Been a while since I had to post... knock on wood....

Came home to MIN FIREPOT TEMP.... had plenty of fuel... restarted... now I continue to get BAD TC FIREPOT.

Nothing has changed. I haven't touched a thing. Safe to assume the TC has just died? Please excuse my ignorance, but do these things just die all of a sudden?

If it is gone, and I purchase a new one, any gotchas? other than being careful with the ceramic tube?

As always, I appreciate all reads and responses.

They can spit and sputter symptoms, or just go. One thing you can do is check to make sure the inside end of the cover is touching the tc, and that there isn't a bunch of ash in there. Do you have the ability to test the tc with a multi meter? And besides the tube, be careful of the wire connectors as they are fragile too. Kap

Removed the ceramic tube... there was a bunch of ash in there. Seems there is a worn spot on the TC right at the edge of the tube. Now, the stove won't even fire up. Comes up with BAD TC FIREPOT immediately.

Before, it would get to SS-Low, then the error would appear.

Do you think it is the TC for sure now?

Nevermind.... where the worn spot is, I can see that one of the actual TC leads is broken there. TC is bad for sure....


Now for a much larger problem. The bolt holding the bracket for the ceramic tube and the firepot turned rather easily when loosening, I applied very little torque, but it appears to have broken off. I have the head of the bolt, and ~1/4" of thread. Seems it sheared.

Would you happen to have any miracles to help me with that?

Might as well take the pot out, and see what you can see. I can't remember if they used rivnuts on the AE pot or not. If all else fails,Pb blaster. Then drill it and use an ezout. And when you go to put the pot back in, use some high temp anti-seize grease on those pot bolts, so something like this don't happen again. Kap

that was fun....

I was able to locate a new TC at a dealer 50 miles away. The new TC is somewhat different from the original. The new TC, the end, with a few bends, is a solid tube. The original was a twisted pair of cable.

With some persuasion, I was able remove the rivet nut that held the firepot bolt. Now I have a nice new shiny bolt and nut to hold that side of the firepot and ceramic cover.

Stove has been running for 2 hours without issue.... So far, so good. Cross your fingers for continued warmth.

As usual, thanks for all of the help.

Glad you were handy and was able to fix it. Did you put some grease on them bolts?

Yup... bought a brand-new container and slopped it right on...