Quadrafire..Do I have a hole in my fire pot?

[gimmeagig]

Hi, I have an older Quadrafire pellet stove with a ceramic fire pot.A weird thing has been happening.It seems there are pellets that drop down from the burn pot into the dustpan below and they seem to be igniting and burning out in there. There is a hole behind the ceramic plug in the fire pot but it looks like an intentional hole and it does not seem to connect to the burn area in the fire pot.
But I am sure that that is the place where the pellets drop down from.
Is this normal or is there something wrong with my stove?

 

[jtakeman]

Wow, Surprised the ceramic pot has lasted this long for you. Most cracked and fell apart just a few years after they were made. Quad replaced them free of charge if they cracked under warrenty. My quad got the free upgrade from the original owner I bought it from. He gave me the old pot as well But I tossed it. I do not remember any hole where pellets could fall out.

What model Quad do you have?

 

[gimmeagig]

It's the Quadra fire 1000. It was in the house when I bought it and must be about 10-12 years old so I'm pretty sure the warranty period is over.I saw replacement fire pots made of cast iron( I think) on e-bay somewhere.But my ceramic pot really seems to still work except for the mystery pellets dropping down.They seem to come out behind the fireplug and when they come out they are hot and burn out in the pan.There seems to be some kind of vent in the back of the compartment below the fire pot so I don't notice any smoke in my house. I'm trying to not have the expense of replacing the fire pot this winter and i'm hoping the Quadra will keep going for another month or two.