The VG 5790 Vogelzang pellet stove straddles the line between a pellet wood stove and a wood pellet furnace. A pellet stove pellet is exactly the same as a pellet for a pellet furnace, but the heating appliances serve different needs. For most homeowners, a wood pellet stove is a secondary heating appliance that helps them save money on their conventional heating bill. It’s very common for a pellet stove or wood pellet insert to be used sparingly while the house relies mostly on the thermostat and the oil or gas burner to do the bulk of the house’s heating.
That’s changing a bit. The Vogelzang VG5790 is one of the largest standalone wood pellet stoves available, and it’s capable of heating up to 2,800 square feet of living area. The Vogelzang VG5790 isn’t really a true furnace, however. Unlike manufacturers like Woodmaster and St. Croix, Vogelzang doesn’t make a true furnace that’s suitable for use as a central heating plant, choosing to compete mostly with Harman pellet stoves and similar models.
US Stove, the parent company of Vogelzang, does make the Model 8500 Multi-Fuel Furnace, which can supply up to 1600 CFM of heated air to a central heating plenum, but the Vogelzang VG 5790 won’t be able to supply either the BTUs or the CFM necessary for use as a central heating plant. If you need a really big pellet stove for use as a freestanding heater, this Vogelzang pellet stove might be perfect for you.
Vogelzang VG5790 Specifications
- Freestanding wood pellet stove
- Heats up to 2,800 square feet of floor area
- Hopper capacity: 120 pounds of wood pellets
- Produces up to 65,000 BTUs
- Exhaust flue collar size: 3″
- Single 200 CFM blower
- Full load run time: 80 hours
- Igniter: Automatic
- Requires 110 volts, 3 amps
- Weight: 287 pounds
- Dimensions: 27″ x 27-3/4″ x 37-1/2″ high
- Clearance: 8″ from sides and back
- Warranty: 5 years limited manufacturer’s warranty
Vogelzang Pellet Stove Features and Benefits
There’s a lot to like about the VG 5790. If you live in an open plan house, the Vogelzang may be able to heat the whole living area without any help from your furnace. It’s better looking than many competing pellet stoves. The large glass viewing window lets you enjoy the ambiance of the flames, and the clipped front corners make the appliance look less boxy.
The VG 5790 has a hammered dark gray/black finish that’s easy to keep clean and looks sharp. The fan that circulates heated air into the home is only moderately noisy, especially on the lower speed settings. The VG 5790 has 5 speed settings. The lowest will consume about one, 40-pound bag of wood pellets in 24 hours, and the highest consumes about 3 bags per day. The average 40-pound bag of wood pellets will produce about 8500 BTUs per pound, so you can expect about 14,000 BTUs per hour on low, and upwards of 50,000 usable BTUs per hour on the highest setting. Some brands of pellets can produce more heat per pound, which might bring the VG 5790 up to its advertised output of 65,000 BTUs, but you can’t expect to run the unit continuously on its highest setting.
Cleaning the VG 5790 is straightforward. Daily maintenance requires you to open the side panels and the front viewing door and remove the burn pot. Scrape out the ash in the pot, clean off the viewing glass, and close it back up and you’re ready for another day of use. Once a week or so, you’ll have to remove one of two access plates to vacuum out ash that collects in the heat exchanger. You’ll also need to empty the ash from the combustion chamber every week or so. Expect to clean out the exhaust flue (not included) once for every ton of pellets you burn.
Pros
- One of the largest freestanding pellet stoves on the market
- Easy to clean
- Large hopper means fewer reloads
- Wide range of speeds makes it easy to adjust to proper temperature
- Remote Control lets you adjust heat from across the room
- Big viewing window
- Using outside combustion air improves performance
- Quieter than many competitors
Cons
- Viewing glass gets dirty quickly
- Side panels can pop open when unit is on higher settings
- No filter on room air intake
- Fan is loud on the highest settings
Final Word on the Vogelzang Pellet Stove
There are very few wood pellet appliances with the capacity to compete with the Vogelzang VG 5790. If you’ve been holding off on buying a pellet stove because all the models on the market were too small to make them a good fit for your heating needs, the Vogelzang pellet stove is a great choice. It’s smartly designed and well-constructed, and easy to clean and maintain. Reviews of the VG 5790 are overwhelmingly positive. Users like the Vogelzang for its big heating capacity and its big hopper. Many users appreciate the way the VG 5790 can hold 3 full bags of wood pellets. They also mention how easy it is to operate and to clean. The VG 5790 Vogelzang pellet stove is highly recommended.
Do you have a Vogelzang VG5790 Large Hopper Pellet Stove? Let us know if you like it in the comments!
So far so good i just bought this stove and this thing is a beast buttttt i have already noticed that on high mebbie even on low that im losing alot of pellitts they seem 2 b bouncing right out of the burn pot is there ne acesseriy i culd buy 2 prevent this problem
Hello Brian- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment. We are on our second full season with a VG 5790, and have burned a total of 9 tons of pellets in it. The pellets do indeed bounce when they hit the burn pot. This has pluses and minuses. Of course when they bounce out, they simply smolder in the ash dump and don’t produce usable heat. However, the way the pellets drop into the burn pot stirs up the burning pellets, and this helps avoid clinkers.
I don’t know of any modifications to the burn pot that would prevent it.
My stove does the same thing I have to clean it everyday and the glass is black after about 8hours . It seems like a waste of pellets maybe I should of bought a different stove.i also replaced the exhaust thermostat twice in three months.
Hello Richard- Thank you for reading wood pellet facts, and for sharing your experience with the VG 5790 Vogelzang. We also found the viewing glass does soot up very quickly on this model as well. However, we’ve also found that different settings and different brands of pellets affect the amount of soot a great deal. For instance, setting 4 (of 5) clouds the glass really quickly, and because the burn pot is half full all the time, more pellets seem to bounce and smolder. When the stove is on setting 1 or 2, it seems to burn a lot cleaner. We also learned to open the air valve on the back of the unit all the way. Softwood pellets seemed to produce less soot.
The exhaust thermostat gets coated with soot on the inside surface, which acts as an insulator and makes the part malfunction. We replaced ours after one year of hard use, but later determined a simple cleaning would have restored it.
This will be our 3rd winter with the stove. I’ve tried variety of pellets best luck comes from bare foot pellets in fall and spring cut with soft wood. Mainly because BTU’s even on low are high. As for the glass, wish some pinholes were drilled in cradle that would allow air to blow across glass to keep it clean.
Hi Pete- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
You’ve pointed out an interesting detail about the Vogelzang VG 5790. It makes a lot of heat, even on the lowest setting. In shoulder seasons, it only runs for a short time before it makes the room too hot. Of course you’re grateful for the heat in winter when it’s colder.
You’ve also pointed out another detail potential buyers should be aware of. The Vogelzang large hopper stove has a big viewing glass, but it soots up fairly rapidly. It’s easy to clean. A single, mildly dampened paper towel is all it takes to clean it when you have the door open. It would be nice if the glass stayed clearer longer. It’s pleasant to see the flames clearly.
Thanks again for reading and commenting at Wood Pellet Facts.
I burned a vogelzang 5790 for 3 seasons in ohio. I had 2 combustion blowers quit,auger gearbox was dripping oil,replaced 3 room air blowers. Stove ran great and put out lots of heat,when it ran that is. Customer service was a joke and treated like crap.They sent me a replacemnt stove and I continued to have problems with it. Also the stove never used less than 1.25 bags a day on level 1 no matter what pellets i ran,the only differance was heat output.hunk of Chinese junk, buy American. I have a harman p61 now,should have went with one of these from the beginning and it’s american made
Hello Wyatt- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experiences with the Vogelzang large hopper pellet stove.
The number of blowers you had to replace is unusual in any brand or model I’m familiar with. That must have been quite frustrating. We have reviewed the Harman P61 here on Wood Pellet Facts, it’s a great stove. In fairness, the Harman pellet stove does cost twice as much as the Vogelzang, but it appears that you get what you pay for in this case.
Thanks again for reading and commenting.
Vogelzang 5770 reeds error code E2 for about 5 to 10 minutes replace the seal on the the door replace the Touch button unit still reading error code E2 any information we’ll be very helpful..
Hi Miguel- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
Error messages are useful, but because each error message has a lot of different possibilities, you can end up changing a whole lot of components without finding the one that’s the problem. That’s frustrating.
In general, E2 error messages on Vogelzang pellet stoves have to do with air problems. Either something is blocked, or a component that seals the combustion chamber or measures the slight vacuum in the chamber is broken. Since you’ve already changed the door gasket, that can’t be the problem.
In my experience, these pellet stoves can’t be too clean. If any part of the air flow is restricted, or the combustion fan isn’t drawing in enough air and then exhausting it efficiently, it will lead to an E2 message. Twice a year or so, I remove the combustion blower completely from its housing (it’s held on with 5 small screws that are easy to remove). I find a lot ash and soot builds up on the angle bends in the exhaust pipe, and on the impeller blades of the blower itself. With the blower removed from the housing, you can really clean the exhaust pipe in the most difficult spots. Of course the rest of your exhaust stack and the combustion chamber must be kept clean, too. If cleaning isn’t the problem, it’s probably the vacuum switch, which is easy to find and relatively inexpensive to replace.
Good luck, I hope this is helpful.
I just recently bought the vg570 and it will not stay set to the thermos stat temp on the stove! It’s on the low setting in t-stat and I set it for 75 degrees and it does not stay at that set point just keeps getting hotter and hotter!
Hi Michelle- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
The thermostat on your pellet stove isn’t designed to turn your pellet stove on and off like a regular furnace. The stove will keep running on the lowest setting indefinitely, unless the room gets so hot it trips the hi-temp sensor.
The Vogelzang VG 5790 puts out a lot of heat even on the low setting, and can overpower a room quickly if not that much heat is needed. The thermostat will turn the setting up to maintain 75 degrees if the room gets colder, but you’ll have to turn the stove off manually if it’s too hot on setting 1.
hi i bought a vogelzang vg5790 last black friday and so far its been ok buttttttt now my burnpot keeps filling up with hard ash and not shooting off to the side like ask suld and i clean this like every day now to every other day nd shuldnt have to but i am cuz it is wasting a shit ton of pelitts after the burnpot gets full with hard crusty ash im relie erritated at this point cuz its dollar sighns out the window plz help
Hello Brian- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experience with the stove with our readers.
We have found that hard (clinker) ash forms when one of two things happens;
1. Really cheap pellets that use reclaimed lumber have bits and pieces of things like paint that form hard clumps in the burnpot.
2. In our experience, the most likely culprit is not enough air getting to the burnpot. Perhaps the damper is closed, or the outside air intake is blocked. It’s more likely that the exhaust flue is full of ash. Bends in the exhaust pipe are especially prone to blockage. We remove the exhaust fan motor from its housing and clean the interior of the flue from there, as well as going outside to clean the flue chimney.
I hope this helps. Good luck!
I would like to use the stove in my workshop. I’m in Kenora Ontario Canada and its -35c right now and will ne coae to that for weeks on end. My shop is 24×30 with r60 in the roof and r20 walls.. i keep it just above freezing with a 5kw electric wall furnace but the cost is insane.
I want this unit for the large capacity hopper but don’t want to overheat the shop = waste pellets in the milder Wx. My question is.. Can i hook up a thermostat to turn the power off to the supply plug when i get to the set point.. say 25c?
The thermostat could re energize the plug = turn on the unit when the temperature drops.. like a power failure occured. Dies the unot maintain its last setting when thw power is interupted?
Thanls.. i want to buy but am concerned about the lack of a real OFF setting .
Hello Tim- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
You will save an enormous amount of money by switching to wood pellets from electric heat. We have a lot of experience with this particular Vogelzang pellet stove, so perhaps we can help with your calculations.
5 kilowatts per hour is equal to 17,000 BTUs. That’s the equivalent of burning approximately 2 pounds of pellets per hour. There are 40 pounds in a bag. On the lowest setting, the VG 5790 burns about 2 pounds per hour (a bag a day). Where we live, 5kw of electric would cost about $18 US a day. A bag of pellets costs around $5. You could “waste” a lot of pellets by “overheating” your shop and still end up miles ahead.
There is no practical way I know of to use a thermostat to cycle this pellet stove on and off. There is a fairly long start up and shut down procedure. If the power is interrupted, the machine stays off when it’s re-energized. You have to manually re-start it.
There are other reasons to avoid a lot of starts and stops. The igniter would get a workout, and it would be bound to have a much shorter life span if the machine turned on and off throughout the day.
In our experience, the VG 5790 pellet stove works best when run continuously and (lightly) cleaned daily. If the workshop is warm enough, you could leave the unit off for a while after cleaning before starting it up again to save pellets.
Thanks again for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
Thanks for the reply.. the same math with my heater… just maintaining above 0c costs me about $32 Cdn a day but thats running 24 hrs . i hope to get it much warmer on fewer dollars.
Fwiw.. the heater runs about 3 hrs a day to keep the zero temp and would remain as emergency heat.. i like the idea of keeping the shop warm and then shutting off rhe heat… it should take a day or more for it to cool to 0c again even in the coldest temps.
I built insulated carriage style doors that seal infront of the insulated 7×9 overhead doors ..r20 ish EPS foam in total and insulated shutters for the three shop wondows.. r16 foam. The concrete slab is the big heat loss now but it gets 4 inches of foam vertically around the perimeter in the spring.
Q- is there a different pellet stove that better suites my application.. thanks
I live in another state. Trying to trouble shot this unit with my son from 800 miles. Seems glass smokes out within hours room temp keep rising to uncomfortable temps but worse pellets falling into ash tray some partially lit. When he shuts the stove down I guess it doesn’t sense the burning pellets in ashtray. All blowers shut down and house fills with smoke from smoldering/lit pellets in ash tray. Big problem looking for help.
Sorry error in email on last post about lit pellets in ash bin
Hello Tim Brown- Thanks for checking back in at Wood Pellet Facts.
Pellet stoves don’t usually have automatic on/off settings based on thermostats. Most brands advertise that their stoves work with thermostats, which is confusing to many of our readers. We think that manufacturers should make their stove specifications clearer so that consumers could make a more informed choice about what they’re buying.
You seem quite well-versed in calculating the heating load you require for that space. The VG 5790 puts out a lot of heat, and it has a 60-pound hopper that will let the machine run for several days when it’s on the low setting. The VG 5790 is also pretty cheap to buy for its size, so it’s got that going for it. If you think it might be too powerful for the space, you could look into smaller models. The VG 5790 claims it puts out 65,000 BTUs on high, but we haven’t found that to be a useful number. The unit sounds like it will take off and fly around the room when it’s on the highest setting. We think the max the unit will put out in the real world is around 50,000 BTUs, which is pretty powerful.
There are smaller stoves like the Castle Serenity (http://www.castlestoves.com/serenity-wood-pellet-stove) that have more sophisticated programmable thermostats, but they put out fewer BTUs, and they have much smaller hoppers that yield shorter max run times.
With the cost of electricity in your area, I’d buy an economical stove sized to the room, and then run it on low continuously no matter what. The money you saved on electricity would dwarf the cost of whatever extra heat it generated instead of cycling off like a regular furnace.
Hello Marc C. – Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
The majority of users report that the glass on the VG 5790 smokes up very quickly, and that has been our experience as well. There’s not much you can do but clean it daily. We find that certain brands of pellets are better than others, but not a lot better for this problem.
The VG 5790 is a very powerful pellet stove, and can be too hot even on the lowest setting when you only need a few degrees of heat. We have that problem during “shoulder season.” The only solution is to turn it off manually until the room cools down.
We also had some problems with smoke coming into the house after the shutdown sequence was over, due to smouldering pellets in the ash dump. This is a tricky problem because the smoke can rise up into the pellet hopper and get out, or even leak out from the center shaft of the exhaust fan. I can tell you what I did to correct the problem, but I must caution you that it is not recommended by the manufacturer, and you must use the information only at your own risk:
The manufacturer has a test procedure for the Proof of Fire thermodisc listed in their troubleshooting guide under “Display is Flashing E3”. They advise putting a jumper wire between the two (green) wires that connect to the POF thermodisc. If you put in this jumper, the fan runs substantially longer during the shutoff procedure. This is because the jumper wire keeps sending a signal to the control board that the exhaust gas is still hot. Eventually, the control board will shut the machine off, but the extra time extinguishes any smouldering pellets in the basket and ash dump completely. A side benefit is that the entire machine cools off completely, making it easier to clean. I’ve installed a jumper wire with a switch on it, and I’ve had almost no problem with smoke for more than two years running.
Again, I’d like to caution you that the manufacturer doesn’t recommend this, and you should do this at your own risk.
I would stay completely away from this company altogether. Once you purchase it, you are on your own. No difference if it works great or not, but they have absolutely no one that can service these or handle a warranty issue in the tri county Detroit area is absurd. I’ve tried there tech services now for two days with extremely long hold times and have yet gotten through. Plus a snotty reply from the company put the nail in the coffin. Zero stars for US stove company. Extremely disappointed
Hello Jason- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experiences with the Vogelzang VG 5790 with our readers.
You’ve pointed out an important aspect of owning a Vogelzang pellet stove. Unlike stoves that are sold through dealers, Vogelzangs are sold direct to the public from retailers like Tractor Supply. If you have questions, you’re forced to entirely rely on your own efforts and a help line, This can be extremely frustrating for a consumer who is accustomed to being able to get help from the place they bought an item.
We have had good luck with our VG 5790, but it has required a lot of minor repairs. We feel it’s a good value for its price range, but more expensive brands have better service.
Just installed vg5790. Only burned about 3 bags so far. But it gets toasty in my 1400 sq foot house. Only down fall is I don’t like how it runs constantly Other then that it’s great. I think it will keep the electric bill down. I have electric baseboard heat. Dec bill was 480$. We will see what next bill is. At 6$ a 40 lb bag. I can see it cutting bill down a lot
Hello Jeff- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
In our experience, wood pellet heat is about three times cheaper than electric baseboard heat. You can do the calculations yourself. Our electric rates are around $0.15 per kWh, yours might be higher or lower. A $480 bill would represent 3,200 kWh. There are 3412 BTUs in a kWh, so you used around 11 million BTUs in electric heat during December. Most wood pellets claim to put out 8000-8500 BTUs per pound, but it’s more like 7500 BTUs per pound in usable heat. That means it would take about 1500 pounds of pellets to match 3,200 kWh. That’s 3/4 of a ton, which around here in Maine would cost $187.50 ($249 per ton), which includes delivery. I bet you’d be happy with a $300 per month savings on heat.
I just bought v5790. The seems ok so far, But the fire seems low. Is this normal?
Hello Michael- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
On the lowest settings, the flame can seem quite low. That’s normal. It only takes a small amount of pellets at a time to make the heat.
If your flame is still too low on the higher settings, you probably need to open the air inlet further. On your unit, it’s a metal paddle located just above the fresh air pipe. The fresh air intake is located very low on the back of the pellet stove. Pull it further to the left (as you’re standing in front of the unit) to increase the air flow. If the flame starts to look like a blowtorch, push it back to the right.
I am attempting to help a friend from a distance. Her comment was that this stove is incredibly “dirty”. She is referring to the burn pot and ash build-up. She cleans it every day by scooping out the ash, but that seems ridiculous to me. Our stove (not this one) is easy to adjust so that the damper brings in the right amount of air to make a clean burn. Is that not the case with this stove? I can’t imaging having to clean out ashes every day would be any fun at all. When I read her email, it made me appreciate our US Stove Golden Eagle even more.
I will encourage her to get an ash vac and work on the damper settings.
Hello Edie- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
The Vogelzang VG 5790 does indeed need a lot of cleaning. If you’re burning pellets continuously, it needs to be lightly cleaned every day or so, and needs a full cleaning at least once a week. A light cleaning would consist of cleaning off the viewing glass (a mildly damp paper towel is all you need) and scraping any klinkers out of the burn pot. Once a week, you should empty the ash dump, remove the side panels, and vacuum out the ash that collects there.
There is an effective damper on the VG5790. It’s located on the lower left back of the stove, just over the air intake. Pulling it to the left (when viewed from the front of the stove) gives more air.
Vogelzang pellet stoves are from the same manufacturer as the US Stove Golden Eagle wood furnace. The Golden Eagle is rated for almost triple the heat output of the VG 5790. That would heat a very big house in a very cold climate. No wonder you’re happy with it.
just installed the vg5790. will roast you out. Soot seems to build up fast on glass , can live with that. The control panel will not allow me to decrease down to 1, it stops a 2
Hello Bob- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
The VG 5790 does indeed put out a lot of heat. It’s about as powerful a freestanding pellet stove as you can find. We have also found that the VG5790 does soot up the glass very quickly. It’s easy to clean with a damp paper towel, so we don’t mind.
If your stove will not allow you to set it at 1, that is indeed a serious defect. However, we have noticed that the control panel indicator lights on the Vogelzang doesn’t have sharp differences between the different settings. The indicator lights are inside a plastic panel, and they don’t line up perfectly with the slots for the 5 settings. On setting 1, the setting 2 slot glows faintly, and you have to look at it pretty close to tell the difference.
To test your pellet stove, you can use the remote control that comes with the VG 5790. Use the down button to set it on the lowest setting. Once it’s on the lowest setting, slowly press the up button and count how many settings it will cycle through. If your stove has 4 settings above the lowest setting (5 settings total), it’s working normally, but your LED indicators aren’t showing it clearly.
I really need help with this stove,I’m about to return it.When I turn it on one of 2 things happen 1. Pellets drop in but don’t light and it shuts off with an E3 or E4 code. 2. Pellets drop chambet fills with smoke ,smoke starts to enter the room from all around the stove and loud bang and it lights .It’s so bad we have to open windows and doors to get the smoke out.
The stove has lite 4 x just fine,I don’t know what to do.
I have another question…..book says damper should be closed when lighting but the guy on the phone said open all the way ,which is it?
P.s. you really need better customer service! The guy was so rude to me.
Hello Renee- Thank you for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving your comments.
Wood Pellet Facts isn’t affiliated with any of the manufacturers of pellet stoves. We offer honest reviews, and encourage our readers to share their experience with different pellet stoves and wood pellets.
It’s a shame to hear that the customer service you received from Vogelzang was poor. Pellet stoves can be somewhat tricky to set up and operate, and customer service representatives should always strive to be polite and helpful. After all, your purchase pays their salary!
I may be able to offer some advice for the problem you’re having with your VG 5790 pellet stove. If pellets drop into the burn pot, and smoke fills up the combustion chamber, that’s proof that the auger that feeds the pellets and the ignitor are working. If the stove fills with smoke but doesn’t ignite, I suspect that there isn’t enough air in the chamber, especially if smoke starts coming out the hopper.
For proper ignition, there has to be a certain amount of oxygen, combustible vapor (smoke), and heat (the ignitor). I suggest that you open the damper all the way to get more oxygen into the combustion chamber. Look for the damper lever on the lower left side of the VG 5790, on the back. Pull it to the left to open it (looking from the front of the stove).
I assume that you have installed the fresh air kit that brings in air from the outside to feed the stove. If you don’t, it can be difficult for the stove to get enough air from the room it’s in.
Let us know if you have better luck with the damper wide open!
I purchased this stove from Tractor supply last year. 2 major issues
It doesn’t even heat the room that it is in approx 10×12′
2nd issue is when it runs our of pellets it pushing smoke back in the house. They can’t tell me why..
Hello Brad- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
If it’s operating normally, a VG5790 would overheat a small room like that, even on the lowest setting. Vogelzang’s customer service should be able to help you troubleshoot the problem. You might also want to make sure you have the fresh air intake in place and clear, and the exhaust completely cleaned out. It’s also possible that your pellets have gotten damp. Damp pellets ignite and burn poorly, make a lot of soot, and don’t make a lot of heat. Pellets should be stored in a low humidity environment. Even sealed in their bags, they can pick up moisture if stored in a damp environment for long periods.
Hello,
I have had my my VG5790 for about three years now with no major issues. “knock on wood” I love the heat it puts out and it heats my 1800 square foot home well. I noticed last year towards the end of the season the flame is much higher on the low setting and seem to be going through a lot more pellets compared to what I use to on low. Do you have any ideas on what could cause this? I clean the exhaust every couple weeks and clean the interior 1 to 2 times a week. I was thinking about replacing the control board but do see a part number in the manual.
Hello Brian- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
The Vogelzang VG5790 puts out a lot of heat for such an inexpensive pellet stove. I’m not surprised your stove can handle the heating load of your 1800 ft2 home. I would be surprised if the problem you’re describing is due to a faulty circuit board. Almost without exception, if the control board of a pellet stove is faulty, the stove won’t work at all. If you replace it (it’s fairly expensive), you might still be back where you started.
We’ve discovered through trial and error that the brand and the condition of the pellets has a great deal to do with the performance of the stove. For instance, if you’re get a “blowtorch” flame, you might want to close the fresh air damper a bit.
We’ve also found that when pellets are stored in a location with high humidity, they don’t burn as well, don’t make as much heat, and make a lot of smoke that soots up the glass and the exhaust. If your stove is set to hold a predetermined indoor temp, it will have to run longer to produce the same amount of BTUs if the amount of moisture in the pellets is higher. We have completely solved a low-heat, high smoke problem with this model of Vogelzang by switching to premium softwood pellets that weren’t stored over the summer. More heat, cleaner glass, no smoke from the chimney.
Thanks again for your thoughtful comment.
Hello Alex,
Well after much more extensive research I found that the small side covers need to be removed in order to clean out the ash build up behind them. This drastically changed the air flow in the chamber and causes the flame to become more intense which makes the stove add more pellets to keep up. My flame appears to have gone back to a normal height since the clean out and the pellets seem to be dropping in at a much more slower rate at this time. I will continue to monitor the situation and give another update in a day or so.
Thanks for your feedback.
Hello Brian- I’m glad you were able to troubleshoot your problem. Vacuuming behind the cleanout covers is an important part of maintenance on the VG 5970. As the ash accumulates, it impedes the flow of combustion air and gives you a dirty, cool-ish fire.
We’ve found that the rubber gasket that seals the metal cleanout plates becomes brittle over time, and requires regular replacement. We use a sheet of gasketing material for car engines to make our own. Any auto parts store will have it. It’s designed to stand up to engine heat and gases, so it’s sturdy enough for pellet stove exhaust air. You can cut it with a utility knife.
Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
I bought mine 3 weeks ago and it worked fine. I shut it down to check thing and clean it and it did not start back up. It on low was so hot in the house it was uncomfortable when it was on. I had a code e5 so I email and got a reply for me to send my mailing address and he (Service Manager) would send me the thermistor part # 80660. I had already looked up the code in my trouble shooting. It never come I called on hold 40 Minutes got a person and explained the problem they had to transfer me on hold again for 10 minutes I had to send proof or purchase I had filled the registration form on line but that was not enough to prove I bought it. So I did send it. I ordered it paid $80.00 for over night freight called me next morning said credit was declined the entered wrong #s on the date. So did a different card it went threw. I waited for UPS part was not on the truck so I called 10 minutes this time I was told they would refund the $80.00 because I never received because they forgot to ship it. I was a bit rude it was in the 30s and I am use to 50 degree winters. But the lady held true and shipped it so I got it on Monday installed it and then it fired up with a big back fire in the intake so I shut it down and checked every thing again the intake was closed as there book calls for but is wrong I opened it up started right up no backfire this time. House was hot and I knew my wife was not going for that so I started with the intake adjustment and the temp. is perfect now. We are in a high altitude and it required more air. So I thing you need to adjust the air intake for were you live nand this stove will work as planned.
Hello Dave- Thanks for reading and leaving a comment on Wood Pellet Facts.
It’s sounds like you had quite an adventure with customer service, but I’m glad to hear that everything turned out all right for you. You’ve mentioned an interesting point. The proper setting for the air intake on pellet stoves varies with altitude. Homes at high altitude draw in air that contains less oxygen than at sea level. This can lead to a smoky fire that doesn’t ignite well.
Thanks again for your comment, and I hope you have good luck with your Vogelzang pellet stove in the future.
I too bought a Vogelzang VG5790 and it is pretty much trashed after using it for 6 months. Have been texting tech support and yes I said texting them. I text one day and they will respond if I am lucky the next day. They keep saying air flow problem. Telling me to check this and check that with no results. We have had this stove torn complete apart and cannot find anything. They still cannot tell me what is wrong with it. I bought my first and second one from TSC. TSC stood behind the first one and replaced it because the door would not stay closed at all. Vogelzang sent me two new doors if anyone needs them? lol I would never buy another Vogelzang anything. They refuse to send us a new stove even though it is still under warranty. They won’t replace a stove for air flow issues.
Hi Naola- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
It sounds like you’ve had a difficult time with this stove. Air flow issues, both coming into the burn pot, and exiting through the combustion exhaust, can be a little tricky to diagnose. The door on the Vogelzang VG 5790 can also contribute to problems with air flow. If the door doesn’t seal, the vacuum switch won’t be triggered and you’ll get error codes. You can snug the door up by turning the clamp screws on the door latches clockwise.
I bought a stove in October 17, 2017 right out of the box we had to change the exhaust thermostat it was bad the pellets bounce out of the burnt part we made a bath also the pellets balance into the burn pot The glass goes black instantly we caught up all the joints that could suck air into the stove nothing seems to work will you run it out level one with the damper closed this was our first pellet stove and I’m not satisfied with it
Hello Richard- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
We have substantial experience with the Vogelzang VG5790, and we’ve encountered some of the same problems you’ve described over the years. We’ve swapped out the exhaust thermostat once, after three years of hard use. It turned out that it wasn’t broken. The inside face was so covered in soot that it acted like insulation. It worked again after we cleaned it properly, and we use it for a backup.
The glass on the Vogelzang does soot up quickly, mostly because of pellets that bounce out of the burn pot and smolder in the ash dump. If you look in the right hand column of this website, you’ll see an advertisement for a burn pot improver. We’ve tested it, and it works like a charm. It completely stops pellets from missing the burn pot. We’re planning on publishing a review of this device in the future.
Damp pellets also soot the glass quickly. If the gasket doesn’t seal very well when you close the door to the combustion chamber, that can also cause a cool, sooty fire. A new gasket would fix that, along with tightening up the clamps that hold the door closed. Opening up the air damper can also make the pellets burn more cleanly.
I hope this helps.
Alex, this site seems to be one of the best resources regarding the 5790, on behalf of all the readers who haven’t written in, I’d like to say thanks. As for myself, I’d just like to ask, what are the replacement parts you would recommend a person have “on hand” that would likely get them out of a jam? So far I’ve found this to be a reliable unit, but I’m only a couple of months in. Thanks!
Hello Dave- Thanks for your kind comments about our website. We’re happy to be a useful source of information to other pellet stove users.
We’ve used a Vogelzang VG 5790 for several years as the main source of heat in a very cold climate. It makes a lot of heat, and doesn’t cost very much, but it does require a certain amount of tinkering to get it to perform well.
Firstly, we can recommend the Klinker King burn pot improver (full disclosure: they advertise on Wood Pellet Facts). It completely ends the problem of wasting pellets that miss the burn pot and smolder in the ash dump, which makes cleaning out the machine a real chore. It also allows you to go about twice as long between cleanings. We’ll have a full review of the improver on our site later, but we recommend it to everyone already. It just works.
After that, the snap disc sensor on the combustion (exhaust fan) fails pretty regularly. It’s cheap and easy to replace, so I keep one around. You can disable it with a jumper wire in a pinch, too. The stove works normally with it disabled until you fix it.
It’s inexpensive to keep a spare door gasket kit handy. Make sure you buy a 7/8″ thick gasket. Many places sell a 3/4″ gasket for this pellet stove, but it’s too small. If the fire is really smoky, with a lot of black ash on the glass, it’s probably a bad seal on the door.
You can keep a spare igniter on hand, too. They last a long time, but the stove can’t function without it working properly. They cost 75-100 bucks, which is cheap insurance. It’s an easy fix, too.
Both the room air fan and the combustion fan are pretty cheaply made, but fans like that don’t fail instantly very often. They get really noisy first, so you have time to wait for a replacement after they start acting up. Replacements cost in the hundreds of dollars, so I don’t keep spares around.
The number one thing you’ll have to replace is the gaskets under the cleanout plates on either side of the combustion chamber. They get brittle and fall apart. The official replacements are fairly expensive for two little pieces of hi-temp rubber. It’s smarter to visit an auto parts store and buy a sheet of gasket material for engine parts like cylinder heads and oil pans. You can get a giant sheet of it for about $10, and you can cut it into dozens of gaskets for your stove.
Many consumers report problems with their circuit boards, but in my experience, that’s rarely the problem. To avoid a real problem with circuit board, plug the stove into a surge protector. Like any electronic part, a lightning strike or power surge can fry it. You should be careful when cleaning it, too. Static electricity can harm the components. Blow dust off it with compressed air, don’t touch it or brush it. We run our pellet stove during extended power outages with a power inverter connected to the battery in a running automobile. If you try this, make sure the inverter makes “clean” power. Many generators are suitable for running power tools on a construction jobsite, for instance, but aren’t designed to make the steady power in the right pattern for electronics.
One more thing we discovered is that when the batteries in the remote control run down, the stove acts really weird when you press its buttons. Our Vogelzang went into startup mode when we tried to turn it off once, which we discovered was simply because the batteries in the remote were about to fail. Change the batteries before they fail.
Thanks again for visiting Wood Pellet Facts!
We bought a VG5790 three years ago and are VERY happy with it. I clean it daily when we are heating in the winter, and we found it does not pay to store pellets over the summer here in North Carolina. They become soft and produce much lower heat. The pellets we are using now are new and even on low they produce so much heat, the stove gets very hot. I wish there were a way to turn up the convection fan without turning up the exhaust fan & feed rate. Our exhaust flue is pretty warm and I would like to keep a lot more of that heat in the house. We have a 2100 sq ft home and have no trouble heating the whole house. We have to turn the pellet stove off after a while. Right now the outside temp is in the single digits here and we still have to shut it off. Excellent stove!
Hello Mark- Thanks for leaving a comment at Wood Pellet Facts.
It’s nice to hear you’re enjoying good performance from your large hopper pellet stove. You’ve highlighted a detail about pellet storage that’s often overlooked: humidity. Pellets are dried down to a very low amount of moisture. After that, they are naturally hygroscopic. They’ll absorb any water in the air they’re exposed to. Damp pellets light poorly, make a lot of creosote, and don’t make a lot of heat. They also make more klinkers that gum up the bottom of your burn pot, further diminishing their performance.
Most pellet manufacturers do a good job in palletizing and wrapping their bags to keep off rain and snow, but the bags aren’t airtight enough to keep out high humidity. If you store pellets in a damp basement in the late summer, they’ll absorb moisture. It’s good practice to wait until fall to buy your pellets, or to dehumidify the room they’re stored in.
Some of our readers agree with your sentiment about the high temperature of the exhaust gas. It seems wasteful to let BTUs go up the chimney. However, it’s important to remember that the stove is designed to have lower air pressure inside than outside, to avoid smoke escaping into the house. That requires a pretty steady stream of air. Slowing down the exhaust to capture all the heat in it would require that the stove be much more airtight than it is. That would make it ever so much more expensive to build. The manufacturers seem to have made a tradeoff between efficiency and design complexity. Also, if the exhaust gas isn’t warm enough, it won’t rise naturally when it reaches the outside flue. That would create back pressure, which would make the stove shut off.
Thanks again for visiting Wood Pellet Facts!
Thanks Alex for your reply.
It is not the exhaust fan that I want to change the speed of. I want to change the speed of the room air fan to get more heat out of the chamber before it heads to the exhaust, but I understand that the exhaust has to be at least warm enough to create draft. I would like to hear what you think about increasing the speed of the room air (convection) fan.
Thanks
Hi Mark- Sorry, I misunderstood your comment. That’s an interesting question. There aren’t that many preset speeds on that fan. If it had a rheostat instead of stepped presets, you could dial it in to get the best balance of temperature and volume of air. I’m not sure how to accomplish that working along with the control board, however.
Thanks for commenting at Wood Pellet Facts!
Ok, so let me introduce myself. I’m Vince, your not so typical “New to the Pellet Stove World”, kind of guy. After having an unfortunate accident and literally crushing my lower left leg in July of 2016, I had a lot of time on my hands to make adjustments in several lifestyle norms that encompassed personal, physical, spiritual, and living accommodations. All this which included installing ramps inside my home between living levels, widening doors to rest rooms and dressing areas and designating the family room as my temporary sleeping quarters. In the midst of all this I replaced my Vermont Castings wood burning stove with a pellet stove since I no longer could stack, retrieve and burn logs of wood by any means. At 61 years old I wasn’t prepared to spend a good portion of what I had set aside for my later years to make these changes and renovations, but I am a faithful person and know God was testing my faith for a reason. I will somehow recuperate the large sum I lost throughout this event. Ironic, my injury was cause by tripping over a surge protector while rushing to volunteer to do work at a local Church. LOL… They say, Sometimes the bad happens to the good”, and in my case such was an understatement. In any event, it’s been over six months and I’m learning to walk again with a cane. It’s all a work in progress. But that is not why I’m writing this Readers Digest of sorts. My reason for being here is to offer a pellet stove review, some needed rebuttal to the reviews of other pellet stove owners, and some tips I’ve learned along the way at the “School of Pellet Stove Hard Knocks”.
Let me start by saying in the last 4 months I’ve selected a US Stove Vogelzang VG5790. During that time I’ve read hundreds product reviews and watched scores of You Tube Video reviews of various brands. A mix of commentaries spanned from the truly informative to the utterly ridiculous. Some mindless reviews would come from those who vehemently complained and scorned the operation and value of stoves, while shown in videos that were extremely filthy. While viewing them I would exclaim, “ARE THESE PEOPLE FOR REAL??” I mean can they expect anything other than system failure? The ash was backed up, the surround area is in disarray and borderline disgusting. Maybe it’s me and most would call me anal for wanting to keep my things nice and clean. But seriously folks, the instruction manuals are written in a controlled environment. If your home is the least departed from those manufacturing and operation standards, all bets are off. It is up to the end user to use common sense, use quality pellets, clean the product as much as needed in its new environment and come to grips with the notion that owning a pellet stove requires a commitment to continuous care.
My Pellet stove journey, (originally NOT with a Vogelzang), began with another brand product which proved to be decent overall, with the exception of within 2 weeks, two blower motors failing, the door glass having an etch mark in it, the rear baffles being warped and some peeling paint issues all of which were replaced by that manufacturer under warrantee. The most disappointing was a Control Knob failure which would allow the stove to turn on even while in the OFF position. I personally swapped out 5 knobs under warrantee with the same results. Given that I viewed this last issue as possibly life threatening, I had my stove changed out to a Vogelzang Pellet Stove VG5790, I must say that Tractor Supply as a company, its employees in Customer Care and the members of the Solution Center all reflect the pinnacle of true Customer Service and a mission of supplying consumers with quality products and after sales support. I’ve been a Product Development Executive or over 40 years and am “old School” when it comes to knowing the value of farming new customers and customer retention. As far as I’m concerned, Tractor Supply and its staff including Olivia and Corlissa and the US Stove representative Dakota are totally on point in providing superior care.
Well without further ado, here is mu honest review and real time raw opinion of my new Vogelzang VG5790.
First things first… From the old adage from the early days of computer talk.. “Garbage in / Garbage out”. If your pellets are trash, expect a result of trash. Dust plays a big role in auger jams. If at all possible, screen your pellets to remove as many fines as possible. Here is what I do. Buy two $5.00 – 19 gallon storage bins and drill a couple of hundred holes in the bottom of one of them. Make the holes just shy of the thickness of the common pellet. Nest the drilled tub into the other one with the bottom intact. Dump a half bag of pellets in the tub at a time and vigorously shake the tubs. The fines will drop into the nested tub and you will now have about 20 pounds of quite clean pellets to work with. Just remember that if you don’t take these fines seriously, some will follow the pellets up the shaft, but more will stay “behind” and become a pain in the “behind”.
Whaaa-Wahhhh.. You have a dirty widow you say?.. Get over it. It’s a stove; moreover a value added yet economically palatable stove. If you want a somewhat clean viewing glass, when you start up the unit, DON’T start it up in a Roaring Fashion. Once the startup sequence is over, set the speed of the blower to the third position and put the system into auto thermostat mode. I found that doing that the glass stays clear a little longer. By the time it gets real sooty, I’ve already fallen asleep and then I dream about looking out my deck patio door sliders, which by the way have CLEAN GLASS.. LOL. One critical point I would make on my glass door is that the door gasket on both the door and window is beginning to shed at the ends after the first week of use. A the end of this commentary I am providing a You Tube link of the defects I found that would hope US Stove will address and contact me to resolve the very few issues identified. With reference to the stove’s glass, having it get dirty isn’t my issue. Mine is the disappointment that there is a distinct stain in the glass material itself which immediately turns into a black halo in the upper left midpoint area of the glass. A photo is provided in the You Tube like provided at the end of this commentary. I hope US Stove will see to it that a replacement glass and the door and glass gaskets are sent as soon as possible.
The Saga of the Bouncing Pellets. Yes, it is a fact. The buring pot sides are too far from the auger chute and a lot of pellets go over the side’s and in from of the burning pot. I mean a lot!!. Sooo…. Enter stage left, the product development person in me. I bought 3 double gang blank switch plate covers from the hardware store. I made sure they were 100% stainless steel to ensure there were no adverse chemical interactions with the steel in the burning chamber. I bent two of the just short of “in-half”, like maybe 60/40 or so. The other I bent into a “U-Shape” at a ratio of about 20/20/40. You’ll see what I am referring to in the You Tube Video I am providing at the end of this commentary. I put the U shaped one in front of the burning pot and drop the pot in and the two “L” bent ones on each side of the pot with the longer sides flat and the shorter portion snug against the sides of the pot walls. Viola… few if any pellets and doing the Flying Wallendas over the sides… LOL… Wow.. Maybe Trump will let me build his wall..LOL
A breath of Fresh Air is good. For those of you who don’t hook up the fresh air intake to the outside, I would say don’t complain the stove is not performing right. It needs fresh air. Not inside air. It needs outside of the home fresh air for a proper combustion rates and improved efficiency. Don’t ask me why. All I know I’ve seen the difference after I hooked up the outside air to the intake. Not doing it will soot up your stove fast and burn a lot of pellets.
The hidden doors await you. If you open each side of this stove you will see an access plate with two screws holding it in place. Live on the edge and unscrew these plates and vacuum the opened ports out at least once a week. I do it every third day. I even made a flexible hose extension to my ash vacuum to get way into the nooks and crannies. And yes, you see a photo of it on that link. I send the hose in the opening horizontally and also up vertically to remove any loose ash. Let’s just say this is one Ash-hole” you’d want to keep clean…. LOL
Well there you have it. That is my take on my new Vogelzang Pellet Stove VG5790. I love it so far. Let’s hope it stays that way with all the time I put into keeping it in pristine condition, which is all of about 10 minutes a day and 30 minutes on the weekend.
Hello Vince- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering your entertaining and informative experiences with the Vogelzang pellet stove.
I have a Vogelzang VG5790 stove. I too am having excessive soot issues. After extensive research and some experimentation, I have come to the conclusion that my sooty looking flame is because the auger is dropping too many pellets. When I manually control the pellet flow by opening and closing the hopper lid , the stove burns the pellets up in the burn pot and the flame looks and stays clean. I have extensively cleaned the stove, tried multiple brands and type of pellets, and spoke with a local pellet stove service expert for advise. The bottom line is I need to slow down the amount of pellets going into the burn pot both on startup and during the regular cycle. Does the control panel determine when the auger turns and by replacing it, will my excessive pellet problem be corrected?
Hello John- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
The control panel on the VG 5790 does indeed control how often the augur turns. For each setting, there is a timed release of pellets, with a pause in between. For instance, on Setting 1, the augur turns for slightly less than 2 seconds, and then it pauses for 6 seconds. As you increase the setting, the augur runs longer, and the pause gets shorter.
It sounds like your stove is running normally, but is not giving you satisfactory performance. If you replace the control panel circuit board, the settings will be the same, and your soot problem will return.
We have a lot of experience with the VG 5790. We encountered the same soot problem that you’re describing. The glass would turn black in an hour or two, and the stove would smolder badly when you turned it off to clean it. The reason for the soot and the smoke was unburned pellets in the ash dump. The burn pot can’t accommodate all the pellets it receives, especially at startup. They bounce out, smolder, and soot up the glass and exhaust ports. Many other users report the same problem.
In the right hand column of this website, you’ll see an ad for a burn pot improver that fits this stove. The manufacturer sent us one to test, and I can verify that it completely stopped the problem with soot in this model stove. The glass stays clean much longer (days), and you can run the stove for 5 straight days or more between cleanings. There are literally no unburned pellets in the ash dump or burn pot after running the stove on settings 3-4 for five full days. It’s especially effective during the startup cycle when the stove fills the burn pot almost to the brim. (Full disclosure: the burn pot improver pays us for the display ad. We would not recommend it if it didn’t work, however. It works amazingly well).
Hi I recently bought a VG5790. On the highest setting I cannot get the stove to get past 49 degrees. I am heating a 42 by 40 garage with a 12 foot high ceiling. The garage is finished inside and with no stove it is 40 degrees in the winter. This is a very informative site and I was hoping you can help.
Hello Tim- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts.
Let’s do some back-of-the-envelope calculations. That’s a big area to heat. If it’s 42×40, that’s 1680 ft2. But a 12′ ceiling means it’s basically 1.5 times as much enclosed space as regular residential living space. That means you’re trying to heat the equivalent of 2500 square feet of floor space. Even if the walls and ceilings are insulated, if the floor isn’t, it’s a big heat sink that will eat BTUs.
For traditional heating equipment, a 1-story house with 2500 ft2 of floor space would require 68,000 output BTUs to bring to 70 degrees if you lived in say, Massachusetts. Input BTUs would be more. If a furnace was 85% efficient, it would have to produce about 80,000 input BTUs to make 68,000 output BTUs to heat your garage.
The Vogelzang isn’t as efficient as a traditional oil or gas furnace, and its max output is 65,000 BTUs. If its efficiency is 75%, it would only have an output of about 48,000 BTUs. And the Vogelzang VG5790 isn’t designed to run on the highest setting for long periods.
I live in a very cold climate and burn 2.5 bags of pellets a day in a Vogelzang VG 5790. That’s 2.5 x 40 lbs x @8,000 BTUs/lb = 800,000 BTUs per day, or 33,333 BTUs of ouput heat per hour.
I’m not sure if your pellet stove is running correctly, but you may want to at least consider the idea that you may need two of them to heat your space effectively.
Thanks Alex. I was thinking my area was too big for the stove. This was just for recreation and getting my 2 garage cats a little warmer. I will have to move the stove to a smaller area. What stove do you recommend for my space? What is a fresh air intake and do I need one on this stove? Finally, what ash vacuum do you use or recommend? Will a normal shop vac work? Thanks for all your help.
Hi Tim- The Vogelzang VG5790 is about as big a freestanding pellet stove as you can buy. You could purchase a pellet furnace, like this one, but that seems like overkill for an area that doesn’t need to kept at room temperature. I think you should concentrate on getting better performance from your existing stove.
For starters, a fresh air intake will give you much better results. Right now, you’re using inside, heated air for combustion, and then blowing it out of the exhaust flue. That air has to be made up, so it gets drawn in through air infiltration from outside.
A fresh air intake will take in cold air from outside, burn it, and dump it back outside. The air inside the garage will expand as it’s heated. That will make it harder for cold air to enter from infiltration because you won’t be drawing it back in. The air inside the garage will move around from the fan and from convection loops, be drawn back to the stove by its circulating fan, and be reheated continuously. You’ll end up with warmer temperatures inside eventually. A fresh air intake kit is really cheap, and easy to install. It’s basically the same as a clothes dryer vent kit, only smaller in diameter. You drill a hole to the outside, put on a screen cover on the outside to keep out critters, and hook the flex pipe to the air intake in the back with a hose clamp. Easy peasy.
There are other reasons to use the fresh air intake kit. In the winter, outside air is denser, drier, and full of oxygen compared to indoor heated air. Your fire will burn better using outside air.
You might also want to burn pellets that have more BTUs per pound to achieve higher temps with the same burn rates. In general, softwood pellets burn hotter than hardwood pellets. Look for the BTU ratings on the bags, and find brands like Okanagan or Lacrete that burn hotter than about 8500 BTUs per pound. They’ll cost more per bag, but you’ll get a few degrees more heat inside your garage for your trouble.
I’ve never found an ash vac that works any better than a shop vac, and they cost a lot more than a shop vac. The key is to never vacuum hot ash, period. Ashes are the devil, and you’ll find that embers sit in them for a long time. Ash vacs seem safe because they have a metal cannister and wands, but the filter catches on fire just like a shop vac. The urban legend about putting an inch of water in your shop vac to make it safer doesn’t work either, because the filter still burns.
Since we’ve added a burn pot improver to our Vogelzang, we don’t have any trouble with embers in the ash dump. If you’re concerned about embers, scoop the ash dump out into a metal trash can with a lid, and don’t vacuum until you’re sure there are none left.
We’ve had our 5790 for 3 – 4 years now … the first year not an issue with it .. the following year I had to replace the high temp switch and again this year. this year after replacing the high temp switch it keeps over heating and giving me an E1 error code and the exhaust fan won’t shut off unless I unplug the stove. I’m seriously considering replacing with this stove with a brand with less issues … except we paid about $1,500 for the entire set up of this stove. I can tell you that I am not at all happy with having to replace parts on this stove year after year. I expected that when I paid that much for a pellet stove I wouldn’t have to keep dumping money into it to keep it running. I clean out my stove at least 3 times a week with a complete cleaning every 3 to 4 weeks … bottom line of all of this … I wouldn’t recommend this stove to anyone.
Hi Ronnie- Thanks for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with your Vogelzang pellet stove.
The people that have a rich burn condition and think the Vogelzang vg-5790 is dumping too many pellets is computer problem “it’s not” it’s a design flaw, right after the side clean outs the exhaust takes a u turn and goes in a narrow passage in the back of the stove, that narrow passageway gets plugged up just enough after the second year of operation (lazy flame, black tips) the cure open right side clean out only, stick a wet vac in there on blower setting on wet vac, wrap a towel around passage for sealing and blow the stove out for like 4 min or use a cleaning brush from your clothes dryer vent cleaning brush then blow out, your stove will be brand new again.
Hello Sweets- Thanks for commenting at Wood Pellet Facts. We haven’t tried your wet vac on reverse method for blowing out the baffles on a Vogelzang VG 5790, but it should work. We always clean out the baffles with a small cleaning brush on a long, flexible wand, then vacuum the pellet stove interior normally. It really does restore the stove to its original running condition.
My Vogelzang VG5790 Burn Pot Extender
Watch this video. It may be helpful. This video shows what I did with 2 fire bricks to stop the pellets from falling off the side of the Fire pot on my Vogelzang 5790 Pellet Stove. I think it increased BTU output because it burned the pellets more fully. The design also keeps the flame from wicking the glass and making it dirty. It doesn’t eliminated the soot on the glass but I noticed it takes a longer time to accumulate. I think this is due to the air coming up from the front of the fire pot holder and allows the glass to somewhat get air washed. I’m not sure, but it is working good so far. This Vogelzang Stove is awesome and I keep it meticulously clean by using my ash vacuum on it each day. I also clean out the small screwed compartments inside the side doors. This takes only a few minutes and it well worth it by not having to replace parts due to poor maintenance. Doing this keeps the soot from advancing toward the exhaust fan and keeps the exit flu areas cleaner. Trust me, if you keep this unit clean it will give you years of service.
Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYmnTtFPd58
Hello Vince- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experience with the Vogelzang pellet stove.
That’s a neat hack to improve the performance of the VG5790. We have found that smoldering pellets in the ash dump are the number one problem with this stove, and it looks like your burn pot modification alleviates the problem. We have used and tested a burn pot improver from Klinker King (Klinker King is an advertiser on this site) that performs the same function. By keeping the pellets from bouncing out of the burn pot, it improves combustion, extends the time between cleanings, and keeps the glass cleaner.
I’m not sure why manufacturers like Vogelzang ignore the “pellet bouncing” problem in their pellet stoves. The burn pots are just too small.
I will NEVER recommend your stoves to anyone. My neighbor purchased the Ashley 5790, never unpacked. A year later I purchased it last year(2017)from him. He never even lite the unit. I’ve had nothing but problems with it. Wire connection weren’t tight, wires unplugged, ****** error code, unit overheating, won’t run on thermostat mode and the blower won’t come on until after the unit shuts down. I’ve had one of the first pellet stove on the market ( purchased used) and never had as much trouble with it, as I’ve had with this one. Personally it is not worth the metal for scrap, it is made from!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Charles- Thanks for visiting wood pellet facts. Wood Pellet Facts is an independent informational review site, with no relationship to the manufacturers of these stoves.
We’re sorry to hear about your problems with your Ashley pellet stove. For readers who might be confused about why Charles is leaving a review of an Ashley pellet stove on a Vogelzang VG5790 pellet stove review page, the Ashley AP5790 is made by the same company as the Vogelzang unit, and is essentially identical except for a different nameplate, and different distributors.
Hello my uncle just got the vogelzang 5790 pellet stove its brand new and when he goes to turn it on the code e2 comes on, the fans and auger all work but it runs for about 30 seconds then stops and shows the e2 code
Hello Chris- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. It’s quite common for pellet stove owners to encounter error codes on startup when a stove is first turned on. Pellet stoves get jostled around a lot in shipping, unpacking, and while being installed.
E2 codes on a Vogelzang VG 5790 have something to do with airflow. If the air inlet is blocked, or the air switch is broken, or the vent pipe is blocked or not installed correctly, the stove won’t run. If the stove has never been run before, the most likely problem I can think of is that the combustion chamber door is not sealing properly. If too much air leaks in around the gasket, the stove can’t achieve the slight negative pressure it requires to run, and that trips the air switch, which turns off the stove. The door on the VG 5790 is held on with two pull catches. These can be adjusted by turning the latches a few turns on their threads to close the door more tightly against the gasket when you clamp the door closed. That may help. Good luck!
I have called now for 3 weeks because my vogelzang vg5790 left hand door keeps opening on it’s own. And to this day none has got back to me all that has happened is they give me a run around. I just spoke with 2 women in the parts department (which they cant help) and I got 2 different stories from them about the customer help and trouble shooting dept. All I want is to be able to talk to someone that can help me. Customers do not need lies and stories they need to told the truth and to be able to listen to the customers without being rude and disrespectful.
Hello Roy- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
It’s unfortunate, but the customer support for Vogelzang and many other brands of pellet stoves isn’t very helpful. All of us at Wood Pellet Facts think that manufacturers should make more of an effort to staff their help desks with more well-trained, polite, competent people.
As far as the door popping open, that’s a very common complaint for Vogelzang pellet stove owners. The side panels on the VG 5790 and VG5770 are hinged in the back, and use magnetic catches on the front. The leading edge of the doors get much hotter than the back edge. This causes the door to expand in the front. The circular magnets are pretty strong, so they hold the door too tightly for it to move with changes in temp. First the door bulges, and then one or the other of the magnets lets go and the door either pops all the way open, or in most cases, either the top or bottom pops out.
There’s two ways we’ve used to solve the problem You can put a small piece of “painter’s” tape over the magnets. This decreases the holding power of the magnets. The magnet is still usually strong enough to hold the door closed through the tape, but it can move around a little with changes with heat. We’ve also used paste wax on the metal surface where the magnet hits the side of the stove. This works fairly well, too, and it smells nice when it gets hot.
I hope this helps!
main weldment part no. 892238 (which the fire passes through and the fly ash is collected). Are there any pictures of this part on the inside? I think this part may be partially plugged up. I really like this stove. I just didn’t keep up with the proper cleaning. I replaced the exhaust blower and the T-disk(80599) that fixed my E4 errors. While I had the exhaust open I tried to back flush it with air but it didn’t want too. It was blowing out stuff where I put in the hose (where the motor use to be). Before I buy a snake camera, I thought there might be a picture or a diagram of this part.
Hello Terry- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
The owner’s manual for the Vogelzang VG 5790 isn’t a lot of help for understanding how the interior baffles are constructed. The exploded diagrams basically say, “And then a miracle occurs,” between the side access cleanout ports and the exhaust blower housing. As near as I’ve been able to tell, combustion air (and soot) is drawn up in the burn chamber, deflected to the sides, drawn down through fairly large chambers on the sides. The cleanout access ports are located at the bottom of these chambers. It’s easy to see into and clean all these areas. Then the air is drawn into very narrow ports at the bottom of the side chambers. These are connected behind the back wall of the main weldment to the exhaust pipe. This pipe is rectangular in section, and angled, so it likes to catch soot.
Once every ton of pellets or so, I like to remove the exhaust fan from the housing, remove the cleanout plates, and use a small cleaning wand with a very long flexible handle to clean out the small, narrow ports which lead to the rectangular exhaust pipe, and then back the other direction from (now empty) exhaust housing. The cleaning wand I use is for very small diameter pipe, and the handle is very flexible. If you have a blockage back there, it will loosen it enough to vacuum it out from the exhaust housing.
I check for a blockage in this small exhaust port during weekly cleanings by inserting my shop vac hose with a slot attachment into the open cleanout port on the left side of the unit. If the small port is clean and open, the exhaust fan will spin backwards from the suction of the vacuum. If it doesn’t spin, I know I need to take out the fan and clean the whole thing.
I hope this helps!
Finally! A website that addresses the concerns I have with my 5790. The customer support at vogelzang/US stove should just send us owners to this site. It is a much more comprehensive overview of the stove, it’s use and maintenance. Thank you.
If I could get you to expand a little on your last post referencing cleanout of the small, narrow ports leading to the rectangular exhaust pipe, it would be very helpful. Specifically, where are the openings to these ports, how do you access them for cleaning, and specifically what type of brush are you using to clean them? I’m not sure where I can purchase a brush that will work, and it seems you have found one.
This is the fourth season for my stove, and the first where I have run into severe sooting problems. I believe it is related to the quality of the pellets that I am using this year, but since I have 4 more tons to burn, I need to learn how to deal with them.
The first three years I used the stove, I had relatively few problems. I cleaned out the ash from the burn chamber and side ports weekly, brushed out the vent pipe monthly, and never had any problems (besides replacing the exhaust fan when the original started getting noisy in year three). I burned 5-6 tons per year. There were never many pellets in the ash I was removing from the burn chamber, the glass didn’t really soot up, and I only had to clean it weekly when I cleaned out the ash. I used the visual cue of ash depth building up to and beginning to block the bottom of the window for when I needed to clean out the ash. The window remained clear enough where I could see this happening, even after a week of constant use.
Then, this year was completely different. At first, there wasn’t a soot on the glass issue. But I noticed that there wasn’t as much ash being produced as in past years in the areas I was cleaning weekly. Also, there was an accumulation of solid carbon-like material in the burn pot that I wasn’t used to. This caused a lot of the pellets to bounce out of the pot and resulted in the smoking issues others have seen. My switching to a daily cleanout of the burn pot seems to have greatly reduced the wasted pellet issue.
However, I still am experiencing rapid sooting of the window (in just a few hours), and related issues with the POF thermodisk getting coated with soot and giving an E4 error. Before the sooting became an issue, I noticed that the left cleanout chamber had little to no ash in it compared to the right side, so I suspected some sort of internal fouling. That is why I am asking you for more info regarding internal cleanout procedures.
Thanks!
Hello Mike- Thanks for your kind words about Wood Pellet Facts.
Your description of your recent experience with the VG 5790 sounds like more than one problem to me. The solid ash residue in the burn pot is called klinker. It’s generally the result of an overabundance of minerals in the fuel. The only time I’ve experienced heavy clinker ash is when I’ve burned pellets made from recycled wood. While it sounds like a good idea to grind up construction wood waste and use it as fuel, there are always bits of paint and other residues in the material. Some softwood blends mix in a percentage of recycled wood. I’ve tried some that produced a solid brick of klinker in the bottom of the burn pot. These pellets also claimed to produce more BTUs than standard blends. They, did, but I suspect that was because the bits of paint in it are a form of plastic, and this plastic is like burning a little bit of fuel oil along with the wood. I think that’s a very bad idea, for a lot of reasons.
Other pellet brands use too much bark in their blends. Bark collects windblown minerals more than inner wood, and when burned these trace minerals turn into clinker. I’m always suspicious of very cheap brands that have a dark color for that reason.
If pellets are stored in a damp place, they pick up water and combustion is poor, cool, and sooty. This can also produce clinker, because the pellets linger in the pot too long and don’t burn fully. Sometimes you get a bargain on last year’s pellets, but if the vendor stored them improperly, they’re not worth the savings.
If you suspect poor pellets, but can’t afford to just chuck them out, try mixing them in with fresh pellets. I’ve gotten rid of dozens of bags of pellets I’ve tried and didn’t like by dumping them in with good pellets. About 2/3 good pellets and 1/3 junk is a good ratio, I think.
If you don’t see any ash buildup inside the left cleanout door, I’ll bet you have an air blockage on the left side. Your stove is drawing all the air down the right side and through the exhaust fan to the outside. This is inefficient, and the sooty fire it produces will probably eventually plug up the right side pretty soon.
I use a cleaning brush and wand designed for clothes dryer vents. Rutland makes a 3″ round that screws on the end of long, flexible extension rods. I use it to clean out the flue pipes, the fan housing, and all the interior chambers I can reach. You can also get something called a “noodle” brush, which is basically a handle with a flexible wire brush attached. Here are some examples at a company called Northline Express. We are not affiliated with them in any way.
When you open up the side access plates, it’s easy to see and clean out the big chamber that leads up and into the burn chamber. Towards the back and at the bottom of the cleanout, there’s a much smaller slot down by the floor of the cleanout chamber. That leads to the square exhaust pipe that has a jog in it, and attaches to the exhaust housing. Clean in that small slot with a noodle brush or vent brush. I’m not actually sure what it looks like inside that weldment, but it can get blocked. Removing the exhaust fan from the housing and working back towards the combustion chamber is a good idea, too. I do it once every ton or two of pellets.
I hope this helps!
Having E3 error come on only when running on 1 setting it will run for maybe a hr or 2 then it shuts off with the error message. Can turn it back on to any setting but 1 and it runs fine.
Also where is the POF it talks about to test for this error code. Is it called something else on the parts diagram?
Have only had the stove since November 22 so it’s still new. VG5790
Hello J- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
POF stands for “proof of fire.” It’s also referred to as a “thermodisc,” or shortened to “T-disc.” The manuals for the Vogelzang are poorly written, and use these terms interchangeably. On your manual, the POF is probably labeled “T-disc, exhaust.” It’s a switch enclosed inside a circular housing that’s about the size of a stack of four US quarters. It has two electrical leads on it. This T-disc is mounted on the exhaust fan housing on the lower left hand side of the stove cabinet. It’s held in with two screws, and it has a felt gasket.
Your T-disc isn’t broken if it works on high settings but not on low settings. It’s supposed to turn the stove off if the fire goes out. It it senses high temperature exhaust gas passing through the fan, and stays on as long as it’s hot. Your T-disc is probably covered with a layer of soot on the inside surface. Soot acts as an insulator, and on the low settings the exhaust isn’t hot enough to trigger it. Take it out, dust it off, and that should fix the problem. You can test a T-disc by jumping the wires. The stove will simply run with a jumper wire between the two leads, so you don’t want to run the stove indefinitely that way. If your T-disc is broken, it’s inexpensive to buy, and easy to replace.
I hope this helps!
The adventure continues. Based on your input (above – thank you!), I attempted to solve my severe sooting issue by brushing out the smaller slots accessible at the back of the cleanout panels. This helped, and when I ran the stove I was still able to see flame after 24 hours, although there was still more soot than I was seeing in past years. Thinking I could do a better job with the cleanout, I removed the exhaust fan and vacuumed from there through the square exhaust pipe while I was brushing through the side cleanouts. I reassembled the stove, and got an E2 error message (combustion airflow blocked). After checking the air switch, hose, and port, I started to think that there was a blockage between where I was brushing and where I was vacuuming. I ended up blowing compressed air through the square exhaust pipe at the same time sucking with the vacuum at the side cleanout while I plugged the other side cleanout with a rag. I reversed the vacuum and rag, blew out through the square pipe again, then reassembled everything and started the stove. Now, not only has the sooting issue completely disappeared, I have started to get an E1 error (stove overheating). So, it seems my cleaning method has taken me from a too cold fire (sooting) to a too hot fire (E1, requiring a reset of the high limit switch. I was having this issue last year, and resolved it by leaving the side doors open).
I called vogelzang customer service (oh no!) to request a schematic of the internal chambers of the stove so I can determine where to cut another cleanout hole to facilitate future cleanouts (using an air hose, even with a vacuum running at the other side, is a messy job, and probably still leaves a lot of ash internally). They said they do not have that information. (Makes me wonder how they build them – aren’t there product design drawings somewhere?).
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knows where the best place to cut a cleanout hole might be. I drilled one pilot hole just to the left of the left side cleanout plate, but that just pierced into the convection blower hot air chamber. Attempts to drill a hole below the same left side cleanout were going through multiple metal thicknesses, and I stopped before I pierced through.
Alternately, does anyone have a scrapped unit that can be dissected to determine the best place for a cleanout hole? I’m sure, since fly ash always makes it to the vent pipe, that every stove is accumulating ash in the internal chambers, regardless of how often it is being cleaned. Mine took until the fourth season for it to restrict the airflow enough to result in sooting.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Hello again Mike- I’m glad you had success with your stove cleaning regimen. It’s hard to say exactly why the stove is now overheating, but if it were me, I’d try closing the fresh air damper. Restricting the airflow to the burnpot is bound to lower the maximum temperature.
I don’t have access to any drawings that indicate exactly how the stove is constructed, Just by using outside measurements, the back plate of the combustion chamber and the plate behind it for the convection air are very close together. The most likely configuration is that the small inlets inside the cleanouts on the sides lead directly to the square exhaust pipe, and they aren’t much bigger than you can see (they’re really just slots). In my experience, removing the fan and brushing back towards the weldment while using a smaller brush inside the small cleanouts, along with a thorough vacuuming, is the only way I can figure out to do it.
I bought the vogelzang pellet stove last year at a tractor supply one month after warranty was up everything started going wrong with it I pretty much rebuilt the whole stove and now it’s reading E4. I replace both sensors auger motor still nothing exhaust and everything works both blowers work but the auger motor which is brand-new will not feed pellets. Have had nothing but problems with this vogelzang 5790 pellet stove been a nightmare a big waste of money. I can’t find the customer service number to call. Yes YouTube videos and I can’t find anything that tells me what’s wrong with my stove right now I’m sitting here at the $1,500 pellet stove but I can’t use
Hello Mark- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
Your experience with the Vogelzang VG5790 sounds infuriating. One of the bad things about the error codes that these stoves throw out is how vague they are. You start replacing things that aren’t the problem, which gets expensive fast. It’s a shame you haven’t been able to receive support from the manufacturer. Vogelzang pellet stoves are made by U.S. Stove, so you should call them for assistance. Their number is 1-423-837-2100, but you’ll have to call weekdays 8-4 CST to get a live operator.
If you’ve replaced the auger motor, but it won’t turn, and you have an E4 error code, I suspect that the hopper safety switch is broken or bent. The hopper safety switch keeps the auger from turning when the hopper is open, to keep people safe from putting their hands inside while it’s turning. There’s a little spring arm on the moving part of the switch that can get bent down over time so that the hopper lid doesn’t touch it when it’s closed. This fools the pellet stove into thinking the hopper is open. Just bend the spring arm up and give it a try. If the switch is broken, not just bent, it’s an inexpensive, easy fix. Good luck!
We bought one and love it we live in Michigan where winter is no joke. We had a polar vortex this year and we went through about 2 bags a day but it was cheaper than propane gas and it was negative 20 outside we found that it was best to use soft wood pellets in severe cold. We are very happy with it and would like any advice on cleaning for the summer or any other tips on keeping up on it. Thanks
Vogelzang 5790. Starts up runs and then blower doesnt come on which forces an e4 error. I push on / off quickly and unit performs. Do I need a new pof switch / low thermostat disk? Need to fix what’s tripping it off.
I love my 5790 it is a hot one also to solve the bouncing pellets you can buy a klinker king or make one like I did it is a big differance..so far I have had good luck I have had a c ok couple of issues and iij called the service dept and they sent me the part iij needed for free because it was under warrenty.thus kept my house realy warm .the only thing I dont like is no adjustment on the controls and hot hot the cabinet gets to pop the doors open.so now I open the side doors about half way and blow air from a fan in it.i get more heat out from the back and the stove runs cooler and the interna lb thermostat works better..little trick I have learned but I an happy with this stove.
Hello. I have been scouring the web for information to install a battery back up for my new vogelzang 5790 and I even called us stoves, and they said I needed 900 watts battery? I bought the sentry 512 with 550 watt after researching, and looking at the electrical specs on the stove, this should be enough, however I can’t find any information on consumption of the strode to figure out how large a battery I need for at least a proper shut down if not, a little longer if I were not home at the time of a power outage. Can you help me figure this out?
Hello Angie- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
A battery backup for a wood pellet stove is a great idea. And figuring out ratios of watts to amps and volts isn’t that hard. Watts = Volts x Amps. Typical house voltage is 120 volts. if you have a 550 watt backup device, it will supply about 4.5 amps of current. In my experience, that should be enough to operate your stove, if it’s already running.
I’ve measured the operating amperage of the larger Vogelzang, the VG 5790, and it’s usually between 3-4 amps. However, US Stove is suggesting a 900 watt battery for a good reason. On startup, the stove needs more amps, especially for the igniter to work. I’ve run my stove, including during startup, with an 800-watt inverter, and it’s never had any trouble starting.
If you want your battery backup to keep the stove running if there’s a power outage, it’s probably big enough, but just barely. It would probably be big enough to handle an orderly shutdown sequence, too. I’m not sure you could start the unit from cold on 550 watts, and run it for an extended period.
Another important measurement of a battery backup is watt-hours. If your unit is rated for 550 watts, that’s the maximum amount of electricity (amperage) it can supply when it’s fully charged. Watt-hours would tell you how long it could supply its rated amperage before it started to tail off. The spec sheet on your battery backup would have that information.
I hope this helps!
I bought a Vogelzang VG5790 back in october for temp heat in a remodel project
about 2600 square feet. Looked at the comments and went for it. For the size price ect
Had some issues the dirty glass. Some pellets popping out and ER3 error. But i can deal
with these minor issues . Pellets popping out was fixed By Welding 1-1/4 strips on side burn
pot. As mentioned in above comment (Thanks). E3 error seems to be manual vent. Keep
it off . But once in a while it comes on still. This is my 2nd stove. have one in small house
its a Castle serenity works excellent. But would be to small for bigger house project
In november tractor supply had a good sale and i bought another VG5790 for my workshop. But i knew it would be too small to heat 3400 sq ft. So it helps to slow the oil consumption . This second stove works better than first one. But now i am using lots of pellets. But i knew this. These big stoves work pretty good. To bad they don’t make a Castle big enough for 2800-3000 Sq ft. Also maybe VG5790 would not be good for some one new to burning wood or pellets. I am not an expert or claiming to be
This is only my opinion.
Good Luck
Hello Nelson- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for sharing your experience with the VG5790 Vogelzang pellet stove. Your modification to the burn pot was smart. Pellets popping out and smoldering in the ash dump are a real nuisance, and make cleaning an adventure. One of our advertisers makes a burn pot shield that does the same thing, and it’s saved us all sorts of aggravation.
I had to modify the strips i welded to the burn pot mentioned above. First i extended
1-1/2 but it did not allow soot to blow out on low settings so i cut of a bit to 1-1/4 still a little high but better. So now i have them cut at 1″ inch high on 3 sides seems to work good. So some work i shouldn’t have to do but the stove is priced cheap for the size.
This stove is not forgiving with low quality pellets it seems to build up lots of soot and it seems you have to clean the stove out all the time and the er3 error comes up. Good quality hard wood or good soft wood pellets seems to solve a lot of problems i was having. I am still tweaking these stoves in. But when they are going good they put off a lot of heat and hold a lot of pellets. Will comment back on new mods or problems.
Hello Nelson- We’ve also found that the glass soots up quickly with the Vogelzang VG 5790. However, if the soot is very dark, we’ve discovered that it’s often due to a poor fit on the door gasket. Room air gets in and makes a lazy, sooty fire. Tightening the door clamps, and/or changing the door gasket makes a world of difference.
One note for others reading this comment: some Vogelzang owner’s manuals specify a 3/4″ gasket on the door. We’ve found that its should be a 7/8″ gasket to fit properly.
I have a 5790 stove it is a piece of crap . Hade electrical control board go out 2nd week I owned it. 3 feed screws broke at cutter pin hole . And 1 augers feed moter . This all happened in 1 season . Plus u better clean it every 2 days or it will build up unburned pellets and shut off. DO NOT BUY THIS STOVE . ALSO IF U HAVE ONE YOU BETTER BE ABLE TO FIX IT YOURSELF. SERVICE ALSO IS TERRIBLE.
Hello Bob- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a review of your Vogelzang VG5790 pellet stove.
Since I started using Olympus douglas fir pellets, the stove has been working perfectly. The glass stays clean, there is just a bit of ash in the pot after burning all day and no codes flashing or shutdown. Got to say it’s all in your pellet choice. Damper wide open BTW. The softer pellets like bear mountain and golden fire were slow to fire and put out lots of smoke, and often had a lot of sawdust, probably because the pellets were soft. No sawdust in Olympus.
Hello John- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experience with your Vogelzang pellet stove, and Olympus wood pellets. We haven’t tested the Olympus pellets, but in general, we’ve found that 100% douglas fir pellets similar to Olympus work great in the Vogelzang pellet stove. They burn about 10% hotter than softwood/hardwood blend pellets, and there’s less ash than most. The ash seems lighter and fluffier than with most hardwood brands, too.
Get a burn pot extender stove can run for up to 8 days before cleaning
Hi Alex – We’ve had a Vogelzang 5790 pellet stove for a little less than a year now.
The other day we had the E3 code come up and noticed the sides of the unit were extremely hot shortly after starting it up. We do regular maintenance/cleaning on the unit but realized we must have missed something. Once everything was cleaned, we tried the reset button on the high heat sensor yet the control board is not lighting up. We checked the outlets to make sure there was power. We changed the sensor and still nothing. Any ideas what else we can check? Thanks so much, Mary
Hello Mary- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts. An E3 warning message can mean all sorts of unrelated things. I doubt you’re having a problem with your hopper safety switch, augur shaft, or augur motor. In our experience, if you have a blockage in the exhaust anywhere, it can lead to a very hot combustion chamber, especially on startup. A blockage keeps air from passing through the burn pot and out through the flue properly. The pellets don’t burn fast enough for the feed rate, so the pot fills way up and the flames overheat the burn chamber. That exact situation happened with our VG5790. Once we cleaned the blockage in the exhaust (it was in an elbow fitting), the air flowed normally and the fire didn’t overheat the combustion chamber any more. Overheating the burn chamber makes the sides really hot, so that sounds like what you described.
If the control board literally doesn’t light up, it may have been affected by the overheating. If you’ve owned your Vogelzang for less than a year, it’s probably covered by your warranty. You should contact the retailer where you bought it, or try US Stove’s support service (US Stove owns Vogelzang).
Just bought the VG5790 and ran it for 2 days with no issues. Then it would not drop pellets. Inspected Inside and found the auger pin on the bottom of the stove and motor as well. Trying to put it all back together and the pin hole just won’t line up. Auger shaft Seems to have to come down a little more. Will removing the entire auger from inside the hopper possible change how it sits ?
Hi Mike- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
You might be (pleasantly) surprised just how loosely the augur sits in the channel that runs up into the hopper. When it’s full of pellets, it can seem tight, but without pellets it rattles around. You can safely remove or move the auger shaft up and down to align it with the pinhole on the auger motor, and re-insert the auger pin. You can crimp the pin a little to give it a snugger fit if necessary. Good luck with your repair!
What a pos stove. I bought mine from tractor supply 2 years ago. Worked ok for the first winter, although last winter we went thru 5 pallets of pellets. This winter, after a good cleaning, we started the stove up and it worked for two weeks. One morning we wake up with a house full of smoke. Pellets where overflowing the burn pot, spilling in the ash compartment and catching on fire. When it turned the stove of, 3 days later I could still not open the door because it was still burning and smoking. After 4 days I was able to open the door and clean it out. In the process of cleaning the entire stove out, I discovered that the fire had gone thru the entire stove. When I removed the two clean out doors on the side, fire had been in the shaft. When removing the blow motor, fire had been in there as well and in the stove pipe. Everything including the stove pipe was cleaned 2 weeks prior. When calling the tech line, although friendly, nobody really knew what was going on and told me to spend a couple hundred $ on parts without knowing if it would solve the problem. After I cleaned everything out again, started the stove. As always it takes for ever to get a flame and until there is a flame the whole house smokes up. It took for ever to get a flame. Finally there was a flame. Working a couple minutes the flame died and the entire stove from everywhere started smoking filling the entire house with smoke. Long story short, it merely killed us and got close to burning the house down. Tomorrow I am throwing this pos out in the trash. Nobody should buy this stove, I am not the only one, my buddy bought the same stove at the same time, his quit working also, $500.00 in parts to fix it. Nobody works on these pos stoves, so you are on your own. Do not buy this stove it’s not worth it at all. The stove and the manufacturer is a joke. This is the worst pellet stove design ever. One more thing, the vacuum is being pulled from the bottom of the ash compartment???? If there is a couple inches of ash, it will plug up the tube, what a design, unreal!!!
I bought my house 3 yrs ago and the Vogelzang 5790 was already installed, I downloaded the owners manual online and went thru and did required maintenance and a complete cleaning. I am very good about keeping everything clean and have had zero problems with this stove. I normally burn an average of 3 tons of pellets per year for eastern Colorado winters I will definitely replace it with another 5790 if and when this one dies
I’m struggling with our vogelzang only going on year 3. Last year is even our issues with the thermostat switch started. No help from the manufacturer. And now it’s just constantly throwing e1 codes. The stove is super clean and cleaned almost daily!!!! We only run it on level 1. Everything was taken apart and cleaned again today (for the 3rd time in 2 days) I’m at a loss I called tractor supply they send me to the manufacturer and I can’t get anywhere with them but on hold!!!!
Hello Erica- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
Like you, many of our readers have expressed frustration with the quality of the help they receive from the retailers and the manufacturer of the Vogelzang pellet stove. We believe that most pellet stove manufacturers advertise their stoves as easier to operate and maintain than they actually are. Most buyers think they’re buying a simple appliance like a dishwasher or stove that you plug in and use. Pellet stoves can be quite tricky to operate, and especially to clean properly.
It sounds like you have a very frustrating problem with your stove, and your frustration is compounded by the lack of help you get from the manufacturer and the retailer. In our experience, the E1 error code doesn’t have as many variables as some of the other error codes. Since you’re not running your stove on high for long periods, that’s not the problem. Power surges can trip the high temp sensor, but that has a button on the back you can reset. If your convection fan runs (Make sure it’s running. The convection fan is on the right side of the cabinet, and blows hot air into the room), it might need cleaning, but it probably wouldn’t allow an overheating situation unless you ran the stove on high. The likeliest problem I could see from your info is that the high-temp switch needs replacing. Please be aware that there are more than one temp sensor in your stove. The high limit switch is located on the back wall of the combustion chamber inside the cabinet on the right side. It’s right over the convection fan. It’s cheap to replace, only about $25, and all you need is a phillips head screwdriver to replace it. Look up part number 80601 for US Stove/Vogelzang online to find aftermarket sources for the part. If that’s not your problem, you’ll only be out $25, but it will narrow down the potential problems. Good luck!
Hi Terry- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with your Vogelzang pellet stove. You’ve highlighted an important point about these stoves. They require a lot of cleaning, but they run well when they’re maintained properly. Good luck with your stove this heating season!
Hello Luc- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with your Vogelzang pellet stove.
I have read some comments about putting a thermostat on the stove I had purchased the 5790 Vogalzang stove thinking that you could put one on this unit was disappointed when I found out you could not my older pellet stove was a yankee and you could put a thermostat on that unit I sure wish I had looke a little closer at this unit by the way my yankee was 12 yes old still kicking in the garage I also get codes E3 and E4 at times for no reason
I’m on my second winter and I can’t agree with the review on easy to clean. This is a terrible stove to clean. Glass soots up fast is the first thing we noticed along with bouncers as the pellets would bounce out of the pot. We found a youtube video where someone cut an stainless napkin holder in half, bent it, and place it in front of the pot. This helped the glass and bouncing a bit but didn’t completely solve the soot problem. Since the glass soots up, other things do too, remember this. The side pockets, are the bane of my existence. I don’t know who thought this was a great idea but that person needs to be awarded a dunce hat. First off, they are held on with philps screws, this realistically needs to be cleaned every other day. Philips screws don’t like that much attention. We found hex screws that fit the same thread and work… except for one. That one needed to be drilled and retapped as the treads gave out eventually after removing the screw too many times. Then here is the WORST part. So that side pocket is the bottom where the ash drops and collects, well it goes up into the exaust from there. And here is the problem. There is a area on both sides that you CANNOT get to that builds up with soot and ash over time. After hours of frustration of cleaning every nook and cranny to solve inefficiencies, taking off the blower motor cleaning that all out, cleaning the temp sensor, using a pellet stove brush to clean out the vents I was still having issues. I borrowed a borescope from a friend and found the mother off all blockage. I was eventually able to somewhat clean it but I couldn’t get it the attention it needs due to it’s location. How half my clothes are stained black and I feel like I have COVID half the time from inhaling all the shit from cleaning this stupid thing. Spend the extra money and get a harmon.
We purchased the Vogelzang 5790 last February and have had nothing but problems with it since then. It has to be shut down for hours and sometimes up to a day to clean it about every 2 days. The pellets bounce out of the burn pot and sit smoldering down in the ash pans and if you try to open the door to clean everything before it’s cooled down completely, the house fills with smoke. These ash pans are very difficult to reach in and clean out properly. We set the temperature at 70o-72o and by the end of the day it may go up to 85o or as low as 60o. The glass on the door is completely blackened over within hours thus making it difficult to verify that the burn pot is filled. The stove was installed as directed and per the several times we’ve called the company for help we’ve been told to open the air flow. Or the next time we’re told to close it up some. At one point in time we spoke with a service man who is certified to work on these stoves and he told us that the thermostats in these models aren’t worth the powder to blow them up. To have him come and actually look at the stove was going to cost us $120.00 an hour and that included travel time. He’s located close to an hour and a half away. We bought a pellet stove vac and if you try to clean out the ash pans before the stove has completely cooled down it burns up the filters. Hubby has spent hours thoroughly (or so we thought vacuuming every place on the stove and it is now showing an E2. He’s done this several times with the same result. This last time that we called US Stove’s help line, they hung up on us. We gave up and bought a different stove which is to be installed today. Buying that Vogelzang was like burning our money which as seniors on a fixed income, we can hardly afford to do.
Hi this is Ann, we purchased a Vogelzang vg5790 about 3 years ago from TSC. We’re running into the problem of the pellets not burning all the way and filling pot to full. Getting an E4 reading and slow to light filling chamber with smoke. Have to clean T-Disc constantly, I have taken the combustion motor apart and cleaned all the chambers I can find. Has alot of soot and not the ash that it had before, don’t know where to go from here. Replaced the T-Disc and Room sensor on the other side along with a new motor that blows the air into the room. Any insight would be appreciated.
Hello Ben- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Vogelzang VG 5790.
We’ve operated one of these pellet stoves for many years, and we agree with you about the soot. However, the problem pretty much disappeared when we added a Klinker King burn pot extender to the factory burn pot (Klinker King advertises on this website). It instantly stopped pellets from bouncing out of the burn pot, which stopped the problem with smoldering pellets in the ash put sooting up the exhaust. It cut down cleaning by about half for us. I’ve seen videos like you mentioned where pellet stove users used stainless steel to fashion a burn pot extender to accomplish the same thing. One problem with that approach is the thickness of the metal. Thin metal, even stainless steel, doesn’t last long in the burn chamber. The burn pot extender we have is made of heavier steel than the factory burn pot is, and lasts longer.
Hello Caryl- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for informing our readers about your experience with the Vogelzang VG 5790.
Like the commenter just before you, I think you’d benefit greatly from a burn pot extender. It stops pellets bouncing out, which stops the smoldering problem right away. Getting rid of smoldering pellets in the ash dump also helps with vacuuming. We’ve found that it’s the smoldering pellets that can be ignited when they’re vacuumed up. The regular ash cools off almost immediately when the stove is powered down.
Hello Ann- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
It sounds like you have a blockage some where that’s not allowing air to pass through the stove properly. If enough air doesn’t pass through the burn pot, the pellets burn too slowly, and eventually pile up and overflow the pot. This also lead to a lot of smoldering pellets, which makes a lot of soot and makes the blockage worse.
Also, many Vogelzang users are surprised to find out that there are very small slots at the bottom back of the heat exchanger that are visible when you remove the side clean out covers. You need a very small wand to clean in there. It’s easy to get a blockage there that you can’t see.
the vg5790 e2 code after I cleaned it all out, I have to shut it down every day to clean out fire chamber, shut down once a week to do complete clean out, I pull plates for air chamber after one week full of ash, clean out vent pipe, cleaned out air intake pipe, I have replaced air switch twice, exaust fan once and low limit thermodisc once, still will not start, turn on runs for 20 seconds and throws the e2 code, this would’ve been my 3rd season with it, but now going to have to scrap it since I did notice this year it was not throwing out the heat it originally did when I 1st got it is this model only good for a couple seasons?
Hello Dave- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
Our family has been using a Vogelzang VG 5790 for 9 or 10 seasons now, and we’ve probably burned 60 or 70 tons of pellets in it. Over the years we have made repairs, including changing the fans, the thermodiscs, the door seal gasket, and the igniter, but it keeps on working. So it is possible to keep these stoves going for long periods of time. They can be fussy, though.
E2 errors are frustrating. They can be one of several problems, all related to the passage of air through the machine. A blockage in the burn pot, air inlet, internal air chambers, or the exhaust pipe can cause it. As you’ve mentioned, the air switch can be the problem. Problems with the seal formed by the door gasket are another likely culprit.
Here’s how I’d run down the list of likely problems with an E2 code:
1. Remove the side clean out plates. Use a strong flashlight to look for a small slot at the bottom rear of the chambers. This is how exhaust air passes out of the combustion chamber into the exhaust fan, and then out of the house. You need a very small, flexible wand to clean it out, like the ones used for dryer vents. You have to force the wand up into the chamber to clean it properly.
2. I’d remove the exhaust fan and clean the pipes leading into it and out of it. I do this once a year anyway.
3. I’d test the air switch. You disconnect the clear hose and gently suck gently on it. If you hear the switch click, it’s working. I’ve never had one fail. However, you should also check to see if the small diameter metal pipe that feeds the switch hose is blocked. You can clean it out with a paper clip. It can get clogged with very hard klinker ash. This little cleaning trick is often overlooked.
4. Change the door gasket. It can be hard to know when to change the door gasket. They often look perfectly fine, but they’re allowing too much air into the combustion chamber and triggering an error code. I’ve sort of “massaged” the door gasket to make it less flat to increase the seal of the door. You can also adjust the two turnbuckles on the clamp-levers that hold the door closed. If you turn them one turn clockwise, the door will close more tightly. I’ve only replace the door gasket once. It isn’t difficult, but the replacement gaskets are often specified too small in diameter. We used a 7/8″ diameter gasket instead, and it matched the original perfectly, and improved the operation of the stove a lot.
Good luck! I hope you figure out your problem. It would be a shame if your pellet stove only lasted a couple of years.
Stove sucks nothing but problems from day one we clean and clean it out thoroughly every day and still hardly stays running it’s cold out I have grandkids here and son with cancer and dam thing fights us daily. Now need new gaskets for side clean outs and they want 35$ pluse shipping and handling that’s ridiculous. I hate this stove with a passion never again. I will go back to wood or propane. Unless there is a better company that makes theses pellet stoves better ????????????
Hello Shannon- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Vogelzang VG5790.
The gaskets for the side cleanouts wore out on our machine, and we were also kind of shocked at how much they cost. We went to an auto parts store and purchased a roll of gasket material. It didn’t last as long as the original , hi-temp rubber material, but every time it got brittle and needed replacing, we’d just cut another one out of the sheet by tracing around the clean out place and punching two holes for the screws. Later on, we bought a sheet of high temp rubber on Amazon that was just like the original material, but cost next to nothing and had enough material to numerous replacements. I hope this helps.
I have the 5770 got it on sale this is total misdesigned chinese garbage. U S stove co. Scrambled to cover their butts after too many customer complaints. I’m a heating mechanic heres what you do
Unplug stove cut and cap 2 wires to main blower on left side wire motor direct to 115 v extension cord
Top speed from the circuit program was 1.4 amps
Now its 1.9 its correct rating runs faster delivers more air. The program automatically adjusts the pellet feed rate set for as hot as you want manual then switch to thermostat setting
Stove soots up but less if you totally clean it at least once week. The draft over fire seems enough with clean stove and flu so probably not enough makeup air to fire probably air feed pipe undersized causing soot. Good luck
Hi GKoczera- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts and for leaving such an interesting comment.
hi. inherited a house with this pellet stove. PIA IMO.
my issue is that the cotter pin sheared off and sheared off the auger shaft. I got a new auger but I can’t get the auger out. any tips would be appreciated
Hi Diana- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
In my experience, the cotter pin is so flimsy on this machine because they want it to fail instead of burning out the auger motor when the auger gets jammed. If you’re working on the auger by reaching in from the side panels, trying to pull it out of the chase it’s in, you’re bound to have a hard time. If you completely empty out the pellet hopper, you’ll be able to reach down in it and remove a handful of screws and take off the sheet metal cover that covers the auger and the auger chase. Then you’ll be able to vacuum out the area around the entire auger, and lift it out. It is actually pretty loose in the auger chase when it’s not packed with fines and pellets. Good luck!
Hi Alex. VG5770. I replaced the door glass gasket this fall. The outside gasket edge appears fine, but the inside gasket edge has completely lost its adhesive and has pulled away from the glass. I believe I still have a reasonable air seal. Is this going to cause a problem now or possibly in the future? If I need to replace, do you recommend any type of adhesive for the inside edge? Thank you.
Hi Bob- Thanks for reading and commenting at Wood Pellet Facts.
I have a lot of experience with the larger version of your Vogelzang pellet stove. I’ve changed the door gasket many times over a ten-year period. It gets compressed pretty hard, and loses its springiness from frequent opening and closing of the door. I’ve never bothered to change the gasket around the door glass, however. I can’t imagine it leaks much air, at least compared to the door gasket. The manufacturer recommends changing it, but I don’t see the point.
Rutland Hi-Temp Stove and Gasket cement has always worked well for me when adhering rope gaskets. You can get it at many hardware stores and online at places like Amazon.