St. Croix???

[[email protected]]

Thanks-good advice. Gave it a good summer cleaning today. No avail. Family came over with a continuity tester/meter. Guess what, the motor works, but not getting any electricity. wires + fuses are good too. Think its the control board. Cheap heat just got more expensive. Place some calls in am for a control board. Any other parts telephone numbers to call if anyone knows of them? -thanks russfamily from NY, PS it cold!

AHHHHHH! my st croix prescott EXL stopped working.
The Auger isnt moving-I'm cold. Think its the motor, Any one know were to get one. Any quick fixes out there?-thanks

I would properly troubleshoot before throwing parts
at it. The manual has a troubleshooting section.
If you don't have a manual you can dl it in pdf format
(broken link removed to http://www.eventempinc.com/stcroix/stoves/stoves.html)

ZETA Good words
I use them all the time.
DONT THROW PARTS AT A STOVE
throw a brush and a vacuum at it.

 

[hearthtools]

Follow the steps here first before spending the money on a control board
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/13499/

 

[dp2002]

Hi DP. That is good to hear that the dealer did their due-dillagence swapping out the motor. It was definitely starting to sound like you were working with somebody who might not really understand the stove. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I do consider the Hastings to be a bit of a noisy stove. However, it doesn't sound like the rattles are are normal. Mine has definitely done some of that at times, but if that was the typical operating noise I would be looking to sell my stove, as you are.
Sounds like you are on the right track with it, and I look forward to hearing how things work out.

Best regards

Update on my St Croix Hastings:

Two things happened,

1) The Versa Grate motor got even louder
2) The stove started to squeek/squeal

The dealer had put the original motor back in during the service call, so when the stove started squealing we called the dealer again and they came back to have a look (different guy). He replaced the versa grate motor and also noted that the versa grate shaft was out of alignment. He aligned it and lubed it and now the rattling and the squeal is gone. This guy really knew what he was doing. I think the last guy was not as knowledgable on the stove.

BTW: I sent an email to St Croix (in parallel, not realizing the 2nd tech was showing up based on my waiting experience) and St Croix was excellent. They called the next day, were very interested in my dissatisfaction, and wanted to understand the situation and make sure that the problems were solved (already solved when I talked with them).

So in the end I am pleased with the dealer and very pleased with St. Croix's responsiveness and now I really like my Hastings stove.

dp

 

[jnooley]

Hello,
I had a similar but maybe not the same issue yesterday. I turned on my St. Croix Prescott and it would act like it was going to start up but would idle back down after 30 seconds or so. My #2 light was blinking. I saw this thread and called the dealer listed earlier in this thread(thanks "firestarter"). I spoke to Joan who gave me a couple cleaning tips I did not know. She told me to take out the two side fake brick panels on the inside of the stove and clean/vacuum out the vent holes behind them. Also, she told me to open up the left side panel(two screws) and vacuum out the vacuum hose. I used a good strong shop vac to do it. Then I put everything back together and it started right up. Also, as others have mentioned, I went through my manual troubleshooting first which I found at (broken link removed to http://www.eventempinc.com/stcroix/downloads/downloads.html). Hope this helps.

 

[jnooley]

AHHHHHH! my st croix prescott EXL stopped working. The Auger isnt moving-I'm cold. Think its the motor, unsure. Unpluged and repluged-no avail. Live in Long Island NY (11742)and there are no dealers here at all. If I need a motor, do any other companys use the same auger motor? Any one know were to get one. Any quick fixes out there?-thanks

Sorry I'm a newbee as you might guess. My comment below was directed at the "russfamily" Prescott stove issue....
Hello,
I had a similar but maybe not the same issue yesterday. I turned on my St. Croix Prescott and it would act like it was going to start up but would idle back down after 30 seconds or so. My #2 light was blinking. I saw this thread and called the dealer listed earlier in this thread(thanks “firestarter"). I spoke to Joan who gave me a couple cleaning tips I did not know. She told me to take out the two side fake brick panels on the inside of the stove and clean/vacuum out the vent holes behind them. Also, she told me to open up the left side panel(two screws) and vacuum out the vacuum hose. I used a good strong shop vac to do it. Then I put everything back together and it started right up. Also, as others have mentioned, I went through my manual troubleshooting first which I found at (broken link removed to http://www.eventempinc.com/stcroix/downloads/downloads.html). Hope this helps.

 

[mkmh]

Really good to hear that the versa grate problem got fixed, as well as the vacuum issue noted in the above post. Looks like we're building a pretty nice base of St Croix owners out here which is great to see. I also ran into the issue of the plugged vacuum hose a while back, but actually did not know about removing the brick panels. I'm going to do that next weekend. I can imagine it is probably filthy since i've never done this in 3+ years of ownership!

Thanks for posting

 

[jnooley]

Really good to hear that the versa grate problem got fixed, as well as the vacuum issue noted in the above post. Looks like we're building a pretty nice base of St Croix owners out here which is great to see. I also ran into the issue of the plugged vacuum hose a while back, but actually did not know about removing the brick panels. I'm going to do that next weekend. I can imagine it is probably filthy since i've never done this in 3+ years of ownership!

Thanks for posting

Thanks mkmh. I'm glad I found this forum. I also should have noticed your previous post about your vacuum hose problem which would have saved me a phone call or two. BTW, my auger was making a funny noise last year also. My dealer suggested I wait until my pellet bin was empty, shut down the stove and then stick the hose of the shop vac down inside the auger hole and suck out as much as I could. After that my auger noise went away. It might be worth a shot if you haven't tried that yet. Good luck.

 

[Xena]

The firebrick panels pop out very easily. From day one I've made
it part of my monthly stove cleaning regimen to vac behind them
and vac the ash traps. If it's been unusually cold and we've been
burning through more pellets than normal, I will do the cleaning
every two weeks instead of monthly.



Any update yet russfamily? Curious to find out what was wrong with your stove.

 

[jnooley]

The firebrick panels pop out very easily. From day one I've made
it part of my monthly stove cleaning regimen to vac behind them
and vac the ash traps. If it's been unusually cold and we've been
burning through more pellets than normal, I will do the cleaning
every two weeks instead of monthly.



Any update yet russfamily? Curious to find out what was wrong with your stove.

Good advice on the cleaning Zeta. I think keeping up on the maintenace is huge on these stoves. To answer F7Joker, my stove is a Prescott EXL and the only issues I've had are the brick panels breaking, the clogged vacuum hose(see previous post) and the clicking auger noise which I resolved by sucking out extra pellet crumbs from down in the hole. I've had it since Oct 2006. Other than that, I've been very happy(and warm ). Hope this helps.

*I'm also anxious to hear the fix on the russfamily stove?

 

[[email protected]]

Hi everyone, Sorry to take so long with getting back. Work schedule and My dishwasher and Kitchen stove blew. Needless to say I've been fixing everything! ANYWAY, After testing what I thought was everything and expecting to be the circuit board. Contact a place and they send the part. $165 later(shipping ect..) I install, plug in-Nothing , a big goose egg, NOTHING $#@@!! Don't throw parts at it is ringing through my head over and over again. I'm all set to shamefully write you back after endless hours and toiling when I say to myself, Just test the safety switches again. Bingo!! The high limit switch-Yeah baby. I bypassed it for the minute and its now working. Cheap Heat again I have to order the high limit switch, but I'm back. Thank you everyone for the help- Russfamily.
PS anyone know if any other brands carry a the same make high limit switch. Or is it just St Croix Prescott EXL type?


*I'm also anxious to hear the fix on the russfamily stove?[/quote]

 

[hearthtools]

Hi everyone, Sorry to take so long with getting back. Work schedule and My dishwasher and Kitchen stove blew. Needless to say I've been fixing everything! ANYWAY, After testing what I thought was everything and expecting to be the circuit board. Contact a place and they send the part. $165 later(shipping ect..) I install, plug in-Nothing , a big goose egg, NOTHING $#@@!! Don't throw parts at it is ringing through my head over and over again. I'm all set to shamefully write you back after endless hours and toiling when I say to myself, Just test the safety switches again. Bingo!! The high limit switch-Yeah baby. I bypassed it for the minute and its now working. Cheap Heat again I have to order the high limit switch, but I'm back. Thank you everyone for the help- Russfamily.
PS anyone know if any other brands carry a the same make high limit switch. Or is it just St Croix Prescott EXL type?


*I'm also anxious to hear the fix on the russfamily stove?

[/quote]

What is the limts on the switch?
I might have the correct one.

 

[rebelliners]

Well I’m vary happy I found this form. I hate to wright but I want to share my views on the ST. Croix. Prescott EXL. The first thing is i've owned my stove sense 9/28/2005 I live In western New York just out side of Buffalo, NY and If you don’t no buffalo it is vary vary cold as matter in fact its 5* out rite now and its anywhere from 30* to 0* October threw March. I have put approximately 12 to 14 ton threw this stove and it runs 24 7. In this form I will give my pros and cons theirs no doubt that i’ve got my moneys worth my average heat bill was 400-500 a month the stove has got my heat bill down to 500-600$ a year. So no matter what I can't wine too much LOL the St. Croix is my only heat I do have a furnace in the house but hate to turn it on and give those money sucking Gas Company’s a dime LOL. I have had a lot of problems i’ve replaced the bricks 5 times, the pressured safety switch once the shaker plate, burn pot and that dame igniter once. And let’s not forget about the hell day im telling you folks this one beware on my own fault one night I left my Ash Cleanout rod open I mean pulled all the way out. This is the rod located on the bottom underneath the burn pot. I don’t now if any of you have done this but I never will again. What happens is when that’s left pulled out it gets a significant dose of oxygn and burns really big but not fast anoff. So a really long story short I had a small house fire. You see when I woke up I noticed the glass was vary dark and I was leavening for work in a hurry well the best part is im a fireman and a 911 emergency dispatcher for my county. I got to my truck and said you no what something wasn’t rite and I remembered a church fire that happened about two weeks prior we lost the hole church upon investigation of the church they found that the pellet stove burned in to the hopper. I went back in the house and noticed the ash rod was pulled out. And when I opened the to of hopper the hole stove was on fire and within minutes my house was full of smoke and my ADT fire alarm was going off. Theirs nothing more embarrassing when your place of work calls you and wants to no if they should dispatch fire and ems. I told them go ahead. That’s when the fireman in my self kicked in I ran and got a metal garbage can and shoveled the burning pellets as fast as I could running out side and dumping them in the cold snow and breathing in some fresh air. When my boys should up on the fire truck we immediately started are positive pressure fans and cleared the smoke so we could see. At this time I was on My Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) another words the big thing firemen where so we can breath. What I learned was not to shut the stove off. But to get all the pellets out you can shut the top and crank it up what it did was finally get all the pellets out of the auger that were still on fire. All said and done I had light smoke damage and a burnt ego LOL. Their was no damage to stove and after a good cleaning it was ready to go in an hr. I want to tell you I honestly believe that I have the cleanest pellet stove in the world being used sense day one I clean it every day people no joke ever dang day a full clean I’m talking bricks out top to bottom vacuumed Oh I no its way over kill but that’s how I am. I'm righting tonight because i'm at my wits and i’m just venting. To night the F**ken dang Versa Grate Motor took a crap remember how I told you I clean it every day well I noticed ash building up in the burn pot I mean soled pack ash and It would of done the same thing when I had that fire now that its not clearing the ash it just keeps building up when I found the ash was more then half way up the pellet shoot. Now I need to find this motor and who knows what else i’m going to need. And the same old sorry as every one else finding a dealer who can help. Well sorry if I wasted your time. I have a lot more I could tell you and some serious tips for cleaning and preparing for next season I’ve had that stove out three times and been up and down it. I have another really good couple of stories that I learned the hard way, STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO SOON TO COME. Thanks for reading sorry for the crap spelling.

 

[jnooley]

Well I’m vary happy I found this form. I hate to wright but I want to share my views on the ST. Croix. Prescott EXL. The first thing is i've owned my stove sense 9/28/2005 I live In western New York just out side of Buffalo, NY and If you don’t no buffalo it is vary vary cold as matter in fact its 5* out rite now and its anywhere from 30* to 0* October threw March. I have put approximately 12 to 14 ton threw this stove and it runs 24 7. In this form I will give my pros and cons theirs no doubt that i’ve got my moneys worth my average heat bill was 400-500 a month the stove has got my heat bill down to 500-600$ a year. So no matter what I can't wine too much LOL the St. Croix is my only heat I do have a furnace in the house but hate to turn it on and give those money sucking Gas Company’s a dime LOL. I have had a lot of problems i’ve replaced the bricks 5 times, the pressured safety switch once the shaker plate, burn pot and that dame igniter once. And let’s not forget about the hell day im telling you folks this one beware on my own fault one night I left my Ash Cleanout rod open I mean pulled all the way out. This is the rod located on the bottom underneath the burn pot. I don’t now if any of you have done this but I never will again. What happens is when that’s left pulled out it gets a significant dose of oxygn and burns really big but not fast anoff. So a really long story short I had a small house fire. You see when I woke up I noticed the glass was vary dark and I was leavening for work in a hurry well the best part is im a fireman and a 911 emergency dispatcher for my county. I got to my truck and said you no what something wasn’t rite and I remembered a church fire that happened about two weeks prior we lost the hole church upon investigation of the church they found that the pellet stove burned in to the hopper. I went back in the house and noticed the ash rod was pulled out. And when I opened the to of hopper the hole stove was on fire and within minutes my house was full of smoke and my ADT fire alarm was going off. Theirs nothing more embarrassing when your place of work calls you and wants to no if they should dispatch fire and ems. I told them go ahead. That’s when the fireman in my self kicked in I ran and got a metal garbage can and shoveled the burning pellets as fast as I could running out side and dumping them in the cold snow and breathing in some fresh air. When my boys should up on the fire truck we immediately started are positive pressure fans and cleared the smoke so we could see. At this time I was on My Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) another words the big thing firemen where so we can breath. What I learned was not to shut the stove off. But to get all the pellets out you can shut the top and crank it up what it did was finally get all the pellets out of the auger that were still on fire. All said and done I had light smoke damage and a burnt ego LOL. Their was no damage to stove and after a good cleaning it was ready to go in an hr. I want to tell you I honestly believe that I have the cleanest pellet stove in the world being used sense day one I clean it every day people no joke ever dang day a full clean I’m talking bricks out top to bottom vacuumed Oh I no its way over kill but that’s how I am. I'm righting tonight because i'm at my wits and i’m just venting. To night the F**ken dang Versa Grate Motor took a crap remember how I told you I clean it every day well I noticed ash building up in the burn pot I mean soled pack ash and It would of done the same thing when I had that fire now that its not clearing the ash it just keeps building up when I found the ash was more then half way up the pellet shoot. Now I need to find this motor and who knows what else i’m going to need. And the same old sorry as every one else finding a dealer who can help. Well sorry if I wasted your time. I have a lot more I could tell you and some serious tips for cleaning and preparing for next season I’ve had that stove out three times and been up and down it. I have another really good couple of stories that I learned the hard way, STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO SOON TO COME. Thanks for reading sorry for the crap spelling.

Thanks for posting RebelLiners. Now you've got me thinking that maybe I lost my versa grate motor too. I noticed that the ash was building up about a week ago but thought that maybe I just had a bad batch of pellets. How did you know that the motor died? Did you have to put your ear the motor in the back? One other thing, I can't believe how bad these brick panels are. They are really pathetic! I am going to try to make it through the winter with these but they are cracking all over the place.

 

[rebelliners]

To see if your versa grate motor is working is easy open up the left side of your stove while it is in a full burn and the blower motor is on. On the bottom you will see this little motor there is a really small shiny shaft that should be spinning if its not spinning it aint working. Another way to check is look at the shaft that comes out of that motor and follow it with your eyes and you will see it stops in the middle of the stove with a unscented cam is should be spinning nice a slow. I replaced mine and it running like a champ.

 

[Xena]

To see if your versa grate motor is working
is easy open up the left side of your stove while it is in a full burn and the blower motor is on.

The versa grate motor is visible/accessible from the right side
if you're facing the stove. The operation manual shows a good
diagram of what it looks.

 

[jnooley]

To see if your versa grate motor is working
is easy open up the left side of your stove while it is in a full burn and the blower motor is on.

The versa grate motor is visible/accessible from the right side
if you're facing the stove. The operation manual shows a good
diagram of what it looks.

Man...thanks a ton guys! I opened up both sides so that I could get a good look from both directions. Sure enough, the allen screw that holds the cam to the shaft had somehow loosened up. The cam was sitting there on the bottom. I put the cam back on, tightened it up and I am off and running. I'll be owing lots of beers to this forum before long.

 

[Xena]

jnooley glad to hear it was a simple fix for you!

 

[vam1721]

I have a ST Croix Hastings and I love it. Great stove but I am starting to get a noise from the auger like a groan only on start up cycle when stove is cold. Once stove gets warm noise goes away about three minutes. Does anyone have any ideas. I am very good about maintenance and cleaning.

 

[krooser]

You could try using a little powered graphite poured down hopper and mixed in the pellets... it will lube the auger.

 

[woodsman23]

I have a st croix afon bay and besides the igniter going bad it has been a great stove. Plenty of heat and easy cleaning and it run 24/7 for 2 weeks vefore having to clean it. Very happy with it. I run mine on setting 3 all the time and use the thermostat mode for the coldest months then smartstat for warmer months all off a thermostat monuted on the wall. I have put close to 12 tons trough it aand no problems except the dam igniter...

 

[MCPO]

I almost bought a St Croix at one time myself. The St Croix brand came highly recommended.
Honestly, After reading this forum for two years I`m convinced most pellet stoves do what they were designed to do and most do it well . Some a bit better than others maybe but the spread is narrow. They all need to be cleaned regularly and they all are subject to wear and consequently need repairs. Most of us here are mechanically skilled enough to perform most repairs and that in itself can be an equalizer among different brand stoves.

 

[krooser]

Well I’m vary happy I found this form. I hate to wright but I want to share my views on the ST. Croix. Prescott EXL. The first thing is i've owned my stove sense 9/28/2005 I live In western New York just out side of Buffalo, NY and If you don’t no buffalo it is vary vary cold as matter in fact its 5* out rite now and its anywhere from 30* to 0* October threw March. I have put approximately 12 to 14 ton threw this stove and it runs 24 7. In this form I will give my pros and cons theirs no doubt that i’ve got my moneys worth my average heat bill was 400-500 a month the stove has got my heat bill down to 500-600$ a year. So no matter what I can't wine too much LOL the St. Croix is my only heat I do have a furnace in the house but hate to turn it on and give those money sucking Gas Company’s a dime LOL. I have had a lot of problems i’ve replaced the bricks 5 times, the pressured safety switch once the shaker plate, burn pot and that dame igniter once. And let’s not forget about the hell day im telling you folks this one beware on my own fault one night I left my Ash Cleanout rod open I mean pulled all the way out. This is the rod located on the bottom underneath the burn pot. I don’t now if any of you have done this but I never will again. What happens is when that’s left pulled out it gets a significant dose of oxygn and burns really big but not fast anoff. So a really long story short I had a small house fire. You see when I woke up I noticed the glass was vary dark and I was leavening for work in a hurry well the best part is im a fireman and a 911 emergency dispatcher for my county. I got to my truck and said you no what something wasn’t rite and I remembered a church fire that happened about two weeks prior we lost the hole church upon investigation of the church they found that the pellet stove burned in to the hopper. I went back in the house and noticed the ash rod was pulled out. And when I opened the to of hopper the hole stove was on fire and within minutes my house was full of smoke and my ADT fire alarm was going off. Theirs nothing more embarrassing when your place of work calls you and wants to no if they should dispatch fire and ems. I told them go ahead. That’s when the fireman in my self kicked in I ran and got a metal garbage can and shoveled the burning pellets as fast as I could running out side and dumping them in the cold snow and breathing in some fresh air. When my boys should up on the fire truck we immediately started are positive pressure fans and cleared the smoke so we could see. At this time I was on My Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) another words the big thing firemen where so we can breath. What I learned was not to shut the stove off. But to get all the pellets out you can shut the top and crank it up what it did was finally get all the pellets out of the auger that were still on fire. All said and done I had light smoke damage and a burnt ego LOL. Their was no damage to stove and after a good cleaning it was ready to go in an hr. I want to tell you I honestly believe that I have the cleanest pellet stove in the world being used sense day one I clean it every day people no joke ever dang day a full clean I’m talking bricks out top to bottom vacuumed Oh I no its way over kill but that’s how I am. I'm righting tonight because i'm at my wits and i’m just venting. To night the F**ken dang Versa Grate Motor took a crap remember how I told you I clean it every day well I noticed ash building up in the burn pot I mean soled pack ash and It would of done the same thing when I had that fire now that its not clearing the ash it just keeps building up when I found the ash was more then half way up the pellet shoot. Now I need to find this motor and who knows what else i’m going to need. And the same old sorry as every one else finding a dealer who can help. Well sorry if I wasted your time. I have a lot more I could tell you and some serious tips for cleaning and preparing for next season I’ve had that stove out three times and been up and down it. I have another really good couple of stories that I learned the hard way, STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO SOON TO COME. Thanks for reading sorry for the crap spelling.

Thanks for posting RebelLiners. Now you've got me thinking that maybe I lost my versa grate motor too. I noticed that the ash was building up about a week ago but thought that maybe I just had a bad batch of pellets. How did you know that the motor died? Did you have to put your ear the motor in the back? One other thing, I can't believe how bad these brick panels are. They are really pathetic! I am going to try to make it through the winter with these but they are cracking all over the place.

The Cerra-Brick panels are decorative only... I threw mine out after the first year with my used stove... no need to replace them.

 

[magsf11]

the only problem that i have had is with my exhaust motor. the bearings are going and it has stoped working a few times. going to replace it this spring. and yes the bricks do stink mine are all cracked. its like puting a puxxle together when i replace them after the stove cleaning. since this is my only heat source I have no complants have burned 14 ton threw it. I to am from just outside buffalo ny and it has been cold here, but the house is at 73. happy heating. jim

 

[mogie55/looking]

Iam lookiking at a St. Croix Hastings as a suppement to my out door stove for a lower level family room. BUt what I see on this forum is everyone looking for parts for their pellet stoves. I have found that for my outdoor stove I can order parts from Grainger at wwww. grainger.com for about 1/3 to 1/2 of the price a dealer charges if you can get a manufacture and part # off what you need. I am a do it yourself type of guy. and I know alot of you are to. I hope this helps

 

[Xena]

Jim - shoot an email to St Croix via their website about the
refractory panels. You should be able to get a set of the
steel ones. I can't recall how much but a few years ago
I got them and they are great. The new stoves come with
steel panels afaik.