Quadrafire Castile upgrade?

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Scottydawg22

New Member
Nov 8, 2007
19
Northwest
Is there anyway to get more heat effeciency out my stock quadrafire castile? I know this might sound stupid but if there was a way to sqeeze more heat out of this puppy it would be wonderful! We usually have mild winters and this stove has been more than adequate during those times. We usually get a few cold snaps, like right now and it is just not keeping up. I guess I should just go with the flow and realize that for most of the winter it's fine. Having said that, if anyone knows of some little tweaks to the stove to make it run a bit hotter I'd be interested.

Specifically I thought about increasing air flow. That would make it run hotter. Does the firepot get it's air from those upper holes? Or do all of the holes provide air to the firepot? I have an outside air supply. I'd be interested to hear your comments. Thanks
 
It is cold in the NW now, but best not to mess with the stove. How tight is the house? Can you address the cold by adding insulated curtains or shrink plastic over the windows? Close off an unused room?
 
hotfire22 said:
Is there anyway to get more heat effeciency out my stock quadrafire castile? I know this might sound stupid but if there was a way to sqeeze more heat out of this puppy it would be wonderful! We usually have mild winters and this stove has been more than adequate during those times. We usually get a few cold snaps, like right now and it is just not keeping up. I guess I should just go with the flow and realize that for most of the winter it's fine. Having said that, if anyone knows of some little tweaks to the stove to make it run a bit hotter I'd be interested.

Specifically I thought about increasing air flow. That would make it run hotter. Does the firepot get it's air from those upper holes? Or do all of the holes provide air to the firepot? I have an outside air supply. I'd be interested to hear your comments. Thanks
Click to expand...

Hmm....I have a Quadra Fire Castille and its more than met our needs. Not sure about how tight your house is. My house is a 1986 Cape. But we only open up the upstairs for entertaining etc as we have a 7' slate pool table upstairs. So basically heat the downstairs approx. 770 sq. feet. with not much effort an NO oil! :) I run ours at low most all the time. I may turn it up to medium at night if the temp dips....hardly ever turn it on high. Not sure what to tell ya other than how well insulated is your house? Windows? etc. I replaced my windows 3 years ago and dont regret it.
 
Yeah I didn't really intend to modify it in a radical way or anything. I do need to look at insulating the overhead in my main living area. It's a vaulted ceiling and after installing a ceiling fan, I realized that there is only R-11 in the ceiling...YIKES! I need to look at either filling that space with ? Blow in insulation or fill or I've even thought about some of the injected foam stuff. I'll just continue to keep the stove well maintained and I think for most of our weather around here it will be more than adequate. If I had it to do over again, I would have purchased the next size up but I think if I get this large vaulted ceiling area properly insulated it will make a big difference. Thanks for your help guys!
 
Think about it this way... when the engineers make the stove they make it squeeze every possible BTU out of the unit while still keeping it safe and meeting industry standards. That stove has been around for a long time. Any modification that makes it put out more heat has probably already been thought of and tried and rejected due to safety or long term problems. Don't modify the stove.

Here's what you can do, increase the feed rate and run it on the highest settings. There are some calculations you can do to figure out if its running at the mfg stated max capacity. You just need to know how many lbs per hours it burns, the max btu stated, and the btu per pound of pellets which is around here someplace. If you increase the feed rate too much it might start tripping the snap disc #2 which is the overheat sensor, just FYI.
 
Well like I said I never planned on any radical modifications. I have my feed rate down to the lowest setting because the flame lengths about as close as I can get them to maximum efficiency. I usually run it on high, especiallly lately when it's been so cold. I'll just continue to keep it clean and well maintained and other than these 14 days of the year when we get some extreme cold the stove does fine.
 
Just FYI, I had a service tech check out my Castile and he told me there was an upgrade to the airflow system. Turns out it is covered by the warranty, which is apparently a lifetime warranty, and I just had mine installed today (took him about 15 minutes). It's supposed to increase the efficiency of the stove by improving the airflow.
 
Perhaps the newer combustion blower? It would be nice if these stoves had a bit more or at least adjustable flow, seems many are running with the feed closed all the way down and fighting lazy flames. I'm wondering if the firebox could be better sealed, things like the hopper lid not being gasketed must decrease the flow through the pot? Just some thoughts...
 
So is that upgrade and upgrade or something that is covered under warranty? I just bought mine a few months ago. I've got my feed control set to the minimum and on high I still get quite a bit of lazy fire production. Not all the time but just the fact that it does that consistently tells me that more airflow would be the ticket. Thanks
 
newbie said:
Just FYI, I had a service tech check out my Castile and he told me there was an upgrade to the airflow system. Turns out it is covered by the warranty, which is apparently a lifetime warranty, and I just had mine installed today (took him about 15 minutes). It's supposed to increase the efficiency of the stove by improving the airflow.
Click to expand...

Never heard of such a thing. Quad did change the air wash from top to bottom at some point but the old bottom air wash units must stay that way.
 
hotfire22 said:
So is that upgrade and upgrade or something that is covered under warranty? I just bought mine a few months ago. I've got my feed control set to the minimum and on high I still get quite a bit of lazy fire production. Not all the time but just the fact that it does that consistently tells me that more airflow would be the ticket. Thanks
Click to expand...

There is something else going on with your unit then, the flame should be very active. You might have an air leak someplace or too much air getting in. Also could be restricted exhaust path. Check the door seal and the ash dump to make sure it closes all the way and doesn't sag. Make sure the top and rear baffles are in place correctly also.
 
I've had my Castille for approx. 5 weeks.....the thing just runs itself practically. I dont have any lazy flame. What is everyones exhaust temp if you know?
 
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