Quad Sante Fe Auger Jammed

Last year I ran 5 tons of pellets through a brand-new Santa Fe without any trouble.

I tried starting it up this season and keep getting an "auger jammed" error. I had a repair guy (who is not familiar with Quadrafire stoves) come over. He removed the auger and couldn't find any signs of a jam. After we put it back together, we noticed that the auger is turning backwards. He called Quadrafire, and the told him that I likely have a bad optical sensor, which is now on order.

Will the stove run the auger backwards if it detects a jam? Where is the optical sensor located?

Thanks,

Mark

Thanks. I mis-typed in my first post -- I actually do have a Mt Vernon AE.

Where is the optical sensor located? Is there any way I can attempt to verify the "bad optical sensor" myself?

Thanks again.

Thanks Stoveguy!

Service guy just installed a new optical sensor (yes, it took over 1 month), but the auger still runs in reverse and display says "auger jammed". So much for the optical sensor theory.

Unfortunately my original dealer went out of business, but he was pretty much an idiot anyway. The next closest dealer supposedly has "factory trained staff", but the only stove repair guy they have has never seen a Quadrafire before.

When I took delivery of the stove 1 year ago it wouldn't work because of a bad firepot thermocouple. Now the stove is busted again, leaving me with a $4,000 piece of junk. Needless to say I'm not impressed with Quadrafire or their dealer network.

Any more ideas out there?

Last month the service guy (who hasn't worked on a pellet stove in something like 10 years) called Quadrafire - they told him to replace the optical sensor. Now it's one month later, I have a new sensor, and the same problem. Service guy tried calling Quadrafire support, but they weren't open yet. He left and has promised to call them and me...