Yankee Lopi stove stinks!!

[Bugly]

Hello all,

Kevin here from NE Pa. I am currently running a Yankee Lopi pellet stove for the past 17 years or so. Maintained and cleaned pretty well all those years but now I noticed this past season there was a more than usual burn smell. Like at a campfire. A cleaning usually helps but not this time. I replaced the exhaust fan before last season so it was extra clean. Some if not all of the smell is coming from the top of the heating tubes and the shied above them. So my question is can the heating tubes be removed on this model? Pictures attached. It seems like it should and I removed a few screws but it didn't really budge. I'd like to check here before I tear into it. Thank you for any help.

 

[Don2222]

Hello
I had the same problem with the Travis Lopi Pioneer bay and similar pellet stoves. I have found the hard way that the problem with smoke or smoke smell coming out of the heat exchanger tubes is that the square part of the exhaust flange which is bolted to the exhaust blower housing and sealed with silicone. The first issue is that many times there is not enough silicone put on it at the factory during assembly but also the 4 self tapping bolts used in many cases are too small to hold it on securely. Therefore if you can grab the round part where the venting attaches and wiggle it back and forth the seal is most likely broken and leaking the smoke! Therefore it should be removed and cleaned with a wire wheel on my drill driver and larger self tapping screws should be used to re-install it. Typically I use # 10 1/2” long self tapping Stainless Steel screws to replace the OEM screws and plenty of clear high temperature silicone on both the flange and the housing before bolting them back together.
Below is a pic where I just put a new flange on since someone drilled a bolt hole to attach the venting in the old one. I use a T-Bolt clamp or a radiator clamp for easier servicing. That is just my 2 cent fix that works in many cases.

 

[Bugly]

Hi Don2222,

Thanks for the reply. Ironic that you mentioned this issue. My exhaust fan stopped working and I replaced it at the beginning of last season. I cleaned everything while it was apart. I used RTV like Holy Water on this flange that you spoke of. I checked it often throughout the season with seemingly no issues. My stove did not start to smell till the end of the season. And it got worse after a bit of time during a lasy burn. Everything was covered with black ash / soot. The whole plate above the heating pipes is black and I can't reach them. I get my nose close, and this is where the smell comes from. It's not horrible just more than usual.
I will continue to check my flange area and clean the best I can before I begin to burn...which will be any day here in NE Pa. Thanks again.

Kevin

 

[Don2222]

Hi Kevin
Make sure that you cannot wiggle that exhaust flange back and forth. I have found that if those small bolts the manufacturer uses are stripped then there is no amount of silicone that will keep it from leaking smoke! I changed this flange on a Quadrafire CB1200 with gobs of silicone on the flange but smoke was pouring out the front! So I changed the flange with larger bolts and changed the housing and it cured the problem 100 percent