auger opperation on maxim 250?

[bihnder49]

i just installed a maxim 250 and wonder about the two auger run times. the anti burn back auger seem to run a few seconds longer than the feed auger and cause a pile up above the feed auger. on the 175 the augers run for the same time i wonder if the 250 is supposed to be like this or if i have a problem?

[vbgagnon]

The 2 augers do not always run for the same amount of time on the 175. Mine does not always run both augers when it feeds the burn pot, and when both augers do run the upper auger tends to run for an additional second or two.

[jdsteck]

I also have a maxim 250
Yes the two do work individually and the top auger always runs alittle longer.
I believe the idea is that it always keeps the bottom auger full, so it can go to high fire and not be low on pellets and also in case of a burn back the bottom auger will be the only one that works. it is really a good and simple system really.
Say you run your boiler out of pellets (or start for the first time) and then you fire it back up. until that little window on the side of the where the top auger dumps in to the lower auger is right full, you will see some smoke in your hopper. That is what I have noticed anyway.
i am really impressed with the unit. works great

[bihnder49]

hello JDSTECK
do your pellets ever back up into the top auger and cause the auger to run hard?

[jdsteck]

No I have not really noticed that.
but is does sound different but not really like binding, I think it is just the type of motor and gear reduction that it is.
but i am really not sure. But it is doing a great job of heating my house.
I am just wondering what you settings are bihnder49.
I am burning a commercial grade pellet(whatever that means)
I am at 4 great across the board and have the air setting one higher, at 4 green and 2 orange.
it works good but I am just wondering what other
guys are doing with the 250.
Jeff

[T_Hartigan]

bihnder49,

Check out this thread. This guy had the same problem. Turns out Central Boiler had the settings wrong. I guess they walked the guy through the program change.

http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/33867/

Tim
_________________
3rd year with Central Boiler Maxim 175
100% corn first 2 years.
3rd year, Corn, Acorns, 1 ton wood pellets.

[bihnder49]

thanks Tim i will try to talk to him and see how central boiler was able to reduce his auger run time.- Jeff i will have to look at my settings and let you know. i believe they are pretty much at factory settings but i was able to turn down my fan settings and get a quality burn. i also am burning pellets, (but they are an agri pellet i am messing with producing so i don't know how to compare them to straight wood pellets.)
Jamie

[bihnder49]

well i have talked to my dealer(who by the way has been a++ on customer service) and it seems that cb send the 250 maxims out factory at 150% top auger rate compared to bottom auger. this allows the top auger to run for several seconds after the bottom auger has shut off. its purpose is to keep the bottom auger maxiumized but has frequently kept it too full, causing a hard run for top auger or even a lock-up of it. mine never locked up but at times sounded as if it was working very hard. so to adjust the top auger run time you must hold the up and down arrows on the high mode control at the same time- this will light up the normal mode control panel to preset conditions, which are 4-green and 4 orange. to reduce the auger run time, simply press the down arrow on the normal mode control. all the way to 1 green has both of the augers run for the same time. higher settings on the normal mode(while holding the up and down arrows on the high mode control) will make it run longer respectfully. this has made my stove run alot better. i suggest anyone who has a 250 to play with this feature until your sight glass stays about half way full, and no more. on other news Jeff i am currently running my settings at high-feed 1 green- fan 1 green/normal -feed 4green+4orange -fan 1 green /idle-feed 4 green+4orange-fan 4green +4orange my theory is to run the fan setting as low as possible with a good fire as to not force any more heat out the exhaust than necessary and on feed i try to have my idle and normal settings high enough that it rarely or never kicks into high mode. i feel like i just wrote a book so i am done.
jamie

[jdeere5220]

This is an awesome tip on how to adjust the upper auger setting! Thanks!!

When you hold both buttons of the high mode, the medium mode settings adjust the upper auger as you indicated. What does the "low" mode setting adjust? Do you know?

I wonder what other secret adjustments there are......
_________________
Maxim M250 outdoor corn/pellet burner
Old Beat-up Gravity Box
I support Global Warming

[bihnder49]

well i also messed with that a little bit too. it seems to me that it adjusts the amount of time both augers run. for example lets say that when your augers activate they run for 4 seconds, when you lower the low setting adjustment(while holding up and down arrows of high mode) they run for 3 seconds or even 2 seconds. now what i don't know is when you hold the up and down on the idle range it lights up the high mode i haven't figured what this adjustment does.

[jdeere5220]

Here's a wild guess: It adjusts the fan SPEED for low (idle) mode. You can only set how LONG the fan runs in idle mode after each auger spin, normally you can't adjust the fan speed for low mode. So I'm guessing when you hold both buttons down and the high bar lights up maybe this is the low-mode fan speed setting. I have nothing to base this on, just spit-balling.

I feel like we are hacking Guitar Hero. Since we paid for these units and everything, shouldn't they just write this stuff down in the manual for all to see? I guess we can't be trusted.
_________________
Maxim M250 outdoor corn/pellet burner
Old Beat-up Gravity Box
I support Global Warming

[bihnder49]

you would think that would be the case.

i also heard that the 175's with the 1.5 updated software are adjustable the same way.

[stream]

I wish they would give us the upgrade, for the software at least, I have a 175 witht he 1.3 software on it and it can be frustrating, wish I knew how to get the feed down lower sometimes, may try these tips on mine, see what happens. Did you guys ever try to go into the clean out mode, only to have it go back to normal before it gets empty? I have, seems intermittant or I am just leaving it for too long or something.
_________________
maxim 175 1st year burnin corn

[jdsteck]

Clean out mode only works for 30 minutes and the will go back onto normal running mode. It happened to me, but I caught it going back onto normal mode and just switched it back on to clean out mode, to do a complete ash and fire box clean out.

They probable do that so you don't forget to put it back on to RUN mode.
So it does it automatically for you.
just a guess

[stream]

yeah 30 minutes you say? Ok I can believe that but it doesent say anything in my manual about that. CB leaves a lota stuff out it seems to me, good thing we have this site!!!
_________________
maxim 175 1st year burnin corn