Pellet Stoves

[Northman]

My girlfriend has a pellet stove, installed new ~2000. Worked well for the first year she lived there, then one day snuffed out and filled the house with smoke. Was blamed on not being cleaned out properly, so had that done.

Worked great for a while longer, then started snuffing itself out when it was milder outside. I cleaned it out at the beginning of the year and it works great when it's cold, but when the temp gets mild and the stove cuts itself back, it will snuff out. No smoke or anything, just quits burning.

I'm thinking it's either a problem with the auger, or the control for the auger.

Any insight from someone that actually knows? I can get the make/model tonight if that helps.

[Byrdman]

Until now, I had never even heard of a pellet stove. After a quick search, they seem to be pretty cool.

Good luck fixing it but thanks for sharing either way Chris!

[hillbillyxx]

I replaced a wood burning insert with an England Stove Works pellet stove 4 years ago. It has been nothing but a pain in the ass since the first. The combustion blower motor burnt out the first month it was out of warranty. Last year was decent with just one auger motor replacement. This winter it has been down twice with melted auger motors. It's almost enough to make splitting wood seem like fun.

Most likely you need to call their tech support and let them check it out. All the new electronic stoves have a self test mode. The tech guy at England admits that if you don't like to tinker with something don't buy a pellet stove. I hear that the free standing models are a little better due to running cooler than the inserts. When they work they work pretty well.

[DaveK]

From what I know of them....they are like a saltwater fishtank. Once you get it working correctly....it's on it's own from that point on.

[EVLXX]

My dad bought one years ago, when pellets were cheap, then the price shot up, and he started haveing problems like you stated. It got to the point he would have to use a Vacume cleaner to suck out all the residuals in the burn bowl, every day.

Finally he got tired of fucking with it all the time, and went back to a wood stove.

These comments sound very familiar.

I replaced a wood burning insert with an England Stove Works pellet stove 4 years ago. It has been nothing but a pain in the ass since the first. The combustion blower motor burnt out the first month it was out of warranty. Last year was decent with just one auger motor replacement. This winter it has been down twice with melted auger motors. It's almost enough to make splitting wood seem like fun.

Most likely you need to call their tech support and let them check it out. All the new electronic stoves have a self test mode. The tech guy at England admits that if you don't like to tinker with something don't buy a pellet stove. I hear that the free standing models are a little better due to running cooler than the inserts. When they work they work pretty well.

My suggestion....... SELL IT !

Then go out and buy a Quadra-Fire or Lopi. Yes they cost a bit more, but their efficiency and reliability in my opinion are second to none. Either one will last a lifetime.

http://www.quadrafire.com/en/Browse/By%20F...0Type/Wood.aspx

http://www.lopistoves.com/product_guide/wood_stoves.aspx

[Northman]

My first choice would be to replace it with a woodstove, as well, but it's not my money. Not to mention it's a finished basement and running a new chimney will be a huge PITA.

It's non-electronic, at least as far as the burning end goes. It just varies the auger speed to control temp from what I can tell so far.

I'll call the guys that build it and see what they suggest.

Thanks for the replies

[Iceman_40]

They are real popular up here. I know at least 10 people that run them all winter.

Problem is that 2000 would have been first generation, they weren't great. They have a fresh air vent, the colder the air the more O2 so it burns better. If it goes out when it gets warmer I'd bet you have a problem with the air in take, something blocking it maybe.

They also tend to have a electric fan that helps blow the air into the fire, this fan maybe dirty or getting bad too. Either would cause it to go out when it got warmer.

Does the auger keep feeding pellets right when it is cold out? If so I'd bet that auger and motor is good. A friend of mine has a old one he got for free, he has to adjust the speed of auger as temp changes as when it gets warm it dumps too many pellets and doesn't burn it goes out.