Outdoor Wood Furnace Info

Outdoor Furnaces - Manufacturers WITH EPA-Certified Models => HeatMaster => Topic started by: Dan76 on December 26, 2015, 05:45:56 PM

Title: draft fan not coming on
Post by: Dan76 on December 26, 2015, 05:45:56 PM
Hey guys, I went out to check on 5000E tonight and noticed the fan was not on.  Temp is at 140.  My on is 165 and off is 180.  I have never had any issues with my heatmaster before.  Circulation pump is working and the controller is fine.  Any idea what could be  the likely cause?  I will run to my shop and get tester to see if motor has power.   :-\
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: shepherd boy on December 26, 2015, 06:39:53 PM
Is neither the fan nor the solenoid working? Could be the high limit or stat. If solenoid lifts but no fan, then fan problem.
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: Dan76 on December 26, 2015, 08:48:07 PM
Neither was running.  When I left to get my tester my temp was at 138.  When I got back 45 minutes later it was off but temp was at 176?!  I can tell it had been running by the way the smoke was coming out of the stack. Turned my set point up to make the blower go on and sure enough it fired up.  Seems to be running fine now.  Not sure what went on while I was away.  I thought maybe it was a defective probe but my BBQ thermometer inside my house is reading the same temp.  When the furnace control was reading 138 the BBQ temp had the same reading.

 Outside temp is -25C and I noticed all my zones were calling for heat this afternoon so furnace is busy.  It has a tendency to cause water to boil just above the door when the heat demand is high and the cycle time is too long. I don't know if this has something to do with it or not? Having said this it handles much colder temperatures once we hit Jan/Feb and I've never had issues.

Why would there be no power at blower when temp is well below set point? 
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: mlappin on December 26, 2015, 09:04:49 PM
You could have a set of contacts starting to go bad in the controller, I’ve fought all kinds of electrical gremlins in the past from bad contacts. That be my guess at least, I’, sure other members might have had a similar experience.


Had a grain dryer once that just shut off between low heat and the cooling cycle, no more than touch the door to open it and it would start on the next cycle.

Have another controller with a set of contacts that switch a control over that works with millivolts, sometimes brand new relays won’t work properly. Real pain in the but to figure out which one isn’t working when just opening the access door is enough to make contact and kick it to the cycle its supposed to be in.
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: slimjim on December 27, 2015, 02:53:32 AM
Perhaps it bumped up against the high limit?
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: shepherd boy on December 27, 2015, 05:14:04 AM
 :thumbup:  I think you are right Slim. It came down a little below the 150 degree point but that ca happen.
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: mlappin on December 27, 2015, 10:09:17 AM
Perhaps it bumped up against the high limit?

Looked up the wiring diagrams and apparently only the G series cuts power to everything if the high limit is reached, IE no display either.

I’d go with the rest of the guys on this one, most likely the high temp limit kicked in. If it continues check your door adjustment and seals.
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: Dan76 on December 27, 2015, 01:37:07 PM
Thanks guys!  It is working fine today so I guess it was the high limit.  I will keep a close eye on it for next few days.   Just so I know at what temp does the high limit cut the power on the E series and when does it allow power to come back on? 

Nice to have this forum when things don't work on boxing day and it is 25 below zero!

Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: mlappin on December 27, 2015, 02:59:27 PM
Manual says 190 cut out and a 140 cutin
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: Dan76 on December 27, 2015, 07:10:37 PM
Ok thanks mlappin.  Those temps fit with what happened.  :thumbup:
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: Jared43758 on December 29, 2015, 08:49:52 PM
My dealer Scott warned me about the high limit switch and what would happen the day he brought me the stove.  Told me people called him panicking over it lots of times. Prolly a good idea for dealers to tell customers about the limit switch Cause it seems like some time or another lot of people run into it.
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: mlappin on December 30, 2015, 07:13:36 AM
My dealer Scott warned me about the high limit switch and what would happen the day he brought me the stove.  Told me people called him panicking over it lots of times. Prolly a good idea for dealers to tell customers about the limit switch Cause it seems like some time or another lot of people run into it.

Be nice if the controller would log the highest temp reached. The Goldline I used on my homebuilt would log high and low temp, any time I seen it had gone 5 degrees over the cut out temp I knew it was time to either adjust the door or install a new rope gasket.
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: Jared43758 on December 30, 2015, 07:29:35 AM
My stove goes over 4-6 degrees all the time in mild weather and low load.  Sometimes 7.  And my doors are tighter than a nun
Title: Re: draft fan not coming on
Post by: mlappin on December 30, 2015, 07:40:52 AM
My stove goes over 4-6 degrees all the time in mild weather and low load.  Sometimes 7.  And my doors are tighter than a nun

I’d say depends on the stove, mine was natural draft and once the damper shut as long as you had good a good seal at the door temps rarely went much over 180, maybe 182-183 if it had a roaring fire when it shut down, if it got to 185 or better time for a little TLC.

Still stand by my data logging statement, if the controller recorded a high temp that was close to 190 then the high temp cutout kicking in would be a lot more evident the solution. But I also know controllers with memory cost more which add to the cost of the boiler and with as competitive as the market is no manufacturer wants to add features that drive cost up when it worked just fine for the most part already.