Thermocouple in Mt. Vernon AE (from 7,200' and looking at snow tonight)

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gorooster

Member
Nov 12, 2011
34
New Mexico
Reposting this question from yest... (Superbowl's a bad time to ask for help)
I need ideas/tips on installing a new TC in my freestanding Mt. Vernon. It's all routed and connected to the board, but I'm having a helluva time getting both the TC and ignitor wires threaded through the u-shaped slot near the auto clean. I've got a mirror and lights, but my fingers aren't long enough to get up there. Does taking off the pot and going in the top help, or is more of a problem? Is the pot attached to the auto clean? The ash lip is really hampering my efforts and I'm tempted to remove it, but it seems like it might be integral to the frame of the stove and might make it all fall down... any ideas appreciated :)
 
You can see in this image that the lip is an integral part of the firepot. The sliding bottom of the firepot is a separate piece that is pushed back and forth on two rails.
Even if you remove the firepot from above, the sliding mechanism will have to be removed as well. That being done, you can reach through only if you hand is slim enough to fit through the hole the firepot sits in.
I have a pair of extra long, locking forceps that I picked up at a flea market. I imagine that would give you a way of positioning the wire so that it could be grabbed from above.
I know thermocouple wire is springy and that probably makes everything more difficult. You might be able to thread a piece of soft copper wire through from above and use it to lead the thermocouple through the correct path.
I haven't had to replace my thermocouple yet. Perhaps somebody who has been through it can offer more advice.
Good luck.

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I got great advice from Mark over at Mountain West Sales in Alb., where I bought it. Seems like he's the only authorized Quad. repairman in the State. The ash lip is the cast iron shelf that sits above the ash pan. It makes it tough to get a good look and a hand in there. I took off the top of the stove, then the door pin, and the door comes off easy. Then it's two phillips screws for the ash lip. Now I've got much better access. He also told me that he thought I should replace the ignitor before the TC (damn!), as I had an ignition error, but someone else led me to believe otherwise.

Bears repeating my earlier claim: great stove, but it needs trouble shooting and thus a lot of easy access, 'cuz the access they DON'T build into the stove is a real headache (and time-sink). I'm giving serious thought to building up the stone hearth bed a few inches to make servicing this beast a bit easier.
 
Unhook the igniter wires on back side of stove and pull them out the front. That should free up the hole the wires pass thru. That is fairly easy, most homeowners replace igniters themselves..
 
rickwai said:
Unhook the igniter wires on back side of stove and pull them out the front. That should free up the hole the wires pass thru. That is fairly easy, most homeowners replace igniters themselves..
Click to expand...

Its a cheap replacement (and I really hate to pile on here, but it may save you bigger headaches in the future) but you may want to order part # SRV7034-273 which is new igniter wiring harness that go from the igniter to the control board. Apparently, igniters can short out and burn out your control board. They have fuses on them that keep that from happening. If you don't have the fuses, you may want to check it out while you have it apart.

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/burned-out-control-board-mnt-vernon-ae.117106/
 
I got it all done, TC and ignitor, and just in time for our three inches of snow. The most useful tip was removing top, door, and ash lip, which allowed for much better access and less cursing. W/ this model, all that wire routing has to be done by feel. Boy oh boy, was I pleased to watch that super clean stove go through a few cycles last night!
 
Great information (and thanks for "piling on"). I'm not in any way an electrician, so the comments from knowledgeable guys on this forum in invaluable. I'll get the new ignitor harness asap. On that thread joesho posted a guy mentioned wanting a new 110 v. power lead... is this something I should also ask for? Is it critical? Another question: sounds like the auto clean cycle mitigates longevity in the stove?? Should I set up the stove to minimize auto clean cycles? Here in Alb. I get my pellets from Home Depot ("Heat'rs"), which don't have a reliable rating, but I'm told to burn them as utility pellets. I'm not sure I remember correctly... does the hard wood setting initiate fewer auto cleans? What would be compromised by going w/ the hard wood setting if I'm using soft wood or utility pellets? More soot and ash? Also, what other settings would best keep the auto clean to a minimum in terms of flame height and heat output? Once again, thanks to all!
 
gorooster said:
Great information (and thanks for "piling on"). I'm not in any way an electrician, so the comments from knowledgeable guys on this forum in invaluable. I'll get the new ignitor harness asap. On that thread joesho posted a guy mentioned wanting a new 110 v. power lead... is this something I should also ask for? Is it critical? Another question: sounds like the auto clean cycle mitigates longevity in the stove?? Should I set up the stove to minimize auto clean cycles? Here in Alb. I get my pellets from Home Depot ("Heat'rs"), which don't have a reliable rating, but I'm told to burn them as utility pellets. I'm not sure I remember correctly... does the hard wood setting initiate fewer auto cleans? What would be compromised by going w/ the hard wood setting if I'm using soft wood or utility pellets? More soot and ash? Also, what other settings would best keep the auto clean to a minimum in terms of flame height and heat output? Once again, thanks to all!
Click to expand...

No all you will need is part # SRV7034-273 which is a set of leads that connect to the control board and run through to the igniter and connect to it. There is a fuse on each lead so if the ingiter blows it will blow the fuse before it spikes your control board (I think a new control board is $800 or so)
 
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