# Stove Dropping Too Many Pellets



## maxpower (Feb 14, 2015)

Hello. I have a QuadraFire Santa Fe insert. I woke up this morning and I noticed there was a larger than usual pile of pellets in the burn pot and they just kept coming. Usually, they burn off before more come. I shut it off for a few minutes and let the "excess" pellets burn and switched the thermostat back on. It burned well for a few hours but now I have pellets that are backed up into the chute.

I turned the stove off via thermostat but I have a pot full of smoldering pellets and some burning in the bottom of the chute. What causes this?


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## tjnamtiw (Feb 14, 2015)

A dirty stove and/or exhaust.  Or the 8 little holes in the burn pot are not open.  Or you haven't scraped the burnpot and dumped it lately.  Or a leak by the burnpot, which would be indicated by no ashes around one or both sides of the burnpot.  Or your dump valve is not closed all the way.  Or your pellets are very long and bridging at the top of the chute and finally dropping a boat load at one time.  Or your stove and/or exhaust are dirty.  Or your cap on the top of your exhaust vent is clogged with fine ash.  Or your stove and/or exhaust are dirty.


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## maxpower (Feb 14, 2015)

My first thought was dirty stove. I am not familiar with how to check the exhaust but the stove was ashier than I usually let it get. I am going to let it cool down and clean it out nice, hopefully that will be it.


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## Bioburner (Feb 14, 2015)

If you unsure of the exhaust then for sure clean it.


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## kappel15 (Feb 14, 2015)

Also, what is your feed rate set at? Have you changed pellets, and it needs to be adjusted? But my first thought too, would be a dirty pot, and or exhaust path. kap


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## maxpower (Feb 14, 2015)

I've never changed the feed rate. I have been using these pellets all season with no issues. 

As far as cleaning the exhaust.. Is that something a guy with a pellet stove can do or do I need to call someone?

Thanks for the responses.


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## kappel15 (Feb 14, 2015)

maxpower said:


> I've never changed the feed rate. I have been using these pellets all season with no issues.
> 
> As far as cleaning the exhaust.. Is that something a guy with a pellet stove can do or do I need to call someone?
> 
> Thanks for the responses.


Depends on how handy you are. Does it go up a chimney, or straight out the back? If you don't think you can do it, call someone. Watch what and how he does it, and then you can do it for yourself. kap


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## maxpower (Feb 14, 2015)

kappel15 said:


> Depends on how handy you are. Does it go up a chimney, or straight out the back? If you don't think you can do it, call someone. Watch what and how he does it, and then you can do it for yourself. kap



Chimney, along with my backup heat which is an oil fired burner.


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## UMainah (Feb 14, 2015)

maxpower said:


> Chimney, along with my backup heat which is an oil fired burner.


Two appliances on the same flue?


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## maxpower (Feb 14, 2015)

UMainah said:


> Two appliances on the same flue?


To the best of my knowledge, it is the same chimney but two separate flues? This is not my area of expertise.


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## nayslayer (Feb 14, 2015)

You have pictures?


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## maxpower (Feb 14, 2015)

These are pictures of the burn pot. You can see how it's filled and there are pellets backed up. Glass is a bit dirty.


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## kappel15 (Feb 14, 2015)

You definitely got a dirty exhaust path/pot. I would shut it down till you get all things cleaned, before you cause a fire. kap


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## nayslayer (Feb 14, 2015)

Yeah dirty dirty. I use a lint buster from Lowes. Flexible 3 foot sections of rods that screw together, get taped and rammed up the exhaust with cordless drill. If you feel like it not your thing, call someone.


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## maxpower (Feb 14, 2015)

nayslayer said:


> Yeah dirty dirty. I use a lint buster from Lowes. Flexible 3 foot sections of rods that screw together, get taped and rammed up the exhaust with cordless drill. If you feel like it not your thing, call someone.



Linky? I don't have a Lowes around but I do have big orange. Stove seems to be okay for now but I don't mind doing some PM.


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## tjnamtiw (Feb 14, 2015)

maxpower said:


> Linky? I don't have a Lowes around but I do have big orange. Stove seems to be okay for now but I don't mind doing some PM.


What is in that picture is NOT OK  Do what Kap said and shut it down until you get it cleaned!  If you have been burning it all winter, it NEEDS a GOOD cleaning by someone who knows what they are doing.  Hopefully, your installer or dealer can point you in the right direction.


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## maxpower (Feb 15, 2015)

tjnamtiw said:


> What is in that picture is NOT OK  Do what Kap said and shut it down until you get it cleaned!  If you have been burning it all winter, it NEEDS a GOOD cleaning by someone who knows what they are doing.  Hopefully, your installer or dealer can point you in the right direction.



I don't have an installer or dealer it came with the house. I cleaned it at the end of last season and I think I vacuumed out the exhaust. I ran it all last night and it is still running like normal this morning.


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## tjnamtiw (Feb 15, 2015)




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## Bioburner (Feb 15, 2015)

The venting and stove probably needed to be cleaned properly at least three times so far this season. Time to cue up youtube and check out some videos on how to clean the stove and its venting or checkout Quads site for a dealer servicing your area.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Feb 15, 2015)

maxpower said:


> I don't have an installer or dealer it came with the house. I cleaned it at the end of last season and I think I vacuumed out the exhaust. I ran it all last night and it is still running like normal this morning.



Then call Quadra-Fire explain the situation with the stove and that you don't have a dealer or installer since the stove came with the house.  They can connect you up with one or you can look for a Quad dealer and talk to them.

Meanwhile, clean that stove and the venting, verify that all gaskets are good or you risk a hopper fire among other not so good things if you persist in continuing to use the stove.


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## kappel15 (Feb 15, 2015)

It was more then likely a dirty pot, or you hadn't cleaned the ash/clinker out soon enough. The pot needs to be cleaned out at least once a day. Do you have a bright active flame? You can  do a dealer search on the Quad website. They have a dealer locator section. As stated before, hire it done, and watch how he does it. Then you can do it yourself. kap


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## kappel15 (Feb 15, 2015)

If you don't have one, you can download an owners manual from the Quad website also. Lots of information on there on the operation of your stove, and how to adjust the flame height to make sure it is feeding the right amount of fuel. kap


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## Mysticenchantment (Feb 15, 2015)

maxpower said:


> I think I vacuumed out the exhaust.



When people have a device in their home that essentially breathes fire it amazes me that they would neglect it to the point of becoming a serious hazard.  The title of the post is that the stove is feeding too many pellets.  This is not the case.  The case is that the stove is so filthy and disgusting that it is unable to burn pellets at the normal rate, thus causing a pile up.  After several direct answers to clean the stove and clean it well, the response is that we may have vacuumed the exhaust and it ran fine last night and is still running "like normal" this morning.  Our only hope is that the poster lives in a single family detached residence.

Not trying to be a groan, but I'll say running a filthy stove is akin to driving drunk.  Sure you can do it, but not very well and there is a substantially increased risk of killing either yourself or someone else.  That's why driving drunk is a crime, as running a filthy stove should be.


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## grupp (Feb 15, 2015)

Tip for cleaning small holes in burnpot. I use a wire bristel tip from a gun cleaning kit.
You can purchase individual tips from a hardware store.


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## maxpower (Feb 15, 2015)

Mysticenchantment said:


> After several direct answers to clean the stove and clean it well, the response is that we may have vacuumed the exhaust and it ran fine last night and is still running "like normal" this morning.  Our only hope is that the poster lives in a single family detached residence.
> 
> Not trying to be a groan, but I'll say running a filthy stove is akin to driving drunk.  Sure you can do it, but not very well and there is a substantially increased risk of killing either yourself or someone else.  That's why driving drunk is a crime, as running a filthy stove should be.



Single family detached residence. 

I usually keep it pretty clean and I followed the manuals instructions for cleaning at the end of the season, I just didn't realize there was a special tool to clean the vent. It usually only runs from 5pm to about 8am and then I clean it before I turn it on around 5. I happened to be home so it ran for over 24 hours straight when the pellets started piling up. It hasn't happened to me before and it surprised me a little so I came here for help.


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## Bioburner (Feb 15, 2015)

With the bad weather and long holiday may be a good time to break out the manual and read the cleaning recommendations. Its available online as well. We want you back and safe, not on the headlines. With the extended cold here we have been seeing a big jump in heating related fires.


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## maxpower (Feb 15, 2015)

Thanks for the help everybody. I thought the stove was the problem but it was just the owner. I have the manual and I will go through it again to make sure I am on top of the cleaning schedule.


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## nayslayer (Feb 17, 2015)

Lint eater

http://www.amazon.com/Gardus-RLE202-LintEater-10-Piece-Cleaning/dp/B0014CN8Y8


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