seeker]

#2 means the vacuum switch wasn't satisfied. At least you've cleared one problem, looks like there's another we're looking for now. It would seem that the exhaust side of the system is now okay, but there's a problem on the intake side.

Long shot - a mouse built a nest in your intake tube of the stove…a blocked intake would let the vacuum switch make, but you'd get little airflow through the stove. You could take the burn pot out, and use a small mirror to look down the tube where the versa-grate rod goes. That is part of the intake system. Make sure it's not blocked, at least as far as you can see.

 

[ryan319]

I don't have an air intake tube.

Could my combustion motor be getting lazy? When I first started the stove this season I got the #2 light and I had to help the motor get started and it really wasn't all that dirty. Once I cleaned and freed it, it runs but maybe is just slow. Would that also explain why my fire slowly fades, especially when I turn up the heat?

Thank you to everyone that has responded with ideas.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I don't have an air intake tube.

Could my combustion motor be getting lazy? When I first started the stove this season I got the #2 light and I had to help the motor get started and it really wasn't all that dirty. Once I cleaned and freed it, it runs but maybe is just slow. Would that also explain why my fire slowly fades, especially when I turn up the heat?

Thank you to everyone that has responded with ideas.

You most certainly do have an air intake tube, the fact it isn't a long one doesn't count. It is where an OAK would connect and the area just before and after where the damper is. It ends at the burn pot.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Your combustion blower may still have crud in it.

Did you clean the motor and its cooling fan?

It is possible that it is suffering from the results of infrequent attention, however they normally fail on the lower firing rates and they are normally running quite fast at start up.

 

[ryan319]

I don't have an air intake tube.

Could my combustion motor be getting lazy? When I first started the stove this season I got the #2 light and I had to help the motor get started and it really wasn't all that dirty. Once I cleaned and freed it, it runs but maybe is just slow. Would that also explain why my fire slowly fades, especially when I turn up the heat?

Thank you to everyone that has responded with ideas.

You most certainly do have an air intake tube, the fact it isn't a long one doesn't count. It is where an OAK would connect and the area just before aPond after where the damper is. It ends at the burn pot.

My mistake, I thought that you were talking about an OAK.

 

[DexterDay]

Is this a Fasco motor? If it needed help. Then some oil would work wonders!

 

[ryan319]

Is this a Fasco motor? If it needed help. Then some oil would work wonders!

it is a fasco and I did oil it.

I just don't get this stove right now. I've run about 2 tons total through it the last 2.5 seasons with regular cleanings and it's been great until this year.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

How did you oil it?

 

[Ironhorse74]

this thing has me beat. the ash traps are clean, and i went up inside them with a long flexible cleaner similar to what they used in the st. croix video. i cleaned out the combustion fan by removing it and blowing through it back into the stove. the pipe going up the chimney and cap are free and clear. i cleaned the intake blower. i can't find any significant buildups of ash left in this thing. i've had all the brick and everything inside the stove out and cleaned it. after cleaning it again for 2 hours this morning the flame is still the same weak and almost smoldering out.

when its in startup mode the flame is big and powerful like it should be but when the combustion fan kicks in the flame dies out. is the fan going bad?

what am i missing?

let's assume that the stove is completely clean, what hard part failures could cause this?

Need to check the voltages at the combustion fan. I am doing this from memory and I have a bad case of CRS but here goes. 100 volts at start up. Then it goes to 90 volts after proof of fire on level 1. Then it increases 7-8 volts for each level working its way up to 120 volts.

If your voltages are correct and the stove is CLEAN, I would suspect a bad combustion blower

Brad

 

[rickwai]

the long handled wire brush that comes w/ a harman accentra insert is perfect for cleaning the ash trap chambers to the top of the stove. I will bet it is clogged in there

 

[ryan319]

the long handled wire brush that comes w/ a harman accentra insert is perfect for cleaning the ash trap chambers to the top of the stove. I will bet it is clogged in there

I'll take that bet.

 

[krooser]

I spent a couple weeks trying to get my stove working right after I screwed with it and left the ash pan door loose.... plugged the whole deal in a week.

Finally threw in the towel and called for service.... one hour with the tech (and a leafblower) and it's been fine for 5 years.....

 

[ryan319]

the saga continues.

i had a service tech from the local dealer come out yesterday. he said that the stove was nice and clean but that it needed a new door gasket. i countered with "i just changed the gasket and it didn't make any difference in the performance. i think that its something more than the gasket. maybe test the combustion motor." he declined to test the motor and assured me that the new door rope would fix the issue.

well guess what, it didn't. so now i have confirmation that the stove is clean and a new door rope but the stove still sucks. it flamed out last night after running for about 10 minutes and the #2 light was flashing. i restarted it and it eventually stayed lit but you couldn't even see the flame about the fire box on heat settings 2-5. setting 1 seems to be the only one that works a little but the flame is still really weak. i bypassed the vacuum switch and it didn't run any different.

so after they charged me $115 for the service call and gasket the gd thing still doesn't work right.

should i just replace the combustion motor or what? what else could it be? i can't see how the control board could go bad.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Pull the combustion blower and wire it to line voltage, if the fan starts and goes to full speed almost at once the blower is fine.

Then with the blower back in the stove measure the voltage across the motor make sure the stove is off and unplugged when you connect the voltmeter.

Measure the voltage at each heat setting. Write them down and post them.

Did the tech check area six in the air flow diagram? If so how did he check it.

Is there an ash pan door on that unit, if so does the gasket there pass the dollar bill test?

 

[krooser]

the saga continues.

i had a service tech from the local dealer come out yesterday. he said that the stove was nice and clean but that it needed a new door gasket. i countered with "i just changed the gasket and it didn't make any difference in the performance. i think that its something more than the gasket. maybe test the combustion motor." he declined to test the motor and assured me that the new door rope would fix the issue.

well guess what, it didn't. so now i have confirmation that the stove is clean and a new door rope but the stove still sucks. it flamed out last night after running for about 10 minutes and the #2 light was flashing. i restarted it and it eventually stayed lit but you couldn't even see the flame about the fire box on heat settings 2-5. setting 1 seems to be the only one that works a little but the flame is still really weak. i bypassed the vacuum switch and it didn't run any different.

so after they charged me $115 for the service call and gasket the gd thing still doesn't work right.

should i just replace the combustion motor or what? what else could it be? i can't see how the control board could go bad.

How can the tech tell it's nice and clean if HE didn't clean it? He certainly can't see behind the back wall of the firebox up up into the ash traps...

I know you re very frustrated... I know the feeling. But your stove is acting exactly like my St Croix did until it was cleaned with the "leafblower trick"... is there any way for you to give THAT a try? What do you have to lose at this point?

 

[rickwai]

have u tried a different brand of pellets? Just 1 more thing to rule out.

 

[rickwai]

Once the stove comes out of startup mode, what is the voltage supplied to the comb blower. If you push a sewing pin to the wires you can test. There is not any other good way to get to them.

 

[ryan319]

I'm not sure what the tech did the clean and check the stove. My wife was home with the baby when he came over and i only talked to him on the phone.

The ash pan gasket appears to be fine.

I've tried 3 different brands of pellets and they all burn the same.

I don't have a leaf blower but i have like 4 rakes ;-). I do have a 5hp shop vac with a detachable blower. Would i be able to use that some how?

I'll try to test the motor tonight. Its getting cold out and I can't wait for the dealer to come back.

I consider myself to be pretty handy but this has been really frustrating and getting the dealer to come out to service it has been equally frustrating.

 

[rickwai]

it is definitly a air flow issue. A restriction in the stove or board not sending the right voltage to the comb. blower, or the outside chance that the motor is bad. did you lok at and clean the small square holes that the burn pot floor slides up against in the back of the stove, and did you disassemble the entire burnpot and pull the burnpot floor out of the stove and clean the ash that builds up inside of the cavity inside of it?

 

[ryan319]

also, i noticed when i was messing with the stove last night that the board was somewhat unresponsive when i tried to change the heat level. relevant?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

also, i noticed when i was messing with the stove last night that the board was somewhat unresponsive when i tried to change the heat level. relevant?

Not likely, on a number of stoves there is a delay between the selection of a heat level and the stove actually changing the feed.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If your vacuum has a HEPA or dry wall filter and you can get a good seal against the stove adapter you can use the shop vacuum, you need to be ABSOLUTELY certain that the filter is the correct one or you will have a H#LL of a mess and it isn't safe.

You'll likely need to run the vacuum for several minutes.

 

[ryan319]

also, i noticed when i was messing with the stove last night that the board was somewhat unresponsive when i tried to change the heat level. relevant?

Not likely, on a number of stoves there is a delay between the selection of a heat level and the stove actually changing the feed.

sorry, what i meant was that i was pressing the heat level button and it wasn't changing the level indicated by the red light.