Quadrafire Santa Fe high pitched squeal

[tablerock]

We’ve had our Quadrafire Santa Fe since 2008 I believe. Never had any issues until this season. Last week started getting an intermittent high pitched squeal. I can confidently say it isn’t every time it feeds pellets. As I sat waiting to take the video, I watched several pellets drop through, and no sound was heard.

Video attached

 

[Former Farmer]

Probably bearings going out on either your convection or combustion fan.

 

[QuadUser]

Mine use to do this, I had to replace one of the fans. You just need to find out which one it is. If it doesn't happen till hot air blows then you know its the convection.

 

[tablerock]

I cleaned it yesterday, and took the panel off to clean around the tubes with a paintbrush. I reached back with the brush and caught one of the fans. It was running whole time I cleaned it without making a noise. If it was a fan, my guess is, it’s the other one. It’s an intermittent noise that lasts for like 2 to 4 seconds at a time.

Any idea on which fan I likely hit with the brush? It would be straight back behind thr shite that the pellets drop into the burn pot from.

 

[Former Farmer]

The convection fan should be mounted behind the burn pot and the combustion/exhaust fan should be mounted to the side of the burn pot behind the right brick plate.

From Castile owners manual.
2. Convection Blower
The convection blower is mounted at the bottom rear of the
appliance. There are 2 impellers, one on each side of the
motor. The convection blower pushes heated air through the
heat exchange system into the room.
3. Exhaust Blower
The exhaust blower is mounted on the right side of the
appliance behind the right cast side. The exhaust blower is
designed to pull the exhaust from the appliance and push it
out through the venting system.