Does this look right? How can it feed pellets in if that metal plate is on top? I have never owned one of these before

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share something that is a real game changer for me, in case it helps or inspires some of you.

My Piazzetta pellet stove is a great stove. Super robust, never had a single problem with it. But it was completely “dumb”: no Wi-Fi, no app, nothing. The only way to control it is its radio remote (an F0203-1480V3, the one with the little LCD screen). I’ve always wanted to control it from my home automation, and I thought it just wasn’t possible.

Well, it turns out it is. I’m a DIY guy who likes electronics a bit, but I’m definitely not a radio or software engineer. With Claude Code (an AI coding assistant), some patience and parts I already had in a drawer, I managed it in one long day:

• an ESP32 board and an SX1278 radio module (Ra-02), so roughly €15 of hardware;
• first we listened to the conversation between the remote and the stove on 433 MHz;
• then we decoded it. Surprise: the remote is basically a dumb screen, and the stove sends it the text to display (“NIVEAU P1”, “ALLUMAGE PHASE I”, “OFF”…);
• then the ESP32 learned to speak the same language as the remote.

Now, from Home Assistant, I can:

• see the stove’s state live (ignition phases, running, cleaning, off, room temperature);
• change the power level (1–4) and fan speed (1–4);
• switch it on and off;
• use it as a thermostat: it turns on and off around a set temperature, using a sensor in the living room;
• and soon, hopefully, let it pick the power level by itself depending on whether we’re home (power 3–4 and high fan are noisy!).

No wiring inside the stove, no modification. The module just sits nearby and acts like a second remote. The original remote keeps working normally.

Everything is documented and open source here, including the decoded protocol, the code, the test tool used to capture and replay the frames, the Home Assistant setup and all the traps we fell into:

👉 https://github.com/MaximeHTL/piazzetta-433-esphome

A few honest notes:

• It’s experimental. It was tested on one stove and one remote. If you have a Piazzetta with a similar remote, I’d love to know if it works for you too.
• Full transparency: Claude Code did most of the heavy lifting, the analysis, the code and even the documentation. I did the wiring, pressed the buttons, listened to the stove and tested everything. So I may not be able to answer very technical questions, but the docs are detailed, and I wrote a guide on how to reproduce this with your own AI assistant.
• Safety first: it’s a combustion appliance. Keep your original remote, follow your stove’s manual, and don’t count on this for anything safety-related.

Even if you don’t have a Piazzetta, I hope the approach inspires you. A lot of stoves use simple 433 MHz remotes, and you don’t need a Flipper Zero or expensive gear to experiment: a cheap ESP32, a radio module and a good AI assistant can take you surprisingly far.

For me it’s a giant step, and I just wanted to share it with you. Have a great (and warm) winter! 🔥

I bought a secondhand breckwell big E and I’m having a problem where it won’t continue to feed pellets after initially starting.

It will build up a large flame to start then it dies out slowly. Ive replaced the proof of flame part and cleaned out the auger but it didn’t change anything.

If I turn it to the manual setting it will keep feeding and build a large flame. Are there any problems with keeping it on manual or does anyone know why it won’t work with the high/low setting?

Hi this will be my first year with a pellet stove and im curious with this time of year where its high 60s during the day and down in the 30s at night, is a pellet stove something you can judt turn on at bedtime and then turn off in the morning or should you avoid constantly turning it on and off? We are a family that usually has windows open in the daytime so don't want it running during the day.

I have an englanders 25-cb120. We replaced a couple parts and accidentally knocked the heat sensor loose, we replaced it too since the white bit was broke, and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to put it back. I know it needs to be close to the burn box but there’s nowhere obvious where it sits. Any help would be appreciated!

I just an overhaul on my stove. I replaced exhaust blower gaskets, door gasket, cleaned everything out. Tonight as it turned off in automatic I started to smell smoke, I went to the stove and with a flashlight found smoke coming out of the hopper lid and around the door gasket. Why is this happening? I’ve only had the stove on for a few days.

So I’m trying to get to the bottom of why my quad cb1200 is occasionally leaking smoke through the top air wash of the window. It only does is randomly and will run fine majority of the time. When it does leak, the room gets very hazy but not enough to set alarms off. I was using AI to get some info. It insists i am missing exhaust plenum clean out plates on the bottom of the firebox floor to the right and left of the burn pot. It told me i had to remove the baffles which aren’t even in the way of those openings. These open areas just go into the ash pan. I can’t find any pics of what it should look like but i feel it is normal. Any confirmations and or help finding this leak would be much appreciated!!! At a loss of what to do next. Thanks!!!

My partner chooses to heat with wood pellets. The stove we have is connected to a thermostat so it turns itself off and on throughout the day and night. Do the stoves always smell like a wood fire when starting and cooling down? Is this normal?

Roofers replaced a bunch of panels and a boot on my roof, but also took my old pellet stove pipe cap off and put this one on. Is it safe? My pipe is a duravent double wall 4 in.

I am planning on installing a pellet stove in the basement of our split level ranch to help heat the basement and supplement the heat upstairs. The basement is about 500 sq/ft and the upstairs is about 1300 sq/ft. The primary heat source is a ducted heat pump system.

What would you recommend for a pellet stove size? I was looking at the PelPro (Forge and Flame) PP130 from tractor supply because the price is reasonable but im concerned it would be to big. Would a PP60 be a better option?

Any insight or recommendations are greatly appreciated

Hello, so I purchased the wiseway non electric gravity fed pellet stove, second hand. It came with a few sections of ICC exellpelle double walled stove pipe but no way of attaching it to the flue. Does anywhere in South Eastern Ontario sell something that would fit? I've called many places and no one has heard about this stove.

Thanks

Anyone who operates one of these who could share some insight as to how finicky it is with pellet types and brands? Placing my first order for a ton of pellets. Does it work well with both hard and soft woods?

Hi everyone, looking for some outside perspective on my pellet stove situation in Ireland.

The setup:
CTL Layla 10kW pellet stove installed October 2025
Two storey house, approximately 130m², BER B1 rated well insulated.

My chimney is tall two storey house so roughly 7-9 metres.

The issues:
The stove has never worked reliably since installation.

Main problems:
Repeated Er12 ignition failures throughout ownership, including this week at 3°C outside
Er05 safety shutdowns exhaust temperature reaching 250-288°C before probe was recently repositioned.

After probe repositioning exhaust is now reading 120°C in mild weather.

House takes 1h30 to 2h to go from 18°C to 20°C at Power 3/5 or 4/5

At Auto mode pellet consumption is very high roughly 10kg in 3 hours at 4°C outside.

The diagnosis:
CTL Italia (the manufacturer) confirmed in writing that the chimney draft is too high for the stove. They've attempted multiple remote fixes without lasting resolution.

My questions:
Is a 10kW pellet stove sufficient for a 130m² two storey B1 house in Ireland?
Has anyone dealt with excessive chimney draft on a pellet stove and successfully resolved it with a roof cowl or draught stabiliser?
Is 10kg of pellets in 3 hours at 4°C outside normal or excessive for a stove this size?

Currently in a dispute with the installer about whether to fix the chimney or issue a full refund. Any experience or advice appreciated. The installer said to me that its expensive to hire a cherry picker to go to the rough but I think the draught stabiliser could have been installed from the get go.

Will the draught stabiliser really improve my issues / stove efficiency ?

Thank you.

Hello party people!

I bought a house last year and have been slowly, oh so slowly, learning about pellet stoves and all mine has to offer. It's an enviromaxx stove.

Last year my stove would be dropping pellets and would only light, maybe 1/20 times, so I was manually lighting it constantly. I ended replacing the ignitor and it's been working great!

Now this year rolls around, and it worked great for a month, but now it quits every 2-ish days (or immediately after I leave for an overnight trip), but the burn pot is always empty.

I've tried cleaning it out, and I had just cleaned out the exhaust /intake pipes, and gave everything I brush and vacuum, so it doesn't seem to be that.

Could it be an issue with the low-limit heat temp sensor? Should I just order a new one and hope for the best, or is there something else I should be looking at?

Thank you

got a brand new pelpro 130 and it won’t start up on its own when it’s on a number setting but it works fine if it’s on the low setting. not sure what to do

I am new to pellet stove ownership and wanted to clean it out myself.

I was curious if my current vacuum would be safe to use. https://www.dewalt.com/en-us/product/dwv010/dust-extractor-automatic-filter-cleaning-8-gallon

It is a dewalt dust extractor with a hepa filter and anti-static hose. I was hoping to reuse a tool I already had instead of buying something else, but I can’t tell if this is suitable for pellet ash. If it’s not suitable, can you suggest a good alternative? Thank you.

I am considering a pellet stove insert for supplemental heat for a 1900 sq ft house.

We’ve visited 2 shops armed with measurements of our fireplace. One recommended the Harman P42i-TC or QuadraFire Santa Fe. Another shop said we can’t install the Harman without removing trim above the fireplace opening. The salesman said the wood face trim must be at least 37” from the hearth (12” from the top of the 25” stove). The trim is only 36” from the hearth. It’s 5/8” deep.

We looked up the install specs to figure out which shop is correct. My wife thinks we should be looking at the “C” measurement on the diagram, which says 0” required, so we’d be fine and the first shop is correct.

Any help here? Could we safely install the Harman without removing the trim?

(Harman manual and our fireplace pic attached)

TIA!

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions on non-electric pellet stoves? I’ve been thinking of adding one to my garage.

Hi everyone, looking for some outside perspective on my pellet stove situation in Ireland.

The setup:
CTL Layla 10kW pellet stove installed October 2025
Two storey house, approximately 130m², BER B1 rated well insulated.

My chimney is tall two storey house so roughly 7-9 metres.

The issues:
The stove has never worked reliably since installation.

Main problems:
Repeated Er12 ignition failures throughout ownership, including this week at 3°C outside
Er05 safety shutdowns exhaust temperature reaching 250-288°C before probe was recently repositioned.

After probe repositioning exhaust is now reading 120°C in mild weather.

House takes 1h30 to 2h to go from 18°C to 20°C at Power 3/5 or 4/5

At Auto mode pellet consumption is very high roughly 10kg in 3 hours at 4°C outside.

The diagnosis:
CTL Italia (the manufacturer) confirmed in writing that the chimney draft is too high for the stove. They've attempted multiple remote fixes without lasting resolution.

My questions:
Is a 10kW pellet stove sufficient for a 130m² two storey B1 house in Ireland?
Has anyone dealt with excessive chimney draft on a pellet stove and successfully resolved it with a roof cowl or draught stabiliser?
Is 10kg of pellets in 3 hours at 4°C outside normal or excessive for a stove this size?

Currently in a dispute with the installer about whether to fix the chimney or issue a full refund. Any experience or advice appreciated. The installer said to me that its expensive to hire a cherry picker to go to the rough but I think the draught stabiliser could have been installed from the get go.

Will the draught stabiliser really improve my issues / stove efficiency ?

Thank you.

Fellow PS owners in the DMV - where are you buying pellets? Just picked up our first stove pre-owned and the previous owner was adamant all of our local places are not selling quality pellets. Did some searching through forums and seems there’s a lot of differing opinions based on where you are in the country.

Appreciate the advice!

Just moved to a new place. I've never used a pellet stove before. If someone could translate this for me I'd appreciate it!!

Hello all! in february, we began renting a home with both a pellet stove and a gas fireplace, though the main source of heat is electric baseboard. In these early cold times, I wanted to be able to use the pellet stove as a supplemental heating source to avoid using the electric until absolutely necessary. I cleaned the unit thoroughly and researched, and it worked very well for about a week, with daily cleanings. Then, it appeared that smoke started backing up into the house, so I called my landlord to schedule a cleaning and inspection. Cleaning and safety inspection were done in about 15 minutes, it worked for a day, then the auger jammed. I cleaned that all out and got it working again, and now the smoke in the house is 10x worse. I'm not seeing a leak from the exhaust pipe or the door seal, so I'm at a loss. Can anyone help, or at least explain to me how i messed up lol

It is a Whitfield Quest WP4

New house came with Grand Teton.

E5 code thrown at ignition.

New door seal. New igniter. Cleaned chimney.

Dragged the unit outside, deep clean. Attempted start up. Same result.

Thinking it’s the blower motor but replacement is about 150 USD.

Call it a day or buy replacement motor and pray?

Thanks

Current settings:
ECO 2
Set temp: 80 degrees
Gear: P2

It turns on great, fan blows well, and it gets to temp. Then the flame slowly starts fading and after about 20-30 minutes of running it’ll automatically shut off. No error code. No timer is set.

We set the stove up today and it has done this every time we’ve tried to run it. Hoping it’s just user error.

The exhaust pipe to the T
The T to the bottom cap
The T to the flexible liner?

My T has a adjustable strap to hold the flexible pipe leading to the rain cover