If the thermostat is calling for heat, but pellets are not dropping in, either a safety check has failed (preventing power from going to the feed motor), the feed tube is clogged, or the feed motor has failed.
Safety checks
The vacuum switch may not be detecting sufficient air flow to ensure all the exhaust will be safely expelled from the home, and so will stop power from going to the feed motor.
Check venting system for obstructions like a buildup of ash and soot in the vent or at the termination cap screen
Check vacuum switch and vacuum hose. Make sure the vacuum hose is secured tightly to the vacuum switch, and that the hose is clear/not clogged.
Check exhaust blower for obstructions. Try to clean the exhaust blower so it will run properly, which will then help increase the vacuum pressure
Check the hopper switch. Make sure the hopper lid switch is being engaged when the hopper lid is closed (and not blocked by pellets)
Check the front door and make sure it is closed. Also check to make sure the front door switch is engaged when the door is closed.
Check for a jam or an empty feed tube
If you had run out of pellets, then the auger tube may be empty. Try pressing RESET several times to refill it (wait at least 90 seconds between each press to allow the feed motor to turn and draw pellets into the feed tube)
Check the top of the feed tube - a clump of pellets that may have gotten wet, then dried into a clump, could be stuck at the top of the feed tube and blocking pellets from dropping into the burnpot. Use your pellet tool (or a hanger) to reach up from the firepot area to the top of the feed tube and jiggle it to see if you can break up the clump and release pellets.
Check the hopper for "bridging" of pellets (where the pellets criss-cross in the hopper and create a barrier that blocks pellets from dropping into the auger (feed) tube)
Clean out the hopper of pellets and vacuum down into the auger tube to clear out any possible jam. ONLY use an ash vacuum for this - hot pellets could ignite in the vacuum.
Check the feed (auger) motor
If you are handy and want to pull out the auger motor (Castile, Santa Fe, Classic Bay only), you can bring it into the showroom where we can test it to see if it is running properly.
All information provided is subject to the Terms of Use of www.enchantedfireside.com.