Quadrafire Santa Fe B-1 (2007) Problems, smoked and now blinking blue

[tjnamtiw]

On the convection fan, you might have bumped it out of position while doing all the other work or, perhaps, bent the housing a little, which would let the fan scrape. It's held in with just a thumb screw that, according to my manual, says is there just for shipment and should be removed! Like you said, it's an easy fix anyway. I sure wouldn't throw it away in either case. Replacing the bearings, which are probably sealed and unoilable (word??), is an easy task for you or your very helpful neighbor.
Again, great job!

 

[Mearow]

By the time I was halfway into this project, I was ready to throw the old fan out the window or sacrifice it to the God of Pellets. It's literally in pieces, half at my house, half at my neighbors, since we had to literally break it to get the treasured base plate off of it. So I don't know why it wasn't doing the job, tho it did sound strained the last time I had it going.

Thanks for the tip of keeping the old convection. I'm now gathering more spare parts, at least the cheapie items like gaskets, fuses, sheet metal screws, electrical connectors (handy to have the same size) and I'll have an extra vacuum hose when that part comes in.

 

[tjnamtiw]

By the time I was halfway into this project, I was ready to throw the old fan out the window or sacrifice it to the God of Pellets. It's literally in pieces, half at my house, half at my neighbors, since we had to literally break it to get the treasured base plate off of it. So I don't know why it wasn't doing the job, tho it did sound strained the last time I had it going.

Thanks for the tip of keeping the old convection. I'm now gathering more spare parts, at least the cheapie items like gaskets, fuses, sheet metal screws, electrical connectors (handy to have the same size) and I'll have an extra vacuum hose when that part comes in.

Excellent thinking on those parts. Now if I, Mr. Procrastinator, would only do the same thing! Yea, I guess the old fan got trashed trying to get that plate off. Funny that they call that a quick fix when the holes don't even line up! Do you remember if the fan came off easily when you were getting the plate off? I was wondering if it was spinning on the shaft loosely.

 

[Mearow]

The fan blade seemed solid. It was stained and gunked up with ash, maybe that prevented a nice spin. I did the graphite spray trick on the new one, and now know to pull it every year for cleaning, so hopefully I won't have the same problem again.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Just to find out what really was going on, it's still possible to jury rig a plug onto the end of the old blower's wires and plug it into the wall to see if it spins OK or makes a racket. It's a 110 volt motor.

 

[Mearow]

The old fan has been sacrificed. It's in pieces. We cut clear thru the shaft to get the base plate off. Earlier, I had taken a hammer to it to see if I could get the base plate off the back end, since everything was stuck on the front. There are several pieces in my garbage can and the rest in my neighbors. Originally, I was trying to get the old base plate off so I could use it as a template to see where I needed to drill new holes. Then we decided to try switching the plates and that worked. So the old fan has been sacrificed to the cause.

I sat back with a cup of coffee and reread this thread. Some important things I missed, I was in such a rush during times of this project, like when smoke was pouring out, lol. There is so much info here, I'm in awe of how helpful you all are.

I didn't have the heart to turn off the stove this morning, after being so cold the last 3 days. But eventually did, now it's cool enough to tackle the convection fan. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[tjnamtiw]

ha ha ha. Enjoyed that last post I can just see the hack saw and hammer hard at work with a few choice words flying about!

 

[kappel15]

Bet the air was blue for sure! lol

 

[Mearow]

I saved the few choice words for today. I read the instructions in my manual and thought, sweet, this will be a snap. Once again, my manual was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Long story: I open the box and with the convection fan are:

shiny new fan with 4 nice rubber feet attached
vague instructions...hmm
a baggie with extra connectors (score! great idea)
a thin stick on magnet that fits on the foot (if you remove the rubber feet)

First, the manual said there is a purple and a yellow wire to the fan, okay, mine has purple and white. No big.

But it then says, "Pull blower up of (typo I guess for "off") the locating pins and pull towards you." Easy enough...

When I got in my stove, I saw that the shipping screw (thumb screw) was still in, so I got that off and the bracket that goes in it. Then I noticed a very strong bracket underneath my fan. Getting the fan off was very near impossible. That bracket was soooo in the way. I thought I was going to have to remove the entire back panel to get it out, but I did get away with just loosening the bottom back panel. Just barely.

When I got the fan out, it had the magnet on it, so I took the rubber feet off the new one and put the magnet on. Then attempted to put it in. After a long time trying, I pulled the magnet off and put it on the floor of the stove first. That would give me more micro-seconds of a give I needed. I hefted, I pushed, I tried and tried to twist this thing in proper position but that bracket was quite the obsticle. Desperate, I took a small tack hammer and tapped the foot, slowly moving it into place. Whose idea was it putting that bracket in there? I liked the idea of the rubber feet better

Well good news, I didn't break the fan (I seriously worried I would) and the pellet stove is working great.

At one point I considered breaking that bracket off. I tried to bend the sides down but they wouldn't give. There's a spot weld in front, I wonder if I chipped that off if I'd be able to break it out of there.

Another question, there's a lot of light rust inside my stove, you can see in the pic. What is causing that, is that normal. I do live in WA state where it's damp. Any suggestions?

Edit: forgot the pic:

(broken image removed)

 

[tjnamtiw]

Just like my wife tells me > "Nothing you EVER touch is easy". No idea on the spot weld. Hopefully, someone with a freestander can chime in. I'm glad, however, that you got it going. Did you put the thumbscrew back on to keep it from walking around on those rubber feet?

EDIT: Never mind. I see you still used the magnet but just sat it in place first. Good thinking!

 

[Mearow]

I had to take the rubber feet off, sadly. But it's not going anywhere with that bracket holding it in. Without a hammer that is.

 

[kappel15]

Next time tip the fan up on the back side and slide towards back of stove. then slide at an angle toward the left side of stove and out. It is easy. If you have done it a bunch of times. lol When season is over, I would lightly sand that area and paint to keep it good. And I would also put a rag in the exhaust pipe end to keep humid air/moisture from coming in when not in use. I put a pc of masking tape on my thermostat saying "exhaust is plugged", just to remind me in the fall.kap

 

[kappel15]

I still use the rubber feet and the shipping bracket and wing nut. And I too, enjoy the extra wire fittings. kap

 

[tjnamtiw]

Next time tip the fan up on the back side and slide towards back of stove. then slide at an angle toward the left side of stove and out. It is easy. If you have done it a bunch of times. lol When season is over, I would lightly sand that area and paint to keep it good. And I would also put a rag in the exhaust pipe end to keep humid air/moisture from coming in when not in use. I put a pc of masking tape on my thermostat saying "exhaust is plugged", just to remind me in the fall.kap

Good idea with the tag, Kap.
I just read that a good anti-moisture thing to put in a stove over the summer is charcoal!! Never thought of that but, heck you could put a new pile in there every month and use the old one in the grill.

 

[kappel15]

Would be good in the ashpan or firebox. I clean my stove and even wash the back brick, and baffle and dry them with air compressor. Then I spray everything down with pam cooking spray in the firebox. Esp. the pot. Some just paint it all with high temp paint. My back brick look just like new yet. I paint the baffle on the AE at end of season. Makes it look nice sitting there all summer.

 

[Mearow]

Next time tip the fan up on the back side and slide towards back of stove. then slide at an angle toward the left side of stove and out. It is easy. If you have done it a bunch of times. lol

I just can't picture that. I can't picture it ever being easy either But I did fail geometry the first time I took it. Angles and such not being my strong-suit.

Thinking more, you take it out by starting from the right, and pushing it out the left. And then install it from the left? That may have been my problem, I was doing it all from the right, and that tab in the back is extra high, and was really in my way. The manual's drawing showed removing it from the right so I was following that.

I'm downloading various versions of the Santa Fe manual. None match entirely, I'll print out the relevant pages that do match and add them to my original.

 

[kappel15]

Yes, I know the manual says to go right, but it is easier to the left. Those tabs are important to keep the fan in place. It just takes a little practice to find the right angle to be able to clear everything and pull it out. Same in reverse. I'm surprised they are finally making different versions of manuals. kap

 

[Lake Girl]

Glad to hear you got everything replaced and are back up running. Spare parts are always a good thing and you were well ahead of the crowd having the spares sitting there waiting.

Print off kap's directions for removing and replacing the convection fan and add that to your manual too

Besides spraying the fire box with Pam and taping the exhaust (and OAK if you have one), you can put damp rid in the firebox. Just leave yourself reminders of what you've got to undo before firing up again! It finally dawned on me about the Pam spray in the firebox - like seasoning a cast iron skillet - polymerizes the vegetable oil to form a protective coating...

Congratulations on surviving the pellet stove challenge!

 

[St_Earl]

i sprayed with pam the first year with the stove. then didn't look inside all summer.
i closed off the venting as well (no oak yet at that time) but i didn't use damp rid.
got lots of condensation from the humidity. and it was able to soak away/penetrate through a heavy layer of pam and still produce rust.
for me and our climate here, damp rid is a must.
i also switched to painting with high temp stove paint, but i did such a thorough job of that two seasons ago that i was able to skip it this year.
damp rid is a must for me. no more condensation on the stove.
and in the winter i've taken to keeping damp rid in the car when it's cold enough to cause underfrost on the windshield.
i'm sure pam would work perfectly well for me along with damp rid.
but i have a nice can of the high temp paint and i use sponge brushes so i can reach all the inner faces by feel and not be slopping paint everywhere.
i kept the baffle plates stacked inside the firebox and didn't treat them with anything. damp rid kept them rust free.

 

[tjnamtiw]

i sprayed with pam the first year with the stove. then didn't look inside all summer.
i closed off the venting as well (no oak yet at that time) but i didn't use damp rid.
got lots of condensation from the humidity. and it was able to soak away/penetrate through a heavy layer of pam and still produce rust.
for me and our climate here, damp rid is a must.
i also switched to painting with high temp stove paint, but i did such a thorough job of that two seasons ago that i was able to skip it this year.
damp rid is a must for me. no more condensation on the stove.
and in the winter i've taken to keeping damp rid in the car when it's cold enough to cause underfrost on the windshield.
i'm sure pam would work perfectly well for me along with damp rid.
but i have a nice can of the high temp paint and i use sponge brushes so i can reach all the inner faces by feel and not be slopping paint everywhere.
i kept the baffle plates stacked inside the firebox and didn't treat them with anything. damp rid kept them rust free.

That's why I suggested charcoal briquettes as an alternate for damp rid. At least, you can use them after you're done with them.

 

[St_Earl]

yes, but they'd be a bit of a hassle in the car.

i toyed with the idea of doing a colander in a pot instead of the damp rid holder. but it's just too convenient. small foot print fits in the stove easily and being able to empty it with the built in spout is actually a nice feature.
refills are pretty cheap for what i get out of it.

oh yeah, i don't bar-b-q either.

 

[Lake Girl]

...oh yeah, i don't bar-b-q either.

Face it tj - not everyone likes coal or charcoal!

 

[tjnamtiw]

Face it tj - not everyone likes coal or charcoal!

ha ha ha. Stop picking on my, Girl!

Coal is not going to be soaking up much moisture! No, I really did read in a book I got for Christmas about using charcoal as a dehumidification means. The stuff does work, witness a bag of charcoal I found in my garage that I don't use anymore. It was drip very moist and crumbly. Naturally , you would have removed it from the stove before that point.