Well I did my first cleaning yesterday after a week. Nothing to special. I vacuumed out the burn tray, removed the heat exchanger covers and cleaned the heat exchangers. I did reverse the cover plates when I put them back on to increase heat efficiency as per posts in the old forum. I also decided to check the exhaust fan as I thought it might be a little loud and wanted to see if it was hitting the sensor which it didnt seem to be. I knew the cover gasket was flimsy and I was careful but not careful enough and it tore a little around some of the screws. I put some high temp sealant over the tears and around the inside edge and put the cover back on. The stove had been running quite well before the cleaning but after..not so good. It starts up but cannot keep the flame for very long at all ( a few minutes mostly), and then shuts down with number 2 light.

I did another cleaning as the burn plate was covered in black soot pretty quick, and I poked the lower burn plate holes which seemed mostly fine. Took the burn plates off and removed the pot but it seemed ok. Fired up again and same thing. I found a little soot inside the right side of the stove and a little smoke at startup but could not tell where the smoke was coming from.

I ran matches around the exhaust fan cover and did get some flame movement but Im not sure if it is from air currents due to the convection fan. I also felt warm air behind the exhaust fan box and I am not sure if it is supposed to be like that or if there is an exhaust leak. I am going to let the stove cool and really seal the cover on with high temp sealant to see if that is the problem.

I'm pretty sure it must be the issue but I just wanted some experienced advice from the vets out there Ive learned so much from just reading the old posts.
thankyou.

You should check out the thermocouple thick brown wire with the flag on it. Since it was first cleaning you should make sure there is nothing sitting on the lip where the burn plates sit. Leave one screw finger tight in the deflector and install an 1/8 allen wrench or something similar on the right hand side between the burn plate and wall of stove to eliminate the gap somewhat. Put the heat exchanger plates in like they should be till you get a few miles on the stove. These are only observations to think about. Give it a shot. I am rusty on this stove now but just some stuff I learned a few years ago. Worth a shot and best wishes.

Did you remove the exhaust fan? I cant quite tell what you did there.
Also, I agree with Jawquin, perhaps you accidentally removed the TC wire.

I guess Im a little confused you flipped the heat exchange covers over ??For what reason guess Ive never heard of this before

I don't recall who, but on the old forum somebody found that if you flip the heat exchanger covers over if pushes them a little closer to the heat exchangers, therfore giving you a couple more degrees of heat out of the stove.

Steve

Last winter there was some discussion on getting the max output out of the stove and reversing the panels was mentioned. I guess if it would have made that much difference people would have been still doing it.
John gave you some real solid advice about making sure there is no pellets or corn kernals laying on the lip where the two floor panels rest. That will creat a air leak and you want as much air as possible to come up the burn pot.
The allen wrench idea is a sound one as it keeps the floor plate from moving when the dump cycle is activated.
If you are looking for maximum heat output try stuffing non burnable insulation down into the crack below the glass. This will force more air to come up the burn pot enabling a hotter fire but your glass will get dirty faster because you have plugged the air wash system.
you can produce to much heat and the stove will shut down.

thanks for the replies. I had checked the TC wire and it seemed good. I had taken the exhaust fan cover off to check for the sensor hitting and blades but it seemed ok.

I have used high temp 1000* stove and gasket sealer on the inside and outside edge of the exhaust fan cover and it should be locked up pretty tight.

Started the stove up and got a roaring fire well above the burn pot until the air pump kicks out, at which point the fire got lower and lower until it is snuffed out. Started again and same thing; roaring fire until the pump shuts off and then I slowly lose the flame. If I crack the door a little, the flame seems to perk up but in the end it would still go out. There was still some smoke at startup in the right side, but cant tell where it is coming from. Could even a small leak destroy my flame? The only thing I may have disturbed is the exhaust cover and I think it is sealed up good now. I guess i could take off the venting and check for soot but that is of course a pain. There is a gap on the right side of my burn plates; could that leak exhaust into the stove somehow? I will try to close it up as advised; and i will reverse my HE cover plates. thanks for any advice, I just want to get her going again and shut my furnace back off.

What are you getting in your ashpan after it dumps and shuts down - Corn or ash? I would suggest taking another look at your feed wheel and make sure it isn't lifted some. Would explain the smell of smoke and the fire going out if its not getting enough corn. You can open your ashpan after it starts to see if it helps the fire. If it changes then there may be a blockage in the intake air. Opening the door won't do much to help the fire.

There is a possibility that the brown thermo wire got put on the wrong connection. It is supposed to go in the upper right corner of the main board. J-18
You could also try to increase the feed rate a little at a time until either the stove works better or the pot gets to much fuel and goes out.
It is important to try just one thing at a time so you know what caused the stove to change how it runs.

well, I removed the burn plates; a few little pieces on the gasket which i brushed off. stuffed a long screwdriver bit in the right side gap after i put them back on, and put the HE cover plates back to normal.

Started up and some smoke in back of stove still, but again a roaring fire until pump shuts off. Fire stayed good for a while this time, getting quite high (FR +1)
After i'd say 20 minutes or so it died down and then went out. I will try again with increased fuel rate. If that doesnt work I will check the feed wheel but I would think it wouldnt have gone up after a week?..or is this possible?