Quadrafire Santa Fe B-1 (2007) Problems, smoked and now blinking blue
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St_Earl
Minister of Fire
Without a doubt the most impressive woman we have IMHO is Snowy! She is AWESOME in so many ways!lol. and at least one woman who won't let her husband near the inner workings of their stove.
Lake Girl
Moderator
Before I start disassembling the stove, I like to take photos of what I intend to work on especially the wire hook-ups. Either the photo or draw a diagram of wire colour and terminal location on part.
The cleaning port behind the right cast panel - is that just a shallow chamber to the exhaust fan or is there a larger area back there that can only be cleaned with brush/hose like my Elena?
The cleaning port behind the right cast panel - is that just a shallow chamber to the exhaust fan or is there a larger area back there that can only be cleaned with brush/hose like my Elena?
CladMaster
Minister of Fire
Lake Girl
Moderator
Just go back underwaterDidn't mean to slight you, Lake Girl.
PS - Wish I had the knowledge Snowy has - no where near
Behind the left cast iron panel is just a tiny port hole. I can barely get a vacuum stick in there. It doesn't seem to clean easy, which is why I also reached in with my fingers. I didn't know you actually had to remove the fan to get that properly cleaned out.
Lake Girl
Moderator
My Elena has a chamber that runs the height of the firebox up to the heat exchanger tubes about an inch wide - fly ash clings to inner walls so I use a dryer lint brush and attach a hose on the shop vac with drywall filter to vacuum out. Hard to tell from the schematics in the manual if it the Santa Fe is similar.
(broken link removed to http://hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/7001_142.pdf)
I didn't know if you have the manual for your stove so here is the link. If it doesn't work, PM me and I'll email it to you.
I didn't know if you have the manual for your stove so here is the link. If it doesn't work, PM me and I'll email it to you.
More questions!
(broken image removed)
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The connectors are different. Can I cut off the new connector and splice on the connectors from the old fan? And how do I know which wire is which, are they interchangeable?
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And the pipe, should I be disconnecting the pipe from the back of the stove to better clean it? I never knew if I should be disconnecting that or just leaving it be.
Thanks!
(broken image removed)
(broken image removed)
The connectors are different. Can I cut off the new connector and splice on the connectors from the old fan? And how do I know which wire is which, are they interchangeable?
(broken image removed)
And the pipe, should I be disconnecting the pipe from the back of the stove to better clean it? I never knew if I should be disconnecting that or just leaving it be.
Thanks!
Actually, thinking outloud, it's probably not a good idea to reuse a connector. I do have new ones of various sizes that I can replace both sides with. Do they need to be a special type tho for the high heat, or will my regular ones work? (I'm thinking back when my ingnitor needed the special thermal wire nuts.
Regular connectors are fine. Must be an after market exhaust fan to have different connections on it . And you have ceramic wire nuts on your igniter? That shouldn't be either. The wires should run out to the wire harness and connect there just like with the exhaust motor. Did you buy this used? Someone must have done some butchering to this thing or something. kap
St_Earl
Minister of Fire
as for disconnecting the vent, it has been suggested that you do that so you don't end up pushing ash into where the blower is.
but if you are pulling the motor anyway, you should be able to leave the pipe connected and just clean while the motor is out.
vacuuming out the chamber where the blower fits and the exhaust duct of the stove where it connects to the pipe.
for times when the motor is in place, disconnecting the vent could be helpful
part of me though wants to say that leaving the pipe connected could be a good thing though. i just don't know how hard it will be to get a good seal each time you undo and redo that connection.
m
now this is just my opinion, but in my mind, for mid season cleaning, with a short direct out vent like you have (just a single short horizontal run, right? ) if you take off the terminal cap outside, you should be able to vacuum the ash out of the bottom of the pipe where most of it settles and not use a brush at all until years end when you pull the motor.
just do not go further than the end of the pipe. you want to avoid touching the blower's fins even if they aren't spinning
that looks like 4 inch venting. i don't think a mid season full brushing is always required as long as it's clear of the majority of ash.
but you do want to pull that blower at the end of the burning season every year and do a full cleaning.
things to consider as you come to your own best decision.
hopefully others will chime in as well as you reach your decision.
but if you are pulling the motor anyway, you should be able to leave the pipe connected and just clean while the motor is out.
vacuuming out the chamber where the blower fits and the exhaust duct of the stove where it connects to the pipe.
for times when the motor is in place, disconnecting the vent could be helpful
part of me though wants to say that leaving the pipe connected could be a good thing though. i just don't know how hard it will be to get a good seal each time you undo and redo that connection.
m
now this is just my opinion, but in my mind, for mid season cleaning, with a short direct out vent like you have (just a single short horizontal run, right? ) if you take off the terminal cap outside, you should be able to vacuum the ash out of the bottom of the pipe where most of it settles and not use a brush at all until years end when you pull the motor.
just do not go further than the end of the pipe. you want to avoid touching the blower's fins even if they aren't spinning
that looks like 4 inch venting. i don't think a mid season full brushing is always required as long as it's clear of the majority of ash.
but you do want to pull that blower at the end of the burning season every year and do a full cleaning.
things to consider as you come to your own best decision.
hopefully others will chime in as well as you reach your decision.
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It took me awhile to get the 6 screws out. I'm heading out to the hardware store (hopefully it's still open) to see if I can get new ones. These were rusty for some reason, the whole time I worried about stripping them, but got them out.
I didn't see a lot of ash when I pulled the old one out. I haven't been into the pipe yet, that's probably where the build up is.
We did buy the stove new from a dealer. They installed it. A couple years ago the ignitor died so I went back to the dealer to get the part. My original was connected to the wiring harness but nearby the front, near the ignitor. They gave me one with a short wire and no connectors at all, they told me to use wire nuts to install it. I figured they knew what they were saying, so I actually cut off the connector of the wire that was factory and connected the two with wire nuts. Perhaps the next time I replace it I'll look for one that has a wire that goes all the way to the wire harness.
Do I just have a weird version of the Santa Fe, so much is different.
As for the fan, yes, it is after-market. But the picture on the ad shows the connectors that my stove uses. But the one in the box has the different one. I should have checked when it came in. Oh well, no big if I can use regular connectors.
I didn't see a lot of ash when I pulled the old one out. I haven't been into the pipe yet, that's probably where the build up is.
We did buy the stove new from a dealer. They installed it. A couple years ago the ignitor died so I went back to the dealer to get the part. My original was connected to the wiring harness but nearby the front, near the ignitor. They gave me one with a short wire and no connectors at all, they told me to use wire nuts to install it. I figured they knew what they were saying, so I actually cut off the connector of the wire that was factory and connected the two with wire nuts. Perhaps the next time I replace it I'll look for one that has a wire that goes all the way to the wire harness.
Do I just have a weird version of the Santa Fe, so much is different.
As for the fan, yes, it is after-market. But the picture on the ad shows the connectors that my stove uses. But the one in the box has the different one. I should have checked when it came in. Oh well, no big if I can use regular connectors.
Lake Girl
Moderator
See if you can pick up some anti-seize for the screws ... auto parts supply should have some. Makes removing/loosening easier the next time.
Edit: PB Blaster to help loosen those that are rusty!
interchangeable.
You have an angle from the combustion blower housing going up to the flue outlet on the back of the stove. Is that all clear too?
No one has mentioned the 'leaf blower' trick for cleaning out your flue. Have you tried it? Make sure you disconnect the hose from the vacuum switch before doing it. Just take off your end cap out side, open the door of the stove, and hold the suction side of the leaf blower up to the outside end of the flue. It will suck every bit of ash out of there! DON'T PUT THE BLOWER SIDE UP TO IT
You have an angle from the combustion blower housing going up to the flue outlet on the back of the stove. Is that all clear too?
No one has mentioned the 'leaf blower' trick for cleaning out your flue. Have you tried it? Make sure you disconnect the hose from the vacuum switch before doing it. Just take off your end cap out side, open the door of the stove, and hold the suction side of the leaf blower up to the outside end of the flue. It will suck every bit of ash out of there! DON'T PUT THE BLOWER SIDE UP TO IT
Good news! It took ALL day but I got it back going, the new fan purrs like a kitten.
It took awhile to re-clean the stove, but I really didn't find that much ash. The long part was scraping of the creosote and getting it out of all those tiny hole, again. I did make sure to clean that angle, tjnamtiw.
I skipped the hardware store and went to my neighbor instead, noticed he was home. He had some connectors that were the exact one my stove used, so I only had to change the ones on the fan. Borrowed some screws from him too. Came back home and tried and tried and tried and couldn't get the (after-market) fan in, the holes just didn't line up. Went back to my neighbors and while trying to figure out where to drill new holes (or expand the ones that were there to give me more wiggle room) we came up with the idea of using the plate from the old fan. Took awhile to get the old plate off (the alan screw holding the blade in was seized) so we actually cut the shaft. I went back and it went on quickly.
Got it all back together and turned it on, and it works fine. It's been running about a hour and no sign smoking.
One thing, now the convection blower is squeling. Maybe it got some ash in it while I was doing all cleaning. I have a replacement fan for that, the factory version so it should go in easier. And ordered a vacuum switch so that should be a piece of cake when it comes in next week.
THANKS so much, all of you! You saved me hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a service call, we have heat again, and I learned so much.
Happy New Year!
It took awhile to re-clean the stove, but I really didn't find that much ash. The long part was scraping of the creosote and getting it out of all those tiny hole, again. I did make sure to clean that angle, tjnamtiw.
I skipped the hardware store and went to my neighbor instead, noticed he was home. He had some connectors that were the exact one my stove used, so I only had to change the ones on the fan. Borrowed some screws from him too. Came back home and tried and tried and tried and couldn't get the (after-market) fan in, the holes just didn't line up. Went back to my neighbors and while trying to figure out where to drill new holes (or expand the ones that were there to give me more wiggle room) we came up with the idea of using the plate from the old fan. Took awhile to get the old plate off (the alan screw holding the blade in was seized) so we actually cut the shaft. I went back and it went on quickly.
Got it all back together and turned it on, and it works fine. It's been running about a hour and no sign smoking.
One thing, now the convection blower is squeling. Maybe it got some ash in it while I was doing all cleaning. I have a replacement fan for that, the factory version so it should go in easier. And ordered a vacuum switch so that should be a piece of cake when it comes in next week.
THANKS so much, all of you! You saved me hundreds and hundreds of dollars on a service call, we have heat again, and I learned so much.
Happy New Year!
St_Earl
Minister of Fire
You did a fine job of repairing your own stove! It is no small task to tear the back of the stove apart to replace the exhaust fan. That is one of the setbacks of after market. The holes don't line up. When you replace your conv. fan, clean the old one up and oil it. It will do as a spare. You can make a cord with spade connectors to plug it in after you clean it to see how it runs. Stay warm and Happy New Year. kap
great news! You are now officially an expert! Did you find out why the old fan wasn't pulling air?
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