2006 quadrafire mt. vernon t-stat /operation question

[matman115]

We did empty the hopper as much as we could and let the unit run as low on pellets until it would no longer run. The auger spring looks intact. We vacuumed the hopper out as far as we could go. I used a mirror to look up the shoot from the fire box and could not see any major restrictions.
- i do have the correct light sequence. And the convection blower comes on and blows hot air. All the while the flame is barely sustained.

 

[Ssyko]

Is the convection fan dirty/ dust bunnies/ extra cats or dogs? Maybe tired and just not spooling up!

 

[matman115]

Is the convection fan dirty/ dust bunnies/ extra cats or dogs? Maybe tired and just not spooling up!

that i am unsure of.

-im going to order a new TC today. i plan to try and disassemble things a little further later this afternoon when the wife leaves (if she sees it in pieces she will have a fit lol) and see what exactly i can clean up myself. not real sure how to access or clean the convection blower, the heat exchanger, the baffles, etc. ill do some searches for that and see what i come up with. so far the TC is the only ITEM that could be the issue. still potential for the unit to be that dirty inside i guess, or still potential to have some sort of blockage in feed tube that i just cannot see. i do not have a stove vacuum, but my little shop vac has a small end that works decent.

-i just fired it up this morning: ive messed with the air trim knob (labeled 0-7). i went to 7, and the unit would not produce a fire. so i shut down, turned it to 0 than went 3 clicks passed zero, so it was on the "5". no fire again. i went back to zero, and went 2 more clicks to the 2 setting and that's when the unit actually produced a fire. went through the typical start process, fire was going (small, barely at top of pot) and after about 15 min the flame began to die out and the unit went into the shut down process. (tried this 2 ways: skytech thermostat set to thermo mode with a set point of 80*, house temp was 70...and i also tried it in manual run mode with stoves knob set at medium. same outcome). so we will see. the saga continues i suppose.
the wife would like me to schedule the local stove company to come out and service it, and check it out. i dont think that is a bad idea, being that i am new to all this, however i know they are going to throw parts at it. so if i can throw the parts at it for free labor and cheaper prices on the parts, thats what i am going to do. so when they do come out, all the typical parts have been replaced. thanks to everyone for their help so far. im learning a lot about this thing thanks to you guys. hopefully we can get it up and running correctly soon. keep the ideas coming if you have them, willing to try just about anything to git er fixed.

 

[Ssyko]

Get a yellow drywall bag for yourshop vac or mamma’s going to have something to say aboutthe cloud of ash and dust

 

[slvrblkk]

One thing I guess you can try is to empty the stove completely of pellets, jump out the vac switch (and make sure the wires are insulated from making contact with any metal) and start the stove. Hit the thermocouple with a small propane torch or blow dryer until it goes into its normal "running" state and check the timing of the auger and see where you are at. You could also have a problem with the knob pot being dirty or something.

Also try taking the heat knob and turn it back and forth quickly a bunch of times and turn stove back on and see if it does anything.

 

[slvrblkk]

Your convection blower doesn't come on when there's no fire does it because that shouldn't come on until snap disk one gets up to temp around 140 degrees or so.

 

[kappel15]

I would also use a mirror and a flashlight, and look up the drop chute, to see if there is any bridging of fuel going on or an obstruction of the opening. kap

 

[matman115]

The convection blower come on after a while of running. There is a fire, just very very small.
- just put the new TC in. Unit started great, strong fire. Than sort of fizzled out to a very low flame. Burning, but low. Barely kissing the TC.
-I can here an audible difference in the amount of pellets and duration its dropping compared to before with old TC. Here is a pic of it running on medium, after 20min of running.
-auger is adjusted out, not to max though.
-I read the instructions that came with the new board, the 0-7 knob is for fuel quality correction. 0=diagnostic, 1=normal 2= +10% 3= -20%(for corn) My unit only utilizes those 3 settings. It's currently on 1.

 

[Mt Bob]

Grab a beer,sit behind stove,watch auger where connects to shaft,see if slips after warming up(start stove).While there,see if sometimes the auger runs one way,then changes direction.Kap can correct me on this,but I think your stove is of this era.

 

[matman115]

Forgive my ignorance but how do I see where the auger connects to the shaft? I can look down the hopper and see the coil spinning moving the pellets around...I can look into the right side of the unit and see the motor itself and the wires for it...

-what would cause it to spin the wrong way? That sort seems like it would make sense as to why the fire comes and goes???

 

[Mt Bob]

Ah,well some of the quads,had a offset bracket you could see the auger where it goes into the motor,I guess not yours.Some quads had an auger motor with a capacitor on them,that would go bad,and would change directions

 

[Mt Bob]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/quad-castile-auger-motor-reversing.135040/#post-1812228

 

[Ssyko]

are the pellets your using on the long side? small = 1/4' - 1/2" medium = 1/2" - 3/4" long = longer than 3/4" (average size in the bag/hopper)

 

[matman115]

They range from 1/4" to 1.25". Honestly I got them at Lowe's. A guy at work said he had good luck with them. According to him, when his stove is on the low setting his flame is small as well, but his stove will run continuously like that on low. Mine doesn't after sometime it will shut down.

-last night I put it in thermo mode, set to 77*, manual knob on high on right side of stove. Had good flame good heat. Went to bed, woke up at midnight, stove was out, tstat read 70. Turned it on manual mode, high on heat knob, went back to bed, woke up at 3, stove was out.

 

[Mt Bob]

Here is the proper manual for your stove.

 

[matman115]

That manual is a great help, thank you so much.

- just got home from work, turn stove knob to hi, turn skytech remote to 75 * in thermo mode. Red call light comes on. Stove fires up burns hot, good flame. Meets temperature and shuts down. So I wait. Temp hits 72, red call light comes on, here some pellets drop, here a fan sound. Unit never lights. Eventually fan will shut off. Red call light stays on until I shut off the stove or push off on remote.

Honestly regretting buying one of these. Maybe its because its used, maybe it's because I don't know anything about them. But tstat calls for heat. Unit doesn't turn on. Thinking i should have bought a wood stove

 

[Mt Bob]

That manual is a great help, thank you so much.

- just got home from work, turn stove knob to hi, turn skytech remote to 75 * in thermo mode. Red call light comes on. Stove fires up burns hot, good flame. Meets temperature and shuts down. So I wait. Temp hits 72, red call light comes on, here some pellets drop, here a fan sound. Unit never lights. Eventually fan will shut off. Red call light stays on until I shut off the stove or push off on remote.

Honestly regretting buying one of these. Maybe its because its used, maybe it's because I don't know anything about them. But tstat calls for heat. Unit doesn't turn on. Thinking i should have bought a wood stove

Well,red call light on means t/stat signal is working,was there enough pellets in pot for ignitor to light?Was ignitor getting red?(hard to see sometimes)Sorry i cannot be of more help,Kap is the Quad guy.

 

[Ssyko]

Mat have you tried any other brands of pellets?

 

[Ssyko]

i just read the manual

A. Fuel Size And Material 1. Wood Pellets Fuel pellets are made from sawdust or wood by-products. If the source material is hardwood, they can have a higher mineral content, creating more ash. Fuels containing bark will also have higher ash content. Minerals and other non-combustible materials such as sand will turn into a hard, glass-like substance called a clinker when heated to the extreme temperatures our firepot reaches. This is what forms clinkers in the bottom of the firepot. Trees from different areas will vary in mineral content. That is why some fuels produce more clinkers than others. Pellets are manufactured in either 1/4 inch or 5/16 inch (6-8mm) diameter and should be no more than 1-1/2 inches (38mm) in length. Pellet lengths may even vary by lot from the same manufacturer which is why the feed rate may need to be adjusted occasionally. If you burn pellets longer than 1-1/2 inches (38mm) you may have an inconsistent fuel feed rate and/or missed ignitions.


i only go back to this because my Quad cb1200 in my shop is real temperamental about the pellet size, 1" and longer i have to hit reset all the time.

 

[matman115]

Well,red call light on means t/stat signal is working,was there enough pellets in pot for ignitor to light?Was ignitor getting red?(hard to see sometimes)Sorry i cannot be of more help,Kap is the Quad guy.

Seemed like initial ignition there are plenty of pellets dropping. 2nd time(usually when it fails, it may be slightly less pellets than first cold start. I just turned it on and checked the igniter, glowing cherry red.

-Ssyko: thanks for the tip. I have not tried another brand. I bought 10 bags of this stuff. So didn't try another. Mine seem to be a mixed size. I do check the pot from time to time and i don't see any buildup of any kind. How do I know size before I buy? Just open a bag? You recommend softwood?

My frustration is not with you guys by any means. Over the internet diagnostics is darn near impossible, I understand that. I've learned a lot since making my first thread, so all is not a total loss. Just wish I could get this thing burning consistently.

Edit: this time I just turned it on to check the igniter: it failed to light off, and just shut down, leaving the red call light on again and a tiny little flame left barely flickering in the pot. Just pushed reset button, good many pellets dropping in, we will see what happens. I also put it in manual mode this time with knob on medium.

 

[kappel15]

You may not be able to see your auger, but if you feel past the auger motor, you will feel the shaft. You should be able to feel it turning, and also if it turns the opposite direction at times. If this is the case, the capacitor is shot. You should be able to get a capacitor jumper on internet. If not, I have a few on hand. You also have to realize if you have hopper empty enough to see auger, it will deplete supply in auger tube, and take a while to build it back up. And it is best to start stove in at least med. and then turn down to low, for it to run decent. kap

 

[kappel15]

I will have to do some checking, as things change faster then I can keep up but last I knew, there were 2 different control boxes. The yellow label 4 speed box is for the Mt. Vernon only. The 3 speed white label, is for other Quad stoves. They are not interchangeable. Can you send a pic of your control box? And always remember to unplug stove before removing or installing a box, or you runt he risk of toasting it. kap

 

[matman115]

This control box has a yellow label, same as the old one. Same part number. I did unplug it when I changed it.

-I tried twice in the middle of the night to turn it on manual mode, unit would not ignite either time. Just tried right now, same thing. Fan come on,red call light, pellets drop, igniter glows. Fire dwindles out.

-manual mode should run the stove indefinitely correct? At least until the fuel runs out?
-if I can locate my receipt, I'm going to return these pellets and try fine different ones.

 

[kappel15]

Try setting it on 2 for 10% more fuel and see what happens. And is thermocouple sticking into pot 3/4 to an inch? kap

 

[slvrblkk]

What pellets are you using?