Santa Fe - plugged in first time in months and fan starts, why?

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whit

whit

Member
Sep 15, 2009
207
Southern VT
I have the older version of the Santa Fe. Has run great through several winters, but first start up after being off for the summer is now an adventure for the second time. Last year the augur wouldn't turn, until I'd taken various things apart and put them back together, something about which made it happy. This year ...

After being unplugged since last May, cleaned the outside pipe, cleaned out the inside of the stove, plugged it in (without the thermostat calling), and immediately the exhaust fan (to the outside, not the fan for interior circulation) starts running. Unplugged it, cleaned it some more, plugged it in again, and that fan starts right up. That fan, as I understand it, should only come on when the thermostat's calling or there's heat in the stove, neither of which is the case. What should I look at here?
 
whit said:
I have the older version of the Santa Fe. Has run great through several winters, but first start up after being off for the summer is now an adventure for the second time. Last year the augur wouldn't turn, until I'd taken various things apart and put them back together, something about which made it happy. This year ...

After being unplugged since last May, cleaned the outside pipe, cleaned out the inside of the stove, plugged it in (without the thermostat calling), and immediately the exhaust fan (to the outside, not the fan for interior circulation) starts running. Unplugged it, cleaned it some more, plugged it in again, and that fan starts right up. That fan, as I understand it, should only come on when the thermostat's calling or there's heat in the stove, neither of which is the case. What should I look at here?
Click to expand...

Or maybe after the stove has been plugged in. Loss of power on several stoves is treated the same way, do you have your manuals?
 
Mine is only a year old and it did the same thing. Fan wouldn't stop running and I wound up unplugging it again. I think what I wound up doing was adjusting the thermostat so it would start and complete a burn cycle. It's been fine since then.
 
I bought one used last year to eat up some library pencils. I just plugged it in and yes the exaust fan does come on immediately without call for heat. Should go off in a minute or two. Check you owners manual. Good luck
 
That fan finally went off after about 10 minutes. Stove burning normally now. It did need a few starts before the augur started working - maybe because the pellets and fines left in it after vacuuming were damp?

Wonder what sensor would have started that fan without any call for heat. The manual isn't helpful on this sort of question.
 
The control board did that not a sensor. It will do the same thing when power is restored if it goes out. This action is actually a safety feature as it purges the stove of any gases.

Pellets should be removed from the hooper at the end of the season along with any pellets in the auger, then vacuum the crud out and then in the fall the hopper refilled and the auger re primed.
 
I know on our PS50 when we plug it in for the first time the fan that brings the air in thru the oak runs for 18 min initially...after it does this we use it normally....this is normal and is in our manual.....Sante Fe is a Quad and we have the guts of a quad in our Heatilator......Maybe that is normal for yours too...
 
The stove thinks it had a power failure so it starts the fan to evacuate any smoke/smoldering pellets. Its normal.
 
SmokeyTheBear said:
The control board did that not a sensor. It will do the same thing when power is restored if it goes out. This action is actually a safety feature as it purges the stove of any gases.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Makes sense.

Pellets should be removed from the hooper at the end of the season along with any pellets in the auger, then vacuum the crud out and then in the fall the hopper refilled and the auger re primed.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but how to remove the last pellets in the auger tube? The stove won't drop them - feed cuts off when the supply gets that low. And my vacuum doesn't pull up but the top couple of inches of 'em.
 
This is normal start up for the stove, my Castile does that same. I always assumed it was a safety deal if the stove lost and then regained power, to clear the smoke out of the firebox. What DB said.
 
whit said:
I have the older version of the Santa Fe. Has run great through several winters, but first start up after being off for the summer is now an adventure for the second time. Last year the augur wouldn't turn, until I'd taken various things apart and put them back together, something about which made it happy. This year ...

After being unplugged since last May, cleaned the outside pipe, cleaned out the inside of the stove, plugged it in (without the thermostat calling), and immediately the exhaust fan (to the outside, not the fan for interior circulation) starts running. Unplugged it, cleaned it some more, plugged it in again, and that fan starts right up. That fan, as I understand it, should only come on when the thermostat's calling or there's heat in the stove, neither of which is the case. What should I look at here?
Click to expand...

I have a SanteFe also. That is normal for the exhaust fan to run when you plug it it. The fan will run for 10 mins and then reset. That way it expels any ash or dust before it starts up after the summer or after a power failure. It is a safety feature.
 
I used to use that feature when cleaning my Santa Fe. Click the thermostat on and quickly off and start the fan. It would help pull fly ash out the vent and keep it from migrating into the room. Worked great, I did it every time I cleaned my stove.
 
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