Hello everyone.

We bought a new Bixby 120 about a month ago. (seriel #10047 date of Dec 2007)

I have been trying and trying to get this thing dialed in with no success.

I am in mid Michigan and the temps have been in the mid 40's during the day...I have been trying to get it dialed in at level 4 and burning ProPellets.

No matter what I do I get a 2/3 blink. Which is supposed to be lean. I have tried for days and gone through tens of pages of forums and I still can't get it to quit. They will blink for a couple minutes...then go out for a couple...on...then out...and so on. All day long. I try and make small corrections to one knob, but to no avail. Either it ends up filling the pot with pellets (still blinking) or there is never any build up of pellets at all in the burn pot (and still blinking).

I have thrown my hands up and started over at 0/0 twice..and still can't get it. I have cleaned it out one time after about a weeks worth of burning...in total we have about 2-3 weeks of burning on it (we don't burn it when we are not at home..not until I get it dialed in).

Flame for the most part seems to be pretty lively I think. The only real thing I could note is that it seems to sometimes be blowing from one side of the pot or another, as it circulation were causing the flames to blow more to the left or right.

Is there anyone who can help me out there with some suggestions. I am getting really frustrated at this point.

Thanks.

(also...does everyones run so loud??? I mean fan wise....just seems to be a little on the loud side)

Hi Jame. Great to have another new member on board. Info of trim pot settings is here:
forum.iburncorn.com/wiki/index.php/Bixby...m_iburncorn_forum.29

You have to make small gradual increments, waiting several hours or ideally a full cycle, watching carefully how the fuel level builds up in the pot, before making new adjustments.

The stoves have been sold with two different fans, one higher speed than the other. They are the highest speed fans on the market for stoves. This optimizes your ability to move the heat. The lower speed fan is no longer available from the German supplier. The fan sound story is documented here in the WIKI:
forum.iburncorn.com/wiki/index.php/BixbyFAQ#Convection_Fan

I don't think that Bixby manufactured 120s in 2007. Sure it's not a 115? Is there a trim pot for ash setting? If so, you have a 120.

The loud fan is because the Bixby fan moves close to twice the amount of air as other stoves.
I have a 120 and with level 4 I have exh on +20 and feed on -10 This seems to work good for me. I use a 36 inch out the back exh pipe.
With the 120 you can turn down the convection fan so it will be quieter. There isn't as many 120s out there but basically they work the same as the 115s or maxfires only a few more knobs to play with and get confused until you figure out what works.
Your 120 has the same board or controls as the Bixby UBB but of course different software. I have cables that will connect your 120 to a laptop so you can use Bixcheck and do a diagnosis of how the stove is working and if there is something wrong it will help find the problem.

Just for information purposes my 120 label said it was made in Oct 2006 with serial number 9845.

make sure fuel mix is turned all the way to B that is wood setting, also if burning good and filling up you can change ash dump timing with knob, give me your email or send one to blume@pa.net(anyone else too) and i will send you a dealer service manual

Corny wrote:


Corny....Thanks for the warm welcome.

I am pretty sure it's a 120. That's supposedly what I was being sold by the dealer. My control knobs are as follows from top to bottom....

spare, exhaust, feed, ash dump freq, convection fan, fuel aux (set to , bixcheck and thermostat port.

I think you ment do I have the ash dump frequency trim knob..and if so yet I do. So I am still thinking I have a 120....but you probably would know better so if I don't let me know.

Glad to hear about the fans. I was reading on the forums that it was kind of noisy, but I didn't know if it ment that noisy!! It sounds like its just a function of the air it moves. We can live with it I think I maybe just wanted to make sure I didn't have something abnormal. There's no metal clanging...just a loud fan noise with some vibrations once in a while.

I was not waiting as long as you indicated to adjust trim knobs. The dealer said to give it awhile like 30-40 minutes so I was waiting like an hour or two before adjusting. Then I would only adjust about a third of a notch at a time. But I could never get it bunging good without the 2/3 blinking. I guess I will have to go even slower..but honestly the frustration is killing me. I finally just shut the thing off this afternoon.

rona wrote:


Rona...

Thanks. I think I will need to take you up on the cable and bixcheck. I am a pretty patient guy I think...but I have been trying at this thing for days and I am getting pretty thin I admit.

I did hear that turning down convection fan would make it quieter, but I either read or the dealer told me if I did that it would make it much less efficient and most of the heat would be blown out the exhaust. What would "you" classify as the the trade off turning down the convection fan for less noise but loosing????

Our exhaust is about the same..I come up 6 inches and then straight out 3 feet from the house. Although I think I am going to add another foot as it's getting the gutter and siding kind of black.

With those settings (level 4, +20 ex, -10 feed) what kind of heat are you producing and what have your temperatures been outside??

And thanks for all the helpful info.

Ya, you have a 120. (Good on you!)

When you adjust the trim pots, you affect the amount of fuel that will remain after the next ashdump, and that will affect the performance of the next cycle, so there'sno quick adjustment.

That said, if you see that the pot is filling rapidly with a lazy flame, by all means lean it out right away. Or if you see that the pot stays rather empty and the flame cycles significantly from small to large, then richen it right away.

Don't worry about the *occasional* 2&3 code. You're very close to optimal at that point.

blume98 wrote:


Blume....

Email sent to you. It's on setting B for pellets. Dealer fired up and got an ops check on the stove before I picked it up and he had it to B. He is telling me to just keep tinkering with it and that the thermocouple could be to new so it's super sensitive. I don't know. He says with a good soot build up it will settle down...but I don't want to just dumb all the sensors down with soot so I don't have to look at blinking anymore. Don't know..I need to regroup with all your guys info.

As Corny says don't worry about the 2/3 blinking as it is showing that the stove is trying to adjust itself. If it happens a lot try increasing the feed rate but very slowly. I guess I see mine blink once in a while but if the weather turns colder it will blink more often meaning you have to increase the feed rate because with cold air it also gives the stove more oxygen and you have to add fuel to get the right mix.