Vogelzang pellet stoves are only available in a few sizes. Vogelzang is affiliated with United States Stove, so they tend not to compete for the same buyer by offering identically sized wood pellet stoves with different labels. The Vogelzang VG5770 is a smaller version of the Vogelzang VG5790. The VG 5790 is one of the most powerful freestanding wood pellet stoves you can buy. The Vogelzang Slimline isn’t designed to heat a whole house, but it still puts out a lot of heat. If you’re looking for a pellet stove that’s priced less than $1,000, but still can heat more than 2,000 square feet of floor space, the Slimline might be right for you.
No matter which of the Vogelzang pellet stoves you choose, the fit and finish are similar. They’re made in China, but they’re well designed and constructed. There’s nothing fancy about the Vogelzang Slimline wood pellet stove, but it’s not cheap-looking. More expensive pellet stoves like the P-61 Harman Pellet Stove feature more heavy, cast parts which give it a more solid appearance. Vogelzang wood pellet stoves use a lot more stamped metal parts, and look more like a kitchen appliance than a wood stove.
That’s not a knock on Vogelzang. The VG 5770 works well, and using simple steel panels for the enclosure and hopper keeps the price low without affecting performance. Let’s take a look at the Wood Pellet Facts to see what you get with the Vogelzang VG 5770 Slimline wood pellet stove.
Vogelzang Pellet Stoves VG5770 Wood Pellet Facts
- Freestanding automatic pellet stove
- Produces up to 48,000 BTUs
- Heats up to 2,200 square feet of floor area
- Digital temperature settings
- Flue collar: 3″
- Hopper capacity: 60 pounds
- Full load run time: 40 hours
- Single 200 CFM blower
- Runs on 110 volts at 3 amps
- Automatic igniter
- Remote control for heat settings included
- Dimensions: 20″ x 24″ x 39-3/4″ high
- Limited 5-year manufacturer’s warranty
- Weighs 287 pounds
Vogelzang Pellet Stoves VG 5770 Features and Benefits
Early models of wood pellet stoves didn’t have automatic operation. They required constant fiddling to get the amount of heat you desired. All Vogelzang pellet stoves have automatic ignition and automated temperature settings that allow you to regulate the amount of heat the stoves put out. That doesn’t mean that you can use the VG 5770 like a central heating furnace. You can set the output of the stove from low to high, but you can’t have the unit turn on and off at particular temperature.
The VG5770 will automatically reset itself to a desired temperature setting, but it will not shut itself off to keep from exceeding a low temperature, and then restart when the temperature gets too cold. It’s easy to use the digital readout to maintain a fairly constant temperature while it’s in operation, however.
It’s easy to clean the VG 5770. After shutting down the unit and letting it cool, you open the front viewing door, remove the burn pot to scrape out any clinkers and ash, sweep out the interior, and then close it back up after wiping off the interior of the viewing glass. Once a week or so, you’ll have to remove a cover plate for the heat exchanger and vacuum out the ash that settles in there.
Pros
- Compact size makes it easy to locate in the room
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Produces lots of heat
- Uses outside air for combustion
- Large viewing window to enjoy the flames
- Large, 60-pound hopper requires fewer refills
- Long warranty
- Looks good in any setting
- LED readout and soft touch buttons make adjustments easy
- Included remote control makes adjusting temps simpler
- Fan is relatively quiet on the lower settings
Cons
- Viewing window soots up quickly
- Doesn’t hold an even number of bags of pellets
- Circulation fan is noisy on the higher settings
- Unit requires removal of metal plates to vacuum out heat exchanger
Final Word on the Vogelzang VG5770
The key to home heating comfort is having the right size pellet stove, furnace, or boiler. Buying heating plants that are more powerful than you need won’t increase comfort. If your furnace or pellet stove cycles on and off too often, you’ll be too hot one minute, and shivering the next.
That’s why so many people like the Vogelzang VG5770. It puts out a lot of heat for a secondary heating source. Because it burns wood pellets, it’s both economical and eco-friendly. The controls are easy to use and understand. It doesn’t dominate the room you place it in. Many users report that the VG5770 fits nicely in the corner of a room, unlike bigger stoves that are too big to fit.
The Vogelzang VG5770 gets generally good reviews from customers. Most people don’t have any trouble installing or running the pellet stove. Many users say that they’re able to use the VG 5770 as their primary heating source, even though it’s designed to be a secondary heater. The most common observation by consumers is how inexpensive the unit is for how much heat it puts out. The Vogelzang Pellet Stoves VG5770 is recommended.
Do you own a Vogelzang VG 5770 Slimline Pellet Stove? Tell us about it in the comments!
I bought my vg5770 last January. I followed the set up instructions to the letter and by now i have the operating manual memorized. I have not been able to get the stove to light on its own since the first day i bought it and after my daily routine of cleaning and vacuming and relighting the stove over the last 3 months of last winter and the first 3 months of this winter, i have yet to be able to keep this stove running for more than 10 hours with out the stove coding out for one reason or another. This stove pops up codes 2,3,and 4 in random order all the time. This is the most frustrating piece of equipment i have ever owned. I have tried different pellets, reconfiguring the exhaust out of the house and of course every solution the manual suggests. All of my friends and neighbors supplement their heating needs with assorted brands of pellet stove and none of them have anywhere near the trouble i have with this stove. For the few short hours a day that i can keep this stove running, it will heat almost my entire 1900 sf home and thats saying alot being that i live in western NY. Sadly however after just over a year of ownership and less than 4 months of use on this $1200 stove i am forced to replace it with another manufactures product.
Hello Matthew- Thank you for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a detailed review of your experience with the Vogelzang VG5770 Slimline pellet stove.
It’s important that real users of these appliances are able to offer first-hand, unbiased information to other consumers to help them make an informed choice about a potential purchase. As a dedicated pellets stove user, it’s distressing to hear about your problems with this Vogelzang stove. I wonder if you could inform our readers where you purchased your stove, and if the Vogelzang company has been willing to help you with your problems. It sounds like many of your malfunctions would be covered by your warranty.
I have never personally operated a Vogelzang Slimline, but I do have a lot of experience with the Vogelzang VG 5790, which is similar but larger. I have had E3 and E4 error messages, but was able to resolve them. For the E3 message, we found that the hopper safety switch had become bent, and was constantly signaling that the hopper was open. Lightly bending the spring switch upwards solved that problem. Later, an E4 message indicated a Proof of Fire thermodisc problem. This is located on the exhaust blower. By placing pulling off the two wires and jumping them with a piece of copper wire, the unit worked normally. We replaced the thermodisc, (it was inexpensive) but as it turned out, it only needed to be cleaned. Soot had built up on the interior face and acted as an insulator, and fooled the machine into thinking the fire had gone out.
I have a USSC King pellet burner and for two seasons now it has worked flawlessly . Except when it was first new the thermistor wire came loose from its connection and we bout had a melt down. But we are now on about 12 pallets of pellets for two years and really couldn’t be happier. We were looking just today at the smaller unit for another place in our home. I would recommend either of these stoves to anyone.
Hello Tim- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts and for leaving your impressions of the USSC stove. For other readers, I should point out that USSC stands for the United States Stove Company, which is the parent company of Vogelzang, and many of their parts work interchangeably.
I purchased this stove in 2014 had numerous issues with codes 2 and 3 ultimately it stopped working with code e2 i called the company and after a few months of talking back and forth with a rep and try this and try that and send pics and move stove from current location winter was gone ..i spent winter 2015/2016 without using it because i did not have the time or patience to be on the phone and trying different things to repair this..so now 2016 winter season started and i have more time on my hands so i called again to try and get this fixed .it turns out that it was yhe vacuum switch wich one rep figured out just after 3 phone calls .so i ordered that piece installed it and stove starts working or at least no more e2.now i start getting e3 now starts the phone calls again this time it only takes 5 different calls 3 emails and many pictues to figure out that it was it was the t disc exhaust ..so i order that and install and it works or so i thought.. cause now every few hours it turns itself off and goes into the e 3 again ..just cant seam to get this stove to run for a day without something happening .
Just to note : vacuum switch and t disc was around 200 spent on something that if original rep would have been able to help it would have been covered under warranty..
To add to my issues all that trouble shooting was done with a reps directions and a little knowledge on how to handle a screwdriver and pliers .what if i had no knowledge of how to work with these tools or even not comftable with working with wires ? I would have had to call a repair man that maybe would have spent some time and cost me alot more money plus parts due to the company not having a cerified repair shop withing traveling distance .. i truly believe ther is something wrong with that process ..
Hello Nolberto- Thank you for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experience with the Vogelzang Slimline pellet stove.
You must be very frustrated. I have not worked on a slimline stove, but I have a lot of experience with the Vogelzang large hopper stove, which is very similar. I am familiar with both E2 and E3 error messages. We replaced our thermodisc when it stopped working, but it turned out it wasn’t broken. There was too much soot on it, and it acted as insulation. We cleaned it off and reinstalled it, and it worked again. This was after burning more than 6 tons of pellets.
The E3 error message could be several things. This stove doesn’t work well unless it’s very clean. That could be it. Also, we found a minor problem with the hopper safety switch caused our E3 message. There’s a little spring switch you’ll see when you open the hopper. If the spring is bent downward, the switch doesn’t work. It’s easy to bend the spring with your finger so it touches the hopper door sooner when you close the hopper door.
If you’ve had vacuum problems, the vacuum switch could be the problem. We’ve also found that after a short time, the soft gasket that surrounds the viewing window gets compressed, and it doesn’t seal as well as it should. You can replace it, but we found that by tightening the adjustable screws on the two clamps that lock the door closed, you can make the door fit more snugly and operate normally.
Your problems with the stove, and your frustration with the customer service process, highlights a problem with pellets stoves in general. We have found burning wood pellets to be easier, safer, and more economical than burning firewood. However, pellets stoves are not yet regular appliances like a cooking stove or a hot water heater. They require quite a bit of daily maintenance, and occasional repairs. This can be challenging for homeowners that aren’t used to adjusting their own appliances.
It was our hope that by offering information about these pellet stoves, and inviting readers to compare notes, we could be useful to consumers who have pellet stoves, or were thinking about buying one.
Thanks again for reading and commenting. I hope you have better luck with your stove this heating season.
Thank you .i will continue to try and get this issue fixed and get the stove working to its full potential.
We have had a number of pellet stoves over the years and recently purchased the smaller vogelzang and are enjoying it so far. We were able to carry it upstairs to the living room by ourselves. It is burning pellets beautifully and does not smell smoky, Luckily my husband is handy and can fix any issues that may arise and I read him the above issues so we will keep them in mind. One thing we have noticed is that the stove does burn hot…and yet the wall behind it is cool as can be. So far, we are VERY satisfied.
Hello Sdrumm- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experience with the Vogelzang Slimline stove. You’ve pointed out one great thing these small stoves have going for them. They’re not light exactly, but they’re light enough to move without heavy equipment. The stoves have a small footprint, too, that makes it easy to fit them in a tight spot. Our experience with the larger Vogelzang pellet stove is similar to yours. The back and sides of the stove stay quite cool, even when the stove is running on its highest setting.
Hi I just bought the vogelzang 5770 I turned it on at 9am this morning and it ran till it just shut itself off around 11pm the same evening. I don’t understand whats going on its a brand new stove! Did anyone else experience this problem?
Hi Alice- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and leaving a comment. We’re sorry to hear you’re having trouble with your stove. Can you give our readers more information? Did the stove give you an error message when it stopped operating?
The run time on this stove depends on the heat setting. Wood pellets have 8500 BTUs per pound. On the higher settings, you can burn 5-6 pounds an hour. That empties the entire hopper in about 10-12 hours. The full load run time is based on the lowest heat setting. The stove will automatically turn off if the hopper is empty.
Hi no it didn’t show an error code and it had plenty of pellets in it and it just shut off. So this morning we cleaned it out and turned on again and this time its showing error code 4. The auger is not jammed and it has pellets in it. This is only second time using this stove.
Also it was on the lowest setting.
Hi Alice- That sound very frustrating.
Our (larger) Vogelzang stove also didn’t work on the first day we got it, and also gave us an E4 message. It turned out the hopper safety switch was bent down, and didn’t touch the underside of the hopper door when it closed. We bent the little piece of spring metal up a little, and it worked like a champ after that.
Just bought the 5770 have it installed properly it started up an coded e5 then e4 then e3 I reset it stove now it will not start up at all just dumps a few pellets an says e 1 and I also let it cool off before trying again It is brand new first bag off pellets I’m thinking I should take it back seems like a pile
Hello Josh- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
Getting that many error messages from your stove makes it very hard to pin down what is happening, and must be very frustrating. While we have dealt with several different error messages with our larger version of the Vogelzang pellet stove, we have never encountered an E1 error message. It’s possible that your high limit switch is tripped, or is defective. Many high limit switches have a reset button on them. It’s a small, square button in the middle of the circular disc. If you refer to your owner’s manual, it will tell you the color of the wires that lead to it, making it easier to find. On a Vogelzang VG 5790, the wires are pink going into the high limit switch, and gray coming out.
Thanks again for sharing your experience with the VG 5770 with our readers.
Wish I would have read this before we bought ours. Right from the first lighting we have gotten Error messages and it shuts of. E2, 3,4 and we have reset and right back to E3. Seriously the thing is brand new!! should not have to be getting new parts or bypassing anything!!
Hi Terrie- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
Getting error messages when you first turn on an appliance is exasperating. It’s especially challenging because you don’t have any experience to draw on. If you receive an error message after you’ve run the stove for a while, you sort of know what everything is, and how it works. Not so when it’s right out of the box.
I suspect that these units are tested and work fine in the factory, but they travel so far and get knocked around so much en route that things come loose.
We also got all those error messages when we first started our larger Vogelzang pellet stove. Once we resolved them, the unit ran perfectly for two years and 12 tons of pellets until a thermodisc failed. If you’re able to resolve your problem, the unit is well worth the money it costs. But we agree with you. They should work better when they’re brand new.
Purchased 3 years ago from desperation. Main oil burner furnace went bad in January of all times in central NY. After proper hook up,placement and fiddling with pellet types,heat settings,etc, this less expensive stove has worked nearly flawless with minimal codes coming up. After a time I moved stove to place where it originally was supposed to go and where it is now. Works well. The key to making this lesser costly stove work it’s best is use ONLY hardwood pellets (no soft/hard mix) and clean it often. I clean mine once a week and clean the heat exchanger every 2 weeks minimum.
The side covers could have been designed better for easier removal but since I only have to remove them twice a month it’s not so bad co soldering what I paid for it.
Hi Andy- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experiences with your Vogelzang 5770.
We agree with your assessment that Vogelzangs are good value for short money, and you really have to keep them clean to keep them working properly.
I have model vg5770 I am getting e1.went to Manuel no help.need some help.
Hi Joe- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
In our experience, all E1 error messages indicate a problem with the high limit switch. I believe on your model of Vogelzang pellet stove, they call it the “limited temp switch.” If you open your cabinet, you can find the high temp switch by following the pink-colored wire. The switch has pink wire going in, and gray wire going out. Many high temp switches have a reset button on the back. It’s a small, square button in the middle of the switch. Press it to reset. If that doesn’t work, Vogelzang advises that you can “jump” the wire to test the switch. If the pellet stove works with the wire jumped, the switch is bad and should be replaced. They’re not that expensive, and you only need a screwdriver to replace the part.
I love my vogelzang vg5770. I have a two bedroom ranch and use it in the cellar. Let me tell you this slim designed pellet stove kicks great heat
I hear of a lot of people saying it keeps throughing off ecodes. You have to take the time to learn and watch it for a few days. I don’t get any codes,because I clean it regularly.
Hello David- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experience with your Vogelzang VG 5770.
Like you, we find that proper cleaning is important. In our experience, we find that most manufacturers downplay the amount of maintenance that pellets stoves require. They want consumers to think of pellets stoves as appliances like refrigerators or washing machines. People are used to appliance like that working for years with little or no attention. Pellets stoves need constant cleaning, or they don’t work well.
My 5770 is brand new and it has shown every code and it acts like it is feeding to many pellets as the bottom of the stove always has about a half a bag of unburnt pellets and even some smoldering for days after u shut it off for cleaning. Just curious if anyone else has this problem and what can I do to fix it
Hi Dave- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
In our experience, if unburned or partially burned pellets are accumulating in the bottom of the stove, the fire isn’t getting enough air. The stove feeds pellets based on the burn rate setting. If there isn’t enough air, the pellets don’t burn up fast enough, and the pellet basket overflows. We suggest you make sure that the damper is open all the way, the air intake isn’t blocked outside, and the entire exhaust piping is completely clean of ash. We have found that every bend in the exhaust piping accumulates ash deposits much faster than the straight sections, so they should get extra attention.
We hope this helps. Good luck!
I bought the vg5770 used off another individual and he said that they auger motor had died replaced it and had an error code ended up being ash build up on the temp sensor in the exhaust fan area. it has been working well for the past week with no issues except the glass soots up so quickly i end up cleaning it out more often then once a week. The glass being so dirty bothers me so I have to clean it off and I figure since I have it open i do a quick vacuum which I do not think that the previous owner kept up with vacuuming it out because the amount of ash left in it when I picked it up and the build up when I opened the 2 side clean outs. Has anyone found out a way to help reduce the soot buildup on the window? If so I really would like to know because it does a great job heating my main floor on just 2 on the manual mode which I assume will do better once I open up the 2 walls in the main plan. I am only using douglas fir pellets in it between Northern Warmth and Purcell trying 1 ton of each this winter to see which one i like better and go with just 1 type next season.
Hi Jeremy- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experiences with your Vogelzang VG 5770.
In our experience, very few pellet stoves get a thorough cleaning often enough. We think that’s partly because the manufacturers try to downplay the amount of cleaning their stoves require, to make them sound more attractive.
We have a larger version of your Vogelzang pellets stove. We also replaced the exhaust sensor, but found out it only needed to have the soot cleaned off it to work. We kept the old one as a spare.
We haven’t found any way to keep the viewing glass clear for very long on the Vogelzang. The distance between the burn pot and glass is very compact, so the glass gets hit with the smoke pretty hard, Very low ash brands seem to do better, but it still smokes up within 24 hours.
In our opinion, the bolts on the side cleanout panels on the Vogelzang 5790 and 5770 should be held on with wing nuts, not screws. Users really need to open them up to clean the stove properly, and the manufacturer should make it as easy as possible to do it. On the plus side, we have removed and replaced the side panels many hundreds of times, and the screws haven’t stripped. We’ve replaced the gaskets a lot, however.
Thanks again for reading and commenting.
vogelzang vg 5770 is not a good stove have had for two years nothing but problems broke auger new auger motor and now the room blower is bad $350.00 to replace stove is junk.
Hello LAustin- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experiences with the Vogelzang VG 5770.
In our experience, neither an auger motor or a room blower should go bad in only two years. Even if the stove is used continuously, motors like that should last much longer. Did the manufacturer supply you with replacements under warranty, or did the failures occur after one year?
they replaced broke auger under warranty the rest was after one year the stove will be two years in february
Hi, I am trying to locate the heat exchanger. Could someone help?
Hello Richard- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
Both the VG 5770 and the VG 5790 have a simple plenum for heat exchange. The back wall of the combustion chamber is the front wall of the heat exchanger. Room air is drawn into the cabinet, forced into the plenum behind the combustion chamber at the bottom, and then passes out the front through the warm air outlet grill.
I hope this is helpful.
Hi I have a vogelzang 5770 and I need to clean the combustion chamber how do I get side panels off??
Hello Aimee- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
By “side panels,” you may be referring to one of two things. First, if you’re referring to the metal panels on the side of the enclosure, they’re hinged at the back, and held closed on the front by two fairly strong magnets. Halfway up the side panels on their front edge is an indent you can grasp with your hand, and give a little tug. That will make the side panels swing open, and give you access to the interior of the cabinet.
If you’re referring to the clean out covers, they’re flat metal plates, about the size of a playing card, located down low on either side of the combustion chamber. They’re held in place by two 5/16″ hex head screws. Remove the screws to remove the cover plates. Be careful when handling the rubber gasket on the back of the plate. It gets brittle with use. You’ll find ash piled up just inside the cover plates. I use a crevice tool on a standard shop vac to clean out the chamber. Then carefully replace the cover plates and gaskets.
I hope this helps.
Good Morning. I’m trying to get to the clean outs behind the side panels on my 5770. I tried the last posts directions and for the life of me I cannot figure out how to get them off. I’ve removed the three screws on the back but it won’t seem to come out with removing the top. Is that possible? What am I missing??
Got the side panels off and cleaned out both ash boxes inside. Clean the exhaust pipes. I’m still getting an E2 code after the stove running for about 30 minutes.
Hi Lisa- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
Your E2 code after running for a short time sounds like a problem with either the air (vacuum) switch, or the door on the combustion chamber not sealing correctly. The vacuum switch can be found on the left side of the inside of your cabinet, with a clear plastic hose leading to it. The combustion chamber of your stove works with a slight vacuum. If that vacuum is lost (like if the door with the viewing glass isn’t sealed properly) the switch tells the pellet stove to turn off.
I feel like I have done everything the manual suggested for the E4 code but the code persists.
Is there a better schematic of the right and left sides of the stove? I am not sure what side the thermodisc is on as there is a thermo disc exhaust and room air. I also would like to try to do a fall start up cleaning and monthly cleaning to see if it’s a matter of ash build up, but there is no clear direction how to do that.
Hello Ann- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
The schematic drawing supplied with the instruction manual for the stove is the only version I’m aware of. It can be hard to read.
The Proof of Fire thermodisc on your VG 5770 is on the left side of your stove if you’re standing in front of it. The disc is installed in the exhaust blower housing itself. You can test it by disconnecting the 2 wires leading into it, and putting a jumper wire between the two leads. We once got our thermodisc back in service by removing it from the housing, cleaning it off, and re-installing it. If too much soot builds up on the thermodisc, it acts as an insulator, and the disc doesn’t sense that there’s a fire present. I hope this is helpful.
This Is my 3rd year with a VG 5770 not impressed at all.
Hello Mike- Thanks for reading and leaving a comment at Wood Pellet Facts.
We want our website to inform consumers of the merits and drawbacks of the pellet stoves we review. Thanks for offering the benefit of your experience with the VG 5770. If you’d like to, you could add specific reasons for your dissatisfaction with the stove. We’d love to hear them.
Alex from Wood Pellet Facts
Brand new stove. Keep getting E3 codes. Sometimes it runs for 5 or 6 hours, sometimes for less time. Glass door gasket is good. Safety switch is good. This stove is in a 500 sq. Foot trailer. It is pulling cold air from outside. Damper is 1/4 open. Any suggestions?
Hello Chachi- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
From your description, it sounds like you understand how the VG5770 operates, because everything you’ve checked can cause an E3 warning. I’m assuming that you’re calling the vacuum switch the “safety switch” in your comment.
It sounds to me like you’re having a problem with your exhaust thermodisc. It’s a switch about the size of a quarter, with two wires attached. It’s mounted on a hole in the exhaust fan housing. To see if it’s the problem, you can remove the two leads, and place a “jumper wire” between them. If the stove runs normally with the jumper wire in place, then the switch needs replacing. We’ve also found that ash will build up on the inside face of this switch, which insulates it from the air passing by it. That causes it to read that the fire has gone out. It’s easy to remove the switch (two screws) and clean off the inside face.
Here’s a video from US Stove of replacement of an exhaust thermodisc in the larger version of your stove.
I hope this helps.
Thanks Alex. Next time up north I will give this a try. Might be a couple weeks.
On my 4th year w/ the 5770 Vogelzang. Very happy w/ it. Reading thru comments I’d say some people don’t have a full understanding that first: this is a mid level, inexpensive appliance and second: it’s meant as a supplement heat source. The absolute key is KEEP IT CLEAN. I clean it once a week wether it needs it or not. Then once a month I clean out the exchanger as well. At monthly intervals, clean the flame detector sensor as well. My stove runs until I either shut it down or runs out of fuel. Keep it clean and run only hardwood pellets, no mix or softwood pellets ever. Lastly, simple observation of the unit tells it all.
Hello Andy- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Vogelzang VG5770.
I’m very familiar with the VG5790, the larger version of your stove, so I’m sure that your advice is spot on. The most important thing you can do to keep the stove running well is to keep it clean. You should clean out the burn pot and viewing glass daily when you’re running it all day, and remove the metal cover plates on the heat exchanger and vacuum them out at least once a week.
Your observation that it’s important to clean the thermodisc as well is also very important. The inside face of the sensor gets covered with ash, which insulates it from the hot air passing by. We remove the exhaust fan from the housing and brush the interior surfaces, including the sensor, once every ton of pellets or so.
I have an e1 code I have jump the two wires bypassing the high temp switch and I’m still getting the e1 code. What do I do?
Hello Shawn- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
The E1 code on Vogelzang pellet stoves usually indicates an overheating problem, or a malfunctioning sensor that’s supposed to turn the stove off when it overheats.
There are two thermodisc sensors on your stove. One is on the exhaust blower. That measures the temp of the exhaust gas as it exits the stove and goes up the chimney pipe. The second thermodisc is mounted on the back of the main chassis, and measures the temperature of room air passing through the stove and out the front. That sensor usually has a reset button. It’s a small, square button in the center you push to reset the thermodisc. If your stove isn’t overheating, but the t-disc is tripped, it might have been caused by an electrical surge like a lightning strike or a power outage. If the thermodisc won’t reset, it probably need replacing. It’s not very expensive, and you only need a Philips head screwdriver to perform the repair.
Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts!
Love the heat source, only downfall as far as I’m concerned is sometimes it’ll run on 75 degrees next time 83 degrees. AWESOME, AWESOME, heat source !!!!! Love the vg5770…..
Hello Jim- Thanks for leaving a comment at Wood Pellet Facts.
Both the Vogelzang VG5770 and the larger model, the VG5790, produce a lot of heat for inexpensive pellet stoves. We live in a very cold climate that requires a lot of BTUs, so we like our Vogelzang 5790 for its heating capacity, but it’s just a bigger version of your stove.
In our experience, it’s easier to manually set the pellet stove by figuring the desired difference between outside and inside temperature. For example, using any inexpensive pellets, our VG5790 will heat our entire house to 30 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the outside temperature on setting 1. Each higher setting adds about 10 degrees more. Super premium pellets produce higher temperatures, but once you figure out the “spread,” the calculation is easy to make.
been waiting for a phone call for three days new stove with control board is blinking then a e 1 code what is wrong
Hello Darin- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
I’m sorry to hear that you’re having problems with the customer service line for Vogelzang. Many of our readers mention that customer support isn’t very good for Vogelzang or their parent company, US Stove.
Another reader, Shawn, had the same problem with their Vogelzang VG5770 a few days ago. Here is the solution we suggested for an E1 error message:
I hope this helps.
So can I also bypass the one on the exhaust to find out if that one is bad. I did an ohms test on both and got reading on the fire box one but not the one on the exhaust.
Hello Shawn- Yes, you can bypass the thermodisc that’s mounted on the housing of the exhaust blower. Vogelzang recommends bypassing it as a method to test it.
I have a VG5770 that I’ve been running since January 2016 and burned about 6 ton so far. 1200 sq ft house in northern Lower Michigan. I’m pretty handy with things like this so I don’t mind the things I’ve had to do to it. I paid $850 locally and I feel it’s been a good buy. 5 year warranty? Mine said one year, unless things have changed. It felt like a little beast moving it but I only had to do it once. I’ve done the following to it: Replaced the overheat thermodisc with a better brand, the button would rattle around and break connection. Bypassed it for testing, but remember that’s your safety shutdown if the stove overheats, I wouldn’t leave it bypassed any longer than needed. Had to grease the bearings in the room blower a few times. Put a manual override on the exhaust blower, so it continues to pull smoke out if the fire smolders, also is very handy for minimizing dust in the house when cleaning. Bypassed the hopper switch, now I can load a bag of pellets without feeling rushed to keep the fire from going out, seriously you have to deliberately dig your hand so far down to be near the auger that it’s not even a safety concern to me. Had to install an outside air kit (30 year old house was too airtight) or it would choke and error out, I wonder if that’s the case with some of the others who had problems. Runs great with the outside air. End of last season I sheared an auger pin, just keep some from the hardware store for pennies each. The main difference I’m reading from the 5790 is to get to the ash traps, on the 5770 you have to unscrew the 3 screws in the rear of each panel, they don’t swing like the 5790. Then you have to lift the panel straight up (sometimes it sticks, grab it by the louvers and wiggle it) then finnagle it out of the front upper tab. You get used to it. Someday I’ll replace the screws on mine with thumbscrews because they get used so much. I’ve seen several versions of this same stove, some have no front plate, and some have a very restrictive front plate with an “Ashley” cutout. Mine was an Ashley and the engineer in me said that plate needed to go. I have since made a decorative non-restrictive plate to replace it. The physical size was nice, as it was the only thing with enough BTU that would fit in the corner with the appropriate clearances. Yes the glass does ash up quickly, more on lower settings. Not a dealbreaker. I use a glass conditioner every time I clean it (every 2-3 days I clean the glass and scrape the pot) and the ash comes off much easier. 40 hours for a hopper on low is about right since I clocked about 27 hours for one bag. I actually like how it holds an odd number of bags (1 1/2). I can dump in a whole bag while still having half a bag in there. I also don’t know if it is coincidence but the first main hopper ridge is the 1/2 bag mark, and the 2nd main ridge is the 1 bag mark. Makes it very easy to gauge when to dump in the next bag, or how much burn time I have left. (I really don’t like having an opened bag sitting around that can spill.) The thermostat setting is nice when burning hotter pellets (I can’t use it with a certain brand as they burn too cool). My only complaint is the there is no “buffer zone” on thermostat. It cycles from high to low instantly, sometimes almost chattering back and forth. For this reason I’ll only use thermostat on range 1-3, where the fan speeds are pretty similar sounding. 4 and 5 are a considerable jump. It would also be nice if it had an on/off thermostat or that capability (for heating in the shouder seasons), but I realize those typically come on more expensive stoves.
With all that, I forgot one thing. The front of the hopper opening has 2 very sharp corners that will rip a bag or your wrist, whatever comes first. I took a Dremel tool and rounded these off. Again an easy fix, but I think this should be considered into future designs.
Hello Troy- Thanks for leaving a detailed description of your experience with your Vogelzang VG5770 pellet stove. All of your tips and suggestions are right on the money in our experience.
As far as the 5-year warranty, I’m pretty sure that only applies to the steel frame of the pellet stove. All the moving and electrical parts have a 1-year warranty at most. For almost everyone, those are the only parts that ever break.
We have also installed a manual override for the exhaust (combustion) blower in our larger VG 5790. By running the fan longer, you’re sure to exhaust all the smoke from smoldering pellets.
Thanks again for your informative comment.
We bought brand new 2016, wouldn’t work, had replaced part way through winter with new, ran part of that winter 2016/2017. Now this yr winter 2017/2018 freezing thanks to a junk stove that codes E2. Everything is clean gaskets replaced it’s plain junk can’t believe TSC sells this product….. Are you kidding me they won’t even stand behind it. My husband called a rep told him to take a paperclip and wire it direct … Are you serious? This company should have a law suit and be required to reimburse everyone who purchased this piece of sh*t so we can purchase something that works! You obviously know it’s a faulty machine and all you want is for people to purchase extra sh*t to fix your junk. Exactly why in the hell should someone buy something and a couple months in have to purchase parts to fix it?
Hello Dawn- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Vogelzang slimline pellet stove.
I’m more familiar with the larger version of this pellet stove, the VG 5790. They share a lot of the same components, and work more or less the same way. I’ve noticed that users consistently rate the VG5770 lower than the VG5790. Your experience is similar. You’ve highlighted some important problems in the supply chain for these stoves.
Firstly, Tractor Supply sells these stoves, but they essentially have nothing to do with them after the sale. They simply refer you to US Stove (the parent company of Vogelzang) for warranty and service information. Vogelzang doesn’t seem to have a robust system for handling complaints and handling parts and service.
Secondly, these stoves are sold the same way home appliances are. Consumers are accustomed to having appliances installed, and having them simply run. Many inexpensive pellet stoves like the VG 5770 really don’t run reliably like a refrigerator or a dehumidifier would. They take a bit of tinkering to get them to run correctly. For a consumer who has purchased the stove because it’s marketed as a set and forget appliance, the need to tinker with the stove can be infuriating. That gets compounded by very uneven customer service.
We at Wood Pellet Facts would like to see Vogelzang, and many other pellet stove manufacturers, concentrate on making these units run more reliably instead of adding more features. A pellet stove with one big knob that always worked would be much more popular than one with all the bells and whistles that doesn’t. It would be wise for these companies to improve the quality of their phone and email support, and parts departments, too.
I have the VG5770 and it was purchased at tsc and it worked well until recently. You individuals on the phone help line are terrible. I spoke to one who was yawning all the time. I don’t think it is good service when you expect you customers to fix things when the stove was just purchased. I was planning to buy another Vogelzang pellet stove but my plan has changed with the experience I have had with your service dept and tsc. I spent approximately 4 hours yesterday on the phone to get tech help which was a waste of time . The # I called was 1-800-750-2723 and I was hung up 3x after waiting forever to talk to someone. Please learn to stand by you products. I agree with the customer that something has to be done.
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Hi Ruben- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your experience with the Vogelzang VG 5770 with our readers. Like many of our readers, it sounds like you received very poor customer service from the manufacturer. They should do a better job with phone and email support.
I purchased the Vogelzang 5770 stove and this is the second winter using it. I am on my sixth ton of pellets. We have had a few minor problems with the stove but I think I have it dialed in now. Everyday I turn it off and wait for the blower to stop. I open the door and with a large metal spoon I remove the burnt pellets from the burn pot and put them in the area to the left or right of the burn pot. The pellets will crystalize and not allow good air flow. Usually before I empty the burn pot I will remove yesterdays discarded pellets first with the spoon and put into a metal bucket. I do this every morning. The pellet stove runs great. Also yearly I remove the side panels and vacuum the unit thoroughly. To remove the side panels first unscrew the top in the back so you can lift it in the back to easily remove the side panels. The side panels have three screws on each side in the back. After vacuuming remove the plates on each side. There are two screws per plate. After removing plate vacuum all the ash that has built up. I hope this helps anyone having issues.
Hello Tim- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering the benefit of your experience with the Vogelzang slimline pellet stove to our readers.
As you’ve pointed out, it’s important to keep these stoves clean to maintain good performance. I’m not sure that pellet stove manufacturers stress the need for constant, thorough cleaning in their sales literature enough. Many new pellet stove users report that they were unaware that pellet stoves need so much attention to run properly. Your experience with your stove is much like my own with a similar stove. You have to tinker with the stove a little to get it working well, and then keep it clean, but once you do, it runs dependably and economically.
I last commented a few months ago. Since that time I have had one (that’s 1) error message & that was because after cleaning unit I didn’t place burn pot correctly in its holder and ignition could not take place. Other than that I can not remember the last time I had an error message. My point is this to all who are reading: this pellet stove is NOT 100℅ automatic. Fact is it truly requires daily attention and you will need to really learn the appliance’s nature. That means you need to be patient if you are installing & setting up yourself and eventually using it by your installation. I.E. Make sure the installation is EXACTLY as it should be. Fire needs 3 things to make it work. Fuel,heat and air. Take away ANY one of these and no fire. If you get error codes its because most times fire is not correct in this mid level appliance. The initial set up is critical in regard to proper air movement. Low setting for damper is anywhere from closed ( this not truly closed off) to 1/4 open. Higher heat settings you could open damper a tad more but turn back if going lower settings,etc. It’s a learning experience for sure but you can trust my comments here in regard to this model 5770 pellet stove. For the money & heat value if you learn the 5770 and know it well you will see it is well built for its price. I live in central NY so cold is normal here in winter. I have my stove set to the point that all I need do daily is clear out the burn pot, clear the glass, fill hopper and press a button.
Lastly, I read all these comments about broken augers. I haven’t had an issue with mine, but it seems the auger is trying to do 5 times the work it’s supposed to. Make sure your pellet fuel is all hardwood & also that the pellets themselves are nice and loose, not bought d together in the bag. It’s important! Good luck!
Hello Andy- Welcome back to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for your advice to our readers about operating the Vogelzang VG5770.
Having an issue I haven’t seen before with 5770 Slimline. There are many unburned pellets in burn pot and it fills quickly with both ash,klinkers & unburned pellets and doesn’t throw any codes. Manual doesn’t really cover this. I am using same brand of pellets all year but buying them more often in smaller quantities for space issues. I can only suppose that I am getting different production batches buying them this way but I’m not convinced of this (yet). Do you suppose my air & exhaust fans need a good cleaning? I take pretty good care of this stove and it has given me very little trouble since I purchased it about 4 years ago. Any suggestions will be welcomed.
Hello Andy- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts.
From your description, it sound like you have one of two possible problems. Both problems sound like a lack of air moving through the burn pot.
1. The entire passageway for combustion air from the outside air intake all the way to the top of the outside exhaust stack needs to be kept clear. If there’s even a partial blockage anywhere along the route, the fire will be starved for air. That means a smoky fire, which will increase the blockage even more.
In addition, the burn pot doesn’t consume the pellets fast enough. More pellets dumped on the fire before the last bunch is consumed leads to a lot of klinkers and unburned pellets. The burn pot fills up, and pellets bounce out more often, leading to even more smoldering and creosote in the exhaust.
If you suspect this problem, follow the air passageways all the way from the outside air intake to the end of the outside exhaust flue, and clean every bit of it. Take the combustion fan out of its housing and clean that, too. When you have the inspection plates open, use a brush on a flexible wand to clean all the interior chambers you can reach.
2. Your stove is designed to have a specific amount of fresh air passing into the burnpot from underneath it, which is then pulled through the fire on its way to the exhaust fan and the flue. If air can enter the burn chamber more easily than through the burn pot, it will. If the gasket on your door loses its ability to seal properly, the exhaust fan sucks in room air and blasts it out the exhaust flue without it passing through the burn pot. You basically have a campfire in the burn pot, with a smoky, inefficient flame.
The door gasket does wear out eventually, mostly from being compressed too many times by opening and closing the door over the years. There is a vacuum switch in your pellet stove that turns off the stove automatically if the door is left open, but you can’t rely on it to sense a partial leak. Replacing the door gasket is fairly easy to do, and the gasket kit is inexpensive. Vogelzang specifies a 3/4″ gasket for the door, but we’ve had better luck replacing it with a 7/8″ gasket kit.
Good luck!
Hi Alex,
Thanks for your response. I have cleaned the stove throughout including the exhaust fan and all passageways from combustion chamber to vent pipes. I didn’t do the actual vent piping as I did this only 10 days ago. I removed all the exhaust/vent pipes and cleaned them individually, so they are still quite clear. After that cleaning procedure I started stove up again and it is now burning well again, like before. Thank you.
Hi Andy- It’s great to hear that you got your stove working properly again. Thanks for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Vogelzang slimline pellet stove. Hopefully it will help other readers to troubleshoot their stoves when they have a similar problem.
Does the vogelzang have a combusion blower and what side is it on also do u think this is y it won’t stay running it starts up and all then it shuts off like it out of pellets which it is not
Hello Crystal- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
Yes, the Vogelzang VG 5770 has a combustion blower. It is located behind the hinged access panel on the left hand side of the pellet stove. If you start up the pellet stove, the combustion blower should come on immediately. The fan for circulating room air is on the right hand side, and comes on later during startup. If you leave the left hand panel open, you’ll be able to see if the combustion fan is spinning. If it’s not, it will probably need to be replaced.
To Crystal – it is more than likely the thermodisc that is right next to the combustion blower. It doesn’t take long to get coated with ash and soot, and eventually it won’t detect the fire to turn the blower on. Pull this out and clean it off well. Just 2 screws. It’ll probably work again for awhile. It’s a good idea to have a spare on hand too. I just had to replace mine after just over 2 years.
All pellets do vary, but my experience agrees on the hardwood pellets. My first pellets were a hard/soft blend and they were just so finicky on low settings, either the fire was starved for air or the fire blew out. My hardwood pellets are much more stable and forgiving, and they burn much hotter and cleaner. With the softwoods the burnpot would fill up after 2 days (but any more air would blow the fire out). With the hardwoods, it remains self cleaning (pot never fills up) for as long as I want, though I usually clean it after 4 days.
Now that modification I made with the exhaust bypass switch, in my case it really does help this stove burn better. It forces the blower on high, while you use the damper to control the airflow, so you increase the static pressure and velocity. Less effect from wind outside too.
Hello again Troy- Thanks for reading and leaving comments at Wood Pellet Facts.
Having continued problem with E3 code popping up. Yesterday I cleaned all vent piping from end to end, taken apart individually, took out exhaust blower & cleaned fins,housing & passageway end to end. POF thermostat as clean as it gets. Damper passageway clear. New door gasket. I am at wits end right now as the 5770 has been a good running stove till a week ago with all the E3 codes coming up. I have no idea how to “test” circut board. I have been cleaning it regularly, even a little overboard at times. I thought I knew this appliance pretty well as I’ve had it 4 years now. I guess I was wrong. All mechanical parts working btw,auger, motors,etc. Any help greatly appreciated.
Hello Andy- That sounds like a very frustrating problem. If your VG5770 runs normally for a short period of time during startup, then shuts off and shows you an E3 error code, it may be that the Proof of Fire t-disc is broken, not dirty. You can test the POF disc by disconnecting the two leads on it and putting a “jumper” wire between the leads to bypass the disc. If the stove runs normally with the POF t-disc bypassed, you can be sure that’s the problem.
I’ve replaced the POF thermodisc on my larger Vogelzang pellet stove twice in the last four years. The exhaust fan housing is a tough environment for a switch, and they’re not really all that robustly built. They’re pretty cheap and easy to replace, however. Just two leads and two screws. Good luck, and let us know if that helps!
Hi Alex,
Thanks for your input. I tried something different after reading your comments about the vacuum switch operation. I took the small hose clamp off the vacuum line that leads to combustion chamber, blew back through it to clear it out & plenty of ash was dispersed from it. I started it back up & it has been running normal since. Perhaps if other readers have this E3 code come up this may be a worth a try as it was super easy to do, costs nothing & was satisfying to solve the issue.
Hello Andy- It’s great to hear you were able to fix your stove. E3 error codes cover a wide range of potential problems, so they can be especially hard to track down. I hope your experience with repairing your stoves helps other readers who are having the same problem.
Hi again Alex,
I feel I’m wearing out my welcome here. My last posting reported my VG5770 running well again when less than an hour later it codes out another E3 error. I have cleaned it out obsessively from burn pot to top of outside vent. My last attempt was to “jump” the exhaust t-disc last night to see about the workings of that item. To no avail, it E3 coded again. It now has an incredibly clean chamber, burn pot,vent piping,new door gasket,etc…..and alot of TLC to boot. It’s still winter here and I am very frustrated to say the least. It’s been a great stove for me. I dont know what to do anymore but start buying parts and RR the thing, which may eventually fix it but doesn’t address the one issue that’s making it code out. Anybody out there come across this before?
Hello Andy- We have always intended that Wood Pellet Facts would be a place where pellet stove users could compare notes, and find useful info. There’s no way to wear out your welcome here. Your problem, like many error code problems, sounds very frustrating. Many of us have had the same sorts of recurring, mysterious problems with error codes, and know how hard it can be to figure them out.
Because the stove runs normally for up to an hour, it indicates to me that many of the most common E3 factors are not the problem. If the stove works at all, it’s usually not the circuit board. If the stove doesn’t turn off right away, it’s not a problem with the hopper safety switch. If pellets feed for up to an hour, the augur isn’t jammed or burned out.
If the POF thermodisc is working, the most likely culprit is a partial blockage somewhere along the interior chambers. I know you’ve cleaned the passageway a lot, but there are parts of the exhaust on Vogelzangs that aren’t visible, and they’re hard to get at. When you open the metal inspection cover plates on either side of the burn chamber, there are two different ways to clean the exhaust. First, you clean straight up to the inlets at the roof of the combustion chamber. That’s easy and straightforward. Then, there’s another, smaller inlet that goes straight in an inch or two before turning up behind the rear wall of the combustion chamber. You need a small brush on a long wand to get in there. That passageway ends up feeding the square section exhaust pipe that leads through a bend to the exhaust fan housing. That’s the spot where I find blockages that have built up over long periods of time. I consider it a design defect that it’s so hard to get in there, and the instructions from the manufacturer don’t make this even remotely clear. I’ve found blockages in that area that caused numerous error code shutoffs in the past, when everything else seemed perfectly clean.
I hope this helps.
To Andy – E3 means the fire went out (or it thinks it went out) for whatever reason. Something I didn’t see mentioned was the hopper door switch. It could be just barely engaged, then the heat from the stove housing warming up could be enough to make it disengage. I bypassed mine, because I had issues with it. You could try that and see if it helps. True it makes the auger turn with the door open, but you won’t get hurt if you don’t burrow your hand way down searching for the auger.
Oh you did mention the hopper switch. Sorry Alex,
Hello Troy- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering advice to other readers.
In the past, we’ve encountered problems with the hopper door switch, but it threw an error code immediately on startup. We didn’t have to replace the switch. We simply bent the spring metal actuator to give it more solid contact with the hopper door when it was closed, and the stove worked normally.
Thanks again for reading and commenting at Wood Pellet Facts.
Hi Alex,
After continued E3 codes with my 5770 I may have resolved the issue by not just cleaning it but cleaning it as an obsession. From the air intake to the ” top hat” of the vent pipe. Exhaust motor fins, housing,(including as far inside as a 2′ brush will reach) and the exiting piping from behind the stove. Not necessarily in this order. I’ve had it running now for 4 straight hours without an E3 hiccup, which is over 3 times longer than before. I’ve gone from 50°F to 65° in the area it’s located in that time on lowest setting. I can only really suppose that I had poor air movement, but finding WHERE was both challenging & frustrating.
On another note, this spring, after shutdown, I plan to replace all gaskets and anything else I can find or think of. I am wondering if there is a POF thermodisc that might be more robust than the factory one. Is there a kit of gaskets for specific models? Lastly, my diagnosis, with help from WoodPelletFacts, was accurate but misguided on my part. I was positive I did all things right, yet I didn’t. People out there with similar issues should utilize all available resources , including this site, to alleviate the same issues I have had. Thank you Alex and all on your team.
Hello again Andy- I’m glad you had luck restoring your Vogelzang to proper working order. The error messages can be contradictory and frustrating to diagnose. It’s gratifying to hear that our website, and advice from our readers, was of help to you. I’m sure your comments will help other readers to diagnose their own problems.
In my experience, all the aftermarket thermodiscs I’ve purchased have been superior to the original discs in the stove. These stoves are designed to hit a very inexpensive price point, and many of the parts aren’t really very robust. You can read the numbers off the t-disc, put them into Google, and find numerous suppliers for replacements. Good luck!
Hi folks,
Just a quick note from my post the other day about the E3 error code problem I’ve had for last 2 weeks.
After all I did to get it running normal again, I had it putting out heat without a hitch until I shut it off, about 14 hours.
The new door gasket I put on last week didn’t seem to help the problem until I thought maybe I should try to tighten up the distance between gasket and contact area by simply turning the door handle out a little. Maybe it was sucking in a little air where it should not do that. I can’t say for sure but my results were positive. Just goes to show a little trial & error helps!
Hi Andy- That’s great to hear. Many people change out the vacuum switch on their pellet stoves when it’s really a leaky door gasket that’s causing the problem. Sometimes it takes a bit of fiddling to get the door to hang right, so that the gasket not only seals, but seals both on the hinge side and the door handle side.
Thanks for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Vogelzang slimline pellet stove.
Another E3 error on my 5770 Vogelzang, this after I trumpeted victory. 14 hours straight with no problems until I shut it down, then a burn pot clean out & the general daily maintenance, restart, then E3 after about 8 hours run time.
Earlier I may have suspected the pellets to be the cause and now I’m going back there, and this is what my current thinking is: I had zero issues until I ran out of pellets and bought more ( of the current brand using now). These pellets make a very fine ash, which I like because of easy clean up. However, they also make a lot of soot build up on the interior walls of combustion chamber, therefore on POF thermodisc as well. I had the thermodisc clean, down to the original surface clean. The disc IS working correctly. So, the first 14 hours if non stop run time, a short off cycle for daily clean out then restart for 8 hours till coded out. Altogether 22 hours burning these pellets, the thermodisc was caked with soot, and quite heavily too. I have been buying them at my local TSC store but there is no brand name on the bags or even a manufacturer name, just distributed by TSC printed on them. I’m not knocking this brand, if someone uses them and are happy with them then they are good, but perhaps not for me. I have never used them until just recently, when all my problems started. So, I suppose this will make me adapt to a different & more frequent cleaning procedure until I run out of them and go back to what I used before. Does this make sense to anybody?
Hello Andy- The black, powdery creosote buildup will act like a layer of insulation on the thermodisc if it gets thick enough. That will trigger a shutdown and error code because the unit thinks the fire has gone out. But if the creosote is building up quickly there, it’s building up quickly in the baffles of the heat exchanger and throughout the exhaust flue system.
It’s possible that the pellets you’ve purchased have a higher than rated moisture content. Pellets that have been stored for long periods in a damp environment can take on humidity from the air. If you would like to test to see if your current brand of pellets are the problem, you might do better to try another brand that’s purchased from another vendor, right away. If you purchased 5 new bags, cleaned out your pellet stove thoroughly, vacuumed out any remaining pellets in the hopper, and used the new brand for a couple of days, you’ll be able to see if the pellets are the problem. I believe the Tractor Supply brand you’re describing (it comes in a white bag with purple lettering) is a 100% hardwood brand. It’s not bad, but it performs on the lower end of our scale. I suggest trying a 100% softwood brand like Lacrete or Okanagan as an alternative. They cost more per bag, but they burn cleaner and hotter than what you’ve got. Good luck, and let us know how you make out with your experiment.
Hi again,
I only today am able to try another pellet brand (one I’ve used before by the ton) to check my E3 error issue. I had good luck with these in the past so hopefully they will perform well. While I am trying this, I have a few questions to anybody who knows about the Vogelzang 5770 model. 1. To remove the room blower fan there is one nut BEHIND the vacuum switch mounting plate, which is spot welded to the base. How do you get that out to remove the motor/blade assembly? It’s a really tight spot.
2. The vacuum switch tube that runs into the burn chamber was once ash laden, I blew it back & cleared out ash. Is it possible ash or foreign material may have entered the switch assembly itself & cause problems?
3. I put on a new door gasket about 10 days ago, or so, it was easy enough. Is it possible that when I cut it I may have left a tiny gap between ends? Therefore causing a small vacuum leak thru the gasket? In addition, I did not change the glass gasket as I thought it looked ok & isn’t prone to the abuse a door gasket is. Does this sound reasonable?
My 5770 up until a few weeks ago ran like a champ until I switched pellet brands. It’s cleaned on a regular basis & sometimes I overclean it ( if that’s even possible) .
Come seasons end I have plans to replace all gaskets, t- discs, vent piping joints & all else I can think of. In the meantime winter has not let go here in central NY. Any help/advice will not be wasted! Thanks all
Hello,
I changed up pellet brands to what I used prior to my continuous E3 error codes. I hope I’m not jumping the gun here but after 3 bags my 5770 is working very well again with these pellets. No codes, stove ran over 24 hours flawlessly. I discovered right away what a difference there is. Ignition time from start button “on” to actual flame and heat from blower was about 8 minutes. With other ” bad” pellets it was about 15 minutes. The bad pellets I believe has a very high moisture content & causing many problems from ignition times to rapid soot formation. Plus the new pellets deliver better heat, hotter burn.
I will take this as a lesson to myself that if it ain’t broke dont fix it. In short, I changed pellet brands to accommodate something else and all I got was failure.
Hello again Andy- It’s great to hear that you were able to hunt down the cause of your problem and fix it. These error codes can be very vague, and each one applies to several potential problems. Sometimes it takes a little trial and error to figure out which problem is the true culprit for the error code. I hope that you continue to get good performance from your Vogelzang pellet stove. You certainly earned it.
Ok. I have figured it out!! Damp pellets! Just plain damp pellets. Not damp to the touch but just enough that a low setting will not burn dampness off fast enough. Pop up the feed rate a little for a hotter fire and that has done it. Whew! If your pellets are a actually damp to the touch, I wouldn’t use them at all. Just saying. Thank you
Hello again,
I posted back in April with some issues I had with the 5770 and since resolved. Before this season starts I said I was going to replace gaskets & other maintenance parts, which I have done already with the exception of the exhaust T-disc. While the current disc is good I wanted something more robust than original equipment. My problem, if it even is a problem is that I have not found the exact replacement disc save one place, which is about $35, plus shipping. The slew of other providers has many discs that don’t match exactly original specs, particularly the amp rating (10amp) and/or voltage. However, they are farless expensive. Not sure what to think about this except to say i will ultimately purchase exact specs disc. My question is this: Do you have or know of a supplier that provides this item to correct specs?
Mistake on my last post. The T-disc is 250V/25 A so says the disc
Posted comments a month ago, haven’t seen any responses. Just wondering if anybody is still out there.
Hello Andy- We’re sorry we missed your previous comment. If you have the part number for the thermodisc (you can get it from the owner’s manual), it’s easier to compare parts that might be labeled differently. Pellet stove manufacturers sometimes use different names for the same stoves, and different part numbers for the same parts. For instance, Vogelzang parts are often sold by aftermarket parts suppliers under the name of their parent company, US Stove.
It’s sad to say, but we’ve had better luck with almost any aftermarket supplier of parts than any original equipment manufacturer. For this model Vogelzang, you might try Wood and Pellet Stove Parts We’ve had good luck with them in the past.
Hello,
I have a VG5770 and when the pellets run out or if there is not enough air to keep them burning, the smoke from the pellets comes thru the stove itself and hopper. This is after the blowers turn off. Any way to lengthen the time the blower shuts off? The first time the pellets didnt have enough air and the house filled with smoke – all vents are installed properly – I have no other issues but this. Any help would be great!
Hello Stephanie- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. I’m familiar with the problem you’re describing. The timer on the exhaust fan runs for a preset amount of minutes to exhaust the smoke after the fire goes out, or when you turn off the stove. If there are smoldering pellets in the ash dump, the time is too short to fully exhaust the smoke.
It is possible to “trick” the proof of fire thermodisc to keep the exhaust fan running. The POF thermodisc is a circular sensor mounted on the exhaust blower housing. It has two wires leading to it. Vogelzang suggests that you can test the thermodisc by installing a jumper wire between the two leads. This closes the circuit, which keeps current running to the exhaust fan. You can install a switch (a regular light switch works ) between the leads before they reach the POF thermodisc. With the switch on, the POF is cut out of the circuit, and the fan stays on. With the switch off, the unit goes back to normal operation. If you turn the switch on before shutdown, the blower does eventually turn off, but it stays on much longer.
You should be aware, however, that Vogelzang doesn’t recommend bypassing this sensor permanently. If you bypass the POF, your auger can keep feeding pellets even though the fire is out. It’s not a problem during a normal shutdown, but if your pellet stove goes off because the fire goes out, it can fill up the burn chamber with unburned pellets.
It’s possible that your problem is more due to unburned pellets in the ash dump than the length of time the exhaust blower stays on. During shutdown, the pellet stove should blow enough air through the burn pot to extinguish the fire fully. Pellets that bounce out of the burn pot and smolder in the ash dump give off smoke for a much longer time, however. We solved this problem with our Vogelzang pellet stove by installing a burn pot improver that keeps the pellets in the basket. There is currently an ad for a burn pot improver in our sidebar. We’ve tried it and it works, and we have never had smoke after a shutdown after installing it.
Good luck!
Hello Stephanie,
Read your comments and the response from Alex about your Vogelzang 5770. I have same model & thought maybe my 2 cents worth might be worth something to you.
It’s been noted many times that different pellet types & brands have various burn characteristics. I have had same issue you did with the smoke problem. I discovered that the particular pellet brand that did this to me burned super hot, which was great, but left smoldering partially burned pellets in Ash dump long after shutdown, thus making it difficult to do a daily clean out & weekly cleaning. After trying many brands of pellets I have settled on two brands I can get locally that work for what I need the most. For me it’s hot enough burn AND easy clean up. The brand I use firstly does both, leaves a very fine Ash which makes easy cleaning and leaves little or no Ash chunks that unburned pellets in the ash dump can partially ignite, making alot of smoke that lingers after shutdown. I had to sacrifice the high heat value in favor of smoldering pellets but my situation doesn’t call for that much heat as the heated area is not large. Try a few bags each of several pellet brands and you’ll find the right combination. Lastly, I have found the right fuel also eliminates the need to bypass or “jump” the thermodisc in order to exhaust the lingering smoke. Hope this helps.
Hi Andy- Thanks for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Vogelzang VG5770 pellet stove!
Hello.
I recently purchased a Vogelzang VG5770 pellet stove and has been performing great. Lots of heat.
My question is as it runs say on setting 3 for a day it will give error code for no pellets. What I’ve found is that the lid doesn’t stay down when closed or heats up and expands causing the unit to believe the hopper isn’t closed and thus stops feeding pellets.
Lid looks good but even shut initially it doesn’t shut flush.
Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Todd- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
We’ve encountered a similar problem with the larger version of this stove, the Vogelzang VG5790. The hopper lid switch has a spring actuator that’s isn’t always set properly at the factory. We found that by bending the spring up a little it engages the lid better. That gets rid of the error code that shuts off the stove because it thinks the hopper is open.
I hope this solves your problem.
Thanks Alex.
And yes my error, I do have the 5790. I will try that. The hopper used to close flush with the unit initially. While in the slightly closed state it also generates a vibration. When I push and hold it closed noise reduces and stove operates correctly.
Thank you.
Made a rookie mistake yesterday on my 5770. I cleaned out the stove, top to bottom and all the venting pipe all the way to the top hat outside. Also the t- disc on exhaust side. After a few hours turned it on & kept getting E4 time & again. I forgot to reconnect the leads to the t-disc. Looked in the manual & once I saw that I knew immediately what I forgot. Keep your manuels!
Hello again Andy- Thanks for sharing your experience with the Vogelzang VG5770 pellet stove with our readers.
You’ve raised an interesting point. You never know how much you really need the owner’s manual until your pellet stove is malfunctioning, They usually end up in the back of a drawer where it’s impossible to find them when you need them. To help our readers, I’ve added a link to a pdf version of the Vogelzang VG 5770 pellet stove to this article. Readers can also download a free copy and print it out using the link.
My problem is that my 5790 keeps shutting off with E3 or E4, any suggestion ? We clean it every couple of days, when it works it heats fantastic
Hello Yasmin- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
Two things immediately come to mind: First, I’d check to see if the Proof of Fire thermodisc is working. It’s on the exhaust fan housing. You can put a “jumper” wire between the two leads to test it. If the stove works with the POF disc jumped, replace it. If that doesn’t work, it’s usually some form of air blockage somewhere in the exhaust. A thorough cleaning of all the interior baffles and the exhaust flue might do the trick. Good luck!
Just bought a 5790 installed on new years eve. When turned on I can hear something running and the auger delivers a few pellets then within 30-45 seconds I get an e2 code. It has not tried to ignite at all. Checked what I could understand from the manual and the same thing happens over and over. Will try to call customer service tomorrow but if you have any suggestions I would appreciate it.
Hi John- Happy New Year, and welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
That sounds frustrating. I’ll bet there’s nothing too serious wrong with your stove, and once you sort it out, it will work well for you. It sure is frustrating when it doesn’t work right out of the gate. We had to fiddle with our Vogelzang a lot when we first installed one, but then it ran really well for 5+ years with regular maintenance.
The owner’s manual has a list of most things that could cause an error message. Unfortunately, it can be hard to understand what they’re talking about when you’re a new stove owner. One suggestion I could make is to ignore all the reasons they give for an E2 message that have to do with poor cleaning or worn-out parts. Your stove isn’t plugged up with soot, and the vacuum switch isn’t worn out from long use. I’d stick to the suggestions that might apply to a new unit. Check all the wires that lead to the vacuum switch and the control board. These pellet stoves get shipped all over the place, and stuff rattles loose. Of course make sure that nothing is blocking the inlet or outlet pipes. It sounds dumb, but I’ve found a bit of packing stuck in a pipe that I didn’t notice at first. If those aren’t your problem, I’d say the likeliest culprit is probably that the door isn’t closing tight enough. There’s supposed to be a slight vacuum in the combustion chamber (the air switch checks for this, and shuts the stove off if the door is open or the gasket leaks). There are two catches on the door. These have hooks on the end of threaded rods. Turn the rods clockwise one or two turns to shorten their length and pull the door more tightly against the gasket.
I hope this is helpful!
We brought a used Vogelzang V G 5770. We have cleaned it all over the two side channels, took exhaust motor off and cleaned it out, cleaned the themodisk. We are getting a E4 Error and smoking really bad after about 10 minutes. Smoking is coming out everywhere. We are really flustered. Could you tell us what could be the problem?
Hello Keith- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. The most likely culprit is a blockage somewhere along the intake/exhaust path. Check the air inlet, the burnpot, the side chambers, and the exhaust pipe for built-up ash. I hope this helps.
Odd problem lately with VG5770. While it has been running just fine this winter, I can’t seem to muster more than 64°F from it even though I am using the same pellets as before and the outside temp is about 20-25°F. I am very good at cleaning it on a regular basis including interior passages. Had the stove for some years now & consider myself to know this unit very well. ( Though it has gotten the best of me from time to time). I usually run it on lowest setting for inside temp of about 68° and sometimes setting #2 when bitter cold outside. It heats a small area 320 sg. ft & same for upstairs room. The only thing I’ve considered is that there’s alot of glass in the room it’s located. (Large windows, French doors, etc). Sound plausable to anyone?
Hi Andy- I’ve noticed a small loss of efficiency over time with our main pellet stove as well. The stove works fine, but doesn’t put out as much heat. In very cold months, we’ve sometimes switched to pellet brands (100 percent softwood) that put out slightly more BTUs per pound to make up the difference.
Our stove is only 4 months old. Cleaned approx every 4-5 days depending on use. Keep getting an E3 or E4. Now the fan won’t turn on & it overheats. I have thoroughly cleaned the ash pit, pot, and used air compressor (low setting) to blow out dust from the control area. Now getting E1, E3, or E4.
Hello Tabitha- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
Getting 3 different error codes must be quite frustrating. If you read the owner’s manual, the instructions for addressing all those codes involve most of the parts on your stove. In my experience, the E1 code is fairly unusual, and I’d investigate that first, especially with an overheating problem. There’s a thermodisc inside the right panel on your stove, on the back of the main weldment. It’s a sensor about the diameter of a half-dollar (part #36 in your manual), with two wires coming out of it. It has a small, square reset button on it. If your house suffers a power surge or brownout, this sensor can trip. If you hit the reset button, and the stove works, you’ll know you found your problem.
If you’re unable to get your stove going, your pellet stove is still within its warranty period, and US Stove should stand behind it, and help you fix it, replace it, or give you a refund. Good luck!
I reset it last night. Worked on low all night, but house was 51 degrees so I bumped it to level 2 (next to lowest) & it tripped with E3. The auger is working. The fan did not kick on so it was getting hot & then E4 showed up. Turned it off. The fan came on about 10 mins after I turned it off & would run, stop, run again. Strange since it did not run while it had flame. Just removed the thermodisc. It looks new. Very frustrating as this is our source of heat. 49 degrees right now in house. All wiring looks fine. I am going to blow what little dust may be left behind out. Next step will be to bypass
Hi Tabitha,
I check this site from time to time to see about fellow Vogelzang users. I had some issues when my stove was new as well. The E1 code, as Alex said, is unusual and personally have never had the code come up on my unit. However, what I have learned is that the correct venting hook up is essential. I would start there & make sure there are as few bends in it as possible. Next make sure the burn pot holes are 100% unobstructed and the damper (on back of stove) is open only as far as needed for the heat setting chosen. If it’s open too far on a low setting the fire will go out and you may get an E3 or E4 code. Same is true of opposite damper/ setting.
It’s been said often, pellet stoves require daily attention as well as weekly & monthly. I am very happy with my Vogelzang that I’ve had for almost 5 years. Once you master this unit I believe you will also. Keep checking this site, it’s very helpful
Hello again Andy- Thanks for sharing the benefits of your experience with us here at Wood Pellet Facts.
I’m having a new issue with 5770 that I’ve had about 5 years. Soot is collecting on the exhaust thermodisc much faster than previous times. This started about 2 weeks ago. After a start up & room blower comes on it codes E3 after about 10-15 minutes. I’ve had the stove long enough now that I’m able to pretty quickly assess the problem & I’m back in business after removing the disc, clean it off & reinstall. The pellets I’m using are the same batch from a ton I bought awhile ago. I still have my old disc (the original one it came with) and switched it out only to have same issue. I get large klinkers with these pellets so I keep an eye on that closely. Do you think pellets that have this characteristic also produce higher soot content?
Hello everyone,
A few weeks ago I had to switch my vent pipe on my Vogelzang 5770 from thru the wall and up to thru the wall and straight out. I had to add length to the pipe to clear the porch. It’s now about 7 feet long but no bends in it. Right away I noticed a few things that changed. The pellets I’m using used to leave large ash chunks behind. Now there are none, just fine ash. Much easier to clean up. It also seems to ignite and blow heat quicker than before.
Does anybody think the same as me, that the straight piping serves for better air flow and the exhaust fan doesn’t have to move air against gravity?
Haven’t heard from anyone in a long time, since March 2019. Wondering if site is still viable.
I’ll try again: last posting I extended exhaust vent straight out instead of any upward pipe. Seems to run better. I’m now getting slight smokey odor inside. I have been thru this unit extensively a few weeks ago. The only thing I have not changed is the fiber gasket on exhaust fan & the T disc gasket. Think they may be the culprit?
Hello Andy- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts.
All the owner’s manuals for Vogelzang pellet stoves instruct users to use a vertical exhaust, either outside the building, or through a chimney with a liner. It may seem like shortening the amount of pipe by simply going straight out through the wall would make it easier for exhaust gases to leave the stove, but I don’t think that’s true.
A vertical run of chimney pipe outside turns the warm air from moving horizontally to vertically. The stack effect of warm air rising would help to draw smoke from the unit naturally, because smoke rising through the pipe would leave a slight vacuum. The candy cane cap on the outside chimney keeps prevailing winds from forcing exhaust back into the exhaust pipe.
Your modifications are probably relying too much on the exhaust fan to evacuate waste gas from the unit. That fan is sized to keep a slight vacuum in the burn chamber, and gently draw exhaust along and send it to the chimney. It’s not designed to blast the exhaust out. If it were more powerful, you’d be sending a lot more unburned gas out the exhaust. I think the smoky odor you reported is due to outside air pressure working on your direct outlet.
Hi Alex,
I go back & forth with my Vogelzang 5770 in regard to how well it works to how frustrated I get with it. My latest thing is the exhaust T-disc, which is brand new.(2 weeks ago). Every morning I turn it off, let it cool down and clear the burn pot & a quick sweep of interior. Lately I’ve been having to take the T-disc out EVERY time i do this daily cleaning to clean off the soot on the disc as it seems to be causing error codes when I don’t do it or forget to do it. When I do clean it off it’ll run fine all day & night. This actually started near the end of last heating season with the older disc. Obviously, the condition remains this year. In the past I cleaned the disc on a regular basis, but not every single time I did a daily clearing. I’m using the same brand pellets as previously, which seem to burn well. Good flame appears, not lazy or orange tipped fire. I generally operate it on level 1 or 2 setting, on rare occasion level 3. And lastly, while I have no real issue cleaning the disc daily, it is unusual when compared to the past few years
Hello Andy- We had the same trouble with the exhaust thermodisc on the larger version of the Vogelzang pellet stove. Black soot would build up on it every day or two, which is enough to insulate it from the exhaust gas passing by. That triggers a false positive message that the fire has gone out. We solved our problem by replacing the gasket on the door. Too much room air was entering the burn chamber, causing a lazy, sooty fire. We also turned the outside air intake all the way up. Haven’t had any problems since.
Hello all,
I have had an issue with my Vogelzang 5770 since I purchased it some years ago. I am unable to get one of the mounting nuts off of the room blower. There are 3 of them. The troublesome nut is the one located BEHIND the vacuum switch. It’s too tight a space to get either a wrench or socket on it and the vacuum switch is mounted on a welded fitment, thus making it impossible to remove at all. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Hi Andy- That sounds like a tough one. I’ve always had the best luck at reaching bolts like this one by reaching through from the opposite side of the cabinet. If your pellet stove doesn’t have a lot of room on both sides, that can be just as difficult, however. A socket extension or universal joint socket might help, too. Good luck!
Hello all,
Last month I posted a comment in regard to removing the room blower motor so I could clean the fins of dust bunnies & such. I stated I could not get one of the nuts off due to location behind a welded fitment that held the vacuum switch. Further inspection made me realize you need to remove the entire unit (motor AND housing) by removing bolts from the back of stove & out the side. Then you can remove the motor, etc for cleaning. As it usually is for me, I found a Utube that shows how to do this after I already did it! Also, the video is from Vogelzang
Thanks Andy for sharing that info with our readers, Andy. I’m glad you were able to fix your pellet stove.
Hello all. Any of you out there using the Vogelzang 5770 Slimline model I have some recent maintenance info that you may find useful, as well as some simple modifications I made over the summer months but couldn’t really test until it got cold enough to actually use stove.
Firstly, I drilled 5 extra air holes in bottom of burn pot same size as factory holes, for more air movement. It so far is burning with excellent results. Can’t say for sure right now, but the door glass isn’t accumulating soot as fast as it used to, possibly because of the added holes? Hard to say, but that is something I noticed.
Secondly, put new glass gasket, door gasket, blower motor gaskets etc on it. The original felt type gasket that comes with new stove, as some of you may know, wears out quickly after several removals for cleaning. For $2 more I bought the high heat red silicone gasket. Far easier to handle & I suspect it to hold up longer. I have high hopes for it.
Lastly, I did something that might be considered questionable. I used simple furnace filter material to filter the side panels openings, thinking maybe less dust will enter thru?
Hello Andy- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering our readers the benefits of your experience with your Vogelzang pellet stove.
You’ve raised some interesting points. Modifying the burn pot to allow more air to pass through could very well keep the glass clearer. If pellets smolder in the burn pot or the ash dump, they tend to soot up the glass much faster. More air through the pot would fight smoldering.
Replacing the gaskets on the door and window glass is often overlooked. The rope gaskets on pellet stove doors often look OK long after they’ve lost some or most of their ability to seal off the combustion chamber. We’ve noticed a big increase in performance, after changing door gaskets. Sooting is also improved by replacing the door gaskets regularly. The exhaust fan is designed to work on a slight vacuum. It’s designed to draw air in from outside through the burn pot. If the door gasket leaks, air is drawn in through the door, and less air passes through the burn pot. The pellets in the burn pot smolder, making soot and putting out fewer BTUs.
I’ve often wondered why pellets stove cabinets aren’t set up to accept furnace filters. It certainly would improve indoor air quality, as long as the filter fabric didn’t restrict airflow too much.
Thanks for the reply Alex. A new situation has risen shortly after I posted my last comment, one I certainly didn’t expect to see. During the down months I made the previously stated “improvements”. One of those improvements was to touch up the painted areas that typically wear faster than other areas, this certainly included where the door (and gasket) contacts the stove when closed. (Yes, I used the correct stove paint). I allowed the paint to dry & cure properly. What happened was after I had done this, I started the stove to give it a test run which went well. I shut it down after a pretty long test run(10 hours), let it cool to dead cold. When I opened the door the door gasket stuck to the face of the stove! It came right off the door and stuck quite well,as if the dried & cured paint acted like an adhesive once it was heated. Bizarre. Needless to say, new gasket.
Hi Andy- Was the gasket that got ruined, new, or old? As you may know, pellet stove gaskets are impregnated with graphite to make them more supple and seal more effectively when the door is closed. Over time, they lose their flexibility, and you’re basically touching raw fiberglass rope. It’s possible that a newer gasket wouldn’t have stuck to the paint.
Many wood stove manufacturers used to advise their customers to run their stoves outside once, right on the pallet, to bake the paint and outgas it before installing it in your house. Even high-temp paint is sticky for a long time, and needs high temps to cure sometimes.
Thanks for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with your Vogelzang pellet stove!
This is my first year with the Vogelzang VG5790. So far I have nothing but issues. 1. Flames run too high. 2. Temp reads 96 degrees when ceiling fan is running. Room measures 16×20 w/upper half wall to other room. Have to open outside doors for the temp to go back to 73 with flame staying the same. 3. When starting unit up smoke fills outside air you cannot see thru it. Once fire starts the smoke goes away. 4. There is absolutely no way to control this unit! Please help!!
Hello Frank- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
It sounds like your VG 5790 is too big for the space it’s heating. On the lowest setting, your Vogelzang pellet stove burns about 2 pounds of pellets an hour. That’s around 15,000 to 17,000 BTUs per hour, depending on the brand of pellets you use. Your room is only 320 square feet. Depending on where you live, you might only require around 7200 BTUs per hour for a room that size. And on high, the Vogelzang VG5790 is rated for up to 65,000 BTUs per hour.
If you’re trying to heat adjacent rooms, you may need some form of in-the-wall circulating fan to distribute the heat. Ceiling fans don’t do much to distribute pellet stove heat.
Are you sure your pellet stove is on its lowest setting? The VG5790 barely has a visible flame in the burn pot on the lowest setting.
The VG5790 can release a substantial plume of smoke out its exhaust pipe until it lights. You can try adjusting the damper on the back of the unit to allow less air into the burn pot, which might help it ignite more quickly.
I hope this is helpful. Good luck!
Hello,
I have an ongoing issue that I can’t seem to solve. I’m using the Vogelzang 5770 Slimline. I have done recent mods (they seem to work wonderfully) ALL new gaskets anyplace they are called for and fall season full cleaning, motors removed & cleaned, etc. The stove runs just fine. I’m having issues with soot build up on the furniture, still. Have had this problem in the past as well. I’m at wits end where it is leaking from. I know it should not be doing this and I must be missing something, somewhere. I feel confident it’s not coming thru the door or glass or the vent pipe directly connected to stove in the back. Is it possible it’s coming thru the front vent from the exchanger?
Hi Andy- If you had soot coming through the exchanger, that would mean a big crack in it. That would be dangerous. I trust you have a CO detector near your stove for safety.
A more likely explanation would be the vacuum you use to clean out the ashes. Shop vacs, even with good filters, can blast enough soot out of their exhaust so that you’d notice it on surfaces in the same room.
I just bought a VG5770 and am wondering what is the best wood pellets to use, hard or soft wood? what brands?
Thanks
Hello Mike- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
Your Vogelzang pellet stove will work OK with either hardwood or softwood pellets. Some brands, like Maine Woods Pellets, are blends of hardwood and softwood species. They’re usually the most affordable. For more heat per ton, and less ash, we’ve had good luck with 100% softwood pellets like Okanagon.
Hi Alex,
I bought my Vogelzang 5770 six years ago and tonight it appears the exhaust blower has gone bad. Sounds like bad bearing(s) as it is quite loud and squeaking terribly. I started it up and it came to flame then the room blower engaged after it reached temperature, all while the exhaust blower squeaked away. After about 10 minutes it just stopped turning altogether, I went thru shutdown mode and it began spinning fast, as it has always done. Probably the extra electric power during this mode gave it enough to spin until full shutdown occurred. I ordered a new unit this evening. It is an aftermarket unit that after tax was under $200, which is considerably less than an OEM unit. My questions are: 1. Do you think 6 years on original is average, or normal? 2. What is your opinion on an aftermarket item such as this? The pictures and description are identical to the original.
Posted a few comments in recent months but have heard nothing in response to anything or anybody. Is this still a viable source for info?
Hello Andy- Welcome back to Wood Pellet Facts.
Exhaust blowers work in a very harsh environment. There are wide swings from hot to cold, and they handle exhaust that has a fair amount of soot in it. If you use your pellet stove on a regular basis, getting 6 years of use out of it sounds about right.
Pellet stove owners can extend the life of their exhaust blowers by taking them apart and cleaning the impellers. As the impeller fan blades get coated with soot, they can become unevenly loaded, which makes them wobble. That wears out the bearings faster. All the fans we’ve seen for this type of pellet stove have sealed bearings on the exhaust and convection fans. That means no maintenance, but it also means once the bearing goes, it’s not practical to repair it for the average homeowner.
We’ve had good luck with aftermarket parts for pellet stoves, including fans. In some cases, the aftermarket parts perform better than the OEM parts, and they’re much cheaper.
Thanks for visiting and commenting on Wood Pellet Facts!
The last posting I see here is from April 2021,about 20 months ago. Is this site and forum still viable?
I am having issues with soot buildup on furniture in same room as stove is in. Not a particularly new issue for me but ongoing and very frustrating. Other than using a hepa filter when vacuuming, is there a possibility the soot may be coming from unit while it’s actually running? I feel confident my vent piping is in good shape and pipe joints are tight,at least the parts of it that are actually inside prior to exiting thru the wall. Any advice is most welcome.
Hello again Andy- Welcome back to Wood Pellet Facts.
The soot from a pellet stove is made up of very fine particles, which are charged with static electricity and like to cling to surfaces. That makes cleaning it difficult and frustrating. Since pellet stoves like the Vogelzang are designed to work with a slight negative vacuum in the burn chamber, it’s not likely that very much exhaust gas could make it back into the room it’s operating in. The unit has a vacuum switch that would turn the stove off and throw an error code if it’s not sealed properly. It is possible for some soot to escape if the rope gasket on the door requires replacement, but in our experience with the larger Vogelzang pellet stove, it’s a very small amount before the stove trips an error code and shuts off. I’d bet the majority of the soot in the room is from the vacuum cleaner used to clean the stove. A HEPA filter should help with that. However, most shop vacs have very loose fit and finish and a lot of errant dust can still make it around the filter. We’ve added a second filter to the exhaust output of our shop vac to cut down on dirt blasted back into the room for the same reason. It might be possible to point the exhaust of the vac out a window when cleaning the stove to help with the problem, if practical.
Hello
I have had the VG5770 for a little over a year now. Recently when the blower kicks on high, it makes this ungodly vibrating noise, it isn’t doing it on the low setting only when it kicks to high. I run it on the T-stat mode mostly set to 75°. It has no issues keeping it at 75° but is just SO loud. Looking for ideas as to what it could be. I clean it regularly and blow out the back and blowers as well, i haven’t taken the back off to blow it out that way yet. Thank you in advance for any advice.
Hello Breanne- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. It sounds like the bearings in the blower are wearing out. That’s unusual if the pellet stove is only a year old, but it does happen. The bearings on the circulating fan are sealed, so you can’t lubricate them. Your best bet might be to replace the fan.
Hi folks, Andy again. Vogelzang VG5770. I have had this unit 6-7 years now. I recently got E3 codes past few days. went thru every possible troubleshooting point only to find all is working as it should. I gave it my usual cleaning with an extra clearing of the vent piping, which was dirty,yes,but still quite clear and open. My question of the day is about the proof of fire switch (t-disc). please let me know if I’m wrong about this. The switch get hot, then the inner sections expand from the heat and make contact to send signal to room blower?. To me this is how it works but hasn’t ever actually been explained to me. Is this correct?
Hello again Andy- I’ve taken a proof of fire disc apart, and you’ve exactly described how it works. They’re pretty simple, but also pretty flimsy devices. I’ve found that of all the parts on the pellet stove, they’re the ones that require replacement the most often. They’re pretty cheap and easy to replace, so I replace them before they break.
Door glass cracked after changing gasket and running about 12 hours. I blame myself for probably over tightening holding screws on my VG5770. I read a thread on another site that a person used aluminum tape over the cracked area temporarily until he replaced the glass and that it was supported by a few other people as a viable short term fix. The reasoning was that the aluminum would also contract and retract with heating and cooling. Personally I wonder if the adhesive on tape would also move with it. I would not be comfortable trying such a thing out of fear glass may disintegrate into pieces and possibly throw a few embers out into the room. Has anybody ever heard of this before?
Hello Andy- As I understand it, the glass in pellet stove doors is a form of ceramic glass. It’s similar to the glass used for electric cooktops, and even to some porcelain-looking products like Corningware. It can withstand a lot of heat, and is more durable than regular glass, but it can be cracked. I imagine the gasket material wasn’t flexible enough and your glass expanded until it hit a screw or some part of the frame, or the screws were tightened unevenly and flexed the glass unevenly until it cracked. It’s easy to overtighten fasteners on a pellet stove. You’re always trying to make the seals as tight and safe as possible, and they’re not the kind of fasteners that can be rated for torque limits. We all make our best guesses of what’s too tight. I’ve stripped the threads on the side access panel screws in the same way.
Personally, I’d never trust any kind of tape over a crack in the door glass. I’d wait for a replacement before I used the pellet stove again. The temperature inside the firebox might be as much as 1200 to 1300 degrees in there.
Thanks for commenting at Wood Pellet Facts!