LL Pocono stoker just went out all of a sudden!

 
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WessWackos
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Post by WessWackos » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 12:26 pm

Hey Guys,

I'm trying to solve a mystery here. My Pocono has been running great for 8 years with barely an issue. The other day, it just went out...full of coal, un-burnt coal on the very beginning of the feeder plate (?)...the blowers still going...

My son mentioned that he opened the stove earlier and used the shovel to scrape the burnt ash off the plate. But I don't think that is the issue because I cranked the sucker to a 99 feed rate and it wasn't feeding coal onto the grate.

Does this sound like a busted "feeder motor" issue? I noticed that the little shaft on the bottom of the motor wasn't spinning, or spinning much anyway. I think that sucker is usually whirring around pretty good.

-Cold Wackos in Southern PA


 
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WessWackos
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Post by WessWackos » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 7:06 pm

Any ideas??????

 
Phil May
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Post by Phil May » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 7:10 pm

It is junk if it has power to it and it not spinning.

 
titleist1
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Post by titleist1 » Mon. Nov. 12, 2018 7:51 pm

I am sorry I don't know the LL's better but have you called LL directly? They could probably have you check one or two things and have a good idea of what replacement part you need, take your order and ship it right out. A motor needing replacement after 8 years isn't unheard of.

 
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Post by coalnewbie » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 5:14 am

Yes, I also have a Pocono that is 8 years young. Get down on the floor and at that high feed rate watch coal being fed in (or not). I would bet that young fingers have jammed the system, just take it apart. I do use a graphite spray but I don't know if it does any good. Seems to make things run smoother but the jury is out. Shaded pole motors probably do have a limited life span but regular oiling helps a lot. I like the Poke as I realize from reading hydronics posts around here that I will never be smart enough to run one.

Sometimes an enthusiastic scraper can jam ash into the holes. I did that in the early days and sent five minutes with a cocktail stick fixing it. However, an eight year veteran will have thought of that.

 
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Rob R.
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Post by Rob R. » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 5:22 am

A good cleaning and inspection will likely reveal the issue. You might have an oversize piece of coal jamming up the works.

 
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WNY
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Post by WNY » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 6:32 am

does it have a direct vent or power vent? maybe the flue switch tripped, it will stop the stoker.

Try plugging the stoker motor in directly to an outlet and check it to see if it moves and makes sure the stoker plate/block is moved back and forth and make sure the motor itself is working.

maybe the coaltrol blew a fuse or tripped the stoker offline? Try unplugging unit and start over. see if that works.


 
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StanT
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Post by StanT » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 6:34 am

Its only 2 nuts to take the motor off, Plug it into a regular socket and see how fast it runs, I think the arm is 1 rpm. Might be a lil higher, if you get the rpm try shaking the feed plate by hand, in and out about 1 inch max. if you go more it will come out. it might have coal under the plate. That is what happened to mine.

Good luck, Stant

 
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WessWackos
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Post by WessWackos » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 1:29 pm

Question: if I crank the beast up to 99 feed rate...should that metal shaft be spinning like crazy on the feed motor?

The stove had been out a while when I noticed it was cool downstairs. I expected the unburnt coal to be dropping in the ashpan but it didn't move down the grate at all.


I will get to work troubleshooting. I am NOT HANDY, so this is a bit intimidating.

 
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StanT
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Post by StanT » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 3:29 pm

Dont scrape the ashes off of the feed plate, that is probably why it went out. It does not feed coal like crazy when on 99 feed rate, The feed rate is the percentage of your max setting. also the motor shaft is a constant rpm.
Hold down the menu button untill you see FEED, press the up arrow to 10, Now it will feed constant for 10 minutes, but only at 1 cycle every minute or so, to go back just press menu button until the round robbin apears.

When you get the 10 up get a light and you should see the coal move every minute or so.

EZ Stant

 
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Post by WessWackos » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 7:23 pm

EZ,

I emptied the stove, turned it to 10 as you said and the plate started moving as it should. Just checked the motor and it is zipping around and around...

I bet that little bugger scraping the ash did put the dumb thing out!

That said, I HATE the process of starting the stove. I was taught to use natural charcoal and it stinks the house for two days...what do you all do to start your stoves?

 
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Post by nepacoal » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 7:52 pm

I fill a brown paper lunch bag with 1.5 to 2 inches of hardwood lump charcoal. Push it into the coal near the top holes and cover it with a little rice coal. light it with a propane torch and turn on the stoker. Add a little rice as the charcoal gets going. Usually takes about 15 minutes to get a good fire going. Lump charcoal is the key to this method.

 
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Post by titleist1 » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 7:55 pm

Next time i restart i am going to try the cowboy charcoal in a paper bag as mentioned above instead of having it loose.

To start my stoker i break up cowboy charcoal into smaller pieces and put them on the front 2/3 of the grates. The back 1/3 is rice coal at its normal depth so it is ready to feed when the time is right.

I use a propane torch to get the cowboy charcoal glowing a bit and shut the door, then turn on only the combustion fan. Feed motor and distribution blower are off at this point.

I wait until the cowboy charcoal is throwing off some flames, usually 3 minutes or so and i shut off combustion fan and open the door to put a thin layer of rice coal on top of the cowboy charcoal. Shut door and turn on combustion fan again for about another 3 minutes.
Shut off combustion fan and open door to put more rice coal on top of cowboy coal area. Shut door and turn on combustion fan.
Wait about 3 minutes and then turn on feed motor. Wait about 5 minutes and turn on distribution fan.

Stuff I do to eliminate smoke and smell of start up fires. Turning off combustion fan while door is open cuts way down on charcoal smell getting into the house. I also goose the draft to start by putting a heat gun or hair dryer in the baro T while I am breaking up the cowboy coal and putting it on the grates. I have a manometer in place so I can watch the draft increase (to ~ -.01) while hot air is being blown up the chimney before lighting the cowboy charcoal! I open a basement window at the start and don't close it until i turn on the distribution blower.

 
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WessWackos
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Post by WessWackos » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 8:18 pm

You guys are awesome. I'm in and running. I feel rather stupid that it was just an issue of going out....but that appears to be my issue. I guess my son cleaned off the grate so well that there wasn't enough resistance to get air through the coal.....now I know. And I had a little chat with all my boys, asking them to please not open the stove to mess with it. Let Dad break it on his own. :)

 
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Post by StanT » Tue. Nov. 13, 2018 8:30 pm

I use wood pellets, add some lighter fluid in a jar with the pellets, get coal down about 1/2 way, add about 3 tablespoon into a hole you make in the coal, Works great

Stant


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