Window mount pellet stove

[tjnamtiw]

As you suspect, there's a real chance that something got jarred loose with all the handling and over-the-road bumping that thing has seen to get from the factory to you. Good luck! I hope you get it working because I think that are many of us who would like to get one of them.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I bought one of these last week and had a friend help me put it in today. So far I am having some issues maybe someone here can help since USSC is closed.

First question is should the exhaust fan always be on(I assume so)? It goes off then immediately turns back on once in awhile(~every 30 seconds or so).

Second question when I turn the stove on the ON button blinks green and pellets flow. The burn pot fills and then the pellets ignite. The auger stops feeding pellets when it should but the light keeps blinking green it never goes solid. The room fan does come on when it reaches tempature. eventually a timeout is reached and it shuts down.
Thanks,
Will

looking at the usstove.com site, here is an answer for their 5500 stove. Does it apply to yours? Don't know. (broken link removed to http://pub45.bravenet.com/faq/show.php?usernum=3791519644&catid=7889#q6)

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

The stove is shutting down due to a pressure error (that is what the “Press Sw†led is all about).

Now in addition to the wiring (namely the two black wires on the combustion blower that change color at a couple of connectors) it would also be worthwhile to check the door gaskets for a tight seal in at least two spots on each side.

 

[joe91898]

I bought one of these last week and had a friend help me put it in today. So far I am having some issues maybe someone here can help since USSC is closed.

First question is should the exhaust fan always be on(I assume so)? It goes off then immediately turns back on once in awhile(~every 30 seconds or so).

Second question when I turn the stove on the ON button blinks green and pellets flow. The burn pot fills and then the pellets ignite. The auger stops feeding pellets when it should but the light keeps blinking green it never goes solid. The room fan does come on when it reaches tempature. eventually a timeout is reached and it shuts down.
Thanks,
Will

The exhaust fan answer is on the website under FAQ's. It's supposed to that.
It sounds like you are over heating on the start up run. Same thing happened to me. the burn pot filled up to much and the fire got too hot. Automatically shuts the stove down. I unplgged and plugged back in after it shiut down and it has not happened again since. Start the stove on the #1 setting and once it is up and running then go up in the settings. Also keep in mind that the hopper door has to be closed as well as the large outer front door or the auger will not feed pellets. You will get an error code if the hopper door is open

 

[joe91898]

Oh cool. Glad some people got one. I'm anxious for photo's too. Does the window frame get any heat off the unit??

The outside shell of the unit does not get hot. Mine has been running steady for about 15 hours straight only shuutting down to clean the burn pot and the outer shell is warm to the touch. I have it on setting #4 so it's kicking pretty good.

 

[aridon99]

I just installed one of these. Prior to ordering it, I saw the limited amount of info on this thread and basically just ordered on faith. It has been a good unit. Performs as advertised. The ignition process does take anywhere from 10-15 mins. I'm still trying to figure out if a clean burn pot makes this faster or one with more ash in it. It dispenses a fixed amount of pellets in to the burn pot for the ignition stage... which looks like a heat gun is running, aimed at the burn pot. My Black and Decker paint stripper is probably very close to this thing's ignitor. For the install, I didn't want to tamper with my windows and lose any light in the sun room, so I installed it right under the window between the jack studs. So far, I'm really liking the thing. I'll post some pictures soon.

I do have one small problem. I've used the thing about 8 times, 1 hour each time. Each time, a strong paint/pellet burning smell came out of it and filled the house. I think it has been getting less and less strong subsequent times, so I'm hoping it'll go away soon. Maybe it's the black hi-temp paint off gasing? I'm using a bag of pellets I got from Lowes, I'm wondering if that has anything to do with the smell as well. This thing direct vents, so my guess is it has to be the new surfaces off-gasing or the unit has a slight defect and gases inside the burnpot is leaking out. Any thoughts? I'll be happy to answer any questions buyers might have as I think the idea of this product is great, and more vendors need to make competing devices like this. Easy to install, not too expensive, and gives home owners lots of options on where to put it.

The manual was pretty sparse on the installation instructions. You pretty much have to figure it out on your own if you're not going the window mounting route. They could spend a bit more time on the amount of content.

And to address a prior comment, the pellet hopper does have a flat bottom, which means if you let it run down to the last 5-6%, it won't grab the last bit to feed the fire. Just refill it before it gets down to the very bottom and you won't have a problem. I mean, you'll have to fill it soon anyhow if you're getting down to that last 5%... it's not buying you that much more time. Can the hopper be larger, sure... but they can always be larger so you can just fill it once a year

-John

 

[Turbo-Quad]

The paint smell is probably just new paint curing combined with the heat of the unit. I've read where some people will operate their new stoves outside before installing them to get past the new paint smell. Looking forward to more info on this stove.

 

[perchin]

I really hope this doesn't turn into a 50 page pictureless thread. I would really love to SEE one installed.

 

[mbutts]

Every ONCE in a while my mouse wonders a bit, gets clicked and I end up here from the Hearth forum. And this thread is probably a prime example of WHY. lol Better than the comedy channel. Any one know if they are planning a wood stove version with 15' stack?
All kidding aside it does sound like it might be good for some situations. If they have all the bugs worked out and it is reasonably reliable. How many hours can you get from a fill? Also what is the low BTU setting?
I hope to get a pellet/corn stove someday, don't think it will be a window model but this model fills a nitch. Wonder how many rental houses will end up with these in the coming years? Ok, I need to scan some more threads in here b4 I go. Now I have material to talk about when I go into town this week... laters....
Oh btw, feel free to wander into the Hearth sometime, we have some pretty good threads there that will bring a smile to your face. I find myself enjoying this forum more and more each year!

 

[2400]

I have one of these stoves and am pretty happy with it. I have a hard time heating the northwest corner of the house, which is where the den and bathroom are. I just needed a little help there so I put one of these little guys in the window and the temp went from 50 to 68. What a relief. I had been using a milkhouse heater in the bathroom when showering and it was hardly adequate. It's a real pleasure to take a shower and not be wiping ice off my body! I am running on level 2 or 3. No stove pipe to mess with. It's pretty quiet. It is a bit of a challenge to seal off the window with the foam padding provided. I still get some smoke smell in the room but not bad. I am thinking of finding some plastic bag like tubes to put under the stove and on the sides then filling them with expanding spray can foam insulation. I think that would close up the gaps better. The plastic would keep the foam from sticking to the stove. The stove doesn't get hot enough to melt the plastic. Just need to find the plastic bag like tubes. Over all I'm pretty happy.

 

[tjnamtiw]

That's a great idea of using the plastic tubes for 'non-permanent' insulation.

 

[ohbix]

Could you report on exhaust cleaning? I read the manual and it said to remove/clean the spark arrestor on the back regularly - weekly? Anyway, I'd use this stove on the second floor, and see a problem w/ accessing the exhaust/spark arrestor. Opinion of any users? Thanks.

 

[skidozer]

maybe try looking at shipping supplies or something like that.
We use that in our shipping dept at work.

 

[2400]

Yeh I was going to the ocal shipping place and see if they had something like that.

 

[2400]

Could you report on exhaust cleaning? I read the manual and it said to remove/clean the spark arrestor on the back regularly - weekly? Anyway, I'd use this stove on the second floor, and see a problem w/ accessing the exhaust/spark arrestor. Opinion of any users? Thanks.

Probably goin to need a tall ladder or pull the stove out from the inside. To clean it I think you just remove the spark arrester and scrape out the chamber maybe vaccum.

 

[burrman]

no pictures up yet?

 

[aridon99]

See PHOTOS below. The more I use this thing, the worse the smoke fumes inside the house is getting. I need to call US Stoves and see if they can help me with a remedy. Is it coincidence that Northern Tools no longer carries this product? even though they're still ranked number 1 in google search for 'window mounted pellet stove' (this site is #3).

It is definitely not the new paint smell I'm smelling at this time. There is for sure a leak between the burn chamber and the inside of the house, which should not be the case. The other night I shut the stove off, closed the door to the sunroom where the stove is, and went to bed. The next morning, the whole sunroom smells like the aftermath of an arson investigation. I've been airing that room out for a week and it still smells bad. I think the smoke smell will never come out of some of the furniture. I think when I shut the unit off, it stopped feeding new pellets in to the burn chamber, and what should have happened is the remaining fuel should just burn itself off. Well, that didn't seem to happen. I think there wasn't enough oxygen flow as the pellets didn't disintegrate to ash in the chamber as it normally does. The pellets simply turned black, turned to a charcoal like consistency, but stayed whole. The byproduct is the burn chamber smells like the worst dirty ashtray ever, and my whole sunroom sells the same way. The burn chamber should have zero airflow with the inside of the house, only heat given off by the metal enclosure, which the fan removes. So, I'm pretty sure my unit has a crack somewhere and is defective.

-John

 

[2400]

What kind of pellets are you using? That might make a difference. Are you sure the window is sealed off completey? I haven't had that problem. There is a slight smoke smell but my window isn't sealed good. I can see light throught the sides in a few places. I just have mine set up temporarily until I decide exactly how I want to install it. My pellets burn completely, in fact there is little ash. I even burned some corn last night (I am prepared for the backlash). It burned extremely well but as we all know burning corn can erode parts not meant for burning corn so I won't do it anymore. they really ought to set these up for corn too. I liked the way the corn burned.

 

[joecool85]

There is for sure a leak between the burn chamber and the inside of the house, which should not be the case. The other night I shut the stove off, closed the door to the sunroom where the stove is, and went to bed. The next morning, the whole sunroom smells like the aftermath of an arson investigation. I've been airing that room out for a week and it still smells bad. I think the smoke smell will never come out of some of the furniture. I think when I shut the unit off, it stopped feeding new pellets in to the burn chamber, and what should have happened is the remaining fuel should just burn itself off. Well, that didn't seem to happen. I think there wasn't enough oxygen flow as the pellets didn't disintegrate to ash in the chamber as it normally does. The pellets simply turned black, turned to a charcoal like consistency, but stayed whole. The byproduct is the burn chamber smells like the worst dirty ashtray ever, and my whole sunroom sells the same way. The burn chamber should have zero airflow with the inside of the house, only heat given off by the metal enclosure, which the fan removes. So, I'm pretty sure my unit has a crack somewhere and is defective.

-John

Sounds like a defective unit to me. I'd called Northern Tool and see about a refund/replacement.

 

[aridon99]

I emailed US Stove and am waiting to see what they will do. I'm burning a normal bag of pellets from Lowes so I don't think that's the problem. I'm not trying to burn anything I'm not suppose to. Anyhow, here is a video showing that the smoke is coming from behind the burn chamber, and not from the grass door.

(broken link removed to http://www.box.net/shared/static/onm9gxy4ey.mov)

 

[BadDad320]

[quote author="aridon99" date="1295989294"]I emailed US Stove and am waiting to see what they will do. I'm burning a normal bag of pellets from Lowes so I don't think that's the problem. I'm not trying to burn anything I'm not suppose to. Anyhow, here is a video showing that the smoke is coming from behind the burn chamber, and not from the grass door.

(broken link removed to http://www.box.net/shared/static/onm9gxy4ey.mov)[/quote
.......That doesn't look good........

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Do not fire that stove again.

You'll have more than just smoke to deal with.

Call the technical support line at USSC get an email address from them and email a link of that movie.

Something isn't sealed that should be.

If you want to find out what on your own set up supports in your yard to mount it on and do your looking around outdoors.

 

[2400]

There is an 800 number in the manual. If you have that handy give them a call.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Holy cow, like Smokey said, don't use that thing! Something came loose in shipping or has broken. Scream bloody murder until you get satisfaction from USSC. I think, from reading here over the years, that they are a very reasonable bunch and should jump right on this problem. Go up the chain of command until you get someone who will truly listen. Don't back down.

 

[aridon99]

Believe me, I'm not using that thing until I hear from US Stove. I first call them yesterday and talked to a nice gal on the phone, but she didn't know much about this unit since it's new. She just suggested I check the glass door and make sure it's sealed. Yes it is. I'm not an expert on these stoves, but that much I know. She then asked me to sent support an email, so I attached the video and explained the situation. I told them my family enjoys the heat output, but the fumes are so bad now that we won't be turning it on due to health concerns. Haven't heard anything back so far, I'll keep you folks posted.

Finally, I'm getting around to putting up some pictures.

Here you see the unit in action.

The plastic door swing open to the left.

The metal door that opens the burn chamber seems very secure as it makes a very tight flat seal.

I left out the burn pot for you. It's easy to clean. It usually makes a very complete burn, so there isn't much left to clean.

Just under the burn chamber are two latches that open the main cleaning area for any remaining residue that drops down from the burn pot.

-John