CAB50 control box rotary switch function?

[nikeseer]

GRRRR ... Ok.. Well I spoke with the stove store and they were a big help. Also [email protected] is the best way to speak to quadrafire and for EcoChoice. They responded very quickly. Faster than the hold time and speaking with the people on the phone. Now I gave my part number in the email. Mine is supposed to be set on 4. Mine is the original control board. The new one that was mentioned here and in my email from QDF is the 7058-188 has been out only for a few months and THAT one is supposed to be a 2 per their email. And regarding the link. Apparently it will not let me attach. And copy and paste obviously did not work. I'll work on it.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

That is what I was thinking but you schooled me.

Eric

 

[nikeseer]

Wow! LOL. Well we are burning and back to normal with a normal flame of 4-7 steady with some higher peaks. I am not going to touch anything again except the feed gate... if I need to. LOL. You all have been awesome as usual! Closed the damper because it wasn't putting out the heat. My house temp was dropping. Now we are increasing in temp.

 

[saladdin]

Well this might make some sense then. Mine shows HHT 7058-172 and date shows 11/08. My factory setting is #4. Should I adjust it based on the new manual?

Ditto.

7058-172

 

[saladdin]

Wow! LOL. Well we are burning and back to normal with a normal flame of 4-7 steady with some higher peaks. I am not going to touch anything again except the feed gate... if I need to. LOL. You all have been awesome as usual! Closed the damper because it wasn't putting out the heat. My house temp was dropping. Now we are increasing in temp.

So you have 7058-172and set the controller to 2? Correct?
I'm under the "old" manual also.

 

[saladdin]

p/n srv7058-188
I have no information on #4 or #5 so I would say it is not used at this time.

#2 is factory for the CAB50 and PS50
#3 adds +10%
#6 is factory for the PS35
#7 is +10%

Basically the +10% is used for very dense fuel. The is just an adjustment to the auger and not the blowers.

Eric

Would you happen to know the difference between SRV7058-188 and SRV7058-172?

 

[saladdin]

ok. Doing it now. Did you see the link?

Link is bad. Any other changes you see between the 2 manuals?

 

[nikeseer]

Would you happen to know the difference between SRV7058-188 and SRV7058-172?

HI. Sorry about the link. I've tried several ways of posting it and I get an error message constantly. But don't believe the number 2. The person I spoke with did not ask me which control board I have. Just went by when my stove was made. I emailed Quadrafire and they confirmed that ours being the 7058-172 is the original control board and it is supposed to be at 4. Do not change it if you have the original. The new ones are set to 2. The new control boards have only been out for a few months per the email I received from Quadrafire. My apologies to all for the confusion that was caused by one company rep.

 

[nikeseer]

If you do switch to number 2 with the original control board the stove will not feed and igniter will not start. I found this out before I received the email. Trial and error.

 

[St_Earl]

haha! my flame is fine and my house is warm for most of two seasons.
i don't even want to know how many times it's blinking.

 

[nikeseer]

Link is bad. Any other changes you see between the 2 manuals?

Nothing but the factory control board settings. That of which we have already determined that they gave us the manual based on the control board installed on our stoves.

 

[nikeseer]

haha! my flame is fine and my house is warm for most of two seasons.
i don't even want to know how many times it's blinking.

How big is your house again? lol. Mine is 68-71 for the most part while being in the teens outside and she is running on high 24/7.

 

[St_Earl]

925 sq. feet.
back bedroom 68 to 74 during the day. we let it cool at night by turning down/off whichever fans we need to.
74 would be on a day where i know it's going to be really cold at night.
we like it to cool to around 63 or 64 overnight. bottoming out at that temp.

stove room from 80 to 85 depending on how cold it's going to be.
(cooler during shoulder season)
the real cold nights i try to keep it as warm as i can stand to.
it's easier to cool down than to try and play catch up when its well below zero outside.

the two front rooms off the stove room are my den/ lair (where i spend most of my waking hours.) and the other room is where my wife has her computer.
so they are nice and toasty. but not as hot as the stove room.
the kitchen and dining room are between these 3 rooms and the back bedroom.

ha! it just dawned on me that i've never measured the temp in my den.
doing that now...
just brought a thermometer in from outside. this could take a while

 

[nikeseer]

925 sq. feet.
back bedroom 68 to 74 during the day. we let it cool at night by turning down/off whichever fans we need to.
74 would be on a day where i know it's going to be really cold at night.
we like it to cool to around 63 or 64 overnight. bottoming out at that temp.

stove room from 80 to 85 depending on how cold it's going to be.
(cooler during shoulder season)
the real cold nights i try to keep it as warm as i can stand to.
it's easier to cool down than to try and play catch up when its well below zero outside.

the two front rooms off the stove room are my den/ lair (where i spend most of my waking hours.) and the other room is where my wife has her computer.
so they are nice and toasty. but not as hot as the stove room.
the kitchen and dining room are between these 3 rooms and the back bedroom.

ha! it just dawned on me that i've never measured the temp in my den.
doing that now...
just brought a thermometer in from outside. this could take a while

1500 sq ft cape. I have to find my happy spot. With the current temps in the single digits and teens the stove room doesn't get above 72 and the upstairs about the same and the downstairs 68-67. 65-64 at the farthest part of the house. I have to play with the air damper and feed right and find the one that works the best to produce the best heat. On high with the damper all the way open and feed gate lowest it can go didn't give off enough heat as when it is almost closed with the same feed gate setting. Noticed when I closed the damper the stove got hotter. Can hear that tell tale sign of ticking when it gets hot. So I have to play with the feed gate opening it up a little and adjusting the damper and hoping I get a cleaner burnpot tellim me it's runnig better.

 

[St_Earl]

i've never touched the damper. it came all the way open and i leave it there.
i actually don't worry (too much) if the flame is taller than recommended. as long as it's active and not lazy.
don't be afraid to open the gate up some when it's cold. but you'll need good air flow.
the feed gate opening needed will also depend on the size of pellet you are burning as well. longer pellts leave more void space in the auger channel. short ones fill it up more densley and deliver more pellet mass each drop.

what dex or someone said about an open damper giving a lower and more active flame is correct.
you should definitely see the blast furnace like curling vortices down in the burn pot.
keep that air blasting through there is my suggestion.

i actually had to open the gate all the way when i switched to softies.
not sure why exactly. but they don't have as high a flame as the mwp blend. at least not in my stove.

your stove room should easily get above that figure of 72 though.
get more air and burn more pellets is my guess.
it's the fuel that makes the heat. : )

 

[nikeseer]

i've never touched the damper. it came all the way open and i leave it there.
i actually don't worry (too much) if the flame is taller than recommended. as long as it's active and not lazy.
don't be afraid to open the gate up some when it's cold. but you'll need good air flow.
the feed gate opening needed will also depend on the size of pellet you are burning as well. longer pellts leave more void space in the auger channel. short ones fill it up more densley and deliver more pellet mass each drop.

what dex or someone said about an open damper giving a lower and more active flame is correct.
you should definitely see the blast furnace like curling vortices down in the burn pot.
keep that air blasting through there is my suggestion.

i actually had to open the gate all the way when i switched to softies.
not sure why exactly. but they don't have as high a flame as the mwp blend. at least not in my stove.

your stove room should easily get above that figure of 72 though.
get more air and burn more pellets is my guess.
it's the fuel that makes the heat. : )

Going to do that tomorrow. My hubby added a bag and now I can't get to the feed gate. LOL. I'm only burning MWP blend. So I will just open the feed and open the damper some more till I see it get lazy if it does and if it does I'll back it off to the previous that didn't have it lazy. So far I have not had a lazy flame at all. Just a tall one..A cleaner pot should give me a hotter flame yes?

 

[St_Earl]

the way the burn pots work in these and in the quad like dex has, is the air blows out the fly ash.
and you want that to happen.
plus you want the air blowing trough to make the burn hotter.
it's not the same as a wood stove where you have a large mass of wood and shutting the damper down maximizes the burn time and allows more heat to be released over time.
you want to get the heat out of the pellets right now.
this is why stove efficiency ratings are figured with the stove running on high.

i really can't imagine opening the damper making your flame lazy.
i'd stick with it all the way open and make adjustments with the feed gate.

but even though we have similar stoves and i have burned almost exclusively the mwp blend, our burns will no doubt be different.
i find the blend to be made up of short pellets. but that could vary.

what it boils down to for me, is if you are not getting the heat you want, increase the feed rate. the fuel makes the heat.
if the air is blasting through and the flame gets high from time too time, i don't worry so much.

oh. if you have some plastic storage bins and or buckets, just scoop out the pellets till you can access the feed slide.
there might be a good reason they buried it so deep in the hopper. but i'm not sure why.

and don't refill it too soon. wait and evaluate and adjust.
the auger will be full with the amount of the pre adjustment setting.

you'll get it. it really just takes doing it for a while.
i trimmed the feed rate down a lot and was proud of what a short and active flame i got with the softies. (which for me don't produce as high a flame as the blend)
then it went to 15 below and i wasn't getting the heat i needed.
i slowly opened and opened it again till it was all the way open.

 

[nikeseer]

the way the burn pots work in these and in the quad like dex has, is the air blows out the fly ash.
and you want that to happen.
plus you want the air blowing trough to make the burn hotter.
it's not the same as a wood stove where you have a large mass of wood and shutting the damper down maximizes the burn time and allows more heat to be released over time.
you want to get the heat out of the pellets right now.
this is why stove efficiency ratings are figured with the stove running on high.

i really can't imagine opening the damper making your flame lazy.
i'd stick with it all the way open and make adjustments with the feed gate.

but even though we have similar stoves and i have burned almost exclusively the mwp blend, our burns will no doubt be different.
i find the blend to be made up of short pellets. but that could vary.

what it boils down to for me is if you are not getting the heat you want, increase the feed rate. the fuel makes the heat.
if the air is blasting through and the flame gets high from time too time, i don't worry so much.

My MWP blend are short and some very short. I'm planning on shutter her down for a few minutes to empty the burnpot. So the more open damper works more efficiently at least for the time being till I can give it more fuel. Are you running on high medium or low?

 

[St_Earl]

tonight i have it on medium. gate is still all the way open.
i mixed in some of the blend today to use up the open bags i had. that gave me a bit higher flame than i wanted. but i just waited it out and it's mostly softies in there now. so the flame is at a good height.
but even when the flame was higher, i still had good air flow in the pot since the damper was open.

i added a few things to my last post.
i'm not the most experienced user here. but i may be among the more experienced heatilator users. lol

but don't take my word as gospel either.
just do what you have to do the get the amount of heat you need.

 

[nikeseer]

tonight i have it on medium. gate is still all the way open.
i mixed in some of the blend today to use up the open bags i had. that gave me a bit higher flame than i wanted. but i just waited it out and it's mostly softies in there now. so the flame is at a good height.
but even when the flame was higher, i still had good air flow in the pot since the damper was open.

i added a few things to my last post.
i'm not the most experienced user here. but i may be among the more experienced heatilator users. lol

but don't take my word as gospel either.
just do what you have to do the get the amount of heat you need.

I understand and I'm working on finding the right combination. And is your firepot pretty clear? Hardly any ash or buildup?

 

[St_Earl]

i like to at least have the top holes of the movable plate uncovered.
and air blowing clearly through at least the next set of holes down. the middle row.

i just looked and the coals are even with the middle row of holes. that's how i prefer it.
but running on high w/ the gate full open, the coals with eventually get up to just below the top row.
but with the middle holes still clearly visible as the air comes strongly through them and the coals.

i only have the gate fully open on high if i'm burning the softies.
though i will run the gate open a good amount with the blend when it's cold.
as i had to when the blend was all i had.

the blend makes a lot of fly ash. not much in weight. but it will make the sides of the pot and under the thermocouple covered in a good layer.
but it doesn't block the side holes since the damper is open and the air is blasting through.

i will sometimes open the lid and let the flame die down and stir the coals *really* well. maybe once a night if i'm running full bore.
i wear gloves and use a very long shafted screwdriver to keep my hands away from the heat.

this clears ash that may build up under the coals when the pot is running kind of full.
and it keeps me from having to fully interrupt the burn to pull the cleaning rod.

 

[nikeseer]

i like to at least have the top holes of the movable plate uncovered.
and air blowing clearly through at least the next set of holes down. the middle row.

i just looked and the coals are even with the middle row of holes. that's how i prefer it.
but running on high w/ the gate full open, the coals with eventually get up to just below the top row.
but with the middle holes still clearly visible as the air comes strongly through them and the coals.

i only have the gate fully open on high if i'm burning the softies.
though i will run the gate open a good amount with the blend when it's cold.
as i had to when the blend was all i had.

the blend makes a lot of fly ash. not much in weight. but it will make the sides of the pot and under the thermocouple covered in a good layer.
but it doesn't block the side holes since the damper is open and the air is blasting through.

i will sometimes open the lid and let the flame die down and stir the coals *really* well. maybe once a night if i'm running full bore.
i wear gloves and use a very long shafted screwdriver to keep my hands away from the heat.

this clears ash that may build up under the coals when the pot is running kind of full.
and it keeps me from having to fully interrupt the burn to pull the cleaning rod.

Thank you sooo much. That all sounds good to me. I have opened my feed gate this morning as much as I could trying to get under the amount of pellets still in there. Damper open wide. Top row of holes clear of coals! I'm looking forward to see how we'll this works out with temps still to be in the teens some nights still this season!

 

[nikeseer]

i like to at least have the top holes of the movable plate uncovered.
and air blowing clearly through at least the next set of holes down. the middle row.

i just looked and the coals are even with the middle row of holes. that's how i prefer it.
but running on high w/ the gate full open, the coals with eventually get up to just below the top row.
but with the middle holes still clearly visible as the air comes strongly through them and the coals.

i only have the gate fully open on high if i'm burning the softies.
though i will run the gate open a good amount with the blend when it's cold.
as i had to when the blend was all i had.

the blend makes a lot of fly ash. not much in weight. but it will make the sides of the pot and under the thermocouple covered in a good layer.
but it doesn't block the side holes since the damper is open and the air is blasting through.

i will sometimes open the lid and let the flame die down and stir the coals *really* well. maybe once a night if i'm running full bore.
i wear gloves and use a very long shafted screwdriver to keep my hands away from the heat.

this clears ash that may build up under the coals when the pot is running kind of full.
and it keeps me from having to fully interrupt the burn to pull the cleaning rod.

What's your flame pattern height on medium? Just wondering.

 

[St_Earl]

i've ended up adjusting the setting on high. that way i know i can go there and have it be a good result.
it kind of is a moot point when i'm burning the softies. because i ended up having the gate all the way open.
the flame is active and the pot isn't overfilled.
with the blend, even when it was really cold, i needed the gate closed at least some still.
the blend is good to a certain point. but having a hotter pellet to switch to at outside temps much below zero is a good thing. sounds like you may not have those conditions too often though.

but i still adjusted it on high with the same criteria. and as long as the action of the flame was good and the pot wasn't overfilled, the height kind of works itself out.

that being said, with the blend, i was getting a similar pattern to what you and another person had posted. on medium, 4 to 8+ inches with it sometimes rising up higher briefly.


lower w/ the softies even with the gate all the way open. they just burn differently.
when it gets warmer, i'll reduce the feed rate just to save pellets. and this is all with the stove running 24/7
lol i forget exactly what i do when it's much warmer and i'm running it on the t stat.

but essentially it's the action of the flame more than a super closely measured height i use.
not so high as to be lazy and not too low as to not keep me warm.
i want to see that air blasting through on medium or high. and a nice perky little flame on low.

 

[nikeseer]

i've ended up adjusting the setting on high. that way i know i can go there and have it be a good result.
it kind of is a moot point when i'm burning the softies. because i ended up having the gate all the way open.
the flame is active and the pot isn't overfilled.
with the blend, even when it was really cold, i needed the gate closed at least some still.
the blend is good to a certain point. but having a hotter pellet to switch to at outside temps much below zero is a good thing. sounds like you may not have those conditions too often though.

but i still adjusted it on high with the same criteria. and as long as the action of the flame was good and the pot wasn't overfilled, the height kind of works itself out.

that being said, with the blend, i was getting a similar pattern to what you and another person had posted. on medium, 4 to 8+ inches with it sometimes rising up higher briefly.


lower w/ the softies even with the gate all the way open. they just burn differently.
when it gets warmer, i'll reduce the feed rate just to save pellets. and this is all with the stove running 24/7
lol i forget exactly what i do when it's much warmer and i'm running it on the t stat.

but essentially it's the action of the flame more than a super closely measured height i use.
not so high as to be lazy and not too low as to not keep me warm.
i want to see that air blasting through on medium or high. and a nice perky little flame on low.

That makes perfect sense to me now realizing I was backwards thinking of pellet and wood stoves. I will make sure about the flame and especially the air coming through. We have purked up in temp and I may switch to medium for a few hours. My gate is not full open but 3/4 and getting a good burn on high and still top row air holes visible and nice swirling with the gate open almost fully. Just a little corner not. We don't get sub zero or single digits often down here. It will be nice to gate it set right at high and be able to put it down to medium if it's in the teens out. We shall see. Thank you for all the cab50 info. It has been tremendous!